The Road to 10k - Steve Vai's Ultra Guitar

With another milestone fast approaching as we come up on our 10,000th guitar, we are taking a look back at some of the amazing stories from Emerald and Alistair's past.

Join us as Alistair tells how he produced his first ever electric guitar for the one and only Steve Vai, modelled on the artwork from the Ultra Zone album itself.

Here he tells the story of how it came to be, from inspiration to delivery.

Get involved in the design of our 10,000th Emerald and be part of Emerald History here

#emeraldguitars #carbonfiberguitar #customguitar #stevevai

Please "Like", "Comment" & "Share"

[Al_G]

This answered a few questions I had in such a beautiful way.

[johnbohland]

What a great story! I jut saw Steve, and Satch and Eric Johnson at the G3 show in Oakland on 3 Feb. Unforgettable! Thanks for your amazing guitar building efforts Mr. Hay. I also follow JP Cormier and he speaks extremely highly of your guitars too. I was in Dublin and Cork about a year ago - also unforgettable.

[lance]

This is awesome! So glad to hear you share your story !! 😊

[frankiechan]

What a fantastic story. What a "sliding doors" moment.
You could have, like most other people, just said Hi to Steve - got your selfie/autograph and left.
Mentioning that you were building an Ultrazone guitar kicked off a decade-plus cascade of actions and moments - extreme highs and lows.
And with what seems to be a very happy ending -
Forever onwards and upwards mate.

[obscuraapit]

Well at the least Steve should've made arrangements for the man's travels, after all he got the guitar for free including the upgrade too. Ireland to LA is not a stroll and it's obvious Steve is aware by now where the man's from. Artists talk about giving back to the fans a whole lot but when opportunity come their way they often always budges. Clearly the man has no such expectations but still it's disappointing.

[Jackie_Rosewood]

Such an amazing and inspiring story!! Thank you for sharing!!!

[cubfanmike]

Good story; well told - good on you - music is magic 🎸

[danimal]

Great Story! Thank you for sharing! By the way, how much did you charge for the 8 other ultra guitars? I'm just curious because I'm sure they are worth much more now!

[bigjermboktown]

That part at the end with the picture of you two that's just like the ultimate s***. My guitar hero since I've been about 10 or 11 years old is Zakk Wylde and I'm 41 now and it's never changed. That is just one of the coolest stories I've ever heard and hopefully your business is doing well now

[cerberuscaldawg]

Damn.. it was at 69 likes.. and I had to make that decision.
But I knew someone else was going to come right along and not even think about it and click the thumbs up.
I made it 70.😔
So this is to commemorate the 69 likes that was.
I mean.. How can you not like this anyway right???
Crazy guitar and humble dude.
Great story and awesome provenance.
True playable art and freeking awesome that your hard work and vision is part of your hero's life now.

Here's to 69 likes forever!🍻

[isaacdust]

Amazing story! Thank you for sharing it.

[JamesJones-thml]

Got to say while I love music I play a guitar have been since I was 15. I'm 52 now. I always have loved nice guitars and such... LOL BUT I have to say this is one UGLY guitar heheheh... TOO MUCH! Tell Steve Via I said that HAHAHA

[TimTodd-oz]

I am so grateful that we get to see your inspirations come back full circle to you Alistair. Thank you for sharing this great moment in your Journey. You are truly a great person and have such a passion for what you do and how you do it. That will keep your dream alive and much success and blessings to come my friend.

[MusicByDamienA]

Always makes me happy to see people appreciating Vai so much 💜