The Alien Returns?

A very special part of Emerald Guitars history returns home in the form of the ‘Alien’ guitar. 

After seeing Steve Vai’s ‘Ultra’ Guitar, the ‘Alien’ was originally commissioned as a one-off piece in 2005 for a stage show. Though the show ended up being cancelled, it allowed Alistair to have an opportunity to make another unusual instrument, much like the Ultra Guitar before it.

“It was the direct result of the Steve Vai Ultra Zone guitar. It was the successor, the next unusual custom guitar I built,” he says.

The Alien has been described by Alistair as being “a fantasy abstract biomechanoid from outer space.” The otherworldly design even originally caught the attention of HR Geiger, the designer of the initial Alien movie. According to Alistair, “I think he thought I had copied some of his design aspects, but then he realized the origins and what it was really about and was actually really kind about the piece.” 

After the show was ultimately cancelled, the Alien spent some time at Emerald HQ, sitting pride of place in Alistair’s office, displayed in all its glory in a custom-built stand.

“When it was completed, it was obvious it wasn’t a guitar that you could just hang on a wall so we built a special stand for it, complete with lasers and a little motor to revolve it and show off its beauty. It was kind of a cool place for it to live.”

In these early days of Emerald Guitars, the company was still in its infancy and facing the hard task of establishing itself in the very competitive guitar industry. As a result, the ‘Alien’ was sold to a private collector to help fund the business. 

“It was a guitar that was kind of a saviour at the time. When I think back on what I sold it for, it wasn’t much, but what that meant at that time was an awful lot because it kept us afloat.”

As luck would have it, the Alien was recently found for sale online and, in good timing, was bought back by Kim and Emerald just in time to celebrate Alistair’s 50th Birthday. 

When it arrived back at Emerald, however, a shock awaited Alistair and Kim as they opened the case to reveal the Alien had sustained some damage in the shipping process, with some of the more fragile parts of the design breaking off from the main body. 

Although its arrival left Alistair slightly deflated due to the damage, Alistair has promised to restore this piece of Emerald history to its former glory and show it off once again at Emerald. 

Contains Excerpts from ‘Building Stories, One Guitar at a Time – The Story of Emerald Guitars’ by Staci Blevins

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