Ibanez and Steve Vai finally reveal The Hydra in new video
A multi-headed beat of a guitar for Steve Vai
4,7 / 5,0 | 
We all saw The Hydra teased at the end of last year, now Ibanez and Steve Vai have released the official demo video which shows off this crazy beast of a guitar in full.
Steve Vai’s Multi-Headed Beast
The Hydra has two-headstocks, three-necks with 7 and 12-string guitars, plus a 4-string ¾ scale length headless bass, along with 13 sympathetic harp strings. You also have half-fretless necks, in the mix, so that Vai can go fretless on the 12-string if he so desires. Pickups include single-coil, humbucking, piezo, MIDI and sustainer pickups, and you have both floating and hardtail tremolo bridges, and phase splitters.
“We absolutely respected this instrument by having the brilliant Garson Yu and his team at yU+co create this phenomenal Hydra reveal video. The guitar geek in me is stunned every time I see it. This video captures the splendor and mystique of the Hydra in intimate detail.
“The conception and construction of the instrument was a monumental feat of creativity by a whole group of inspired people, and I could not be more happy with the way this video came out. Imagine being a half an inch tall and exploring the Hydra as an adventurer. It would be like exploring an alien planet. Sign me up!” – Steve Vai
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Teeth Of The Hydra
Steve Vai’s new track Teeth Of The Hydra from his Inviolate album plays in the background of the video, so you get to hear it at the same time. The unique guitar is certainly a work of art, with huge steampunk influences, and the comments section on YouTube is a great read, my personal favourite being “You very rarely see an instrument with a vintage three cathode-tube climax regulator AND an ethernet port. Bloody legend, Steve.”
Steve Vai with The Hydra
The Hydra NFT
Steve Vai has also announced that on 28 January, the same day his new album Inviolate is released, a one-of-one NFT of the Hydra’s reveal video will be auctioned off via OpenSea. The NFT will also feature exclusive bonus content that will be unlocked to the buyer. The price? 1ETH, which is equivalent to around $3,100.
Live Hydra?
You can check out The Hydra in the official video below and yes it is bonkers. Steve Vai is touring later this year, so you can book tickets and hopefully see him playing this guitar live, head to his website below for details of the postponed tour.
The Hydra More Information
The Hydra Demo Video
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- Steve Vai with The Hydra: Instagram/Steve Vai
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4 responses to “Ibanez and Steve Vai finally reveal The Hydra in new video”
What a clown
Steve vai ti suona anche un comodino.. Pagliaccio lui..?
A clown, huh? Imagine having an endorsement deal with a guitar company that would make you this. Only in your dreams, kiddo… mine, too.
Stuff like this really shows how dismally backward looking and nostalgia obsessed music in general has become over the last 20 years. Yeah there were always influences but it’s just “dig out the dinosaurs” and “sound exactly like something that was fresh 40-60 years ago” at this point; and the 80’s are 40 years ago kids, don’t kid yourself. Then again, these carbon copy “hardcore punk” bands are mildly less offensive than Greta Van Queef’s “cut zeppelin 1 up in a sampler and pretend we’re musicians” shtick. Dismal.