Steve Vai Green Meanie Guitar Tee

It's green. It's mean. It's the Green Meanie.

When Steve Vai joined Alcatrazz in 1984, he was supplied with a sunburst Charvel with a Strat-style body and Floyd Rose tremolo - one of Grover Jackson’s personal guitars. That guitar didn’t stay stock for long. It quickly evolved into the iconic “Green Meanie” — a neon-green, hot-rodded beast built for tone, speed, and showmanship.

As Vai joined David Lee Roth’s band in '86, the Green Meanie got even more wild. DiMarzio worked closely with Vai to develop a custom H-S-H pickup setup, with a unique coil-split wiring that later defined the Ibanez JEM series. One of the most radical mods? Routing out the body behind the trem to allow extreme pitch pulls — pushing the Floyd Rose into new territory.

Tone-wise, Vai dialed in total clarity and warmth, even through high-gain Marshall stacks. Pickup testing was constant, sometimes swapping sets multiple times per day at Power Station Studios. Eventually, the guitar settled into a PAF Pro / HS-2 / PAF Pro configuration — pure Vai tone.

From a deepened cutaway for upper fret access (carved at a kitchen table) to a full body repair mid-tour, the Green Meanie was an ever-evolving experiment in performance and precision. Though it was eventually retired after the Roth tour, it lives on — inspiring generations of guitarists and enshrined at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Wear this historic guitar loud and proud. Get your Green Meanie Guitar today — ships worldwide!

Learn all the details about this iconic guitar in this digital booklet!

This t-shirt is everything you've dreamed of and more. It feels soft and lightweight, with the right amount of stretch. It's comfortable and flattering for all.

• 100% combed and ring-spun cotton (Heather colors contain polyester)
• Fabric weight: 4.2 oz./yd.² (142 g/m²)
• Pre-shrunk fabric
• Side-seamed construction
• Shoulder-to-shoulder taping
• Blank product sourced from Nicaragua, Mexico, Honduras, or the US

Size guide