Independent archive · since 2020
Sky Guitars by Uli Jon Roth
Extended-fingerboard electric guitars. The first was built in 1983 to reach the upper register of the violin.
Key facts about the Sky Guitar
- 1983The first Sky GuitarBuilt by Andreas “Andy” Demetriou in Brighton.
- 37Frets on several current modelsThe top five in whole tones. Other models: 23 to 39.
- 3.5Octaves per string on the 37-fret modelsOur arithmetic: 32 + 5 × 2 = 42 semitones.
- 18 VPowers the Mega-Wing III systemLow-impedance pickups and an EQ designed by John Oram.
The short answer
What exactly is a Sky Guitar?
A Sky Guitar is an electric guitar with an extended fingerboard, devised by Uli Jon Roth to play the upper register of the violin without transposing the melody. The first was built in Brighton in 1983; current models are built by hand, to order, in Germany. Most models have far more frets than a conventional guitar — up to 39 in the official catalog — and carry the Mega-Wing III pickup system.
The long version lives on the instrument page, with the history, the series and how it differs from a conventional guitar.
The collection
18 guitars, one by one
Every Sky Guitar is built by hand, to order, and every model has its own name. Here are the 18 with a cut-out photo in this archive; the official catalog lists 22 models.
Galaxy Dragon “Excalibur”30 frets7 strings$49,000
Mighty Wing30–39 frets7 strings$45,000
Sunrise Elite33 or 35 frets6 strings$43,000
Infinity Sky39 frets7 strings$39,000
Mighty New Dawn37 frets on the electric (Pegasus) neck$37,000
Sky of Lionheart 730–39 frets7 strings$28,000
Sky of Lionheart30–39 frets6 strings$27,000
Sunset Elite 824 frets8 strings$24,000
Dolphin Sky30 frets6 strings$24,000
Sunset Elite 724 frets7 strings$23,000- Sunset Elite 624 frets6 strings$22,000
Bianca Sky37 frets6 strings$19,000
Raven Sky37 frets6 strings$19,000
Ebony Sky 735 frets7 strings$18,000
Ebony Sky35 frets6 strings$17,000
Mahogany Sky35 frets6 strings$16,000
Sky Super Strat23 frets6 strings$14,900
Zeno Sky37 frets6 strings$12,000- Full catalogEvery model, with specs and dated prices
Photographs: UJR Sky Guitars · sky-guitars.com
Catalog prices in US dollars, checked on sky-guitars.com on 19 September 2026. They change without notice: the price that counts is the one on the official page.
Count with me
The frets of a Sky Guitar, one by one
This is the Bianca Sky from the official spec sheet. Scroll slowly and count: each fret climbs a semitone, until near the body fingers no longer fit and the last ones climb a whole tone each.
This guitar has 32 frets: 27 in semitones and 5 in whole tones. Its top string climbs 37 semitones: three octaves and a semitone.
Counted on the photograph from the official Bianca Sky spec sheet. The spec says “37 frets” and warns that the number of whole-tone frets varies between instruments (checked on 19 September 2026). That is why no single figure holds for every Sky Guitar.Official Bianca Sky spec sheet · Every model, with its frets.
Where to start
Four routes, depending on what brought you here.
What a Sky Guitar is
The full definition: the musical problem it was built to solve, who invented it, and what sets it apart from any other electric guitar.
The question everyone asksHow many frets it really has
Depending on who you ask it has 29, 30, 32, 35, 36, 37, 38 or even 42 frets, and the official catalog runs from 23 to 39 by model. Here is the model-by-model table and why the sources disagree.
CatalogWhat a Sky Guitar costs
Official catalog prices, verified and dated — and a correction of the AI-generated nonsense claiming these guitars start at a few hundred dollars.
HistoryFrom Brighton 1983 to today
Five prototypes, a limited run through Dean and, since 2010, a single master luthier in Germany building every instrument by hand.
The musician
The guitarist who ran out of frets
Uli Jon Roth was born in Düsseldorf in 1954. He was lead guitarist of Scorpions in the seventies and recorded five albums with them, from Fly to the Rainbow to Tokyo Tapes. He then founded Electric Sun and, in 1983, had the first Sky Guitar built: he wanted to play violin repertoire without dropping the melody an octave.
- Born in Düsseldorf
- 1954
- Albums with Scorpions
- 5
- First Sky Guitar
- 1983
From workshop to stage
Wood, copper, light and stage
The workshop where they are built, the details that make each one unique and Uli Jon Roth playing them live, in the maker’s own photographs.
Photo: UJR Sky Guitars
Photo: UJR Sky Guitars
Photo: UJR Sky Guitars
Photo: UJR Sky Guitars
Photo: UJR Sky Guitars
Photo: UJR Sky Guitars
Photo: UJR Sky Guitars
Photo: UJR Sky Guitars
Photo: UJR Sky Guitars
Photo: UJR Sky Guitars
Photo: UJR Sky Guitars
Photo: UJR Sky Guitars
Photographs by UJR Sky Guitars, published on sky-guitars.com.
Where to order one
Want one? There is only one place to ask.
Sky Guitars are built by hand, to order, in Germany. This archive sells nothing and brokers nothing: the current catalog, the prices and the orders are on the maker’s official website, UJR Sky Guitars.
About this archive
Written by a fan, with every fact sourced
This site sells no guitars and represents nobody. It is a personal archive that started in 2020 for a simple reason: almost everything written in Spanish about Sky Guitars is badly copied, badly translated or simply made up.
Every fact here carries its source at the foot of the page, and where sources contradict each other — which happens more often than you would think — both versions are given rather than picking the one that sounds best.
Who is behind thisSources
- Official catalog by series, with pricesUJR Sky Guitars2026-09-19
- Official Excalibur spec sheet (7 strings, 30 frets)UJR Sky Guitars2026-10-24
- Official Dolphin Sky page: the first one, by Andy Demetriou (Brighton, 1983)UJR Sky Guitars2026-09-19
- Official Emperor Sky spec sheet (37 frets, the top five in whole tones)UJR Sky Guitars2026-09-19
- Mega-Wing III system (18 V, EQ by John Oram)UJR Sky Guitars2026-09-19
- Uli Jon RothWikipedia
- Violin range (G3–A7)Violinspiration
- UJR SKY GUITARS LIMITED (10988601)Companies House
- Sky Guitar (Q141016760)Wikidata