Premier Guitar just put out a very interesting Rig Rundown of Brian May. I’ve always been slightly fascinated with this guy. Primarily with his very distinct tone bread from an early DIY ethic. I love the fact that he built his guitar with his father, and that guitar today is still his #1 go to axe, even though he has other versions created by others.
Here is the video by Premier Guitar:
After watching the video, there were a few interesting points I was surprised with.
Frets – I was super surprised that his number one guitar (Red Special) has NEVER been refretted. I thought that was insanely odd, for the amount of play time that would have had, that the frets have held up. I know he plays .009s and use to play .008s, but still, you think 40+ years of bends would wear the frets down.
Coins – I do remember hearing he played with coins vs. picks, but again, I think this is odd. But again, if that’s what you’re use to, I could understand, but was surprised he’s not using metal picks. I would think the blunt edge would be difficult to work with, but that’s part of his tone-puzzle.
Treble Booster – I was surprised that he runs the treble booster in front of the wireless pack, and on his strap. Very cool. I can see with volume control and the Vox AC30s, how he can get the sweet variety of tone by using the treble booster to increase his signal. I would figure this would be the same post-wireless, so that was interesting.
What did you guys think? Comment below!
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10 years ago
Great stuff. I already knew about most of Brian’s setup but what amazes me is what you can hear at 26:32. Brian’s playing the guitar acoustic, and it SOUNDS like Brian May. I mean, I’m not talking about style, I’m talking about tone. The palm muted bit just sound so Brian-ish, even without an AC30. Man, I gotta stop fiddling with knobs and concentrate on fingers !
Regarding valves -errr tubes, I think he used to use NOS mullard but I wonder if that’s still the case.
Regarding the treble booster before the wireless box, it proves once again that out-of-the-box thinking and testing are critical when tone matters.
thanks for sharing and for all the rest Effects Bay !
Olivier
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10 years ago
I’ve been a Queen/Brian May fan for over 30 years now and he is probably the reason why I once decided to pick up a guitar (*and it had to be an ELECTRIC one!).
Nowadays the only thing about him I think is odd is the fact that he tours the world with a Mercury-and-Deacon-less project he still calls “Queen” (+ changing frontmen).
On the other hand I can’t help but be amazed on 1) the level of perfection he and his father achieved 50 years ago as hobby-luthiers, 2) Brian’s humbleness when being approached by a journalist and 3) like Oliver said, his tone on the unplugged electric: the epitome of “unmistakable”
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