Adeson Fenton Weill: https://www.adeson.co.uk
Adeson/Fenton Weill/Ormston Burns/Aristone/Abbott Victor U.K. is a true cottage industry based in Burbage, Wiltshire, U.K. Guitar pickup expert Adrian (Ade) Turner deploys original winding equipment and many decades of expertise to repair and recreate vintage pickups such as the famous Burns Tri-Sonic used to spectacular effect on Brian May’s original Red Special guitar. Ade was the guest in episode 6 of The Red Special Guitar Podcast on May 28, 2021, hosted by Jon Underhill. Listen here:
https://theredspecialpodcast.libsyn.com/website/ade-turner-adeson-the-red-special-guitar-podcast-episode-6
AStrings Music Store: https://www.astrings.co.uk
AStrings is an independent music store based in Pontypridd in the principality of Wales, U.K. Friendly proprietor Andrew Morgan has supplied Brian with his preferred brand of guitar strings (Optima Gold 2028 BM) for a number of years. AStrings stock many sets of strings, some worth over £4,000 but if you buy these, Andrew is kind enough to throw in a free PRS electric guitar. Andrew was the guest in episode 9 of The Red Special Guitar Podcast on July 23, 2021, hosted by Jon Underhill. Listen here:
https://theredspecialpodcast.libsyn.com/andrew-morgan-a-strings-the-red-special-guitar-podcast-episode-9
Brian May’s official website: https://brianmay.com
Home of the famous soapbox where Brian speaks out with intelligence, sensitivity and sometimes intensity on the eclectic topics close to his heart including animal welfare, astrophysics & cosmology, stereoscopic photography and common decency.
Brian May Guitars: https://shop.brianmayguitars.co.uk/
Run by Barry Moorhouse and his small team at House Music, BMG offers a wide range of musical instruments based on the design of Brian’s Red Special in addition to accessories and branded merchandise. Their most popular line is the good value BMG Special which is offered in a range of different finishes. Deployed in BM signal chain(s), this guitar allows you to access all Brian’s live and recorded tones evidenced by their use in the We Will Rock You and Queen Extravaganza shows.
Fryer Guitars: http://www.fryerguitars.com
Greg Fryer’s commercial site where he sells guitar effects such as treble boosters and tube amp emulators. Greg usually hand assembles some pre-production versions in Sydney, Australia prior to the factory production runs.
Fryer Guitars blog site: https://fryerguitars.wordpress.com
Greg Fryer’s blog and information site. Here you will find a wealth of information on Greg’s involvement with Brian May’s equipment including details of the first restoration of Brian’s original Red Special guitar in 1998.
Guyton Guitars: http://www.guytonguitars.com
Guyton Guitars is owned and operated by luthier Andy Guyton from Lowestoft in Suffolk, U.K. Complementing the budget BMG Special and mid-range “Super” guitars, Andy covers off the official high end Red Special replica market as well as undertaking bespoke luthiery. Andy’s accolades include building a run of fifty authorised Red Special replicas for retail customers, supplying Brian May with custom guitars and a mini restoration of the Red Special in April 2016. Andy was the guest in episode 7 of The Red Special Guitar Podcast on June 11, 2021, hosted by Jon Underhill. Listen here:
https://theredspecialpodcast.libsyn.com/website/andy-guyton-guyton-guitars-the-red-special-guitar-podcast-episode-7
Knight Audio Technologies: http://deacyamp.com
KAT is owned and operated by Nigel Knight as a side business to his main line of work as a director of RMA Themed Attractions, a Surrey-based theme park design and build outfit. Nigel is an electronics designer by training and deploys his knowledge to good effect by designing and building parts of Brian’s performance rig and carrying out routine wiring maintenance on the Red Special. KAT offers a range of niche off-the-shelf and bespoke products for amateur enthusiasts to professional musicians alike.
KZ Guitar Works: https://kzguitarworks.com/kz-rs/
Kazutaka Ijuin started KZ Guitar Works in 2001 and is best known amongst Brian May enthusiasts as builder of the KZ/Fryer Super Red Special (Mk1 Super) between 2007 and 2010 before Brian May Guitars re-commenced production. Based in Zushi City, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, Kaz also produced a KZ Pro high end model and a KZ Junior budget replica. As you would expect from a Japanese master craftsman, the build quality and finish of all Kaz’s instruments are flawless. You can currently buy three Red Special replicas from KZ Guitar Works: the “Kz RS Replica”, “Kz RS Hybrid” and “Kz RS Junior”.
The official Queen online store: https://www.queenonlinestore.com
The Queen online store offers all the current band merchandise. Be quick because items often sell out within hours or minutes of being released for sale.
The Red Special official website: https://www.theredspecial.com/
With content by respected guitar journalist, Simon Bradley, you will find Red Special related news and behind-the-scenes snippets from production of the official book on the Red Special, “The Story of the Home Made Guitar That Rocked Queen and the World” written by Simon and Brian. The second edition of the book was released in October 2020.
Please note that although there are other options to buy unofficial Brian May style guitars and equipment, I aim to respect Brian’s wishes to not exploit his and his father Harold’s endeavours for commercial gain by only linking to his authorised technical and retail partners, past, present or future. My party line is that if you desire a Red Special guitar with authentic features, take inspiration from my journey and spend the time to either build your own or modify a commercially-available instrument. To my knowledge, Brian does not object to this.
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