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Tag: Brian May

The Red Special Book

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The second edition of the coffee table book on the story of Brian May’s Red Special – “the home made guitar that rocked Queen and the world” was published on 1st October 2020 with two new chapters included. One explores technical repairs and maintenance and the other, the Red Special’s role in the Academy Award-winning movie Bohemian Rhapsody, revealed in Brian’s own words and Gwilym Lee who played Brian in the film. The book, written by Brian and Simon Bradley is a celebration of the iconic guitar that Brian May built with his father and has treasured and played all over the world for over 50 years.

A five minute preview video of the second edition of the Brian May Red Special book.

The embedded video below is a 35-40 minute presentation by Brian at the original launch. He demonstrates the capabilities of the Red Special by playing it through three Vox VBM-1 practice amplifiers. You can get your copy of the book mail order through the London Stereoscopic Company or via the usual outlets such as Amazon.

https://www.theredspecial.com/

Adeson Pickups – Artisan Guitar Pickups Build and Repair

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After an extended period of only supplying official builders (Brian May Guitars and Guyton Guitars) for Red Special variants Adrian (Ade) Turner of Adeson Fenton Weill/Ormston Burns U.K./Aristone U.K. is accepting retail orders for guitar pickups again. This is normally signified by Adrian making his e-mail address visible on his website: https://www.adeson.co.uk/

Ade is based in Burbage, Wiltshire, United Kingdom and has a wealth of knowledge and experience in making all types of new guitar pickups and repairing defective ones, as the quote on his website illustrates:

“We are proud of our heritage and work in an environment of vintage armature winders, fly presses, engravers, polishing wheels and traditional plating. Basically, we know our stuff. Our products require hard work, sweat, dirt and grim determination making them tonally period accurate. They do not fall off the end of a modern automated production line. Manufacturing items using the original methods and components creates products which match, sound and age just like the originals…”

I have been fortunate to obtain several sets of his “original BM/Guyton specification” Burns Tri-Sonic variants in recent years for my build and conversion projects. The technical details and related historical context of the particular pickups fitted to Brian’s famous Red Special guitar can almost form a book by themselves. However, I have written a brief article in the FAQs section of this website covering the topic if you wish to find out more about them in this context:

https://dsgb.net/faqs/trisonics/

Illustrated in the gallery above are some Adeson pickup sets fitted to my project guitars and my Guyton RS Transporter (photo credit Andrew Guyton). Although no Tri-Sonic pickup variants available are an exact replica of Brian’s original set, all Adeson Tri-Sonic pickups sound highly authentic when played through the basic BM signal chain of a treble booster and Vox AC30 at full volume.

I was informed recently that pricing for his “original BM/Guyton spec” pickup sets is currently £225 and for a BMG Super spec set, it is £180. This is astonishing value for money considering the craftsmanship, heritage and time involved in making these pickups. Check out the exquisite custom engraved pickup cases illustrated on his web site. Please support artisan craft businesses such as Adeson. Cottage industries helped make Britain great and if enthusiasts don’t support them, they will inevitably fold and the knowledge goes with them. As the slogan goes… accept no imitations! And don’t pay inflated prices to eBay sellers trying to cash in when demand exceeds supply either. Good things come to those who wait. That’s it, I’ve run out of clichés.

Ade appeared in episode 6 of The Red Special Guitar Podcast on May 28, 2021, hosted by Jon Underhill, in which they discuss his involvement with Tri-Sonic pickups. You can listen to it here:

https://theredspecialpodcast.libsyn.com/ade-turner-adeson-the-red-special-guitar-podcast-episode-6

Vox VBM-1 Amplifier KAT Speaker Modification

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Knight Audio Technologies (KAT) has developed a “drop-in” speaker upgrade for the popular, discontinued Vox VBM-1 Brian May Special amplifier. It costs £35.00 + shipping direct.

An alternative upgrade option which some people have carried out involves buying a Dai Ichi brand DC65-30 speaker (still available from Wagner Online in Australia at the time of writing) and fitting a 390 microH 1.3A ELC16B radial inductor (choke), RS part no. 6755576 and a 2.2 microF capacitor, RS part no. 7270473.

However, this original option is ultimately more expensive and involves soldering. Check out the product on the KAT website and view the straightforward installation video on Nigel’s YouTube channel.

http://www.deacyamp.com/index.php?route=product%2Fproduct&product_id=51

Text from the KAT website:

“This is a brand new speaker/filter combination enabling VBM-1 users and Deacy Amplifier-style project builders to get their amps closer in tone to the real Deacy Amp.

The KAT DSP 6.5 TC has been developed primarily as a replacement for the Celestion G6 unit that is sadly no longer in production. It has an on-board filter network that tailors the frequency response to give the full-bodied mid range tones of the real Deacy but without the HF ‘fizz’ that seems to dominate most 6.5″ twin-cone drivers.

A by-product of this development was the realisation that this unit could be dropped straight into the Vox VBM-1 giving immediate results. The Vox VBM-1 is a great amplifier, but, it is a little let-down by its stock speaker unit that tends to suck-out the precious mid range tones and enhance the unwanted high frequency ‘fizz’. The KAT DSP 6.5 TC is a straight swap-out with the stock VBM-1 unit with no soldering required to undertake the works. Just 11 screws and 6 minutes will have the works completed and the tone of the amplifier improved many-fold!

The KAT DSP 6.5 TC can also be used in your own Deacy amplifier-style projects to give your amplifier that great Deacy ‘honk’!”

Brian May Red Special Replica Full Design and Build

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I am pleased and relieved to report that the approximately three year labour of love to make a replica Brian May Red Special guitar is finished. I have written 60 numbered articles covering every part of the project plus four additional articles describing the design process, covering tools and tips and listing the materials, parts & suppliers. These are richly illustrated with hundreds of detailed pictures and should be of general interest to Queen and Brian May enthusiasts including anybody who is considering embarking on a similar mission. This has been like undertaking a second PhD in terms of the time and intellectual effort I expended so please check out the project pages on this website here:

https://dsgb.net/projects/redspecial/

Seiko 5 Sports Brian May Limited Edition

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The Red Special now inspires a new Seiko 5 Sports watch whose dial echoes the design of the guitar which Brian and his father built in the early 1960s. Seiko celebrates Brian’s creativity and his music with this Seiko 5 Sports watch. Brian commented: “I am delighted to see this watch come alive, and proud that the creation of me and my dad all those years ago has inspired this collaboration. I love my Seiko and it has served me well for many years. I will wear this new one with pride.”

The dial has the same red and black color scheme as the Red Special and features a delicate wood-like pattern like the body of the guitar. Special markings on the case back. The watch is offered as a limited edition with Brian’s signature on the case back and comes with “LIMITED EDITION” and the serial number 0001/9000-9000/9000.
The presentation box also contains a commemorative coin that is based on the sixpence that Brian has used throughout his career as a plectrum.

https://www.seikowatches.com/global-en/products/5sports/special/brianmay/

Available from May 2020, £500.

CNC Cutting MayStar Mother-of-Pearl Inlays

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I had been wanting to try some inlay work for a while, for a challenge and something different to do. I constructed the shape by overlaying arc and line segments over a zoomed high resolution image, adjusting all the positions until the spacings were symmetrical taking account of photographic parallax then finally traced over that with a polyline. Care needs to taken to get the feed rates and spindle rotational speed correct first time because this small (42 x 22 x 1.0 mm) sheet of mother-of-Pearl (nacre) cost £7.49 from Rothko and Frost. Next I need to compile the cutout toolpath for the perspex. This is not as straightforward as simply linearly scaling up the object in CAD and using it as a subtrahend to create a rebate. The entire object needs to be reconstructed from a closed polyline which has an outline that is uniformly larger by the cutter diameter.

CNC cutting three small Maystar pickguard inlays using a 0.8 mm (1/32”) diameter two flute cutter at 125 mm/min feed rate and 4,500 rpm.

Travel Guitars

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Pictured below are the first guitar I made: a 3/4 scale Red Special which was signed by Brian May in December 2017 and Guyton RS Transporter No. 9 of 25. One of several suitable options to obtain the Brian May tone away from home is a Vox MV50 AC compact guitar amplifier head, a traditional style treble booster and a good quality set of monitor headphones. Just because… Why not? Let’s hear it for travel guitars.

https://voxamps.com/en-gb/product/mv50-ac/
https://www.guytonrstransporter.com/

AmpliTube Brian May

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IK Multimedia of Modena in Italy has released a Brian May collection for their industry-leading AmpliTube Custom Shop guitar amplifier and effects PC, MacOS and iOS modelling software in August 2019. Costing £99.99, it is available as download direct from the IK Multimedia and Brian May Guitars websites or the Apple stores.

https://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/brianmay
https://shop.brianmayguitars.co.uk/bmg-electronics/amplitube-brian-may-download.html

This emulation software is one of the cheapest and most straightforward ways to recreate many of Brian May’s tones, especially the complex three amplifier, twin delay Brighton Rock solo. It is ideal for quiet practice when used with a suitable interface such as the iRig HD2 and monitor headphones and as a travel outfit. Renowned professional guitarist Jamie Humphries helped develop the tone patches and you can watch him demonstrate the software on this official video:

Brian May Guitars Treble Booster Classic

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Made in the U.K. and engineered by Brian May’s electronics guru, Nigel Knight, this compact, multi-mode treble booster pedal combines three uniquely-voiced circuits that faithfully replicate Brian’s most recognisable tones from the 1970s, 80s and 90s. The tones representing each decade have been meticulously modelled on the actual vintage equipment used by Brian during each period of his career – his germanium transistor Dallas Rangemaster from the 1970s, the silicon BC149 transistor powered Cornish TB-83 installed on his pedal board throughout the 80s, and an original 1998 Greg Fryer strap booster.

Nigel Knight analysed every nuance of the original circuits to realise an authentic reproduction of their tonal responses and output profiles. This 3-in-1 treble booster provides amateur enthusiasts and professional guitar players alike the opportunity to select the distinctive sound of their favourite Queen era using a switch and level control based on the lathe-turned aluminium control knobs fitted to Brian’s Red Special guitar. Whether you seek to replicate the heavier Queen tracks such as Stone Cold Crazy, the live sounds of the 1986 Magic Tour or explore your own ‘New Horizons’ with Brian’s more recent works, this will be the only treble booster you will ever need. Available now from Brian May Guitars and Knight Audio Technologies:

https://shop.brianmayguitars.co.uk/bmg-accessories/bmg-tb-classic.html
https://deacyamp.com/collections/products/products/bmg-treble-booster-classic

Signals Music Studio

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If you aren’t already aware of Jake Lizzio’s instructional material, I recommend you check out his YouTube channel, Facebook page and website, Signals Music Studio. I have read and watched a lot of information about music theory in recent years but none comes close to Jake’s ability to make this topic accessible and fun. Check it out whether you’re a beginner or an advanced guitar player.

https://www.signalsmusicstudio.com
https://www.facebook.com/signalsmusicstudio
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRDDHLvQb8HjE2r7_ZuNtWA

In the embedded video below he explains why he believes that the chord progressions in We Are The Champions (enthusiast code WATC) are perfect. I agree with him, but it’s sure nice to understand why.