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Tag: Pete Malandrone

Brian May Guitar Effects Processor Settings

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This video introduces you to some of the main settings that Brian May uses on his TC Electronic G-Major 2 digital effects processor units when playing Queen songs live so you can reproduce them for yourself with the same or similar equipment. It includes pictures of Brian May’s KAT touring and guesting mini rig at Allerton Hill and my ex Andy Barnett KAT Brian May rig being set up and tested by Pete Malandrone at Allerton Hill in June 2013 as well as Brian’s TC Electronic G-Major 2 global settings and user presets. You can read more about all the content featured in this video and download the settings in Adobe PDF format here:

https://dsgb.net/gear/brian-may-live-rig/

Credits to Nigel Knight and Pete Malandrone for the pictures taken at Brian’s equipment store at Allerton Hill featured in this video. I have a standing agreement with Nigel to reproduce KAT media with appropriate credit. Thanks to other Red Special enthusiasts for validating and publishing G-Major 2 settings in the public domain including Luke Timmins (guitarist with U.K. based Queen tribute band Supreme Queen), Iain Angell, Pete Michalowski and Mark Reynolds.

Brian May Rig Tour

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Simon Bradley (Bradders) has written an article for Music Radar in which Brian May’s long-standing technician Pete Malandrone (Mallers) discusses his current touring rig. This consists of a strap mounted KAT treble booster and Sennheiser SK-500 transmitter, a Sennheiser EW500 G-2 receiver, a custom splitter designed by Mike Hill, Dunlop Crybaby DCR-2SR rack mount wah wah and TC Electronic G-Major 2 rackmount effects units. Check it out at the link below:

https://www.musicradar.com/news/brian-may-rig-tour-brians-not-going-to-use-a-fractal-rackmount-and-in-ears-he-wants-to-hear-three-screaming-ac30s-behind-him-thumping-him-in-the-back

Meeting Brian May

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In the project section of this website you will find build details for this 3/4 scale Brian May Red Special replica which started life as a BMG Mini May I bought in 2012. At the suggestion of some fellow enthusiasts, I requested and was granted a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet Brian and get him to autograph it before the Queen + Adam Lambert concert at the SSE Hydro arena in Glasgow on 3rd December 2017.

I had resisted arranging this for various reasons, not least of which are that the instrument was my first guitar project and I was concerned about putting Brian in the awkward position of having to be polite about an unusual replica of his famous Red Special guitar, particularly since the inference was that the BMG Mini May that inspired it was not satisfactory in some way.

Thankfully the meeting went well and I needn’t have been concerned; Brian was relaxed and in good spirits because the other guests in our small group were Scottish members of his family [his late mother, Ruth Fletcher was Scottish] including Mike Donald and his father (Brian’s cousin). We asked his permission to take the photographs I have included with this blog post and he was kind enough to show interest in, and pose with the guitar. Thanks to Sharon Ashley, Brian’s touring PA for arranging this and Jen Tunney for forwarding on my e-mail that made it happen. Credit also goes to Andy Guyton because I sent a picture of him handling the guitar at the 2017 Red Special meet-up to Jen which might have leveraged the situation in my favour!

This was indeed the gift that kept on giving: ‘sidestage’ we spotted Brian’s celebrity guitar tech, Pete Malandrone from a view normally reserved for Queen flight cases.