The second article on the musical equipment section of this website contains some information on the replica Foxx phaser unit made by U.K. effects pedal builder, Nick James. It includes embedded links to two review videos, one from the U.K. 2019 enthusiast meet and one from Italian Queen tribute band guitarist, Marco G. di Marco. Check it out here:
https://dsgb.net/gear/foxxphaser/
Tag: Queen
Queen + Adam Lambert Rhapsody Tour 2022?
Like many parents who were hoping to take their children, the next generation of Queen fans, to see Queen + Adam Lambert play on the postponed U.K. and European Rhapsody Tour, we are disappointed to learn of its inevitable further postponement to 2022. Unfortunately for us, our four tickets which cost £987 in total were originally for a weekend (Saturday, 6th June 2020) but have now been rescheduled to a weekday (Thursday, 9th June 2022) which make it considerably more inconvenient for us to attend. I have contacted Ticketmaster to see what can be done, but the upside is that tour T-shirts can be bought cheaply from eBay resellers and make excellent nightwear. Rock on!
Burns Tri-Sonic Pickups: General Information
I have written a short (<1,500 word) article intended as a primer on Burns Tri-Sonic pickups for general interest within a Brian May Red Special context:
https://dsgb.net/faqs/trisonics/
The article is illustrated with a number of original photographs, CAD renders and a few ‘library pictures’ like those depicted below:
Sixpence None The Richer
The 2020 Brian May Red Special collectable sixpences were available on the Queen online store at £9.99 each but have already sold out. While browsing eBay recently I found the new ones already being offered for sale at highly inflated prices. Thankfully they were still in stock on the Queen online store at that point. I hope you managed to get one if you are a genuine fan and collect them. I’ve bought a few of each at RRP from the official store since the anniversary 2014 edition was released but I had to pay eBay prices for a 2015 Queen + Adam Lambert tour sixpence. The 2015 tour was the first time that I saw Queen live but I now regret not buying a collectable sixpence from the merchandise store.
https://www.queenonlinestore.com///2020-Brian-May-Red-Special-Sixpence/6S4E0000000
Small Steps, Big Bucks
Who would want to be in Brian May’s shoes? What does it cost to walk in a rock icon’s footsteps? Important questions that we can now answer…
A mere £3,900 if the hammer price of Small Steps’ latest charity auction is anything to go by. They recently sold a pair of white and gold striped Adidas Superstars with red contrast stitching and unique gold and brown stamped tongue detail in UK size 10 kindly donated by Brian. Congratulations to the lucky winner of the eBay auction who has made a generous donation to a worthy cause.
Small Steps Project is a humanitarian charity which delivers shoes and emergency aid to children and families who live on landfill sites around the world. They raise awareness of the unacceptable hardships they face as well as funds for aid through film. Small Steps Project collects celebrity shoes which are then auctioned to provide shoes for children with none. If you wish to find out more about the Small Steps Project Charity visit their web site: https://smallsteps.org.uk/
Brian May Rig Tour
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
The Red Special Book
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.
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
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
Brian May Red Special Replica Full Design and Build
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/
Lock Your Mother Down
On May 3rd 2020, Steve McCulla suggested that the amateur musicians who frequent the web Red Special Forum (http://www.red-special.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=5414) record a version of a popular Queen song in Covid-19 lockdown.
Nigel Knight, who is a accomplished drummer, offered to lay down the percussion and mix the contributions (recorded on each performer’s smartphone) into an audio track and video.
The finished video of Tie Your Mother Down (enthusiast code TYMD) was published on Nigel’s YouTube channel and is embedded below.
Doubtless you will recognise some of the Red Special community’s players including Gerben van Dooremal, Matt Hutchison, Martin Pitcher, Mark Reynolds, Dan Thomas (bass guitar) and Luke Timmins. What a great result! Thanks to everyone for making this happen.
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