In the second part of my video series examining the tremolo system in Brian May’s Red Special guitar in detail, I demonstrate the installation, set-up and basic function of the system with the help of a test rig. I also take the opportunity to compare my DIY components with a professionally made hardware set that is commercially available in the U.K., the relic hardware kit made by RS Mods. Please check out their website:
https://rsmods.uk
Part 1 covered the design and fabrication of the three main steel components and although it isn’t necessary to have watched this first, it does provide useful context if you are not familiar with the basic design of the Red Special tremolo system.
Tag: tremolo
Brian May Red Special Tremolo System – Design and Fabrication
My latest YouTube video lasting 21 minutes covers the detailed design and fabrication of the three steel components in the knife-edge bearing tremolo system of Brian May’s Red Special guitar.
The tremolo (correctly the vibrato) system on Brian May’s Red Special guitar operates on the same principle (knife-edge bearing balanced by coil springs) as Fender’s 1954 patented two post floating tremolo. The main component is a vertical rocker block in which the strings are retained in a cowl. This pivots on a knife-edge bearing ground into a section of 1/8″ thick steel plate mounted horizontally flush with the top of the guitar body. String tension is counteracted by the compression force of two coil springs from a 1928 Panther motorcycle which abut the rocker block. The moving components are held in position with two 1/4″ hex head set screws which are anchored into a section of steel bar located between the upper and lower guitar body sections. Slots are milled into the set screws heads to allow spring tension to be adjusted by inserting a flat blade screwdriver through holes in the back of the guitar body.
Brian May Red Special Tremolo Arm Tip Design and Reproduction
In 2016, Mickäel Dansan and I collaborated to design and reproduce a plastic tremolo arm tip for Brian May Red Special guitars which looks more representative of the original’s greenish-yellow colour than any commercially available items such as standard Fender tips. They are available at Dansan Guitars online store for a reasonable price:
https://dansanguitars.com/store/
In July 2024, I made a brief (6m 10s) YouTube video illustrating how I designed the tip then made it using 3D SLA printing in my ELEGOO Mars 4 DLP 3D printer. A key part of the process is colouring the Phrozen “creamy white” ABS-like 3D printing resin using an epoxy resin pigment kit.
In the video, I show you the type of vintage, light grey plastic knitting needle that Brian used to fashion his tremolo trip from and illustrate how the colour has evolved over years of wear and tear to its current greenish-yellow hue.
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