Brian talks about every aspect of the red special, from its birth to playing on the roof of buckingham palace, from live aid to the closing ceremony of the london 2012 olympics and beyond. In celebration of the instruments 50th anniversary, a book about its construction and history, brian mays red special. In 1963, brian may and his father harold started to build the red specialan electric guitar meant to outperform anything commercially made. See more ideas about brian may red special, brian may and guitar. Not only is it unique, an icon of 20th century music, the artist and his father created it out of wood from their fireplace, and you dont have to guess if it. Get the best price and selection of red brian may guitars guitars at musicians friend. Jun, 2017 a young brian may playing the brand new red special. They are designed around the original specifications of the legendary queen guitarists iconic red special read more. These include a chambered body delivering a thick rich tone, 3 bm brand trisonic pickups with individual onoff switches wired in series for a powerful output, and a vintage style zero fret in front of the nut to keep the.
Brian may and his father harold started to handbuild an electric guitar in 1963. You can find out more about the history online, and brian mays company is at brian may guitars the official web site for brian may guitars you can buy the guitars there. They make a replica of the red special in a number of different colours, as well as three other models an acoustic, a mini version of the red special, and a bass guitar. The brian may special model guitars feature a plethora of unique features taken straight from his signature guitar. Guild brian may red special, bhm02 red, 1994 guild brian may signature pro 1993, green guild brian may signature pro black, 1993. Austinbased singersongwriter collaborates with the queen sixstringer on a radical new design. After may is gone, this guitar will fetch over a million maybe more if two people want it bad enough. It is a unique guitar with unique sound, and brian s millions of fans will be overjoyed to see it inside and out in this great book. Unfollow brian may red special to stop getting updates on your ebay feed. The red special guitar was built by brian may and his fathe.
What an amazing book about brian may s faithful lady companion the red special guitar that has been his faitful sidekick for almost 50 years. The guyton red special replica this guitar is limited to 40 red guitars, and 10 green guitars. It looks like the red special and has the trisonic pickups and brian may wiring, but its specs are different than the bmg red specials. Guitars brian mays entire career has been almost exclusively spent with the guitar that he and his father built in 1964. I decided in around march this year 2008 to build my own version of the now legendary red special guitar owned and played by brian may. Brian may guitars have been developed in a partnership between the man himself and barry moorhouse of house music to produce true to the original versions of mays famed, handbuilt, red special guitar. A devastatingly authentic, handcrafted replica of the red special, the limited edition bmg super is the result of a allstar international collaboration between brian may and his long serving guitar tech pete malandrone, house musics barry moorhouse, british electronics wizard adrian turner, australian redspecialist greg fryer, japanese. Inspired by brian mays legendary red special, an instrument that has achieved iconic status and its own unique place in rock history, the bmg special is a stunning guitar, blessed with superb build quality, awesome playability and an astonishingly rich diversity of killer tones. It is a unique guitar with unique sound, and brians millions of fans will be overjoyed to see it inside and out in this great book. Inspired by brian may s legendary red special, an instrument that has achieved iconic status and its own unique place in rock history, the bmg special is a stunning guitar, blessed with superb build quality, awesome playability and an astonishingly rich diversity of killer tones. Gibson sg3 custom red, 2000s gibson sg3 special custom satin wood, 2007 gibson sg61 reissue cream white, 2002 gretsch guitars.
This is a 2009 made in korea brian may guitar special. Brian may red special signature guitar in natural brian. No need to add more info on here as there has been tonnes of info published about the red special. They are designed around the original specifications of the legendary queen guitarists iconic red special. A young brian may playing the brand new red special. For many years guitarists have been asking for a totally authentic replica of brian mays legendary red special guitar. Note the disk magnets of the original handmade pickups it was the early 1960s and a young teenaged brian may wanted an. Constructed totally by brian and his father harold, the red special has graced pretty much every recording made by brian that features electric guitar.
With the red special now back in top form and with a trio of faithful replicas waiting in the wings, brian may. The book brian mays red special tells the whole story of the guitars life in brians own words, ably assisted by this writer, and is illustrated with some incredible photographs, including many from the guitars build. The super is built in japan by luthier kazutaka ijuin, who is. Sometimes, the red special is referred to, by may and by others, as the fireplace or the old lady. Brian subsequently used it on every queen and solo album that he recorded and at the vast majority of his live performances. The brian may range is the closest you can come to the original homemade red special and now includes variants, acoustics and even basses. Always the innovator, brian has contributed greatly to the success of the band and has influenced countless. Oct 25, 2014 what an amazing book about brian mays faithful lady companion the red special guitar that has been his faitful sidekick for almost 50 years.
Again guild tried to produce a red special, this time with further more detailed input from brian, and in 1993 the bm01 brian may signaturepro was released. I designed an instrument from scratch, with the intention. Jul 23, 2014 we caught up with may and his longtime guitar tech pete malandrone on queens summer tour with adam lambert to talk about his minimal effects, vox amps, and of course, the red special. I was a dillion dealer in my store for about 15 months from 20032004. Lets explore this instrument to learn how it works and discover how you can mod a production or custom replica to make it even more versatile.
Brian mays red special guitar by brian may, 9781787390782, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Dec 04, 20 they make a replica of the red special in a number of different colours, as well as three other models an acoustic, a mini version of the red special, and a bass guitar. Brian may starlicks master session instructional video brian may, founder of queen, and one of rocks finest guitarists, has set standards of excellence throught his carrer. Its got a solid mahogany body, rosewood fretboard, longer scale length than the bmg, and its strung with 10s instead of 9s.
Apparently, i was second on the list for a brian may guitar and i am sure dave at house music was. Buy brian may red special signature guitar in natural with padded gig bag at promenade music. Brian may red special guitar library public group facebook. Brian may guitars manufacture a range of quality electric guitars. This one was autographed during one of the later queen tours with adam lambert suffice to say that this is. Making the decision was easy, getting it done is proving a little more difficult. The dillion is constructed more like a standard guitar. This video shows just a few shots of the guitar before we started work on it. It as 24 frets with a zero fret, 24 scale neck, ebony fingerboard. If you are planning to build your own version on his famous red special guitar this book is a must buy, and by itself a really fascinating story of how may and his father planned and experimented with various designs while building this guitar together his father was iirc an electrical engineer who worked on the radar. Nov 05, 2014 on wednesday 1st october, carlton books celebrated the launch of brian mays new book, published to celebrate the 50th birthday of one of the worlds most iconic guitars, brian mays red special. His mother was scottish, while his father was english. This was a much closer copy than the previous instrument, and around 2000 instruments including cheaper modified variants on the red special theme were released.
Many red brian may guitars guitars are eligible for free shipping. A great book to read if you are into brian may and want to know the history of how he and his father built the red special. Weve been privy to the developments of the bm super for a while now and were very happy to finally see the finished article on the market. A very early attempt at this was by luthier john birch, who famously built brian a blondegold replica of the red special as a backup. I had 3 brian may dillion models, all in the red special color. Note the disk magnets of the original handmade pickups it was the early 1960s and a young teenaged brian may wanted an electric guitar. Oldest first newest first price low to high price high to low featured product a z product z a. During this time, he formed his first band, named 1984 after george orwell. Brian mays home made red special guitar is one of the most distinctive looking and unique sounding guitars in rock history. Brian may red special japanese tour mini album 1998. Again guild tried to produce a redspecial, this time with further more detailed input from brian, and in 1993 the bm01 brian may signaturepro was released. A hendrix freak could always save and buy a perfectly good strat but unofficial copies of the closelyguarded red special were often very wide of the mark. Brian mays john birch guitar the guitar that starred in the queen videos for we will rock you and spread your wings, and also, the only guitar that brian may destroyed. Brian may guitars have been developed in a partnership between the man himself and barry moorhouse of house music to produce true to the original versions of may s famed, handbuilt, red special guitar.
In the captivating new carlton photobook brian mays red special, the. Brian mays red special the story of the homemade guitar that. Brian harold may was born 19 july 1947 in hampton, middlesex, the only child of ruth irving fletcher and harold may, who worked as a draughtsman at the ministry of aviation. Brian may red special guitar library has 1,644 members. A group for people interest in building the red special, to. Choosing a brian may special or, even better, a super, will set you apart from the crowd in a way that may, or may not, appeal but that aside, you will get a fabulous guitar in either case and one that will go places other guitars simply cannot venture into. Brian may is one of the most immediately identifiable guitarists of all time, and part of his sonic mojo comes from his unique 6stringthe red special. Join this group to see the discussion, post and comment. The red special guitar was built by brian may and his father in 1963. Apparently, i was second on the list for a brian may guitar and i am sure dave at house music was sick of me phoning to see how things were progressing. New to collection, genuine brian may guitars, brian may signed.
The story of the homemade guitar that rocked queen and the world book online at best prices in india on. The name red special came from the reddishbrown colour the guitar attained after being stained and painted with numerous layers of. Leave a comment here a rare green brian may signature guitar inspired by brian mays legendary red special,an insteerument that has achieved iconic status a unique place in rock history, and designed in conjunction with brian may himself. In this book you will discover everything you ever wished to know about brians unique instrument. To whet the appetite, here are 10 factoids about the worlds most famous electric guitar. The red special is also sometimes referred to, by may and by others, as the fireplace or the old lady.
Brian may guitars branches out from the red special with the arielle signature model. Oct 01, 2014 the red special guitar was built by brian may and his father in 1963. Brian may s john birch guitar the guitar that starred in the queen videos for we will rock you and spread your wings, and also, the only guitar that brian may destroyed. Picked up my burns red special on december 6th from deano and the guys at house music. In this book you will discover everything you ever wished to know about brian s unique instrument. One came with bent frets, so i returned it for another. Oct 01, 2014 what an amazing book about brian mays faithful lady companion the red special guitar that has been his faitful sidekick for almost 50 years. This may, i was asked by pete malandrone and brian may to restore the cracked and worn finish on the original red special. The book goes into great detail of how brian and his father made the red special in their garage over almost 2 years when brian was a teenager 1618. Oct 01, 2014 a great book to read if you are into brian may and want to know the history of how he and his father built the red special.
I had waited 9 months for the thing and was itching to see it and hear it. Aug 11, 2016 this may, i was asked by pete malandrone and brian may to restore the cracked and worn finish on the original red special. You can find out more about the history online, and brian may s company is at brian may guitars the official web site for brian may guitars you can buy the guitars there. Brian may guitars, rs, autographed 2000s, red elite. I was thinking about getting this book it cost about. We caught up with may and his longtime guitar tech pete malandrone on queens summer tour with adam lambert to talk about his minimal effects, vox amps, and of course, the red special. May attended the local hampton grammar school, then a voluntary aided school. Greg is currently developing a whole range of brian may products including pedals, pickups and various versions of the guitar. Brian may red special signature guitar in antique cherry is inspired by brian mays legendary red special, this instrument that has achieved iconic status and a unique place in rock history, and designed in conjunction with queens brian may himself.
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