The pictures and selfpenned text tell the story of brians discovery of the world of stereoscopy as a boy, and chronicle queen from the early 1970s all the. Fanmerch queen brian may red special mini guitar replica collectible. Brian subsequently used it on every queen and solo album that he recorded and at the vast majority of his live performances. Brian mays home made red special guitar is one of the most distinctive looking and unique sounding guitars in rock history.
Brian dreamed of a guitar that would outperform any of the existing commercially made electric guitars. Note the disk magnets of the original handmade pickups it was the early 1960s and a young teenaged brian may wanted an. As this is a oneofakind guitar, originally built by hand by brian may of. Commercial copies of brians guitar latest rock music. Brian mays red special guitar by brian may, 9781787390782, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. The red special is the electric guitar designed and built by queens guitarist brian may and his father, harold, when brian was a teenager in the early 1960s. A very entertaining and informative book on brian mays red special guitar. Everything you ever wanted to know about that unique instrument is between these pages even xrays. 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.
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. 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. The mysteries of brian mays red special finally revealed. Brian may brian may and his father harold started to handbuild an electric guitar in 1963 a project that would take over a year to complete. Brian may was born july 19, 1947, in hampton, england. 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. The story of the homemade guitar that rocked queen and the world hardcover may 12, 2020 by brian may author, simon bradley author.
The official home of brian may guitars, a range of affordable instruments designed in collaboration with brian may and inspired by. But that brian may could make magic out of those same sounds. 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. If you know of any sources for the motorbike springs to be used to balance the tremolo please email me. In brian mays own words, and over 300 previously unseen 3. The story of the homemade guitar that rocked queen and the world. It as 24 frets with a zero fret, 24 scale neck, ebony fingerboard. Brian dreamed of a guitar that would outperform any of the. 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 story of the homemade guitar that rocked queen and the world by brian may with simon bradley is available now from carlton books. The red special guitar was built by brian may and his fathe.
Brian mays famous selfmade signature instrument doesnt need much introduction since its become a thing of lore after queens long reign. Tough to say, and entirely academic given that the guitar is very unlikely to be for sale in brians lifetime, but i very much doubt youd get much change from a million pounds sterling if and when the old lady came up for auction. The red special is the electric guitar designed and built by queen s guitarist brian may and his father, harold, when brian was a teenager in the early 1960s. 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. Jun 10, 2019 may with his iconic red special guitar, photographed at the launch party for the 2014 book, brian mays red special image credit. Brian may, legendary guitarist and song writer with rock group queen and solo. For a diehard brian may fan, this book is the holy grail of the red special. Brian mays red special is also one such classic rock instrument, one he actually built with his father as young man in 1963. Rs guitars rs guitars produce very highquality red special style guitars. This kit will work with any single coil strat pickup set, bu. May with his iconic red special guitar, photographed at the launch party for the 2014 book, brian mays red special image credit. The name red special came from the reddishbrown colour the guitar attained after. 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.
From the red special to an arsenal of effects, heres how to sound like the operatic rock legend, including the ultimate tone hack. A young brian may playing the brand new red special. Just out of curiosity, today i looked up guild bm guitar sold listings, and there were two. Brian may guitars classic logo tshirt in heather indigo choice of sizes a set of elites electric guitar strings. Brian harold may, cbe born 19 july 1947 is an english musician, songwriter and astrophysicist, best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band queen. This book on brians red special guitar is very detailed and answers many questions that might be of interest to other guitar builders and enthusiasts, shedding light on his and his dads ingenuity in coming up with such a unique and beautiful instrument. 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.
The red special is the electric guitar designed and built by queens guitarist brian may and his. Note the disk magnets of the original handmade pickups it was the early 1960s and a young teenaged brian may wanted an electric guitar. The name red special came from the reddishbrown colour the guitar attained after being stained and painted with numerous layers of. In the captivating new carlton photobook brian mays red special, the queen guitarist finally divulges the secrets behind his prized axe, taking fans back in time to vicariously oversee the twoyear fatherson bonding experience that would ultimately produce one of rock n rolls most recognized weapons. Brian may guitars brian may signature electric guitar. Oct 01, 2014 a very entertaining and informative book on brian may s red special guitar. I am astonished there was so many original diagrams, sketches and photos. This is a genuine brian may endorsed instrument, built to a budget so at last a redspecial guitar is within everybodys reach. Queen band brian may signature burns red special guitar 9 x 7. I have been working on the guitar for the best part of five years on and off, with many roadblocks, and issues arising along the way. I told my son, that i really wasnt able to get but one sound that i liked from the guitar, and that many of the sounds were out of phase, or thin and reedy. 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. These products are not official copies and are not endorsed by brian, but if youre in the market for a red specialstyle guitar, they are certainly worth a look.
In 1971, he hit the road with his band, queen, playing lead guitar on his homemade axe, the red special. The story of the homemade guitar that rocked queen and the world by brian may and simon bradley may 5, 2020 hardcover. Centered around interviews with may about the building of the guitar and. Bhm style wiring kits still one of the slickest and most versatile guitar rigs around this is the same basic switching system queens brian may used on his handmade red special guitar. 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.
In brian mays own words, and over 300 previously unseen 3d photographs, this book is a series of glimpses of life with the rock band queen, seen from the inside for the first time. The brian may special is a stunning guitar, blessed with superb build quality, awesome playability and an astonishingly rich diversity of killer tones. In this book you will discover everything you ever wished to know about brians unique instrument. In brian mays own words, and over 300 previously unseen 3d. The red special is also sometimes referred to, by may and by others, as the fireplace or the old lady. Simon bradley brian may and his father harold started to handbuild an electric guitar in 1963. Find the best selection of brian may guitars at guitar center at the guaranteed lowest prices and free shipping. Brian may signature bmwred electric guitar for sale. Brians soapbox page is brians personal column, sharing his thoughts on music. It was named the spade, as the shape of the body resembled the form shown on playing cards. 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. 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.
Brian mays red special the story of the homemade guitar. Apart from lacking the unique redspecial tremolo, this guitar looks close, sounds close, and is cheap enough to allow everybody to experience what makes the redspecial such a unique guitar. Apart from the guild and burns guitars which are endorsed by brian may, there are also a number of commercially available copies of the red special. Brian may and his father harold started to handbuild an electric guitar in 1963. 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. Oct 01, 2014 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.
Oct 01, 2014 the red special guitar was built by brian may and his father in 1963. 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 was built by may and his father from a slab of wood from an old fireplace mantle and featured hardware fashioned from cutlery. If you have an appreciation for all the tricks and incredible sounds that queens brian may is able to produce on his original red special, then this brian may signature electric guitar is. Sometimes, the red special is referred to, by may and by others, as the fireplace or the old lady. 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. The story of the homemade guitar that rocked queen and the world hardback brian may. 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. The story of the homemade guitar that rocked queen and the world by brian may with simon bradley from carlton books coauthor simon bradley helps us lift the lid on the most iconic homemade guitar in. What an amazing book about brian mays faithful lady companion the red special guitar that has been his faitful sidekick for almost 50 years. Brian played his guitar on every queen album and in all of queens live shows around the world. In this book you will discover everything you ever wished to know about brian s unique instrument. The brian may range is the closest you can come to the original homemade red special and now includes variants, acoustics and even basses.
The name red special came from the reddishbrown colour the guitar attained after being stained and painted with numerous layers of rustins plastic coating. The red special the story of the home made guitar that. Building a red special replica guitar mikes models. These plans were eventually given to guitar luthier andrew guyton in around 200405, some slight modifications were made and the guitar was built. In celebration of the instruments 50th anniversary, a book about its construction and history, brian mays red special. Queens brian may on freddie mercurys guitar skills. However, the red special was so successful that may had no need to build another guitar. Brian dreamed of a guitar that would outperform any of the existing commercially made electric guitars and his father had the technical skills to. Brian may simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. This is a 2009 made in korea brian may guitar special. The guitar they built is called the red special apart from music, may earned his phd in astrophysics in 2007 and is currently the chancellor of liverpool john moores university.
Brian may red special book photos of the tremolo in the making as per the original brian may red special. The red special guitar was built by brian may and his father in 1963. Issue 386 of guitarist magazine saw us get up close and personal with brian may of queens iconic red special guitar like never before, to coincide with the release of brian mays red special. He uses a guitar he built himself with the help of his father. Its also at the heart of a hal leonard book called brian mays red special.
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 red specialist greg fryer, japanese. Jun, 2017 a young brian may playing the brand new red special. The story of the homemade guitar that rocked queen and the world by brian may and simon bradley may 5, 2020 paperback. The brian may special is a lovingly made replica of the iconic original that helped brian may achieve some of the most unique and timeless guitar tones in rock history. The name fireplace is a reference to the fact that the wood used to make the neck cam. He did this around 1998, and it does make a nice addition to the guitars overall vibe. Constructed totally by brian and his father harold, the red special has graced pretty much every recording made by brian that features electric guitar. The brian may guitar is faithful to the spirit of brians original red special, an instrument that has achieved iconic status and a unique place in rock history, and designed by brian may himself. Brian mays red special the story of the homemade guitar that. Commercial copies of brians guitar latest rock music news. Even by most multitaskers standards, brian may puts everybody to shame. Lots and lots of diagrams and illustrations, fascinating background into each decision in how the guitar was designed and made.
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