The official home of brian may guitars an exciting range of fretted instruments and accessories designed in collaboration with british guitar legend brian may. In this book you will discover everything you ever wished to know about brians unique instrument. Centered around interviews with may about the building of the guitar and. I am astonished there was so many original diagrams, sketches and photos. Brian mays home made red special guitar is one of the most distinctive. 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. Brian may live at the century club, london, uk launching to mark publication of red special book. 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. Oct 01, 2014 the last chapter delivers several photographic examples of various commercial, prototype and custom red special or red special like guitars from brian may s personal collection, including some previously never before revealed prototypes. It features seymour duncan pickups, which are very good copies of the burns trisonics on the red special. The story of the homemade guitar that rocked queen and the world book online at best prices in india on. For the australian film composer, see brian may australian composer. In the early 1990s guild collaborated with dr brian may to replicate the original red special as designed and made by the may family.
Jan 17, 2015 love this book, very interesting and also if you flick to page 58, it has some red special switch combinations that brian may uses in different songs. I designed an instrument from scratch, with the intention that it would have a capability beyond anything that was out there, more tunable, with a greater range of pitches and sounds, with a better tremolo, and with a capability of feeding back through the. Brian harold may, cbe born 19 july 1947 is an english musician, singer, songwriter and astrophysicist. Guild brian may guitars owners list this list was started several years ago by gonzalo plaza and he did much of the work in setting it up. 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. Brian may, pete malandrone and house music md barry moorhouse, has has been informed by invaluable input from an allstar, globespanning team of red specialists.
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. I told him that id looked into buying one in the 80s, but no stores had them in stock. In 20 brian may joined animal activists in somerset on night of tuesday 01 oct to patrol a badger cull zone in an attempt to save the local wild creatures. Brian mays red special the book launch 2014 hd full great sound. In 1984 guild released the first official red special replica for mass. Brian may signature green inspired by brian may s legendary red special, an instrument that has achieved iconic status a unique place in rock history, and designed in conjunction with brian may himself. Guild brian may signature model bm01 1994 red guitar for sale. This guitar is 100% original and just came out of a huge collection, its in nos condition, still has the original strings mounted and comes with the original guild hardshell case and all case candy. This article is about the british astrophysicist and guitaristmusician member of queen. Brian may red special signature guitar in antique cherry is inspired by brian may s 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. Today i do a quick demo of my brian may guitar running through my vox ac30 vr. Birch, greg fryer, andrew guyton, burns, guild and, now, brian may guitars.
Genuine super rare 3d slipcased book from the founder of queen, brian may. Dr brian may, cbe, phd fras, is a founding member of queen, a worldrenowned guitarist, songwriter, producer and performer, also a doctor of astrophysics, 3d stereoscopic photographic authority and a passionate advocate and campaigner for animal rights. In this book you will discover everything you ever wished to know about brian s unique instrument. Brian may guitars brian may signature electric guitar antique. The story of the homemade guitar that rocked queen and the world is very highly recommended for both academic and community library american music. The story of the homemade guitar that rocked queen and the world. Constructed totally by brian and his father harold, the red special has graced pretty much every recording made by brian that features electric guitar. Brian modified the original burns pickups on the red special by rewinding them with reverse windings and also by potting them with epoxy resin to prevent them becoming microphonic.
In 2014 brian may interviewed by mark radcliffe and stuart maconie on bbc radio 6 6music talking about newly published book brian may s red special andforthcoming book, the poor mans picture gallery, nd queen album queen forever, brian s book talks and exhibition. Greg is currently developing a whole range of brian may products including pedals, pickups and various versions of the guitar. The red special the story of the home made guitar that. New to collection, genuine brian may guitars, brian may signed. We accept manuscripts direct from authors or via agents in all genres. This solid body doublecutaway design features three custom seymour duncan pickups, custom vibrola, dot markers, script signature on the rear of the headstock, and mays signature initials on the trussrod cover. 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. Information on the book guild and how we work is given opposite. The brian may guitar sound remains one of the most easily identifiable in the history of rock. We have found that there are four companies currently offering red special replicas. Guild bm01 brian may signature pro 1994 red price guide reverb.
The story of the homemade guitar that rocked queen and the world is very highly recommended for both academic and community library american music history collections. This guitar looks nothing like an ordinary axe and has all advantages of a top quality instrument. Its a very rare piece of gear and it really sounds fantastic. Although almost universally known as the red special, brian calls it the old girl. The red special is the electric guitar designed and built by queens guitarist brian may and his. A meticulously constructed, devastatingly accurate, handcrafted replica one of rock n rolls most storied instruments, the development of the bmg super, a collaboration between dr. Brian dreamed of a guitar that would outperform any of the. Profusely illustrated throughout, brian may s red special.
I tried the best i could to achieve a brian may ish sound using channel two of the vox without a treble booster. Brian may red special signature guitar in green brian may. Currently, only brian may guitars taking over manufacture from burns. 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. This is finished off with a book matched mahogany top, with a sixply pinstripe front. The book features 144 pages, and explains how brian and his father harold. Comparison between the guild 1993 and the burns 2001 red special replica by peter michalowski. In 2012 brian may appeared on the alan titchmarsh show, itv, uk. Brian played his guitar on every queen album and in all of queens live shows around the world. Details on how to submit to us are given below we prefer electronic submission, but accept submissions by post. Brian mays home made red special guitar is one of the most distinctive looking and unique sounding guitars in rock history. This is a collection of photos from my recent 2019 build of brian mays red special guitar. Guild musicianship book scales, chords and cadences.
Oct 21, 20 queens brian may releases devilish stereoscopy book. Commercial copies of brians guitar latest rock music news. Guild brian may signature model bm01 1994 red guitar for. It is based on a series of interviews with brian, assembled by simon bradley, rather than being specifically written together. I was talking to my son last night about queen, and the subject of the guild brian may guitar came up. Brian dreamed of a guitar that would outperform any of the existing commercially made electric guitars. In 1993, guild reintroduced the brian may signature series, a limited run of guitars, with three new models. Lots and lots of diagrams and illustrations, fascinating background into each decision in how the guitar was designed and made. I got two awesome guild guitars last week 1965 guild starfire v emerald green 1994 guild brian may signature gloss black. 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.
Guild bm01 brian may signature pro red 1993 reverb. And last but not least you can always tell the legendary story of brian may s red special. The red special guitar was built by brian may and his father in 1963. The story of the homemade guitar that rocked queen and the world will be a must read for may s legions of fans. Brian dreamed of a guitar that would outperform any of the existing commercially made electric guitars, and his father had the technical knowledge and skills to help make the dream come true. Love this book, very interesting and also if you flick to page 58, it has some red special switch combinations that brian may uses in different songs. The brian may special is a stunning guitar, blessed with superb build quality, awesome playability and an astonishingly rich diversity of killer tones. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. Oct 01, 2014 a very entertaining and informative book on brian may s red special guitar. Brian mays red special is also one such classic rock instrument, one he actually built with his father as young man in 1963. The name red special came from the reddishbrown colour the guitar attained after being stained and painted with numerous layers of. Brian subsequently used it on every queen and solo album that he recorded and at the vast majority of his live performances. 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.
Oct 01, 2014 the red special guitar was built by brian may and his father in 1963. Hello brian, i am a huge fan of yours and own three copies of your fantastic red special. In 1963, brian may and his father harold started to handbuild an electric guitar. Brian may brian mays red special book ultimate queen. Today, there are many copies of brian mays iconic red special guitar. Jul 14, 20 1993 guild brian may signature guitar red special guitar. Following a departure from guild, brian next collaborated with burns. If i had to find a nickname for this pedal it would probably be something like boost beast.
From the first to the last queen album and now taking centre stage in his solo work, brians distinctively smooth, highly melodic, distorted tone has been achieved on just one guitar his homemade red special. Buy brian mays red special by brian may online from the works. Curly maple top bookmatched binding white in abs neck wood honduras mahogany bolton. In the interest of bolstering the first amendments protection of freedom of expression, the authors guild opposes censorship and lends its support to legislation protecting free speech, most recently by urging congress to pass a federal reporters shield law. Queens brian may releases devilish stereoscopy book cbs news. Written by brian may and simon bradley, brian mays red special tells the story of this incredible guitar that has been used on every queen album and played at every live show around the world. Personally i felt they could have included more photos than whats there right now. Commercial copies of brians guitar latest rock music. This is an original guild brian may signature treble booster. Brian may red special guitar replica build youtube. In 2014 brian may interviewed by mark radcliffe and stuart maconie on bbc radio 6 6music talking about newly published book brian mays red special andforthcoming book, the poor mans picture gallery, nd queen album queen forever, brians book talks and exhibition. To be quite frank, i think it is a much better deal than, for example, buying a stratocaster. The seymour duncan pickups used in the 1993 guild brian may guitars were an goodcopy of the original burns trisonics. Brian mays red special was published on 1 october 2014, and was written by.
The guild bm01 brian may signature model from 1993 1994 was a close copy of the red special that may used with queen. Its also at the heart of a hal leonard book called brian mays red special. The book guild is an independent publisher with an eclectic list in both fiction and nonfiction. Brian may and his father harold started to handbuild an electric guitar in 1963. Guild musicianship book scales, chords and cadences lindfors, eula ashworth on.
See more ideas about brian may red special, brian may and queen brian may. Brian mays red special by brian may cheap music books at. Certainly the greg fryer model and the more recent highly accurate andy guyton copies are indeed very expensive, the guyton guitars are several thousand pounds, as they are exact replicas hand made, however, if you are keen on a copy the burns, now brian may copy is about. Find great deals on ebay for brian may red special and brian may red special guitar. This solid body doublecutaway design features three custom seymour duncan pickups, custom vibrola, dot markers, script signature on the rear of the headstock, and may s signatu. Visit now to browse our huge range of products at great prices. This 1994 guild brian may signature red with 3 seymour duncan pickups is in excellent condition with only a few minor surface scratches which weve attempted to capture in the detailed photos below. Guild brian may red special mid 80s rare queen celebrity owned autographed nice.
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. Steam workshop brian mays red special model by arskvsh. To whet the appetite, here are 10 factoids about the worlds most famous electric guitar. Brian may guitars brian may signature electric guitar. As the sole manufacturers of one of the most iconic electric guitars of all time, it would be easy for bmg to create a lackluster replica and slap a huge price tag on it, safe in the knowledge that queen fans will continue to buy it. This one was autographed during one of the later queen tours with adam lambert. His site has shut down so the list is now based here on brian may central.
Sometimes, the red special is referred to, by may and by others, as the fireplace or the old lady. Cranking the guitar volume up aids a thick overdriven tone and i cant help but launching. Oct 10, 2014 on wednesday 1st october, we published a book to celebrate the 50th birthday of this iconic guitar. This is he top model of the series, the bm01 and is a very close copy of brian s red special. No need to add more info on here as there has been tonnes of info published about the red special. Rs guitars rs guitars produce very highquality red special style guitars. Queen guitarist brian may talks about building the red special guitar. 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. Ive noticed that on those the reverse wound pickup is in the middle position, however ive heard that your red special, and the copies fryer made for you have the reverse wound in the bridge. In celebration of the instruments 50th anniversary, a book about its construction and history, brian mays red special. The story of the homemade guitar that rocked queen and the womy dad and i decided to make an electric guitar.