Brian May's Red Special: A Short History 

I gotta hand it to Brian's father for taking interest in his son's musical dream at a young age. My hats off to you, sir.

"There are many famous Les Pauls, many famous Stratocasters and Telecasters, but there is only one Red Special" I never get bored with learning more about that guitar and I am so happy that people continue to honor Brian in this way. Amazing guy, amazing guitar! Long Live Queen!

Fantastic Hypes!! One of your best 🔥🔥🔥🔥

I'm my humble opinion, Brian May's sound is the most recognizable tone of any guitarist I've ever heard.

Imagine having the success Brian has had and still playing the guitar him and his dad built when he was just a kid. Amazing. Besides the iconic tone, I imagine Brian enjoys the fact that his father will always live on through his music he created on the guitar in which both he and his father created. So freaking cool. Brian is just an awesome dude 🤘🏻

Now you finally get around to this iconic guitar? Les Paul, Leo Fender, Eddie Van Halen, Brian May all built their own guitars for the betterment of humanity.

I had no idea just how "from the ground up" his guitar was built by him and his father. Amazing; he created a unique guitar and then used it to make music with unique sounds over songs that would hold up for generations. 'Wow' on so many levels.

Mind blowing that Brian and his dad problem solved their way to such an iconic guitar, which led to Brian‘s iconic sound. This video was a wonderful weekend treat thank you Keith!

Every time I listen to Queen I remember that Sir Brian and his father built that guitar and it's incredibly heart-warming. An iconic tone with such an amazing and unique story behind it. One can only hope to have that sort of impact on their son's life.

The 6d (sixpence) wasn't minted after 1970, but remained in circulation and legal tender until 1980. One of the reasons was that many cities had parking meters that took shillings and sixpences before decimalisation, and it would have been expensive to replace all the mechanisms. .... Anyway that left the UK with the peculiar situation of having a 2½p coin in circulation throughout the 1970's.

I don't know... built his own unique and awesome guitar with father back in the 1960s, formed a band that would successfully encompass just about every music style you can possibly think of... finally got to finish his PhD on astrophysics... had the most successful biopic ever made about his band... is now SIR Brian May... bit of an overachiever? But he's such a modest and softly spoken gentleman that you can't help but love this man.

Perhaps you could do one on Rory Gallagher's well worn stratocaster ? Plenty of stories !

As a guitarist, I love May's playing. He's got a truly unique style that just brings a smile to my face. Plus, he's the only guy who can record a three part harmony in one take. Add in that his scientific, engineering and charity work, you hear him speak in interviews, you see his collaborations with other musicians, and you just know he's truly one of Rock and Rolls Good Guys. All Praise Dr May

Brian May , in addition to being one of the most recognized guitar tones in Rock music, is a freaking genius! He and his Dad were engineering around problems big manufacturers hadn’t even touched on. How can you play the hell out of 1 guitar for nearly 60 years and not need to refret it. Amazing! Hand chiseled, hand filed, hand made! The neck to body attachment is simplistic perfection. Just looking at, it resembles nothing else on the market. Compared to the Red Special, any old partscaster is just a canoe paddle. Fantastic history lesson Keith! But where do you go from here? Maybe Tom Scholz’s Les Paul, or Dick Dale’s Strat?

Well, that was f’n awesome! As a luthier of nearly 15 years now, I was fascinated by this view of the Red Special. Such an iconic guitar! The father/son engineering team deserves accolades! They were so far ahead of their times. I primarily build flat top acoustic guitars and bent top mandolins, but have built many Tele style electrics and even a few P basses. Loved this, 5 Watt World vid! Peace

My guitar teacher from when I was 12-13 had a Guild Brian May guitar, that thing was an incredible piece :)

I did a video on his gear/tone and without the guitar it is impossible to get the vibe of Queen. The combo of his tone, clean picking and bends are gold. Great video.

Brian and his father were visionaries on what features and specs are necessary to make a truly great guitar. Their brilliant ingenuity and perseverance created an iconic guitar guitar and a vehicle capable of delivering Brian's masterful playing and inspired musicality. What a fantastic achievement! Keith, this is one of my favorite episodes of your wonderful series highlighting amazing guitars. A thousand thanks. 👏👍😎

Although it’s not covered here in this video, before using Vox AC30s he was using an amp that had been hand-made by Queen’s bass player John Deacon. Affectionately called the Deacy Box, even some engineers with doctorates in electrical engineering have no idea how it works, only that it does!

It took 50 years for me to learn the 5% of this I already knew. It took KW less than half an hour to supply me with the other 95%.. Brilliant episode. Thanks and blessings.

You gotta do Travis Bean guitars/ Aluminium necked instruments a whole. They have such an interesting history and have been used by so many big names.

Brian based his sound on Rory Gallagher. AC 30 and treble boost.

The live tones he was able to produce on their Live From Montreal, Live from The Bowl, Live Aid and Live at Wembley performances are some of my favorite guitar tones of all time.

The really amazing part of this guitar is how much Brian and his father understood so early in the history of the electric guitar. So many insights and innovations for its day!!

Great job - and you even got our place names right! Btw, a grammar school was a state funded 11-18 school which was selective on the basis of ability. So it was a chance for bright kids from poorer backgrounds to get somewhere. The only thing you might've missed - apologies if you did mention it - was that the tremolo arm came from the panier on a bicycle, with a plastic bobbin from his Mum's knitting needle. I'm pretty sure that's correct. Thanks for paying tribute to one of our best exports!

I’ve been a Brian May (& Queen) fan for about 45 years. Yet today I have learnt more things about both Brian and his guitar that I did not know. Another outstanding video! Thanks Keith and all the team at Five Watt World. 🙏

I know Frankie Enfield, Brian May’s tour manager from the ‘Back to the Light’ tour. Frankie once told me that when touring Brian would entrust Frankie to take the Red Special and look after it between gigs. Frankie decided the safest place to put the guitar was under his bed at home, and he says that his wife would never sleep well knowing this unique and priceless instrument was down there.. Haha. Frankie gifted me his ‘Back to the light’ custom made tour shirt, which to this Day is a special item hanging in my wardrobe !

I had no idea that May actually built that guitar himself! So fascinating!

I have a left hand one, it's a cool Guitar. The Tri Sonic's sound excellent. I've never heard a Burns sound like the RS. It has inspired circuitry. I bought it to play through my AC 30. I just had to have one, they don't come anymore iconic than Brian's Red Special. Great choice to do a Short History on Keith. Superbly presented as always, thank you.

I'v always been aware that Brian, with his Father's help, designed and built the Red Special, but I didn't realise they actually scratch built so many of the intricate key components. Fascinating video. I heard somewhere that the tremolo arm, or whamy bar on the earlier iterations of the Red Special was actually fashioned from a knitting needle, and the volume and tone knobs were hob controls taken from a gas cooker. I couldn't swear to it, but I'm sure I saw Brain say this in an interview/guitar run-down somewhere from way back.

What i love about this is the thing has all the hallmarks of a home project, Throwing in as many features as possible, fixating on fine details to an almost ludicrous degree (hand cutting string rollers for example), but also exhibits the classic "lets just blow through the boring parts" quirks like anchoring the truss rod with a wood screw and simply cutting groves for the strings to pass through after the nut. the phase switching reminds me of the stuff i put on my first build, albiet seemingly much more functional, overall its just such a human thing, teenager wants guitar, father and son collaborate to build it, then son uses it for decades to make defineing music of the rock genre such a cool story

Thoroughly researched and thoughtfully presented Keith. You've done a much better job than so many of the articles and interviews over the years. And I don't mind the fact that you've used a lot of my photos. Keep up the good work!

First of all, thanks for what is probably my favourite of your short histories. This is a superb account of an iconic instrument. Brian May did actually play a different electric guitar live on stage. If you see Queen play Crazy Little Thing Called Love at the Live Aid concert in 1985, he started with his acoustic 12-string, then switched to a black Telecaster and finished on the Red Special. He played the first solo on the Telecaster. I remember watching on TV at the time and thinking he must have broken a string but the videos on RU-vid show he hadn't. It looks like it was planned that way all along.

FREAKING AMAZING AND BRILLIANT!!!! Thank you for another incredible installment of FiveWattWorld. Fantastic playing by Angus Clark.

Talking of Brian's backups, like someone had mentioned, he also used the 1984 Guild BHM. Both his prototypes were used as spares in the 80s and 90s. Brian also had a prototype of the 1993 BM01 which he used for drop D in the Back To The Light tour. It had a natural finish, and used the same DiMarzio BHM pickups from the 1984 BHM1.

Hey Keith!🤘..I saw this notification this morning and thought about it all day at work..lol..too busy today to get to it so it was nice to look forward to.. catching up now..thanks this is one many have awaited forever 🤘😁🎸

Great work, Keith. I have read about this guitar over the years, but there is nothing quite like the 5 watt treatment! Great job by Angus, too, capturing those awesome tones!

My first memory of wanting to play guitar was when Brian appeared on a kid's show in Britain called Magpie (C.1975). He demonstrated his gear and his use of the sixpence, and I thought that was the coolest thing ever. 50 years later I'm still playing guitar (albeit badly) but enjoying the hell out of it!!

Wait, we still don't have a short history of the Hiwatt amplifiers? Definitely a project to consider!

People must watch the Rick Beato interview and you can see how humble Brian is sharing his knowledge and remembering how Queens songs were put together. He then praised Rick for how well he played saying he couldn't do what Rick did no brevardo or braging about himself.

I literally just saw one of the Import Brian May Signature guitars at my local guitar center, it looked the part, had all of the bells and whistles (minus the homemade trem, a Wilkinson was on it but it was solid) and played nicely, didn't have a chance to plug it in though :C It happened to be hanging next to a Schecter Tele made for someone with the initials MGK, probably not a very important person methinks... it twas a gaudy looking black and pink thing that was completely outclassed by a import replica of one of the most important guitars of all time. And for the 849 bucks the barn was offering, I would have happily taken it home as a impulse buy if I had the cash on hand.

man, I love your writing! Never fails to connect emotionally. Suddenly, we are not just talking about guitars and specs, we are talking about music and its effect in our lives. Thanks!

How to get the most music from more guitars-more guitars - more guitars -MORE GUITARS !!!!!....Ive never liked the look of the red special but it definitely has an amazing sound / tone ,.......Thanks for covering its story.

My neighbor's son, up the hill from me, was handed an 8-track of A Night At The Opera when it came out. Bobby & I repaired that tape numerous times. We kept the Scotch tape company in business!

Fantastic history. I got a chance to get a BMG Red Special last week like the one Angus is playing in this video, and it’s an impressive beast. I like a lot of Queen but I’m not a huge fan, but I was attracted by May’s engineering and innovation that Carries over to the production guitars. It’s SO much fun to explore the tonal range.

I think the coolest part about this is the father son project. It is so cool that they spent so much time coming up with it and building it, and it really helped build a deep knowledge and appreciation in Brian. I hope that just one project I do with my son leads to such an impact for him.

I consider myself lucky to have seen The Red Special and The Greenie Burst live onstage both in one night. Thin Lizzie with Gary Moore filling in for Brian Robertson as the opening act for Queen. They just don't make concerts like that anymore.

The red special. Proof that if you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself. The red special is quite ahead of its time, having some features that wouldn't make their way to other guitars until the 80s. The tremolo system in particular is ingenious. If I'm not mistaken it is one of the first knife edge style designs. Fender tremolos were mostly pivoting in the room between the screws, Bigsbys used a roller system and Gibson Vibrola tremolos just used bendy steel. The knife edge tremolo concept wouldn't take off until the 80s when Floyd Rose's locking design became readily available.

When I was 15 on Saturday I would have saved my lunch money to buy a new Album. I went to Argus Tapes and Records, planning to buy Andy Frasier from Free newest solo project. SHARKS. I saw this Brand New Band that had just been put on sale that Thursday. I took a risk and Bought Queens First LP. Knocked my Socks off!!!! Lair came on and Ive never looked back. Brian wanted a Metal band I Love. Freddie made them for the whole world to Enjoy. Ive spent my Life listening to Queen. All the Better for it. Thanks Keith for an Oustanding Presentation!!!!!

He built this guitar like a master luthier with 30yrs experience!!! What a genius!!!

1:50 That's such a fantastic snapshot!

Well done once again sir! I'm always happy when a new Short History vid shows up in my feed. And I've never been disappointed! Thanks for all you do Keith!

I never really did consider myself a Queen fan but have always respected them and Brian is definitely among the pantheon of great guitarists. I go back pretty often to watch Brian and Roger Taylor play Tie Your Mother Down with the Foo Fighters at Hyde Park, first time I saw Taylor Hawkins sing, and he nailed it.

I had the good fortune to meet Brian a few times in the late 90s. a really relaxed, humble and genuinely nice guy. Intelligent & articulate also. thanks for this great post.

The mantelpiece that they used for the neck had woodworm holes in it. So they glued matchsticks into the holes to fill them in. Last year after years of trying to get the limited run, I finally got a Brian May Guitars Red Special, but in all black called the 'Metal May!'

Kudos to the video creator for giving us an incredible journey through Brian May's Red Special! You've struck a chord with your storytelling skills, leaving us all strumming with joy. Bravo! 🙌🎸

Off course every guitar player knows about Brian May building this guitar himself with the help of his father. And most of us have been reading one or two articles about this guitar and some of us have seen close up pictures of some amazing details. But I was genuinely surprised by the gigantic amount of detail that went into the making of this video and the video itself. And the story is mind boggling. Imagine not being able to purchase the ‘real deal’ and then just decide to build the perfect guitar with your dad. Countless of hours must have been put into this project. I wouldn’t have had the patience as a teenager. And they thought of everything! They even improved on lots of issues that even the big brands faced. Again…, imagine doing all of that and then go on and form a band, become famous, earning more than enough money to buy every wonderful guitar in the world, and just don’t give a damn, because nothing beats the sound and feel of the guitar you built with your dad when you were a kid!!! If that’s not one of the most beauiful guitar related stories ever, than I don’t know what is. And the way this story was told by you, Keith, that made it perfect. Thank you sooooo much for this! I feel inspired. ❤❤❤

I remember reading a small article in a guitar magazine probably well over 20 years ago about Brian May's red special. It always fascinated me how his father and he designed and built this guitar and how he's used it throughout his whole career. But I did not know this much, thanks for the awesome video Keith and the recommendation of the book which I just ordered, great stuff... Brian is really an artist and innovator for sure!

The irony is, before the Internet, the few of us who knew about the story of this guitar marvelled at how this great player managed to pull off such great playing on such a amateurish & mediocre instrument but now, with the publication of his books and the Internet and videos such as this, it dawns on everyone that it was such a well designed instrument from the very beginning that he actually had an 'unfair advantage' for all those years!! I think, at the end of the day that's the real wonder and miracle of the story

Keith, great history! Thanks. I wish you would have mentioned the first run of Guilds from 1984...the BHM1 with factory black Kahler tremolo. Brian's endorsement and involvement with these early Guilds can been seen in many advertisements from the day. I own one of the very few prototypes of this early Red Special Guild, and Sir Dr. May signed it on the headstock in 1993. It is one of my treasures.

Enjoyed the video. Couple of 'corrections... When it comes to British guitarists, ALL the legendary 60s and 70s guitarists were influenced by Hank Marvin. Their fans might not like it, but they all give him credit when asked. Regarding the Guild Red Special, they did a version, more a lookalike, with BHM's consent, in the mid '80s, which had a Kahler locking trem.

While you're doing custom built one-off guitars, you should do Bo Didley's square guitar. That would be a cool story!

As a fan since Sheer Heart Attack came out I congratulate you on this video Keith. The best you have ever done!

Very interesting perspective on the read it special, thank you. Most of us probably know a lot about the red special but there’s always a couple fun little tidbits. You forgot to mention the Deaky, which was the speaker that John Deacon made for Brian, which he uses all the time now. Instead of the Vox

Legend has it that's Keith's 5 o'clock shadow. Impressive

Amazing video, Keith! As always, very detailed and Angus' playing was spot on. Jamie Humphries, who used to play with Brian May and is now a RU-vidr would have been a great addition to this video. He even has a Red Special inspired Musicman!

The picture of Greg in the spray booth is Mark Reynolds stepdad's, & Mark actually made the surrounds...

A note on the sixpence, or six pence piece, that May uses as a pick. While decimalisation came in February 1971, the sixpence was kept in circulation until 1980 but with a value of 2 and a half new pence. That's my British currency pedantry moment over. Thanks for the great content 👍

Great video. Thank you. Just to add. Brian originally used banjo strings for the top G, B and E strings. As they were easier to bend, with 8’s not being available in guitar strings. If my memory serves me correct, this is in the Red Special book.

One of my questions was answered after about two minutes: Why is the shape of the Red Special so simple but yet refined and elegant, especially compared with many of the bloated, awkward shapes put out in later decades by large manufacturers? "Harold worked as a draftsman..." Ah. Brian's dad had an experienced industrial designer's eye and the skill to use a draftsman's tools to bring it to life. The sketches of the Red Special show just how detailed and professional the initial design drawings were.

I love how Angus has red gaskets from Grolsch bottles as straplocks

Thank you very much for this video! Queen is my favorite band and Brian May is my favorite guitarist. You did a most fantastic job including all of the important information about this guitar. I love the Red Special and want to build my own someday. I loved the inclusion of a "paraphrased" version of the Hammer to Fall solo as it is my favorite Queen song for electric guitar (my favorite Queen song is 39) .

The greatest guitar player of all time, in my opinion. A truly unique composer and player, not a single guy like him

Thank you for the awesome video! You forgot the legend that the end of the tremolo bar was his mothers sewing needle

Great episode’ I love the history of Brian’s guitar’ it really goes to show if u can find something that is custom to your playing and the sound u like them u really only need one guitar’ even tho we will all always buy more for what ever reason haha 😂

"if the light still shined through, he knew he needed to keep sanding" thats a true luthier right there

Saw them at Wembley in 1986! What a sound.

There is currently an exhibit of guitars owned by Randy Bachman at the National Music Centre in Canada, it has a Red Special replica in it. Saw that online

Yes, wow, tears in they eyes of anybody when you approach Thomas Kirche who ever played a note. Two days ago I talked about the Zwischenspiel in the WTC b minor fugue, with its unreached progression, heaven air but copied by Bach note by note. Bach new that he himself stood on the shoulders of those Italians. But the Erbarme Dich or MP Final choir is unreached in music History yes of course . Thank you for this collection of statements.

For some reason, this was unexpected, but a great surprise!

Brian May describes James Burton as "my hero" and on the 4th June, James is playing the London Palladium with Brian May and other guests- Albert Lee, Jeff Baxter, Van Morrison and others. I seem to recall that Brian used a Telecaster for "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" although that may have just been for the video.

Wow! Awesome. So interesting how the red special was created and the pickup configurations are amazing.

omg those beautiful pics of the neck pocket+disassembled RS...wonderful.

Made my day to see this video on my stream! One of the best RU-vid channels out there! Thanks KEITH 🎸

Thanks for the post. Learning a little more of the 100 yr. old oak fretboard and frets he has to not change, his touch must be light for the frets, and one string at a time that need it, to not change the sound. Thought I read about hand winding the coils themselves.

It’s 28 May, 2023 as I comment. Since before the pandemic lockdown, I have fantasized about having a guitar assembled for me (in ebony) to the specifications of Brian’s Special - but without the pick guard and physically adjusted for P90s in lieu of the TriSonics. (That might mess with its iconography, but it’s about wanting something different, and the guitar that was assembled for me with those Burns pickups occasionally leaves me dissatisfied.)The Thinline build, fingerboard, fret number, straight stringing, pickup & phase selectors and trem system have all captured my imagination. It almost strikes me as being conceptually like a combination of Brian‘s original and the revised Epiphone Riviera. I did play one of the models that were on the market in 2003 (probably Burns). If I hadn’t just purchased a completely unrelated one made by the Hudson Valley-based Brian Moore Guitars the year before, I might’ve gotten that one.

I'm sure many will the say the same, but for Brian (and his Dad) to make a custom guitar to such a high degree of quality that one of the most respected guitarists in the world still uses it 50 years later is absolutely astounding. I simply can't get my head around it.

Keith! What a treat for this holiday weekend. Thank you for this video🤘

I knew that Brian and his dad made the guitar but never knew the design and complexity of the bridge! How great it must have been to have a supportive and knowledgeable father - mine would have dismissed this as a pipe-dream.

Guild had a couple of official BHM guitar runs - the 1984 model was the solid bodied one with a Kahler bridge and DiMarzio pickups (as seen in the One vision video and the spare on tour). The 1993 models do have a chambered body and a replica of Brian’s tremolo system by Schaller and Seymour Duncan copies of Tri-Sonics. They also then made some not really replica type guitars with the body shape but more regular pickups and bridges.

Exceptional- bravo, Keith and FWW team: most enjoyable.

Thank you for all of your hard work, Keith. I really love your vids! This one in particular!

What an awesome video! Like countless others, I'm a big fan of Brian May and his Red Special, so I really enjoyed this video. I appreciate the work that goes into putting together history videos like this one (especially the research and trying to make sure you get the details right).

Absolutely fantastic Keith. This was a real treat. Thankfully for doing this!!

One of my favorite episodes! Thanks!

I don't understand how can you get it this right on the first try. Amazing man

Incredibly well-researched and very detailed. One of your best so far! Thanks.

You mentioned Stone Cold Crazy as the bridge and middle out of phase, it was actually neck and bridge out of phase. The bridge and middle out of phase is very harsh and thin.

This is a really excellent video. Great detail yet concise and incredibly well presented. Thank you!

I'm using the Brian May signature Optima strings. They're FANTASTIC, and I'm addicted. $22 per set, but they do last a super long time due to the fact that the gold electroplating doesn't oxidize.