Red Special Super arrival (Finally)

On the subject of companies ripping off Brian's design, in the UK (and most/all? of the EU) copyright is 50 years. So there can't be more than a handful of years left before the original Red Special is out of copyright.

Talking of what other guitarists play, Brian Gesh played some sort of left handed Red Special copy on the latest Queen Extravagnaza tour. I could also see an AC30 lurking at the back of the stage. It didn't sound spot on to me, not enough warmth to the sound. But the new AC30s are reckoned to be not as warm so that might be partly to blame. Anyone know what model of guitar Brian Gesh was playing?

[QUOTE] [b]Togg wrote:[/b]

[QUOTE]

[b]Fireplace wrote: [/b] Mr. Togg, would you care to comment on intonation and (absence of) string pull? I have the standard Burns copy and if I hit the lower strings with any force at all, they'll go frighteningly sharp. I love the sound and the feel of the guitar, but the string pull takes out a lot of the fun in playing it.[/QUOTE]

At first the guitar was slipping out of tune pretty well every time I played it, particularly when the Trem was used a lot, The Trem is very sensitive only light pressure from your finger will make it move.

Now the strings have settled in I have found it has stayed in tune all day with only one tuning first thing, as you would imagine it has had pretty heavy use in the past week...

Intonation wise it seems fine, my Burns is slightly off, there is an ever so slight slant to the frets down the fret board and so I am not 100% confident that it has perfect intonation even when set up well. However i have found it stays in tune pretty well considering.

The Super's strings are under far less pressure in terms of angles than say a strat, so I suspect it will stay in tune much better.

On a side note I also changed my AC30's Green speakers to Blues and went to Watford valves to get some replacement valves that had been properly tested.

Again it took about 20 hours of playing before the new speakers settled in, now I am really pleased with the result, the Amp is much warmer and so so close to the Brian tone.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for your insights and enjoy playing that beautiful beast!

[QUOTE]

[b]OwenSmith wrote: [/b] Talking of what other guitarists play, Brian Gesh played some sort of left handed Red Special copy on the latest Queen Extravagnaza tour. I could also see an AC30 lurking at the back of the stage. It didn't sound spot on to me, not enough warmth to the sound. But the new AC30s are reckoned to be not as warm so that might be partly to blame. Anyone know what model of guitar Brian Gesh was playing?[/QUOTE]

They are not as warm, and you have to do a fair bit of mucking about with them to get them right (if you want Brian's tone that is) Change the valves and speakers IMO.

I think Gesh was play a 'Super' from the first production run, not 100% certain but that's what it looked like to me is some shots I have seen. The WWRY show in London uses BMG Specials plus modified AC30 Greg Fryer Amps. Brian has been heavily involved in that so the sound is pretty good IMO, He has had very little to do with the Extravagaza so I expect it's slightly different.

[QUOTE] [b]Togg wrote:[/b] I think Gesh was play a 'Super' from the first production run, not 100% certain but that's what it looked like to me is some shots I have seen. The WWRY show in London uses BMG Specials plus modified AC30 Greg Fryer Amps. Brian has been heavily involved in that so the sound is pretty good IMO, He has had very little to do with the Extravagaza so I expect it's slightly different.[/QUOTE]

It's a shame Brian May hasn't helped Gesh get the sound right, because apart from that he plays very well and the style feels like Queen. Or it did to me anyway.

Vocal harmony, I am not trying to compare RS customs guitar with the Guyton, I was trying to explain the price difference and comparison between the new Super and the RS Customs supreme guitar. I am very familiar with the RS customs supreme and KZ pro, both great guitars, haven't played the Guyton but i know it's the best!
Yes, RS customs had an issue with one of the gutiars, with the neck, I've read it before, but I've also read some issues with some of the supers, so goes both ways, things happen to all type of guitars.
KZ's super rs guitars were top notch, the new super no way, have you compared them? I see mistakes that shouldn't happen with all that official endorsement, r&d, etc
Take a closer look and do a comparison between the original rs, the kz super and the new super, i bet you won't miss the mistakes, unexcusable mistakes! The BMG company were very lucky before with the supers because of KZ, one of the best craftman in my opinion.

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[b]RS_Protos wrote: [/b] Vocal harmony, I am not trying to compare RS customs guitar with the Guyton, I was trying to explain the price difference and comparison between the new Super and the RS Customs supreme guitar. I am very familiar with the RS customs supreme and KZ pro, both great guitars, haven't played the Guyton but i know it's the best!
Yes, RS customs had an issue with one of the gutiars, with the neck, I've read it before, but I've also read some issues with some of the supers, so goes both ways, things happen to all type of guitars.
KZ's super rs guitars were top notch, the new super no way, have you compared them? I see mistakes that shouldn't happen with all that official endorsement, r&d, etc
Take a closer look and do a comparison between the original rs, the kz super and the new super, i bet you won't miss the mistakes, unexcusable mistakes! The BMG company were very lucky before with the supers because of KZ, one of the best craftman in my opinion.

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How have you seen the new 'Super' there are only 10 in the world...? Do you have one? there have been no pictures anywhere other than mine No 3 here. This is the first of a new run, none have been made since KZ three years ago.

The new run is no different to the KZ, so if you saw mistakes it would have been in the KZ run.

The woodwork in the new run is actually better IMO than that of the previous version, it comes from the same team that built PRS' guitars.

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One other element to Brian's tone that is often overlooked is his chorus / phaser.

I would say 50% of his tone comes from the AC30, 40% from the guitar and 10% from the treble booster. However somewhere in that mix is the sixpence and the chorus pedal.
I have struggled for years to get the same sound from a chorus/phaser. I know he uses an old Boss CE2 pedal I think, I have a CE3... But I have never read how he sets it? The best I have seen is on the old Star lick video where he goes through each bit of equipment, he demos the chorus but we dont get to see how it's set. I have never red anything much about it, does anyone have more info?

"How have you seen the new 'Super' there are only 10...? Do you have one? there have been no pictures anywhere other than mine here.

The new run is no different to the KZ, so if you saw mistakes it would have been in the KZ run.

The woodwork in the new run is actually better IMO than that of the previous version, it comes from the same team that built PRS' guitars."
I agree that the new Super has some obvious errors... they can be seen in your pictures Togg.
I suggested earlier that you look at:
www.red-special.com/forum
Your pictures have been discussed at length.

Ok, some of the errors that can be seen in the photo...

- Screw near middle pickup in wrong position
- Bevelling on plastics incorrect
- Acorn nut on too small, wrong shape
- Scratch plate is wrong shape in places
- Finger-board isn't lacquered

I must stress that haven't played the guitar or seen it in the flesh but I would expect more in terms of the cosmetics. There is really little excuse for BMG not at least getting this guitar as accurate as the KZ-Fryer model.

[This board interface is crap!]

She's beautiful Togg! Enjoy every moment playing her.

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[b]mikeryde wrote: [/b] Ok, some of the errors that can be seen in the photo...

- Screw near middle pickup in wrong position
- Bevelling on plastics incorrect
- Acorn nut on too small, wrong shape
- Scratch plate is wrong shape in places
- Finger-board isn't lacquered

I must stress that haven't played the guitar or seen it in the flesh but I would expect more in terms of the cosmetics. There is really little excuse for BMG not at least getting this guitar as accurate as the KZ-Fryer model.

[This board interface is crap!][/QUOTE]

I noticed the screw as soon as it was out of the case, later too I saw the Scratch plate shape, not sure why they went down that road, but frankly I'm not that bothered about it.

I had a long conversation about the neck with Barry months ago, they found they were getting issues with the Lacqued neck as it ever so slightly shrank or rather the wood did, so this is what they came up with. Barry was at pains to point it out before I bought it. It's a shame I agree and the thing I would change above all others, that being said it plays very well and maybe over time they will amend this and go back to lacquered neck again. It feels much nicer to play than the 'specials' neck so I'm ok with it.

I did try to register with the Red Special board but so far I've not got on, It will be interesting to see what's been said, there are many RS fanatics out there so I can imagine it will be a source of hot debate...