Brian's Other Guitars

Apart from his red specials dose anyone know what other electric,acoustic or basses brian has.

So many!!!! Go to www.musicradar.com brian mays other guitars in pictures:-) hes moved from ovation pacemaker to guilds for the acustics now

through the years BM has used many guitars live and in the studio. this list may answer your question in part at least. . . .

Egmond acoustic
Home made RS
Fender Strat
Gibson Les Paul
Tokia Acoustic, used on ANATO sometimes mistaken for a martin
John Birch RS replica broken in 1982 but recenly repaired
Burns Double six used to record Long Away (the 12 string jangle gives it away)
Martin acoustic
Ovaition 6 and 12 string acoustics
Fender Tele
Gibson Flying V
Guild RS model 1984 - 1992
Gibson Chet Atkins acoustic
Parker Fly
Guild RS prototype 1992 and production model
Ibanez JS prototype, chrome finish
Collings Acoustic
Greg Fryer RS replica two guitars one is a modified version of the original
Guild acoustic 12 string
Guytom RS replica one green one red. though he still seems to favour the Fryer as his main back up guitar
Guyton spade guitar. BM designed a second guitar at the time he and his father built the RS, he never buit it but asked Andrew Guyton too a few years ago
BMG super prototype used on The Cosmos Rocks Tour
BMG standard model custom painted used on same tour as above
Martin acoustic double cutaway
Guyton twin neck 6 12
BMG custom finished in chrome

There are a few missing from this list, though it does cover most of what he has used. also on a couple of Vids other guitars have appeared, such as POTU and PTG.

hope this helps

Yet he still retains the classic Queen sound, so that is his musical choices and style rather than the red special?

Its a bit of both.

A good guitar players signiture sound is in the way he plays, as much as anything. an example would be Dave Gilmour's sound is always associated with his strat. However the solo on Another Brick in The Wall was played on a Les Paul, there was a slight difference in sound but overall there was no mistaking as being Dave Gilmour, he's also used a few other guitars but still sounds like him.. Eddie Van Halen has used a number of different guitars but always sounds like Eddie. Jeff Beck to, the list is endless.

what ever he plays BM always sounds like BM. the choice of notes or chords the ways the strings are played the way notes are bent all add to how the sound sounds.

On CLTCL BM played the solo on a tele to get that authentic 50's sound and feel. you can tell it isnt the RS but like Dave Gilmour, you can tell its BM.

i think what makes BM a little different is that the RS is one of the most distinctive sounding guitars with a huge range of sounds, so although there is a foundation BM sound, that sound has many shades.

the most important thing in the sound chain is Brian himself, of course. but the RS played through a treble booster and a modified (single channel effectively) Vox AC30 is what reproduces the sound those fingers make.

Limiting the list to studio recordings in the 1971-1995 period, only mentioning each guitar's first appearance, and omitting the original BHM of course:

* 1971: Hallfred acoustic.
* 1973: Fender Strat, Martin acoustic.
* 1975: Gibson Les Paul, Birch Bespoke, Epiphone Crestwood, Tokai Hummingbird, Baldwin Bison, Baldwin Double-Six.
* 1977: Spanish acoustic (no idea about the make).
* 1978: Danelectro Longhorn.
* 1979: Roger's Fender Telecaster.
* 1980: Unknown brand and make for the closing film credits.
* 1981: Ovation Pacemaker (not used in the studio until then, but plenty of times live).
* 1983: Gibson Chet Atkins CE, Guild Bespoke, Fender Telecaster, Gibson Firebird.
* 1993: Parker Fly.

[QUOTE] [b]Sebastian wrote:[/b]

* 1973: Fender Strat, Martin acoustic.
* 1975: Gibson Les Paul, Birch Bespoke, Epiphone Crestwood, Tokai Hummingbird, Baldwin Bison, Baldwin Double-Six.
* 1977: Spanish acoustic (no idea about the make).
* 1978: Danelectro Longhorn.
* 1979: Roger's Fender Telecaster.
* 1980: Unknown brand and make for the closing film credits.
* 1981: Ovation Pacemaker (not used in the studio until then, but plenty of times live).
* 1983: Gibson Chet Atkins CE, Guild Bespoke, Fender Telecaster, Gibson Firebird.
* 1993: Parker Fly.[/QUOTE]


Interesting...........Brian plays a Strat on 'Queen'? When? And a bass on Jazz? Hmm.......at least I do know what he used Roger's Tele for! Haha.....(I was just reading somewhere that it was an Esquire, but that's just about the same thing anyway!)

I think the Danelectro one is a baritone guitar rather than a bass, he had it in the studio but he didn't necessarily use it on a recording, or if he did, that recording didn't necessarily survive to the finished version.

1973 and Fender Strat: It's just a hypothesis, but one of the guitars on 'Loser in the End' sounds far more like a Strat than like the BHM.

Played by Roger possibly?

At this point those are all theories but I don't think so, especially considering they used to record live backing tracks with at least three instruments. I personally think it's Brian, just playing a different guitar and using different settings, but I've got no way to confirm or deny that.