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Brian May Guitar Setup

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J
Hello,
I have just bought a new Brian May guitar, I am confused on the pickup Switches, Does anyone know what order i should have them in from 1-6 to get the Queen Tones?
Brian May is the Best Guitarist ever! not sure about Slash www.BrianMayCentral.net
B
1 up
2 down
3 up
4 down
5 up
6 up

Knob 1 full
Knob 2 half way

Fuck knows what sound you'll get but it's an answer.

have a look here: http://www.brianmayworld.com/redspecial.htm it might help some.
Cleveland May 24 to June 4th 2007 - I came, I saw, I fucked off home again.
F
Brian used them all, so the answer to this question depends on which Queen sound you want.

The top switches are on/off switches. The bottom switches are phase switches. Brian's most often used sound was the bridge and middle pickups in phase.
P
Buy Star Licks/Master Session.

All the answers are on there.
B
Johnny Knoxville wrote:
Hello,
I have just bought a new Brian May guitar, I am confused on the pickup Switches, Does anyone know what order i should have them in from 1-6 to get the Queen Tones?


Johnny, you got the guitar, you havn't got the Amp, nor the Treble booster, or phaser. I honestly think you are trying to get something which isn't gonna come out of your set-up.

Be patient, experiment, and you may well get a sound or two which sounds like BHM, but trust me my friend, there are lot's of sounds you just can't get.
~
you will get all the sounds, however they will sound very diffrent without a ac30, treble booster and a vox bhm amp
"Im going to pull an Elvis Costello, but the chorus of this song goes What the hell are we fighting for..." -Brian May 3/20/06 Pittsburgh @ the Mellon Arena before Hammer To Fall
B
Don't forget the sixpence.
Cleveland May 24 to June 4th 2007 - I came, I saw, I fucked off home again.
G
and the clogs are very important
"I'll probably make loads of plans, and then just sit around on my bottom all day long and do nothing." The Man In The Shadows says it like it is. http://www.myspace.com/petearnold
B
And the shirt - must look like you've chucked up last night's pizza down it.
Cleveland May 24 to June 4th 2007 - I came, I saw, I fucked off home again.
M
How about the "curled" guitar cable?
Feed the Phoenix :)
B
That's a must - several linked together so it's 120ft long at least.
Cleveland May 24 to June 4th 2007 - I came, I saw, I fucked off home again.
M
And don't forget at least two suffering roadies, who have to walk dodged to lift the cable high above anything that's in its way (drumrisers etc)...
Feed the Phoenix :)
J
Hi
This is my very first post on QZ
I downloaded a manual from Brianmaycentral.com but this seems to be dead now.
I've found a manual for the Guild version and it should be the same. The link is below
http://www.pemcom.demon.co.uk/queen/guild/manual.html

It's worth getting the Vox BHM amp, which does help the sound a little, but you really need all the other bits that were mentioned in earlier posts.

Hope this helps
This world has only one sweet moment set aside for us
A
I really dislike all this, "you need this" or "you won't sound like him without this" etc. etc. Rubbish! Even in my most basic configuration of guitar and amp, I can get a close Brian tone. And I don't even have a Brian may guitar or AC30. The amp's a Vox Cambridge 30 reverb twin model. That will get you closer. And I believe, as already stated in a previous Brian May sound thread, that the VBM1 will get you most of what you want. Btw, by inserting a behringer V-amp into my guitar to amp chain, I was able to setup Brian's AC30 sounds. It really worked and sounded sweet.

You just gotta know how to make the sounds work for you. Too many people think it's all about the gear. I swear I remember this guy from my brother's band playing really great Brian may tones and all he used was a Strat with a Zoom 8080 effects pedal and a Marshall Amp. It's all about what YOU can do with what you've got.

Sure, getting all those Brian May bits and bobs will get you there. But at what cost? It's up to you. But it's nice, I know. But I'm a firm believer in trying out anything to get these sounds. Hey, if you have the cash, go for all the gear!

Peace,
Adam.
S
My advice -

http://www.brianmayworld.com/

This is (in my view) the best resource on the web for information on Brian's guitar. The messageboard on there is also great for answering any and all question about the guitar.

Alternatively - there are a few articles that give some indication as to what settings Brian used throughout the years.

1 - Guild BHM1 and/or 1993 Signature Guitar owners' Manual. This gives some of Brian's favorite settings as well as indication of what tone* they will each produce.

2 - StarLicks Master Sessions - (I believe) this recording clearly shows what settings Brian uses for a number of songs.

(off the top of my head, here are a few other articles)

1998-99 Guitar World 'Wire Choir' articles - written by Brian. I believe he makes reference to some settings in these articles that ran from Oct98 to May(or June)1999. Well worth the read.

Jan.1983 Guitar Player magazine. There is some discussion on the guitar and settings etc.

Andy Young's Queen page has most of the articles mentioned above transcribed - with the exception I believe of the 'WireChoir' articles.

http://www.pemcom.demon.co.uk/queen/

Hope this helps.

Andrew

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