Check out piece shot by Premier Guitar with Brian May and Pet Malandrone in Detroit.
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Rig Rundown: Queen’s Brian May
If there was a Mount Rushmore of British guitar heroes, undoubtedly, Queen’s Brian May would grace that mountain. We caught up with May and his longtime guitar tech Pete Malandrone on Queen’s summer tour with Adam Lambert to talk about his minimal effects, Vox amps, and of course, the Red Special.
Brian May’s entire career has been almost exclusively spent with the guitar that he and his father built in 1964. “Red Special” is a three-pickup, double-cutaway guitar with Burns pickups and a very unique (at the time) switching system that allows May to cover a huge range of tones. According to May, everything on the guitar is still original from when it was built except for the tuning pegs and the rollers on the bridge.
During a typical show, May switches guitars during two songs. “Fat Bottomed Girls,” which is in dropped-D tuning, is played with a Red Special replica that’s green and was built by British luthier Andrew Guyton.
For “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” he uses another Guyton Red Special replica with the addition of an f-hole—which was featured on May’s original designs for the guitar— a non-trem bridge, and an internal piezo pickup that is utilized during the opening parts of “Crazy Little Thing Called Love.” All his guitars are strung with Optima 24 Carat Gold .009–.042 strings.
For more on May’s rig and setup: Read on
Rig Rundown – Queen’s Brian May