BRIAN MAY GUITARS ANNOUNCES NEW COLOURWAYS FOR THEIR ACCLAIMED ARIELLE MODEL
Building on the success of the widely acclaimed 2021 BMG ‘Two Tone’ Arielle model, styled after American singer songwriter Arielle’s distinctive, eponymous custom build and engineered in collaboration with Brian May himself, Brian May Guitars is pleased to announce the first in a series of fresh, new alternative seasonal colourways for this unique instrument, the first original design that the Queen virtuoso has actively contributed to since he and his father embarked on the construction of the Red Special almost 60 years ago.
Now available in traditional translucent Antique Cherry flavour “The Red Special in a parallel universe” continues to rock a sleek, retro-futuristic look infused with choice elements from Dr. May’s storied homespun creation and, of course, delivers everything one should expect from a Brian May Guitar — superior quality, pro-spec construction, exceptional playability, and devastating tonal dexterity.
THE BMG ARIELLE FEATURES
Striking Body Design
The flamboyant, asymmetric angles of the Arielle’s Indonesian Mahogany body, at once timeless and forward thinking, clearly pay homage to radical American automotive and electric guitar designs of the 1950s and ’60s, with a distinctive raised centre strip increasing the body mass for enhanced sustain and resonance, a split, 3-ply parchment pickguard and a classic gloss finish completing the cool, vintage look.
24″ Scale Mahogany Neck
Employing the short 24″ scale favoured by Brian May on the original Red Special, the one piece mahogany neck, in perfect balance with the lightweight body, has been engineered with a decidedly contemporary feel, featuring a generous 45mm nut width, comfortably spacious profile, and wonderfully smooth 24 fret ebony fingerboard with Arielle’s choice of abalone diamond snowflake inlays in the traditional BM pattern.
BMG Tri-Sonic Style Pickups
Like the best-selling BMG Special, the Arielle features three BM branded ‘Tri-Sonic’ style single coil pickups, modern replicas of the vintage ’60s units so fundamental to the Red Special’s powerful and distinctive sonic character with the same series wiring, retro-styling and magnet alignment as the originals.
BM Switching System
The unique Brian May designed electronics system is provided by six black DPDT switches featuring high quality contacts mounted on a contrasting 3-ply black control plate. Engaging each pickup individually as well as providing dedicated phase reversal, this familiar configuration gives the BMG Arielle the same astonishing tonal agility as the original Red Special itself.
Wilkinson WVP Tremolo Bridge
Continuing BMG’s long association with veteran British engineer Trevor Wilkinson, the Arielle is fitted with his acclaimed WVP 2-point tremolo, a vintage-styled variant of the unit used on the BMG Special. With a modern, friction-free design offering one of the smoothest actions of any fulcrum vibrato currently available coupled with a sleek, low-profile surround to eliminate lateral saddle movement, the WVP offers superior comfort, stability and performance.
Thumbwheel Locking Tuners
The distinctive BM style headstock sports 3-a-side locking tuners with an 18:1 gear ratio for precise tuning and a thumbwheel locking mechanism that clamps the string securely. These superb quality machine heads allow for quick and easy string changes, requiring fewer string wraps and maintaining rock-solid tuning stability and more accurate return-to-pitch, even with lots of vibrato and string bends.
BMG Gig Bag Included
A premium quality, padded gig-bag, made from durable showerproof material, with twin rucksack-style shoulder straps, side and front grab handles, dual front pockets and stitched BMG logo, is supplied as standard.
Sounds
Versatile and bold, the heart of the Arielle’s sound is round, wide, warm and rich, with clean, clear highs and crisp note articulation, even when overdriven. Eminently capable of authentically delivering the hardest of rock or the most intimate dream pop shimmer, the Arielle has clearly been engineered to be a brilliant, one-stop stage and studio workhorse. For blues and roots styles, there is a pleasing presence and a tight, focused bass response whilst jazz players and country pickers will love the chiming clarity, especially on out-of-phase settings, and the smooth, hollow twang of the neck pickup. Cranking up the gain, combining two or more pickups in phase, the broad Tri-Sonic response and resonant body give crunch chords ample room to breathe and allow lead licks and solos to project clearly and powerfully.
Price
UK RRP £945.00 (Inc. VAT) — Available now for £845.00 from the official Brian May Guitars online store for a limited time — https://shop.brianmayguitars.co.uk/
Additional Specs / Information
https://shop.brianmayguitars.co.uk/the-bmg-arielle.html
Contact
House Music Ltd.
sales@BrianMayGuitars.co.uk
+44 (0)1276 453 079