Відео

You have previously asked me this in the comments section of another of my videos Matthew. The answer is still no. 👍🏻😀 I have updated my channel guidelines to reflect this. See also the answer to FAQ question 2 on my website: dsgb.net/faqs/

I don't know.

@@dsgb found a new channel under a different name, but it inly has a few new videos. The archive of tutorials from basix4 are nowwhere to be found as far as I can tell 😢

O.k. Thanks for letting me know. Please comment the new channel name so others can find it. 👍🏻 Let's hope that Matt rectifies this situation at some point.

@@dsgb No problem, and yeah the channel I found is under "Queen Guitar Vids" (Queenguitarvids) he has a few videos uploaded mostly on brighton rock, and yeah I also hope he reuploads his other videos sometime

I assume that you meant "Forstner" drill. I needed to remove the old dots and drill the existing holes deeper so the job was a bit more involved than just a straightforward remove and replace, that's why I chose to re-run the CNC toolpath. 👍🏻😀

Hmm. You may have a valid point there. 😏

Hi Adam. Yes, I did consider avoiding all the alignment faff and just drilling the dots out manually using my drill press. However, I thought it would be more of a challenge and, if it worked out o.k., make an interesting video. 👍🏻😀

Thanks for chipping in. It's sound general advice rooted in physical science principles. Some species are relatively impervious to water such as ebony. Of course, several factors such grain orientation, structure and damage from cutting or abrasion will influence water take up. Please bear in mind that I pitch my videos to a general audience including people with a primarily musical or artistic background and try to edit them so that they have some pure entertainment value, rather than being informative or instructional. 👍🏻😀

I recorded it on my iPhone 13 Pro Max. I only intended to record band set up and sound checks so didn't use any professional recording equipment. This was 'bonus content' from the day.

I'm pleased that you enjoyed this concert. However, I don't recall Freddie Mercury wearing dark sunglasses while performing on stage. 🤔 This isn't preferable for a performer because it limits personal engagement if the audience can't see your eyes.

I recommend any flavour of engineering over a pure physical science. 👍🏻😀

No preference Tim. On the Deacy cabinet build I used Ronseal multi-purpose wood filler for general gap filling and smoothing. On my Red Special build, if the zone might need to be drilled or subject to some loading, I used Ronseal High Performance wood filler. This is a two-part catalysed formulation and has a strong odour. Also consider two part epoxy resins (for general filling, not specifically on the Deacy cabinet chipboard) although I seem to experience inconsistent results getting these to set despite careful measuring and mixing. 🤷🏻‍♂️

@@dsgb thanks. I’ll get some Ronseal and give it a go.

Thanks buddy. 👍🏻😀 That was the first fretboard I cut from the timber you supplied which was really good quality and a pleasure to work with.

Thanks for your kind words Thomas. 💜😀🙏🏻

Yes. So brilliant, I didn't think of it for seven years. 😫

Merci beaucoup Nolhan! 👍🏻😀

Thanks for your support Tribesman John. 👍🏻💜😀

I would give it a try. It will certainly ebonise the wood but test it on scrap timber before committing on the guitar woods to check compatibility with the lacquer.

@@dsgb I shall give it a try then thanks doug, love your content

Thank you so much. 🙏🏻💜 Let me know the outcome of your tests. 😀

I have two spare custom KAT PCBs and I could cut a custom pickguard and ancillary plastics if you're interested? You would have to supply your own Tri-Sonic pickups. What specific guitar would you be fitting it to? dsgb.net/projects/maycaster/

Well a strat

Anybody interested in this custom modification needs to be a lot more specific than that. There are numerous different Stratocaster variants with different numbers and positions of screw holes. See here: www.fuzzfaced.net/fender-stratocaster-models.html My home made custom pickguard fits better than the original pickguard (which I subsequently sold) on this guitar and much better than the official Fender replacement I retro-fitted after I returned the guitar to original Fender specification, albeit with Adeson custom made vintage Fender single coil pickups.

Rustins Red Mahogany wood dye. ua-cam.com/video/8HLMjNCW-QI/v-deo.html

@@dsgb thank you so much

www.theredspecial.com/2019/01/tri-sonic-history-by-adrian-turner/

Thanks for the input. 👍🏻😀 My thoughts are that the zero fret surely must be higher than the other frets otherwise there is unlikely to be sufficient clearance/action at the lower frets and this will cause the strings to buzz. There aren't too many options for high fret wire crown height, 0.058" (1.47 mm) being the highest that I can see and 0.036" (0.91 mm) the lowest with 0.045-0.050" (1.14-1.27 mm) being typical. www.lutherie.net/fret.chart.html So I don't think approximately 0.20-0.35 mm difference between regular frets and a higher zero fret is going to be a significant factor.

@@dsgb mmmm the zero fret when you think about it is no different from the other frets, other than it's fretted with the down angle/force of the headstock angle rather than your finger or say a capo. Let me put it this way, I'm sure you like a level fret board and the normal cause of buzzing lower down the neck is a high fret, not a level one? I think the higher zero fret on my instrument might just be crap manufacturing or to compensate somehow from a poorly levelled fretboard out of the factory. As I say my much older Burns is perfectly level with the others and it sounds and plays great. How high is the one on your Red Special? Zero frets are a continuous issue :) cheers man.

I'm suggesting that if the zero fret is the same height as the other frets, the action at the lower frets will be less. If you desire a low action, that is obviously preferable but the reduced clearance of a low action can cause buzz when the strings vibrate. To avoid this, it is sensible to fit a zero fret with a higher crown, as Brian May Guitars and Guyton Guitars do. Brian's original Red Special buzzes due to the low overall string action which is likely contributed to by a worn zero fret, not necessarily because some of the regular frets are high.

@@dsgb Cool, thanks for helping and great video :)

Thanks. I hope you manage to cure the issue with the pinging on your Burns. 👍🏻😀

What can I say in response to this irreverent witticism...? Brian occasionally plays non-Queen material, such as All Right Now by Free and I recently saw a video with Brian accompanying Howard Jones on the 80s classic What Is Love at The Princes Trust Rock Gala in June 1988 so I think rumours of such a curse are far fetched. Evidence for the prosecution is Brian's less than successful jamming session with the late, great Les Paul at Fat Tuesdays on 25 March 1991.

@@dsgb I'm not trying to be witty, I'm making an observation. I'm yet to come across a video where a person holding a Red Special replica plays anything but Queen's main catalogue. Which seems amusing to me, because no other signature guitar model sparks such player behaviour. May the irony be with you. Peace.

My observation is that you have an original idea there so why not borrow a Brian May Red Special and knock out some blues on it or Satriani and upload it to your UA-cam channel? 🤔 While you're pondering that, check out this video where a friend of mine doesn't play Queen through his Red Special: ua-cam.com/video/mNHlfMC9UrM/v-deo.html Or this offering from James Rundle: ua-cam.com/video/1sxMiQWp0BY/v-deo.html Pax vobiscum frater.

@@dsgb you're fun. Subscribed.

Thanks. 😀👍🏻

This seems to be a popular conspiracy theory but as I have replied numerous times, the Fryer Ringmaster circuit was based on the straightforward and well known Dallas Rangemaster circuit so there was no 'mystery' and no 'secret'. Any electronics hobbyist could replicate it at low cost and modify it with minimal intellectual effort. These hand made treble boosters were designed for professional stage pedalboard deployment and it is normal for such electronic equipment to be epoxy encapsulated. The anti-piracy argument further doesn't stack up because the determined reverse-engineer could remove epoxy resin fairly easily. It isn't as permanent as some people think it is.

Many two-part epoxy resin formulations, including the same type Brian used are readily available from major retailers such as Amazon. Araldite is a traditional brand who manufactures epoxy resin: www.go-araldite.com/en Any maker of a set of replica Burns Tri-Sonic pickups with the modifications Brian carried out should be potting the neck pickup coil with epoxy resin and wax potting the middle and bridge pickups to prevent rattling and reduce microphonic feedback. Read my article here: dsgb.net/faqs/trisonics/

​@@dsgb Unfortunately, I did not find any information on your website about filling the coils of the bridge and medium pickup with wax. Do I need to fill only the coil with wax, then insert it into the case, or do I need to boil the pickup itself completely in wax? How long exactly should they be boiled in wax? In addition, it says on your website that Brian poured araldite not only on the neck, but also on the bridge pickup. Is it necessary to fill a bridge pickup with araldite, or is it necessary to fill only a neck one? What exactly do the creators of pickup replicas do today? I will be very grateful for the reply :)

If you're seeking detailed information on replicating Brian May specification Red Special pickups, it is best to ask people who make them commercially, not a hobbyist who has wound one or two coils to make a UA-cam video. Some of these people have worked out what to do for themselves through extensive research and development effort. I recommend that approach. You can learn a lot by making and testing coils on a DIY basis. When you have discovered all the required information for yourself, all Brian May enthusiasts would be very interested to learn all about it. 👍🏻😀

​@@dsgb Thank you very much, good luck in the development of the channel! 💪

@@dsgb I'm sorry to bother you again, but if it's not difficult for you, could you name the thickness of the material that the steel baseplate is made of? Does the width of the material matter?

Hi. I'm pleased that you found this video informative. I have considered making a video about replicating a DIY Bulgin jack socket for the reasons you state but I decided against it because it will require metal sheet to be cut and bent into a specific uniform shape and riveted. It is not important to maintain cosmetic or engineering authenticity on a Red Special replica either. This would be too much effort and I don't think woud result in an interesting video. Especially when a long barrel Switchcraft 1/4" jack socket is fit for the purpose, easy and cheap to source.

Thank you for your kind words Ron. I'm sure Jon and I will be back in the good ol' U.S. of A. hangin' out with y'all and talking the finer points of imperial thread pitch and drinking Knob Creek beers with you sooner rather than later. 🙏🏻😀💜

Hi Tom. Good to hear from you. I have been hearing of some quality issues with the BMG Super. To pay that much money and wait that long, only to find the guitar has flaws straight out of the box must be very frustrating. I have changed my opinion on fret wire since making this video. I think it's worth fitting more durable fret wire to premium guitars and especially where a lot of string bending and tremolo use will happen. Also, that you can't simply fit stainless steel strings and hope for no fret wear.

I wish I had said something about it at the time but I was a bit naive not really knowing if that’s just how it was meant to be.It would be a bit late now to go back to BMG and complain about it. If I bump into Brian up the shops I’ll let him know… I was surprised also to find the fingerboard not lacquered and it has the feel of a rosewood fingerboard- but you can feel the gaps in the grain… it makes a kind of scratching feeling when you bend the plain strings… such a shame as it was a significant purchase money wise. Another thing it does is the trem springs “ping” as well and you can feel it up the tremolo arm… apart from that it does sound great. My Burns which I have had for around 18 years has almost no wear on the zero fret at all- I always had rotosound 10-46 on that guitar… Great video Doug- you are an engineer through and through! I love your approach and explanations

Tom, I understand that feedback on the BMG Super quality control issues has been given to Pete Malandrone and Nigel Knight in person at meetups and via messages by some members of the enthusiast group so I hope BMG take it on board. I sympathise with the issues they face trying to sell quality replica guitars at affordable price points. Material and build quality can suffer and buyer reactions can range from "not particularly bothered" through to "fix it or I'll sue you". The Red Special was obviously never designed to be optimised for future commercial production and any of us would struggle to achieve a compromise that is acceptable to discerning enthusiasts. I read on one of Brian's recent "guitar signing day" Instagram posts that BMG have sold over 40,000 BMG Specials so there are lot out there. I really like this Burns and it was in excellent cosmetic condition when I bought it.

Which tribute bands are better is matter of subjective opinion. I watched a video of their performance at Rockville on 27 May 2023. I found the guitarist's tone and style to be enjoyable although with respect to accuracy and stylistic nuances such as Brian's mastery of legato, Luke Timmins is better. I consider that Scott Maley's vocal performance is generally much closer to Freddie Mercury. Several other commenters have expressed surprise at how similar Scott's singing voice is to Freddie. You don't state the reasons why you think Almost Queen are better than Supreme Queen in your opinion.

Thanks for the tip. I like Hosco fretwire and Japanese tools including the "Engineer" brand. 👍🏻😀

Some component will be not fully fixed or tight. You will have to systematically diagnose it.

Try putting some pencil lead on the nut grooves. Just scribe on the nut groove a few times. You might want to try nut lube or even replace it with Graphtec nut, but try the pencil first. It's possible that the string is bound to the nut groove due to the friction. This happens a lot when you use tremolo bar or bending the string. Of course it's also possible that the nut slot is not cut properly as well.

No. The fret didn't drive in flush with the fretboard surface but the installation is solid and fit for purpose. I should have smoothed the fretboard surface more and not hammered the fret in. The idea of compressing it with the radiusing block was an afterthought. This was only my second attempt at fretwork and my first attempt at a removal and replacement. The main focus of the video was intended to be the reasons why zero fret wear occurs. DIY removal and replacement was kind of bonus content. 👍🏻😀

@@dsgb I see. Thanks. I don't have experience with zero-fret guitar and basses.

No problem. Another commenter also pointed this out. I decided not to mention it in the narrative and hoped nobody would notice. 😀👍🏻

That's interesting to know. The Jescar and StewMac gold fret wire is C425 brass and I haven't heard any complaints about it. 🤔 Brass alloys can be polished smooth so perhaps this is the key to avoiding friction?

@@dsgb maybe Hofner used low-quality brass. All I know is that it completely turned me off against them. There were grooves all worn into the zero fret after just a few hours of playing.

Oh dear, I'm sorry to hear that. 😐

@@dsgb yeah, pretty obnoxious for a $2400 guitar. My Warwicks don't have issues with their brass frets or the brass nut, so maybe it was just the type of brass Hofner used for the zero fret. I wouldn't dare try anything less than a stainless zero fret again, but I'd rather avoid them all together.

Thanks and well spotted. There is a small gap which was irritating. I should have smoothed the fretboard surface more and not elected to hammer the fret in. The idea of compressing it with the radiusing block was an afterthought. This was only my second attempt at fretwork and my first attempt at a removal and replacement. The main focus of the video was intended to be the reasons why zero fret wear occurs. DIY removal and replacement was kind of bonus content. 👍🏻😀

I was trying to ease the old fretwire out without using excessive force but it didn't quite work out as you saw in the video. 👍🏻😀

@@dsgb that was a bit scary! 🎃

Indeed. 😮 The cracking sound was frightening! I genuinely expected to see a disaster zone when I removed the masking tape. Fretwork is quite intimidating for the amateur, occasional luthier.

Thanks Nolhan. Certainly check out any new or used guitar carefully before committing to buy it. The previous owner of my Burns Red Special had inserted a block of wood in the tremolo cavity to prevent movement, turning it into a hard tail instrument. This must have reduced the zero fret wear because it was barely noticeable when I bought it.

Hi Adam. Many thanks for your supportive comments. I'm pleased that you enjoyed it. 💜👍🏻😀

I don't know what you mean by "all fryer inputs about treble boosters are deleted". 🤷🏻‍♂️

I doubt there would be sufficient consumer demand and I doubt that Brian May Guitars or any mainstream commercial guitar brand could generate sufficient profit margin on it.

That’s a drag to read, @@dsgb. I might’ve thought that it would have appealed to Musician’s who wanted Brian’s aesthetics but also gravitate in the direction of headless guitars in the Steinberger tradition. Live and learn. I will say that if I had credit cards or discretionary money to burn, I would get one for me.

A reasonable assumption I guess but headless guitars, particularly those with a tremolo are a niche option and not universally popular. Steinberger specialists Headless USA (www.headlessusa.com/why-buy-your-instrument-from-us) state that "these are VERY complex and carefully engineered, high performance instruments". An article titled "The Intriguing History of Steinberger Guitars" (guitar.com/features/history-of-steinberger-guitars/) gives us an insight into the profit margin challenges that companies trying to sell niche guitars face: "Grasping for a more cost-effective way of making these unusual instruments, Gibson began building the guitars out of wood in South Korea instead." I think a funky headless Red Special could be relatively straightforward for the amateur luthier to make. Indeed, Brad McDowall (spidey4fun) is currently building a custom one to his own design. Doug

Thank you, Doug.

I'm pleased that you recognise and appreciate Scott and Luke's hard work and dedication to reproducing Freddie and Brian's stage presence. 👍🏻💜

It isn't necessary to make a bobbinless Tri-Sonic pickup; this is just how they were traditionally made but as you can see in the video, the modern, volume manufactured BHK variants have a plastic bobbin. Making a traditional bobbinless, tape bound and tied off coil obviously increases the manufacturing complexity.

Thanks for the kind comments. 😀💜 Luke, Ricky and Andrek had some fun with it at the 2023 US Red Special meet-up.

The pinging sound occurs when a string moves laterally out of the axial groove that has been worn into the soft zero fret through the sawing action of the tremolo. Nothing cures this but fitting a harder stainless steel zero fret will delay the onset of the phenomenon. Adding a roller nut and/or roller bridge saddles will reduce the friction in the tremolo system and I always recommend this but it will not directly reduce the symptoms. I replied to other comments that the sawing action of the tremolo system might be exacerbated by the 7 degree break angle across the headstock/nut/zero fret region compared to 5 degree break angle on Brian's original Red Special.

I'm glad you realised what was causing it and resolved the issue. 👍🏻😀

Thank you Paul. I'm pleased that you found the video entertaining. 🙏🏻💜😀 The best option for Brian May Red Special switching are the push-to-make, push-to-break microswitches on a PCB used in the Guyton RS Transporter and on my converted Fender Stratocaster. Check it out if you haven't seen it already.

One of the main motivations for making replica vintage Jeanrenaud switches is for the smaller sized actuator. If you want to fit these, you would need to make a new pickguard to match. It would be possible to design and make a Jeanrenaud style switch with a modern Switchcraft sized actuator tip but surely this would be somewhat pointless?