Queen's Brian May on Red Special
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- Опубліковано 19 бер 2020
- The guitar legend for Queen details the guitar he built with his father as a teen in the early 1960s.
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#queen #brianmay #rigrundown
Watch the Episode: bit.ly/BrianMayRigRundown
Don't Miss a Rundown: bit.ly/RIgRundownENL
Subscribe to PG's Channel: bit.ly/SubscribePGUA-cam
I've always wondered how Brian got the screaming intro to the "Dragon Attack" solo! Then he proceeds to make it bark like a dog!! Wonderful and still remarkable!
Rock god, luthier, doctor of astrophysics. The man is incredibly inspiring.
@Aniquin Stark
Add to all that, animal welfare champion & wildlife protector. I love him for so many reasons!💙
rightt
And a doctor in astro physics, million seller song writer and a CBE
Also renowned expert (and historian) on the subject of stereoscopic 3D photography and imaging. Owner of the revitalised London Stereoscopic Company.
The most astonishing thing is that this must be the most played guitar in history and he designed and knocked it up with his dad and it’s still going.
Willie Nelson's "Trigger" is in the running for most played guitar!
Kev Dean you are correct kev. Probably the two most played guitars on the planet. But trigger was built by a mega corporation and is falling apart and the thing that still amazes me about Brian’s guitar is that him and his dad only ever made one with zero experience and after over fifty years it not only still plays perfectly but they have attempted numerous times to replicate it without complete success.
@@davidtaylor6793 I see where you're coming from and I am blown away by what Brian and his dad accomplished!!. Calling Martin a "Mega corperation" is not accurate at all,. Martin in the mid 1940's was anything but a mega Corperation, and comparing a solid bodied electric with an acoustic guitar is the equivalent of comparing a bulldozer with a Ford F350, not a logical comparison at all in terms of durability!!!
@@davidtaylor6793 trigger is also much more delicate and hollow since it's a acoustic. Also Willie probably didnt care for it the same way...no matter what they say.
This is a kind of magic
This is a musician that made his instrument. Then went on to literally make the greatest song of all time and play in one of the greatest band of all time. If something happens to that guitar I'll legit cry. The Red Special on it's own is a celebrity.
Fact is it suits him, but not most people ..otherwise lots of people would buy the copies. They don't. It's not that well known it's a 24" scale...
This HAS to be one the most valuable guitars around, right?
Well, it IS a 1 of a kind!
@@DMSProduktions And used by an absolute legend on i guess pretty much all of his recordings and live performances. If it isnt the most valuable guitar it sure should be right up there.
Ironic that a guitar built from scraps because he had no money for a Strat or whatever was the guitar store's cheapest offering.... has gone on, some 50 years later (can that really be so!?), to become so valuable that is priceless!
@@Stefan- Yep!
@@lueysixty-six7300 And yep!
I’m shocked that he’s never had to refret the guitar. All those gigs after all these years and those frets look great. Not to mention that he built it with his dad. I have a guitar that belonged to my dad and I cherish it. I can only imagine the love for an instrument that I built with my pops. Very cool 😎
Green Frog haha my dad says the same thing. Him and my mother went to see queen in “78” or “79” in Huston Texas. My dad says its still some of the best playing he’s ever seen. I just wish that I was old enough to had gone with them.
Gold plated strings (soft) on stainless steel frets (hard). Even so, if you look at 3:58 you can see just how worn down the frets are. Brian is just used to it.
The Lamb are they at 3:58? Yeah they must be stainless. Because there’s no way they’d have lasted that s long if not. My uncle had 74 Les Paul custom. The frets were so worn down that I had trouble getting under the strings to bend them (and I like low action). But my uncle had no problem ripping it up. Probably because he’d been playing it since 1974. For Brian May, that guitar is probably like willies “trigger”. When it goes, he goes
@@timothycormier3494 Not stainless steel. They're normal vintage style frets. You're just forgetting that his guitar has a 24'' scale neck, and Brian uses 9's gauge strings. He started using Optima's gold, in the 2000's, if not mistaken. Before that he used Rotosound's.
It is basically a fretless by now. He is just used to playing without any fret height.
“And in some ways we succeeded, partly by luck, partly by good design…”
One can learn so much from Brian. Playing guitar, yes. Making guitar, definitely. But most of all, the most important lesson in life, humility.
This guitar Red Special and Paul McCartney's Hofner Bass with the Beatles playlist on the side are my top two picks for priceless guitars
I think this, Johnny Cash's Martin, Luther Perkins' Fender, and Willie Nelson's Trigger are the most iconic guitars. Specifically this and Trigger are so distinct.
The fact that he and his Father
built that guitar, and then he took that
guitar and became an incredible success with it....
is almost like a fairytale.
An AMAZING true story.
What strikes me when I watch this is the parenting that happened in May's life and as a result of that you see a very balanced happy individual, someone who got through years of hedonistic rock tours and success without self destructive alcoholism , drug addiction etc. He had a father in his life who could see his son's passion and spent a year with him building that guitar. Really makes you think with where we are today, you have families sitting around a table all looking at a smartphone and hardly interacting.
This must be the world's most brilliant guitarist as far as I know. My number 1.
Hilda Poo good guitarist for sure but absolutely not the best one... Clapton page gilmour slash Mayer are so farrr bater
@@lakatsuki7037 hendrix,vai,hammett,malmsteen,hetfield,mustaine,satriani,dimebag,mick thomson,cobain, just to name a few..
@@tommy_1629 the Young brothers
Poo
KirkHammettsWahPedal I can’t believe you actually just suggested that Kurt Cobain or James Hetfield were/are superior guitarists to Brian
Such a nice man for a genius. It’s one thing to make a guitar. But it’s another to create a signature sound. A natural engineer who is musically gifted. God bless Brian May.
I saw him play that beautiful guitar at Cobo Hall in 77. Couldn't BELIEVE how much beautiful music came out of one guitar. That stayed with me all these years.
Damn... built one, got it right. - Couple hundred million album sales as evidence.
300 million to be exact 👍🇬🇧
That guitar is literally a piece of history. Priceless
It's a miracle that it still holds tune and the wood's holding up so well.
The sound of a generation all home made & played with passion. Brian May a true legend. Red has to be the best guitar ever made.
for him , for Brian, not for most people...
Yeah that guitar is amazing you can do basically all The sounds you need
I knew he made it with his father, but I didn't know it was out of desperation, and it made history, this instrument, that's incredible.
I love how immaculate that guitar is and the sense of pride he has.
What a bond between this individual & his dad - one of rock music's more positive tales. Well done, guys !!
Gotta be the most legendary guitar in rock history. It’s a one off. Priceless.
GENIUS ! Way ahead of his time! So much innovation way back in 64.
Now that is a true and real guitarist that makes his own instrument and playes it for years and years. The fact his dad and him built it from, how he says, scratch only shows that both of them, his dad and him are true artists with Golden hands. Not many people would know how to do it. Respect! 👍
Love how humble he is about things .what a credit to music for decades. A true legend.
Evan if Brian never became huge..that's some achievement he and his dad pulled off ..what a story ...changed music and helped millions with his passion for music. And it came from an old fire place beam .amazing
Love the sound of that guitar, particularly on Queen's first album
This story is so remarkable!
Genius!
Keeping the stings straight is a big deal.
The humility is refreshing.
I thoroughly recommend the book "Red Special" which Brian wrote with Simon Bradley. Detailed information on how it was built and lots of photographs. Fascinating.
Damn what a guitar, I would love to have a guitar like that, I want to build my own guitar now. I would love to borrow that guitar for a couple of weeks just to play around with my pedal board, so so cool. Also, Brian May is one of my first guitar heroes ever, him and Randy are Legendary.
You'd find Brian's guitar very hard to play probably. It has a very thick neck so unless you have big hands you'd struggle with that. The strings are very light due to 24" neck, and are not in the centre of the neck if you look closely. Oh and by now the frets have big indentations under each string.
I like the sixpence coin on the headstock, and the fact Brian uses them for a pick. Throw back to my youth when they were legal tender.
Quite astounding to look at this guitar and imagine what's been played on it, in the studio and live, music known intimately to millions upon millions of people, over nearly *half a century.*
Normally I don't like wear and tear on equipment, but this thing has been everywhere, stuff of legends:-)
What a great story from my legend
Love you old man! Thanks for all of the brilliant music!
and he uses a sixpence as a guitar pick. truly a unique guitar played by a unique person with a unique playstyle.
It’s great to hear a passionate musician talking about his instruments. I am a massive Queen fan and when my friend got into them as well in the 1980’s he thought it would be nice to learn the guitar. I went with him to buy the original Red Special copy by Guild and he bought a used one number 39 along with the pedal. He was very lucky to find one as they were extremely rare. It turned out the new copy that you can buy now is nearer the original so when that came out he bought that as well. He now also has the new Brian May acoustic. It’s fantastic that a famous guitarist releases copies of his unique instruments so his fans can enjoy.
Always thought the Red Special is a Beautiful Instrument! One of the best looking Guitars ever!
This guitar is a kind of magic.
Just genius Brian May and his dad.
Come to think of it, I started getting REALLY into music like 4-6 years ago maybe? I've come find that thrash metal is currently my favorite. Heavy metal in general has some of the greatest guitarist alive and I've been inspired by so many of them, but thinking back, Brain May was my first guitar hero. I always remember being blown away by some of the amazing riffs and solos Queen had offered. Brian May is truly a class act and and absolute giant in music.
@@holdenvtseries2274 stone cold crazy goes hard af
Such an amazing history & achievement. And he’s so freaking smart. Congrats on 50 years.
Not a bad bit of DIY !!
The holy grail of guitars, Brian is so composed & humble to share with us something so personal to him.
That guitar build is epic!!! Truely an amazing accomplishment!!!
Brian and his Red Special is poetically beautiful.
His dad is with him onstage.
There's nothing like it anywhere 3lse in music 🎵
Brian's guitar is one of a kind. And so is he.
Brian May a truly nice guy and a brilliant guitarist also my favorite
Brian is a true Gentleman awesome builder and musician
THIS CHANNEL DESERVES MORE SUBSCRIBERS!!!
Fantastic artist
His voice is so relaxing!
It has a totally unique sound . Perfect.
3 days ago, we played a set with my Burns Red Special, and we covered a country tune. Believe it or not, the bridge pickup alone can sound like a convincing Telecaster! Had my Burns for 20 years now and only recently discovered it have some twang in there!
One of the smartest men alive
Great guitar. Love it.
Thank you so much for your amazing openness Brian. You are a bloody legend!
Absolutely remarkable!!
To do what May has done with a guitar he built with his dad has to be insanely special.
I'm only a few words into this interview and he already reminds me of Leslie West. In one of Leslie West's interviews they asked him "Leslie you played through a Les Paul Jr. and a P.A. head". "That's genius !!!" "How on Earth did you think of that?" / "It's not genius". "It's all I could afford".
hard not to be jealous of somebody so super talented at so many things ---- bastard
brain may is so iconic and every way he can be
Great interview! Interesting, detailed presentation of this unique guitar. It was nice to see that Brian has such a pleasant personality too. Thanks!
never get bored watching it all over again
Thanks, love sharing how his pickups work in and out of phase. A master craftsman, engineer, on top of being a most wonderful musician.
Brian Mays voice is so soft, i nearly feel to sleep. He would be brilliant for audio books. 😅
Thank you so much for this video.🎤🎸🎵🥁
Sure have heard some great tunes from Brian’s Red.. Thank you
The tone of that guitar is just magical. I still listen open jawed to Bijou, my fave guitar solo of all time.
The current Brian May 'Red Special' guitar is amazing and is totally a steal at slightly less than $900. I've owned one for 11 years and I love it.
Is there a word beyond ‘legend’?
....the Red Special....one day will be in the British Museum....
Brilliantly interesting and illuminating interview.
Brian is amazing.
Thanks for posting.
I am a Red Special owner and I learn so much more about my own model when I see these videos
Awesome! I have one on the way. Very excited.
@@ModularLanding are they hard to learn i want to learn guitar and buy one purely to try to play Brians Music
@@jamesbeach5445 Guitar is not that difficult of an instrument to learn to play. I encourage you to get a guitar and learn to play. Nowadays there are so many great videos online showing you how to play songs, including Queen songs. You can learn to play some of your favorite queen songs and be having a blast! Of course, mastering the instrument to the level Brian plays is another matter. That will take a lifetime! But you can learn to play the basic riffs from the songs and even some of the solos if you have diligence and patience. Good luck and I encourage you to try! It is such a wonderful thing to be able to play an instrument.
This is an amazing story.
I grew up listening to that guitar...nothing else sounds like it 🤟🏼
Normal guitarists: Mom I want a guitar!
Brian May: Dad let's build a guitar!
What a lovely interview. I like the questions asked of Brian. It's not just "so it's from a fireplace, yeah?" - The questions allow Brian to elaborate. Thanks.
I just adore HIS humble.
Honestly this should be worth *W A Y* more than the David Gilmour’s Black Strat.
Great interview
LOVE HIM.
rock and roll icon, the greatest guitarist of all time (viva Brayan may)🇧🇷
I could spend every minute of every day listening to great guitarists shoptalk about all the geeky little details of their gear even when it isn't self-built. This is 10x better.
Wonderful Story ! ! !
legend absolute
Happy birthday Brian!
Amazing story
Great musician
Technically sound
And he built his own instrument
Ultra fabulous
I will say Brian is a gentleman relative to how many times he's answered questions and talked about the Red Special and he's still enthusiastic about it.
Reversed the polarity of the neutron flow 😃
Nevwr forget this important step!
Really given the year this was crafted, this was a revolutionary instrument
He should guard that guitar with his life. It's so precious to him. sleeping with it would be his best protection for it.
He's had it for near 60 years, he has guarded it pretty well but I'm sure he will appreciate the advice
On the South America tours the guitar had its own bodyguard or something like that and they slept under it, the guitar being slung out of sight under something. There's talk of this somewhere in an interview.
Good job Brian and your Dad! Amazing story, God is the best author. ❤
Burns guitars isn't mentioned, ie custom wound single core pickups (split sound), but such a talent and humble man. Lucky I have heaps of these.
The floating nut design is a great idea imo. The string go straight through instead of having a severe angle which should never result in string breakage
That floating nuts been used by some guitarist for many years including Toni Iommi from Black Sabbath on his SGs he uses along with the roller bridges used on Gibson SGs that use the factory Leer tremolos that helps keep them in tune being they don't use springs like a strat or what's used on a Floyd Rose style trem system . The zero fret allows for a very low string height & slinky action especially if used with super light gauge strings .
The legend of guitar..1983 tutorial time
what a smart guy
Zeroth fret is such a sensible idea.
It's a great shape and size. Underrated for that, I think...
I love the pick guard on that bad boy.
The interviewer is so lucky to have that job. Imagine, you are seeing, facing and talking to one of the most iconic rockstar of all time. And I can tell that young dude has no idea how fortunate and lucky he is, for doing that kind of work that he's been doing... 😆
I know there's more than one out there but I've literally ever seen him use one other guitar in my life! It was in the video Princes of the Universe.