Marshall Paul Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Well, a lucky week for me. I had the replacement GoldTop turn up and the new HCB Standard as well. And to top it all off, the new Brian May "Red Special" arrived yesterday. My old GoldTop and Standard now get a well earned R&R (rest and repair) at my techie's workshop. The GoldTop has these new 'Super 57's' in it. Now I'm not that a big a fan of '57's, not that I think they're inferior in any way, it's just not my sound that's all. Usually I take them out and replace them with the 490R/498T combo, however, this time I just might make an exception. These super's are pretty good from what I've heard so far. This time they might just stay. The new Standard comes with open coil ceramic sisters (496R/500T) and they just roar. Terrific stuff to try and tame! But the real try from new guitar is this "Red Special" of Brians. Have been wanting one of these since I was a kid, and I haven't been disapointed. It really is something special. The first thing that was very obvious was the incredible ammount of inherent sustain this instrument has. It will take any note you choose, and take it all the way to the moon and back! I found myself palming off notes to actually stop them. Don't find that too often. The next was the length of the neck - all 24 frets of it. I found myself going places you don't get to visit up the neck too many times. Too much fun. You can turn each of the three pups on or off at will, and also put any of them in or out of phase with just the flick of a switch. Time to get serious, so I turned off the bridge leaving the mid and neck, and then took the mid out of phase. Then cranked loud and fast into "Fat Bottom Girls". Not bad, so I decided to take it around some hair pin turns to see if it would hold, mid and bridge on and out of phase - straight into "Brighton Rock". Just beautiful, easy to see why Brian would even attempt something like that. The neck is silky smooth with a consistant 9.5" radius, suitable for barring chords and lead work up high too. The sound is pure vintage Queen. It's like this instrument has many voices and finding them all is just too much fun. Like a kid in a candy store. So I then wanted to see how far you could bend the sound out of shape. Next off the fretboard was "Now I'm Here". Handled it like the champ that it is. For the final test (after a cofee and smoke break) was "Tie Your Mother Down. All three pups on with the mid out of phase, and it was like the guitar just came out of the recording studio. With the pup selection the way it is, it's now easy to understand where Brian got all his unique sounds from. I'm just surprised other manufacturers haven't cotton on to this idea. The only other I know of that comes close is Jimmy Page's #2LP. The weight is a hefty but acceptable 7.7lb, the neck silky smooth, constant radius, and true scale 24 fret. Sort of feels like a shaved 50's neck. The locking tuners (grovers) are a dream, the trem can give you a full octave dive bomb, and the wilkinson roller bridge returns the strings to true note after said dive bomb. The pups give you more voices than a schizoid at a loonie bin convention, and I haven't even begun to put it through the pedal chain yet! It reminds me of a sort of beefed up strat on steroids. But better. I used to do all the queen stuff in the band using a strat so that doesn't surprise me that much I suppose. I can't wait to start trying it out on non-queen stuff, see how it handles that side. Overall, I can see this being a guitar I can go to in a pinch to try and nail a particular sound needed. A beautifully made guitar, well thought out and designed. Easy to heft, and just feels natural to the hands. I think Mr. Gibson and Mr. Fender have some serious competition here. For the price of just a new strat, it's an instrument worth consideration next time the NGD urge hits. I don't think you'd be disapointed. Burned off some serious callous layers doing this try-out, got to rest the fingers now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. C.O. Jones Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Hello! I'm glad to hear that you are more than satisfied with your BMS. Then I wanted to ask you, what is different on those Super 57's? I have a 57 on my neck and love it, always wondered. And now to...... WTF is this? http://www.thomann.de/gb/brian_may_signature_ch.htm Are you talking about this one? Seriously? Does it only cost that??? Awesome, I thought that it was one of that $$$$$$$ignature Models! And a great review like yours deserves a reward! GUITARGASM!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Very cool man I must remember to try one when im in the guitar shop next... Sounds like a great guitar :) You do realise though that we still need to see pictures of your new baby.. or it didn't happen :P (and yes I know we all know what they look like, but it doesn't matter, a vid would be cool to so we can hear it ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshall Paul Posted January 29, 2015 Author Share Posted January 29, 2015 Hello! I'm glad to hear that you are more than satisfied with your BMS. Then I wanted to ask you, what is different on those Super 57's? I have a 57 on my neck and love it, always wondered. And now to...... WTF is this? http://www.thomann.d...ignature_ch.htm Are you talking about this one? Seriously? Does it only cost that??? Awesome, I thought that it was one of that $$ignature Models! And a great review like yours deserves a reward! GUITARGASM!!! G'day Tod, Thanks for that mate, loved the vids! How good is that, Daltrey, Iommi, Slash. Would love to have them up on stage with me sometime! Now, the Super 57's. The ordinary 57's are the famous PAF's that made the 50's and 60's sound. That warm, rich sound which the humbucker is well known for. Not the duck quack of the single coil (although that's good too). It's the good ol' standard everyone runs for when it doubt or just after that particular sound. It's like cooking up a good bolognese sauce for the whole family at dinner. You know you'll get no complaints because everyone loves it. It's safe to do. Now, these new super's still retain that warm, rich sound, just with a bit of bite to them as well. It's like someone came along and put a generous dash of tobasco sauce in your bolognese! Still the same recipe, just a bit more interesting, an extra bite to it. I ran it through a HiWatt 100W Custom head and then a Marshall 1960B cab. So far, very interesting. Worthy of keeping in and doing further investigating. Which is what I'm going to do. Now, the price of the BMG on that webshop is pretty good. About 100 pound less than what's advertised on Brians site. I paid about 550 for the guitar and then a further 100 in shipping/delivery to here in Oz. Now, to walk out the shop door over here with the latest Strat costs about the same. All up, I paid about $1,400AUS for mine, which is an excellent price for what I was getting I thought. And the BMG is no toy, it is one very serious instrument. Excellently made, I can't fault anything with the design, feels very comfortable in the hands (most important thing), and right price. IMHO what's not to love about that. I just can't understand why more players out there don't own one yet. Go figure eh. I ran this one through a Vox VT30 tube/SS combo. Just like Brian likes. I'll start working it up through the pedal chain this weekend and see how that all goes. I can understand why Brian doesn't use many pedals, he just doesn't need them with this beast! (lol). The only signature is the one on the headstock by the way. Very unpretentious. I hope the review helped some. If you get one, give us your review as well, we'll see how this stacks up. For the price, I think everyone should have one stashed away with the rest of the team. Variety the spice of life and all that jazz! Best mate (and thanks again for the vids...excellent!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshall Paul Posted January 29, 2015 Author Share Posted January 29, 2015 Very cool man I must remember to try one when im in the guitar shop next... Sounds like a great guitar :) You do realise though that we still need to see pictures of your new baby.. or it didn't happen :P (and yes I know we all know what they look like, but it doesn't matter, a vid would be cool to so we can hear it ) Awe geez, I still can't figure out one of those camera's for pictures, and now you want vids too (LOL!). Oh boy....! Had a root this morning. Didn't take pics or vids but I know it happened! (LOL!) Seriously though, I am getting my nieces to help me select and buy a new digital camera soon, and then show me how to operate it. And then how to put them here. (whew!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingfrets Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Hey Marshall, Got a question for you about "The Red Special." I've seen that it has the 24" scale of the original, but do you know if the upper half of the body (between the pickups & the body edge) is hollow per the original? Can't find any info one way or the other, but Brian said that was one of the design features that contributed to the "never-ending" sustain. Thanks for any info you can provide. Been curious about these guitars & the more I'm hearing, I'm beginning to think I gotta go find one to check out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshall Paul Posted January 30, 2015 Author Share Posted January 30, 2015 Wow that is alot to read. That's ok mate, you can rest the eyeballs now. Have a bex and a lie down and a cuppa! (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshall Paul Posted January 30, 2015 Author Share Posted January 30, 2015 Hey Marshall, Got a question for you about "The Red Special." I've seen that it has the 24" scale of the original, but do you know if the upper half of the body (between the pickups & the body edge) is hollow per the original? Can't find any info one way or the other, but Brian said that was one of the design features that contributed to the "never-ending" sustain. Thanks for any info you can provide. Been curious about these guitars & the more I'm hearing, I'm beginning to think I gotta go find one to check out. Not real sure but I think yes. The pickguard covers all that position but when I knuckle it, it sounds hollow. The sustain is incredible, the best I've ever heard. And that's before a compressor or anything else. Just the guitar! The sustain he gets like in the begining of "Death On Two Legs" for instance would have been all guitar. I don't think there was any recording studio trickery there. This instrument can actually do it. Just amazing. If you've got the chance, I highly recommend getting one. They are unique. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingfrets Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Thanks for the info! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Yep... the Red Special remakes are definitely crazy and stunningly spot-on. I tried some of these several times at Thomann, plugged into a VOX AC30, and there it was, in a sonic perfection one couldn't even dream of. The sustain is crazy, they came with the Optima Gold Strings Brian May set on them, and I guess the only thing missing to Brian's tone was the Sixpence he uses as guitar pick. I think I would have bought me one if I had any intentions to cover Queen songs. For sure they are the only way of coming really close to Brian's tone. The Red Special remakes are absolutely gorgeous, awesome guitars, with nothing comparing to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshall Paul Posted January 30, 2015 Author Share Posted January 30, 2015 Yeah, that sustain is the first thing that jumped out at me. Just crazy. I actually had to palm off notes they were going so long! I've got one particular LP that does this too. Don't know how or why but it does. It's in fact the old GoldTop that's going in for some R&R. But the sustain on this BMG is just dog's nuts! Even better than the LP. Brian actually says in his book that when he wanders around the stage and finds his sweet spot, he can keep a note going forever. I've been able to do that with one of my strats and the LP I had converted to the Tom Scholz mod. Brian consistantly does this with his. I'm still shaking my head in amazement. Sarah actually thought I was doing it with the chain, until I showed her that the chain wasn't even plugged in yet! Find one in a shop and give it a go, you'll be amazed too. And I don't have a sixpence, but I did go authentic and used the Aussie equivilant, the good ol' 5 cent piece. Metal on metal as Brian says. It does sound different from a pick! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimi Mac Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Awesome! Glad yer enjoying so thoroughly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. C.O. Jones Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Thank's a lot for the info about those Super 57's! And I have to say now you have made me hungry for pasta and for supers, I like it hot & spicy. Would love to try some. And about the BMS, well I was saving for a SG if posible with Dirty Fingers or P-90's but Everywhere I look I see the BMS on this forum on youtube (found those vid's whatching some Nugent stuff) in this month's Classic Rock magazine. It's crazy, have you ever experienced the felling that there are happening things around you to tell you something? Well enjoy it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshall Paul Posted January 30, 2015 Author Share Posted January 30, 2015 Yeah, kinda made myself hungry for it now too! (lol). I'm afraid that was the best analogy I could come up with. That feeling your getting is either serendipity, karma, or just plain fate. I wouldn't fight it mate, go with the flow! (lol). Might be an idea to find a shop that might have one in and give it a good going over if possible. I guess like any other guitar, it wouldn't be for everyone but, hard to tell who would and who wouldn't. Most people here either own or have played a strat, and like them. So that being the case, they'd probably like the BMG because it reminds me of a split personality strat on steroids! He has a list of shops that carry the guitar on his website. If at all possible, best thing to do is find one of these shops that close and give it a going over. Failing that, do what I did and take a leap of faith and just out and out buy one off his site or a webshop. I don't regret it for one minute. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 ...do you know if the upper half of the body (between the pickups & the body edge) is hollow per the original?... Here's a line from the official website; "Specifications: > Mahogany body (with acoustic chamber) with Pinstripe binding..." If you really want to know more here's the link; http://www.brianmayguitars.co.uk/bm-special.html I'll have one in the rather fetching dark green finish, thank you. P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshall Paul Posted January 30, 2015 Author Share Posted January 30, 2015 Oooh yeah, that green would be good too. Almost like the old British Race Green colour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L8_4thesh0w Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 Yes that is a very tasteful look in the British Racing Green. Maybe a Lotus Turbine Orange will be next, complete with STP® decal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingfrets Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 Nah...if I pull the trigger on one of these, it's GOTTA be good ol' Brian May RED!!! And thanks for the link Pippy - very informative...and GAS inducing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 Nah...if I pull the trigger on one of these, it's GOTTA be good ol' Brian May RED!!! And thanks for the link Pippy - very informative...and GAS inducing! Did you guys see this site... He makes guitars for Brian including a double neck and a semi... Cool stuff http://www.guytonguitars.com/brian-may.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshall Paul Posted January 31, 2015 Author Share Posted January 31, 2015 Red goes faster, a proven scientific fact! And I think that there is one out there with a pin stripe on it too! (lol). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshall Paul Posted January 31, 2015 Author Share Posted January 31, 2015 So, who's going to take the plunge and pull the trigger on one of these mothers? (lol) :unsure: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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