| Cwazy little thing 11.09.2006 17:20 |
Just wondered if anyone owns a Brian May 2006 model, and could help me with a couple of questions? Basically - Im not much when it comes to the workings of a guitar, and Im a very poor, but learning player, who's just bought a Brian May. Does anyone know - if Im getting a buzz on my low E string (to the point where it has very little sustain, and the buzz is audible throught the amp), but none of the others buzz, do I need to raise the strings slightly using the Allen key wotsits on the bridge? which way would I turn them? Also, fairly annoyingly, the tone nob has come off after about two plays (I noticed it was loose and wiggled it to see if it could be manually tightened, and it came straight off), was this held on using glue? And if so which glue is most likely to fix the best? Finally, and less importantly, which pickup settings have everyone else found closest matches Brian's sound, or even a good sound when playing Rhythm with distortion, cos I get a great lead sound, but havent quite found a sound perfect for AC/DC style riffs with the combinations Ive tried? I hope I havent come off sounding too stupid, thanks if anyone can give me any help! Particularly with the maintenance issues! Thanks very much! |
| Fireplace 11.09.2006 18:09 |
OK, here we go: String buzz: can be solved by raising the strings (if you relax the strings a little by detuning them, you can freely experiment, very little can go wrong) or using slightly thicker strings The knob: Same thing happened to me. Very slowly and very gently widen the "slit" in the underlying screw so you get a tight fit again. Famous Brian settings: 1. middle & neck pick-up out of phase (Bo Rhap screaming lead) 2. middle & bridge pick-ups in phase (thick rhythm sound) But don't let anyone tell you which sound to use, trust your ears! |
| john bodega 12.09.2006 01:52 |
If you want to play any Led Zeppelin, it's real fun throwing the middle and bridge pickups out of phase. |
| Cwazy little thing 14.09.2006 09:40 |
Thanks very much guys! Havent played for a couple of days, so it had totally slipped my mind that I asked this. But cheers - I'll copy this to my hardisk for reference when playing, and get working on that blooming screw wotsit shortly! What a pain eh!? If I was in a less patient mood Id just glue the damned thing! I think I'll have to play with the settings on my amp aswell to get some nice sounds from it. Ive only had the guitar a week or so, but Ive really noticed that it has a lot of what I would call "voice" to its sound when playing distorted. I know Brian gets this kind of sound often, but Id put that down to him using some kind of post effect, almost like constantly playing with a bit of chorus or something, but nope its the Red Special - I like it. Cheers again, Matt |
| Adam Baboolal 20.09.2006 05:01 |
On the knob falling off... this happened to me as well and then I realised how to fix it. If you look at the side of the knob, you'll see a hole for an allen key. Place the knob back into position and then use a small enough allen key to tighten this part of the knob. That should fix it perfectly. Btw, my volume and tone knob are die-cast metal. Someone said theirs were plastic. What's yours? Adam. |
| Cwazy little thing 14.01.2008 12:33 |
two years late - mine are metal. :) |
| John S Stuart 14.01.2008 14:14 |
Adam Baboolal wrote: On the knob falling off... Adam.Sounds like the fruits of typical Queen-like debauchery to me! |
| Cwazy little thing 14.01.2008 19:26 |
John S Stuart wrote:hehe - indeed.Adam Baboolal wrote: On the knob falling off... Adam.Sounds like the fruits of typical Queen-like debauchery to me! |
| john bodega 15.01.2008 00:55 |
That's crazy - your tone pot just fell off, but I had to struggle so hard to remove mine that it now has a permanent wobble :/ |
| Brian_Mays_Wig 15.01.2008 01:45 |
Adam Baboolal wrote: On the knob falling off... this happened to me as well and then I realised how to fix it. If you look at the side of the knob, you'll see a hole for an allen key. Place the knob back into position and then use a small enough allen key to tighten this part of the knob. That should fix it perfectly. Btw, my volume and tone knob are die-cast metal. Someone said theirs were plastic. What's yours? Adam.Mine fell off too...used the alan key, its the same size alan key as the one used to tighten the tremelo arm. I had the Black n Gold BM and all the gold rubbed off down to bare metal on the pick up covers, the tuners and the trem....after less than 2 months....Quality. And me Low E Buzzed like a bitch, I just swapped the saddles around. |
| Brian_Mays_Wig 15.01.2008 01:47 |
Oh, and buy the treble booster for a closer sound....mine sounded wank through my Marshall. |
| Fireplace 15.01.2008 06:46 |
Brian_Mays_Wig wrote: I had the Black n Gold BM and all the gold rubbed off down to bare metal on the pick up covers, the tuners and the trem....after less than 2 months....Quality. And me Low E Buzzed like a bitch, I just swapped the saddles around.Funny to see all the posters from 2 years ago are still around... I was about to buy the Black & Gold BM Signature. You're giving me quite a scare here. Care to elaborate? |
| john bodega 15.01.2008 08:54 |
Well it's obviously not going to be real gold hardware, but they could try to find a finish that'll last more than 2 months, surely! |
| MercuryArts 15.01.2008 10:43 |
Don't feel to bad about the quality of the gold plating on the hardware. A good friend of mine just bought a Gibson Les Paul Classic. Ebony w/ gold hardware. In less than 3 week the gold started to rub away. That guitar cost him $1500.00. He told me its normal for it to happen. |
| Brian_Mays_Wig 15.01.2008 11:57 |
Fireplace wrote:Seriously, I gigged the guitar twice, apart from that, all rehearsals were done on my Jackson or Les Paul and the BM stayed in the case. The Gold just rubbed off all the hardware. Really really poor quality. Mine was from the first line of BM guitars (not Burns) and I wasnt all that impressed.Brian_Mays_Wig wrote: I had the Black n Gold BM and all the gold rubbed off down to bare metal on the pick up covers, the tuners and the trem....after less than 2 months....Quality. And me Low E Buzzed like a bitch, I just swapped the saddles around.Funny to see all the posters from 2 years ago are still around... I was about to buy the Black & Gold BM Signature. You're giving me quite a scare here. Care to elaborate? |
| Fireplace 15.01.2008 15:43 |
Seriously, I gigged the guitar twice, apart from that, all rehearsals were done on my Jackson or Les Paul and the BM stayed in the case. The Gold just rubbed off all the hardware. Really really poor quality. Mine was from the first line of BM guitars (not Burns) and I wasnt all that impressed.Hmm, the one I set my beady eyes on is the new 2006 model with the half moon scratchplate. I hope they have improved the finishing. Didn't the Burns come first and Brian's own production line afterwards by the way? |
| mooghead 15.01.2008 17:20 |
I have a guitar. |
| Fireplace 15.01.2008 17:35 |
mooghead wrote: I have a guitar.So between a brain and a guitar you chose the guitar? |
| MercuryArts 16.01.2008 00:40 |
Fireplace wrote:Yes but what kind of guitar, a cort or harmony perhaps??mooghead wrote: I have a guitar.So between a brain and a guitar you chose the guitar? |
| Adam Baboolal 16.01.2008 06:45 |
The BHM line was redone with better quality starting in summer 2006, I believe. From there on, there's been a quality level increase. The one I bought in August 2006 is still kickin ass and I've messed with it a lot. Great guitar! The only issue I have is down to having lost the little grub screw that tightens up the tremolo arm. But it seems fine without it, thankfully. Apart from that, it's all good! In fact, a few days before xmas, I checked out a little Roland microcube and grabbed a BHM off the rack to test with. The amp was pretty meh, but the guitar - it felt even more solid than mine and had no issues with the sound or playability at all. They've definitely made good headway in getting things right with the line. Adam. |
| worm of fluff 16.01.2008 06:52 |
Brian May makes his guitar out of fireplaces. I try this and the guitar sound shit! What I do wrong? Why Brian's fireplace guitar sound good and mine sound like ken? I don't get it. |
| Cwazy little thing 16.01.2008 15:34 |
Cheers everyone who replied, both two years ago and now! Except the guy above. My 2006 BM is still going strong - I still have to fiddle for hours to find a sound I like that gives me good rhythm and lead, but I think Im just picky! As for the quality, I had an issue over the summer whereby I rehearsed in a damp rehearsal room and didnt notice the bag had gotten wet. I then moved house and the guitar went in the bag for about a week, and all the screws around the pick-up switches showed signs of rust to various degrees - I was absolutely gutted! I even got a nice fella from the company who distribute them for Brian to send me some replacements, but theres about 3 different kinds of screws used - some holding on the scratch plate, and others by the switches and those to raise and lower the pickups themselves. I could only replace one or two, as he couldnt send me some of each kind cos they were in short supply! Anyone know where I might be able to pick up the right types in black (I think Ive got a couple of the pickup ones in silver, but using them would make everything look strange)? Sorry to rant about something so trivial, lol. Still love the guitar! |
| Cwazy little thing 16.01.2008 15:36 |
I realise I made that sound like poor quality led to rusting - thats clearly not the case - it was purely an accident/absent-mindedness on my part! The quality is fine! |