Topics have been posted before where I've mentioned my guitar and setup - it's not a Red Special, but it sure as hell sounds like it.
A couple years ago, I toyed around in an instrument shop for hours. No Vox amps, no Red Specials - but I was determined to find that sound. I played nearly every electric guitar with every amp available. What I found was that the RS sound wasn't all too elusive. The combination of a Washburn WI-64 idol-series guitar and a Roland 60 watt amp with digital modelling provided me with the sustain, tone and squeal of the Red Special. The guitar itself provides the versatility of the RS phase/pickup switches. It comes stock with two Humbucker pickups which can be phased together, separately or any combination you desire. This is a badass guitar at a reasonable price - new, I paid upwards of $700. You can currently find them on eBay and online music stores much more affordable price. The Roland amp is generally somewhere around $200.
I emailed Brian a couple months ago and told him of the settings I use for both the guitar and amp. He replied that with digital modelling, just about any sound is possible - including the RS. The recently released Brian May Digitech foot pedal that mimicks the RS sound does almost exactly what this amp does (minus the treble effects).
On another note, have any of you purchased the Mini May (a "travel version" of the Red Special, recently put out by Brian's signature guitar company)? I was anxious to see this guitar on eBay for such affordable prices. Just the same, I've yet to find any thorough reviews of this guitar.
Cheers!
I've read on the red special board over at brianmayworld.com, that the RS travel guitar ain't that good at all. Have a search on their forum and you'll get some comments.
I'm keen to hear this RS sound you have. My own RS type sound (before I had a pair of RS guitars!) comes from a little known Hohner RTX model guitar, along with the treble booster in the vox deacy through some BritCombo modelling. It certainly gets very close in some places and from trying it out with my recent Vox AD50vt, I was surprised that it really does have similarities to the RS sound. But really, nothing matches the RS copies' thick distorted sound from bridge and middle in phase. Mmm... so good!
Adam.
Here's a suggestion if you're on a budget like I am and can't afford to buy a replica of the guitar or even a full rig like Brian has...I have a low end Ibanez which is their version of a Fat-Strat. Its a pretty decent guitar aside from the fact that the electronics are crap. Buy wiring and six switches, which you can get at a Radio Shack or a local electronics store...I got mine at a HAM Radio gathering, the parts and wiring shouldn't cost more than $10 American dollars. Then re-wire the guitar similarly or modified to the way Brian did it so you can maximize the tonal possibilities of the pickups...then buy a DigiTech BM Pedal...That's a relatively cheap way to achieve that tone, and that style of your guitar...I know there's plenty of other ways to do it. But for what its worth I hope that helps...
I tried for years to get the sound authentic, strong, but with contollable volume. I managed to do well with the first two, but only when LOUD AS HELL!!
While on one hand I am slightly bummed that all my hard work is so easily pushed away, it is cool as hell that Digitech has finally solved the problem.