Hello guitarists!
Ok to get the Brian May sound what bits of equipment do i need? Like on the Brian May star licks video he says he uses a treble booster and a phaser (i'm not interested in the brighton rock sound for now).
Anyway i don't know what the different between a chorus pedal and a phaser? Can someone please explain?
Now what about the new pedal Brian has out. Is that pretty ok to produce a good sound - i have a replica burns guitar of the red special?
So just to recap - what do you plug all these devices into...i just play at home myself so i'm not on stage or anything.
ps - sorry if i sound really not tuned in with guitar set-ups. I hope ye'll appreciate there's a load of devices out there and it can be very expensive if you buy the wrong stuff.
Get the Red Special pedal for now. With your Burns and the pedal you have a place to start. If you play professionally, in the future, you'll need to use more appropriate gear but it sounds like you're still fairly new to it so the RS pedal is good enough for now.
Well if you've got a Burns, you're already going to be able to get lots of the tones, really... if you're after more complex sounds like the Deacy and stuff, then yeah - get the RS pedal, or some other effects unit that lets you tinker lots.
I'm gonna be controversial on this one and say, don't buy the RS pedal. My advice is to buy a treble booster and a Vox AD30vt amp. They'll cost less than the RS pedal and you'll have something that can be used in practice and stage areas.
And in the future, if you really want a Deacy, I have recently heard one that is being produced by some home-made tinkerers! No prices right now, but the sound is DEAD-ON!! Far better than the Vox VBM1 that was made. Here's a sound file - link
If you need advice on what the prices are, I can point you to some good online shops. Hmm... where are you based?
Adam.
Ok thatnks for the advice first. Well I'm based in the UK...
Why do people say that the Brian May pedal is only good for recording or more suitable?
I think now i have a clearer idea what i want so thanks.
Also on Brians site:
1. Digitech Corp USA pedal:
A digital modelling pedal aimed at producing Brian May tones when used with most popular amplifiers and guitars....
2. Deacy Amp:
an exact replica Germanium transistor Deacy Amp now in the final stages of development....
3. Brian May Effect pedals:
We are aiming to have affordable Brian May/Fryer pedals...
4. Proposed Book/CD on Brian May's Red Special Guitar, Amplifiers and Effects:Although it is still to be decided by Brian exactly what form the finished work will take; Brian, Pete Malandrone and myself have already begun work compiling information on the Red Special guitar plus Brian's amplifiers and effects (which will include of course important items of Brian's sound such as the legendary Deacy Amp). Expect a revealing and detailed insight into the stunningly original guitar design that the Red Special is - complete with fabulous computer images of the guitar's makeup and parts. Info on Brian's amps and effects will be included in full.And expect hitherto previously unreleased information to be revealed in public for all to see - shock horror - guaranteed to blow your mind... and to be fun at the same time!! Best wishes to all,
Greg Fryer
They've done the first three so i'd say theres a good chance they'll do number 4!
Yes, a book is definitely in the works by Brian and co. It's supposed to detail as much info and resources about his guitar and this will make it easier for some hobbyists to make their own copies.
Glad to hear you're in the UK as I am too. It just makes it easier to point out the shops to go to.
1. You have the most important part - Burns Brian May Guitar
2. Vox Valvetronix - you can go for any in the range, but I'd recommend the AD30VT at just £134 (+P&P) here = link
3. Treble Booster - My own match for the VT series and Burns model is called a SharpFX Retro Booster available here = link
That will have you going for ages with a great Brian May sound. If you want to improve it, I can advise changing the pickups. But that's another £92 on top, so probably best to leave it for now. I enjoyed my Bri2006Sig.+Boost+VoxAD amp from August till just a week ago when I purchased the new pickups. I was very happy with the sound before this change, but now, I'm even happier!
Anyway, that's what I'd suggest because the Vox AD series are starting to become more accepted as a way of getting really excellent Brian May sounds. Hope this helps!
Adam.
EDIT: The ones you mentioned, Deacy and fryer pedals. I've only very recently found that the Deacy that Fryer was working on has taken years and it's very slow going. Apparently, it's a bit of a running joke with some. Especially since some hobbyists have now made one in the last month or two and it sounds amazing! Hopefully ready to ship next month, they say.
The Fryer pedals? They're available and if you try the Brian May World site, you'll find reviews of these pedals along with all kinds of other information in the Red Special section. link
FriedChicken<br><font size=1>The Almighty</font> wrote: Why does everybody want to have the same sound as Brian, but don't want to buy the same stuff Brian has?
The sound is THE sound. It brings happiness to play and hear that sound that you are in control of. Case-in point, I played through the ad50 with 2 vox cambridge amps for the stereo delay he does. Amazing sound and the feeling I felt by being able to achieve that sound was a great one.
The same stuff as Brian? Erm... some people already have the same gear. It's just that not everybody has a few thousand pounds to buy an excellent replica, couple hundred for a Genuine TB83 booster and maybe another 600 for an AC30.
That and, these days you don't need that stuff to get a close sound that most are happy with. I'm very into sound and I'm always hunting for specific sounds and with the cheap stuff I have, I'm extremely happy. Now, if I had three VT amps in a line with my FX through them, we could be starting to get very close indeed!! lol
Adam.