The result of a unique collaboration between Sir Brian May, his long-standing guitar tech Pete Malandrone, and House Music, the best-selling BMG Special combines the distinctive aesthetics and sound of the legendary Red Special with a wealth of modern appointments and superb quality, production-line craftsmanship.
All the foundations of the trademark BM sound are present and correct, with construction, pickups and electronics faithfully reproducing the original's unique character and tonal versatility. But this is so much more than just a replica... With a price-tag and a range of new colours driven by Brian's concept of a guitar "for the people", the Special is designed to provide modern players of all musical persuasions with an affordable pro-grade instrument that is the perfect go-to guitar for any performance environment.
True to the look and spirit of the "Old Lady", the instantly recognisable pinstripe-bound, double cutaway mahogany body shape features an acoustic chamber modelled on Brian's original design that enhances the Special's natural resonance and decreases weight.
Engineered with a decidedly contemporary feel, and considerably less deeply contoured than the somewhat gargantuan proportions of the iconic original, the glued-in mahogany neck sports a generous 45mm nut width, comfortably spacious "D" profile, and wonderfully smooth 24 fret ebony fingerboard.
Modern replicas of the vintage '60s Burns design units that are so fundamental to the Red Special's powerful sonic character, the three series-wired, single-coil pickups feature the same retro-styling and magnet alignment as the originals.
As per the original BM design, the Special is equipped with six white-capped slider switches controlling individual pickup on/off and phase reversal, providing a vast range of tonal variations.
Trevor Wilkinson's "Wave" tremolo-bridge provides a striking modern look to the BMG Special as well as smooth, comfortable performance with exceptional stability and sustain.
The distinctive BM style headstock sports 3-a-side locking chrome tuners with an 18:1 gear ratio for precise tuning and a thumbwheel locking mechanism that clamps the string securely. These superb quality machine heads allow for quick and easy string change with fewer string wraps and will maintain rock-solid tuning stability and more accurate return-to-pitch, even with lots of vibrato and string bends.
Coinciding with the 60th anniversary of the completion of the Red Special and 20 glorious years since the launch of the Brian May Guitars brand, every BMG Special now comes complete with a FREE 2024 Sir Brian May "Official Queen Pick" in a perspex collector's case.
A premium quality, padded gig-bag, made from durable showerproof material, with twin rucksack-style shoulder straps, side and front grab handles, dual front pockets and stitched BMG logo, is supplied as standard with all Special models. An optional BMG Custom Fitted Hard Case is also available.
An exclusive demonstration of the first iteration of the BMG Special by the maestro himself.
A superb demo of the Brian May Guitars SPECIAL from young, Brazilian guitar ace Lucas Vianna, a performer in the 2016 São Paulo and 2017 Danish touring productions of the smash hit Queen musical "We Will Rock You".
Lucas uses the Special to demonstrate some of Sir Brian May's favourite switch settings.
Here, Lucas shows off the Special's unique, genre-busting tonal dexterity.
OK, so let's get this out of the way. This thing is pink. I know, right? Duh! But I mean this thing is PINK! The pictures don't really do the actual colour justice. I have several pink guitars but this is, by far, the pinkest of them all - and I freaking love it!This is my second BMG Special - I already owned the more conservative red model and have harped-on about what a fantastic guitar that one is in my other review. Our pink friend here is equally impressive. Straight out of the box it plays and sounds incredible. I did have a little trouble with some residue left behind when I peeled-off the protective plastic - particularly on the pickups - but that came off very easily with a little 'sticky stuff remover'. I'd rather have that than scratches on the pickguards etc. so it's all good.Our South Korean friends make some incredible instruments and these are no exception. The fit and finish is perfect, no sharp fret ends, and I love the addition of locking tuners. All I had to do was slap a pair of strap locks on (as I do with all of my instruments) and we were rocking.Barry and the team at House Music are super helpful too, and lovely to deal with - I'm already looking forward to BMG Special number three!
It’s great to experience the iconic design of the BMG Special with such a bright, fluorescent Hot Pink finish! The guitar plays just as great as my other BMG Specials! I’m definitely going to bring this on gigs.
I recently received my third RS guitar, this time it's a Hot Pink Special. After a little set up (heavier strings etc.) it's rocking as good as my others and is now my main guitar.I think the RS guitars have a unique voice and are very versatile. I don't chase the Brian May sound, I'm not in a Queen tribute just an '80s band playing all sorts. The guitars have lovely clean tones and beefs up nicely for '80s rock too.I have a Super on order too (I can't wait).I've never actually had more than 1 of an identical guitar. I now have 3!
I purchased my first BMG Special in Antique Cherry in 2017. The scale, the weight, the width of the neck, the dizzying variety of tones, the stable tremolo system, and the iconic and unique appearance all factored into ranking my BMG Red Special my favorite six-string as soon as I received it, and it has remained so ever since. I now own over 65 guitars and the Red Special has beat out 4 Gibsons, 6 Fenders, 2 G&Ls, 2 Rickenbackers, and a mess of others from Godin, Peavey, Squier, and Music Man. I even prefer my BMG Special to the 5 guitars I've built myself. I love them all; and they all do some things very, very well, but the BMG Special is the one that checks the most boxes most of the time.HOWEVER, I have an alter-ego who performs in a pink-saturated environment. Earl "Pottymouth" Arbuckle's speaker cabinet is pink. His microphone is pink. The *cords* to all the microphones, pedals, and guitars are pink. All of Earl's guitars are pink as well. But the centerpiece of Earl's aesthetic is his hot pink "Nudie Suit" emblazoned with a full dozen rhinestone pistols with limp "barrels" in honor of surviving prostate cancer (twice). Sadly, Earl and his favorite guitar have been separated whenever he gets on stage - the exact time Earl would want a light, wide-necked, versatile and stable instrument, it just doesn't blend in well. I also turned to BMG Guitars when I needed a travel guitar and a treble booster around 2019, so I became the proud owner of a KAT Treble Booster Classic, and a BMG Mini May (which I had to pry out of my friends' hands after I'd lent it to him).So, when BMG Guitars announced that they were introducing a Hot Pink Limited Edition BMG Special 3 days before my birthday, I absolutely had to buy it. And I did. And, BOY HOWDY, does it ever play just as well as my original Antique Cherry BMG Special - straight out of the box. And that's the OTHER thing about the BMG Special. Dr. May and his partners at BMG have allowed the wonderful guitar factories in Korea (which have grown so sophisticated, they can build even the highest quality boutique-style guitars easily) to build an affordable instrument to a very high specification. In a forest of artist signature models whose *used* costs start in the thousands, Dr. May has honored the history of his own Red Special by releasing a signature model like no other. Based on arguably the most unique guitar in rock and roll history, wielded by one of the most celebrated guitarists, the BMG Special comes - shipped to Texas from Bagshot, Surrey, UK - for just over $1K. This is an incredible value for a truly professional-grade instrument! I received my BMG Special LE in Hot Pink the day after my last performance, so I missed the chance to play it at Earl "Pottymouth" Arbuckle's 60th Birthday, but I can't wait to wear it over Earl's hot pink suit at the next show. And I can't wait to pass my original BMG Special on to another musician so they might experience the same joy I have these last 6 years. Thank you again, Brian May and the amazing team at BMG.
