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.
I have many exceptionally valuable guitars and am presently on the waiting list for a Super. I knew this guitar would be good, though I am shocked with how good it is. It showed up fast, was in tune, and has stayed that way. I have this guitar paired with the new Vox MV50-BM and it is out of this world. The tone is Queen city, but not limited to that at all. I thought it would be something cool to hold me over until I got the Super, but in truth it is the guitar I reach for every time above all others I own. Its quality, fit and finish are beyond great. It is my favorite guitar and I have been playing for 40+ years now. Thank you so much for this work of art. It is everything a fan like me could ever wish for.
Crazy beautiful and top quality instrument with endless possibilities. I'm honored to now be the proud owner of a Black'n'Gold. Thanks to Dave and all at BMG!
Hello Brian May GuitarsI really couldn't be more happy with this purchase. What a beautiful guitar and what a sound... Beautiful clean tones and a lot of sustain. Also, thank you very much for all your replies to my questions more than a year before this guitar was available, and the quick delivery.Greetings from France.
Hi, folks. I recently purchased the Black & Gold model. This guitar is much lighter than my BMG red of 2004 and seems to have more resonance in the body. The tremolo is much tighter and more precise when turning back to original tunes. Overall, manufacturing seems to be in higher quality than in previous times. Knobs & tuners also improved. This guitar is really great, I love it!
You don't have to be a Queen fan or even a Brian May fan (even though I think that's impossible) to appreciate the fantastic features and quality of tone this guitar has to offer. I play concerts and different venues with Fenders and Gibsons, but this guitar stands apart from all others. The sound can really break through a loud drum set and vocals to have a voice of its own. I had this product shipped to me and I believe it was damaged because after a few weeks of playing I had to adjust the bridge and re-fret it a bit in order for the G string to properly bend without issues. Other than that, I had no other complaints. Not only does this instrument look great, it sounds even better! Thanks, Brian May and his team of technicians to make this guitar available for the common people. Keep on Rockin, Let 'em neighbors c'mon knockin'!
Just to share that I just simply acquired a masterpiece (made in Korea, which generated some questions in the 1st place my side), but still a masterpiece. The tones, excellent wood finish, color, texture and sound, simply perfect. Need to state that besides I have finally understood all possibilities of pick ups combinations, I've enjoyed how smooth the transition over the guitar arm is. Remarking image in web page is less spectacular than having this black and gold babe in front of me; receiving it in perfect conditions just in 15 days coming from the UK, directly to my doorstep (took longer time at Mexico's customs). It was the finest way to consolidate a great customer experience. Thanks very much for helping me in this great acquisition, that given the hard and frustrating times of Covid19, it's simply a blessing.
Brian and the team really got this right. I love everything about this guitar. Plays and sounds amazing and the workmanship is outstanding.
Very nice looking guitar, also fantastic to play with but when it was delivered the strings were too close attached to the neck, which means when I play, the strings hit the neck and make a terrible sound... I'm going to have to bring it to a local guitar shop to fix it, but that will cost me another sum of money.Besides this the guitar is very well packed up with the other things I ordered and it all was safely packed in the guitar case.Love the product!
I bought the BMG as a gift for my brother, but I just used it to record. My producer loved checking out all the tonal possibilities. Besides the three of us, two other players checked it out, and we all agree - the guitar is incredible. The guitar is strung with .009's, but my preference is .010's. The guitar is fairly light and has great sustain. The whammy bar is very responsive (only light pressure needed) and doesn't need to be screwed in. The guitar came with a gig bag, but I ordered the hardshell case, which is very sturdy and sports the Brian May logo. All in all, five stars!
Not only does this Black and Gold look like "the sh*t!", the tones are incredible. I love the ability to turn on or off each pickup, without the limitation of a 5-way switch like a Strat. Throw in the phase switches and the combinations grow exponentially. Grab a treble booster and a good distortion unit and you're off... I'll be using this one a lot!
I've never had a guitar this versatile. Its playability is effortless and sound options are limitless... and they all sound so good too. On top of it all, the pickups are absolutely noiseless! Whether you play rock, pop or jazz, this guitar has it all. Highly recommended!!!!
Apart from a Rickenbacker 330 (which I hated and sold on within a couple of months) I've only owned budget guitars since the 1980s (e.g. Westone, Lag). As the BMG Special reviews were mostly positive I thought I would treat myself to a good quality guitar. First impressions :• Solid build quality• Moderately weighty• Shorter neck (46cm over 24 frets) - may take some getting used to• Wider neck (45mm)• Chunky body (36cm wide). The 'Space Hopper' shaped body makes it less ergonomic to play sitting down• Volume and Tone knobs wobbly (not fitted properly)• Crackly Volume control (hopefully a squirt of electrical cleaner will fix this - but it's a new guitar?)• Main scratch plate a tad jagged around the edges (some fine filing or sandpaper might be in order).• Tri-Sonic Pickups low output• Great Wilkinson Knife Edge Tremolo - adjustable, sensitive and accurate• Great Grover Rotomatic Locking Tuners• Goes out of pitch like a tremolo if neck squeezed hard - what's going on there?Set-up :The guitar wasn't set-up very well.• Action (string height) too high - not easy to play.• Intonation (harmonic length / bridge saddles) incorrect - out of tune at higher frets.• Tri-Sonic Pickups too low - output lacking gain.I followed Greg Fryer's excellent Set-Up guide on the BMG Product Support page and now it plays and sounds great. . Just the crackly Volume control to fix and all should be dandy.
Hey! I just wanted to say how much I love this guitar. Not only does it sound and play great but I love the way it looks- and so do audience members! I just recently got back from tour and I can't tell you how many times people complimented me on my attractive and unique looking guitar.Thanks!
