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.
This is my dream guitar. As a huge Queen and Brian May fan I have always wanted to learn how to play guitar and now I have the time I am under way. The service was great and the guitar arrived sooner than expected and in perfect condition. If anyone wants a BM Guitar I would highly recommend this site... Absolutely outstanding.
It is a dream. Fantastic guitar.
Thank you so much for amazing service once again. Beautifully presented, wonderful craftsmanship.
All perfect!!
Love everything about it. Shorter scale, light weight, the many pickup selections. So nice to play for beginner and up. Also, there's no doubt when you look at it that it's a Brian May Guitar.The gig bag and "Official Queen Pick" are great accessories which add to the uniqueness of this beauty. Shipping was extremely fast to Canada and it showed up ready to play right out of the box. Can't say enough about this guitar. Again, very impressed, but not surprised, given the two men behind its design. So glad this is available globally, and at an affordable price. Many thanks!
I got a BMG Special for my daughter, and she is delighted with it: the best present of her whole life, she said.The shipment was very fast and the parcel company chosen by BMG made a great job and eased me custom procedures.
Ha sido un regalo para mí hijo por su buen rendimiento escolar. Guitarra increíble!!!Está entusiasmado!! Ojalá algún día podamos llegar a verlo tocar sobre un escenario!!😝🫶
Very good guitar, sound is spectacular in general.Guitar surface arrived with some scratches. Nothing big, but I was expecting something neat. I bought the hard case, but guitar was shipped separately from it, it makes no sense, besides in custom I had to pay for two packages.6th string was fretting hard. Has to make some adjustments to fix it. Again, a product like this should arrive ready to plug and play.
Awesome guitar and not just for Queen fans -works for most styles and plays like a dream.
I wanted to thank you all for making a wonderful and versatile piece of musical art. Having been a fan of Brian May (and Queen, of course) since 1975, part of Brian's playing slipped into my DNA as a budding guitarist.When I saw the Red Special on Guitar Center's website I knew I would have to get one. It arrived yesterday and I am absolutely in love with it. At 61 years old, I feel like a 15 year old kid again.So... THANK YOU for this beautiful new piece of my life!!!!
As a Queen/Brian May fan, I knew I needed the BMG special.When I got it, I realized how much it adds to my playing experience thanks to its light weight, incredible pickup options, long fretboard and great tremolo system.The guitar sounds amazing, especially when playing the iconic music of Queen, but also when playing any other song.Bonus points for the incredibly fast shipping! (Less than 3 days).
I received my signed Brian May Special last month along with a superb hard case and soft case and could not be more delighted. I want to thank Dave Good (at House Music, London) especially for his assistance in purchasing this great guitar. It plays beautifully, well, it would surely do so if I was a better player!I can find no fault with it - the action is as low as I like it to be and, to top it off, to have the Guitar signed by Sir Brian May himself... well, Dave, you have made this old man very happy indeed. I smile every time I take it out and play it. Please send my thanks to Sir Brian for taking time out to do this. God bless him. Many thanks.
The guitar has a great sound and is fun to play.
Right out of the box, this guitar very quickly became one of my favourites. It feels and plays exactly the way I would expect from a guitar which originates from the fine craftspeople in South Korea (the same factory that used to make the PRS SE guitars when they were as good or better than the USA versions).The fit & finish is absolutely perfect and the feel is pure quality. There's clear plastic on the pickguards, pickups, truss rod cover and rear cover so don't be fooled into thinking the plastic parts aren't shiny!I like my action set very low and this guitar allows me to have the strings just off the frets. I haven't had to adjust the truss rod at all and I'm still rocking the strings that it came with as they feel great.This is also a very versatile instrument I don't play in a Queen tribute band at all but I could play absolutely any gig with this guitar.I now keep looking at the pink LE!
The quality of the guitar is amazing. Very easy to play. Love it!
I am more than happy with the BMG Special. It sounds great, it feels great, and the unique pickup system is very versatile! The thicker neck feels very comfortable and now that I'm used to it, I actually prefer it over a standard neck.My concern when buying it was that some had mentioned that it is only good for attempting to replicate Brian's sound. However, after testing it out, that is just not true. Playing songs from some of my other favourite artists such as Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, even Avenged Sevenfold, all sounded great on this guitar. On top of that, it is simply a beautiful instrument. I've already had people ask me if they can see it, and I've had it with me at a couple of music shops and it certainly turned some heads. I have no trouble admitting how impressed with this thing I am. As a huge Brian May fan, and even just as a person learning how to play guitar, I am very happy that this is the guitar I went with.
Très bonne guitare. Avec une mécanique précise, facile à jouer, et avec une sonorité originale. Attention juste la petite surprise des frais de douane qui sont facturés pendant la période du transport.
Great job! Love it and will enjoy for many years to come, thank you.
Buena calidad de acabados, sonido muy bueno, no defrauda, y el envío muy rápido. Únicamente destacar q en la frontera, una banda organizada me pidió un 30% más de el valor comprado para terminar el envío... Esa banda es el estado español!!
Very pleasantly surprised at the BMG Special. I knew it would be good but it’s much better than I had anticipated. High quality, nails the key Brian May tones and is great value. I ordered it as I’m going to be playing in a local production of the Queen musical “We will rock you” in 2024. It arrived in Sydney, Australia a week later which is very impressive!! I’d read all the online reviews and watched many of the You Tube clips of the BMG Special. Everything worked perfectly straight out the box. Easy to quickly get used to the pick-up system (I expect I will be playing 90% of the time on the Bridge/ Middle p/u in-phase positions). Only change I made was to put on higher gauge 10-46 strings and re-balance the tremelo arm as I prefer a higher gauge string on all my guitars.Combined with the KAT Brian May Treble Booster and a VOX AC 30 or AC15 amp it sounds awesome ! Very pleased with the purchase and fast service 😀👍
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