Combo
Vox AC30
Chime, jangle and that top-end sparkle that no Fender or Marshall quite does. Push it and it compresses into a snarl that's carried British rock from the 60s to now.
ChimeyCompressedBright
Brian May's Sound
One homemade guitar, a sixpence, and the most orchestral guitar sound in rock.
Treble-boosted Vox AC30s, layered harmony guitars, silvery sustain
The rig
The gear associated with the sound. Each item opens a live Reverb search — vintage examples where they exist, modern equivalents where they don't.
Guitars
- The Red Special (1963, self-built)Find on Reverb
- Guild and Burns replicas for touringFind on Reverb
Amps
- Vox AC30 (multiple, always on the same settings)Find on Reverb
- Deacy Amp — a homemade amp built by John DeaconFind on Reverb
Effects
- Dallas Rangemaster / John Deacon-built treble boosterFind on Reverb
- Foxx Foot PhaserFind on Reverb
- Boss chorus and delayFind on Reverb
Pickups
- Three Burns Tri-Sonic single-coils wired with individual on/off and phase switchesFind on Reverb
Other
- Sixpence coin as a pickFind on Reverb
- Series/parallel pickup switching giving unusual phase combinationsFind on Reverb
Why it sounds like that
Bohemian Rhapsody
The heavy section is a stack of Red Special tracks harmonised in thirds — a guitar choir rather than a rhythm track.
Killer Queen
The bell-like Deacy Amp tone used for the solo's harmony parts, unlike anything else on record.
Brighton Rock
Live delay counterpoint: he plays against two delayed copies of himself in real time.
We Will Rock You
A single distorted, midrange-heavy lead over silence — the tone has nowhere to hide.
From the shop floor
Similar sounds
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