Members lewzer Posted March 10, 2008 Members Share Posted March 10, 2008 I was planning to buy a Hagstrom F-200 on the cheap, but I bought two Queen DVD's today and I'm thinking. http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Brian-May-Signature-Electric-Guitar?sku=512637 How are the new Brian May Signature's working out? The huge sounding pickup system, along with the absurd amount of mojo oozing from the entire guitar makes me want to try one out. I read that they tamed the neck size down for this model, but is it still really big? They actually have a blem model at a great price that I may bite on.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DonK Posted March 10, 2008 Members Share Posted March 10, 2008 I've played one in a store. Obviously, having never played Brian's original - - I can't say how the neck on this one compares, but as far as thickness goes, I didn't find it particularly thick. That said, I'm a fan of really thick necks, so what seems thin to me might seem thickish to someone else. My idea of a good, thick neck is the one on the original Jeff Beck Strat model (not the newer ones, which are much thinner), and the Warmoth boatneck (1" thick, from the nut to the body!). A merely decently thick neck to me is what you find on the EJ and SRV Strats. The Brian May struck me as in that range. Two things to think about before you buy: 1) it's 24" scale, which is pretty short compared to Fender's 25.5", PRS's 25", and Gibson's 24.75". That's going makes for a very noticeable difference in string tension, which might or might not be to your liking. 2) don't mistake it for a replica (it's not). Note the phrase, "faithful to the spirit of the original." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lewzer Posted March 10, 2008 Author Members Share Posted March 10, 2008 I've played one in a store. Obviously, having never played Brian's original - - I can't say how the neck on this one compares, but as far as thickness goes, I didn't find it particularly thick. That said, I'm a fan of really thick necks, so what seems thin to me might seem thickish to someone else. My idea of a good, thick neck is the one on the original Jeff Beck Strat model (not the newer ones, which are much thinner), and the Warmoth boatneck (1" thick, from the nut to the body!). A merely decently thick neck to me is what you find on the EJ and SRV Strats. The Brian May struck me as in that range. Two things to think about before you buy: 1) it's 24" scale, which is pretty short compared to Fender's 25.5", PRS's 25", and Gibson's 24.75". That's going makes for a very noticeable difference in string tension, which might or might not be to your liking. 2) don't mistake it for a replica (it's not). Note the phrase, "faithful to the spirit of the original." That's good help... All of my guitars are 24.75 scale right now, will the 24" make a major difference? Also, I don't see anything that states the fretboard radius. Is it a flat fretboard or pretty round? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DonK Posted March 10, 2008 Members Share Posted March 10, 2008 That's good help... All of my guitars are 24.75 scale right now, will the 24" make a major difference? Also, I don't see anything that states the fretboard radius. Is it a flat fretboard or pretty round? I don't know if you've ever played a Fender Jaguar or Mustang, but those are both 24" scale and have a similar feel. There are two things to consider. All things being equal, any given gauge strings are going to feel pretty slinky (looked like it had .009's to me) compared to a guitar with the same gauge but a longer scale of 24.75 to 25.5. You could use heavier strings to get it to feel more like a longer-scale guitar, you may have to fiddle with the trem and intonation if you do. I play mostly Fenders, using .010's. I keep .010's on my Les Paul, but if I wanted the string tension to feel like my Fenders, I'd have to put .011's on it. The second consideration is the width between the frets. That's 24 frets on a 24" scale, compared to say 21 or 22 on a Fender 25.5." scale. You can do the math. The fretboard felt pretty curved to me, and I'm pretty sure I remember reading that it's 7.5". That's the same as a standard G&L board, and just a hair flatter than a vintage Fender at 7.25". It's a lot rounder than the modern Fender 9.5" and the still flatter boards from other makers. You can always send it back if it's not for you, since MF has a 45-day return policy. BTW, I thought the guitar had a cool vibe, but it did feel kind of toy-like: not as far as construction quality, just the overall size and feel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ferdinandstrat Posted March 10, 2008 Members Share Posted March 10, 2008 That's good help... All of my guitars are 24.75 scale right now, will the 24" make a major difference? Also, I don't see anything that states the fretboard radius. Is it a flat fretboard or pretty round? I dont think the difference would be the same, if you dont really care for the difference between a Strat and a Les Paul, you wont find a huge difference between this guitar and a Les Paul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lewzer Posted March 10, 2008 Author Members Share Posted March 10, 2008 Thanks a lot DonK, that's pretty close to what I was expecting. I normally use 10's on my guitars, and I don't think I would mind the looser tension. If I do, I can always bump up to 11s. The only thing that bothers me is that I had a MIM 50s Esquire that I traded away because I couldn't get used to the fat neck/7.25" fretboard, which was hard because I loved the sound coming from that guitar. But, I think my biggest problem was with bends, so if I'm thinking correctly the shorter scale should work in my favor. I might just have to scrape up the change to buy this thing. And like said, I can always send it back! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DonK Posted March 10, 2008 Members Share Posted March 10, 2008 Thanks a lot DonK, that's pretty close to what I was expecting. I normally use 10's on my guitars, and I don't think I would mind the looser tension. If I do, I can always bump up to 11s. The only thing that bothers me is that I had a MIM 50s Esquire that I traded away because I couldn't get used to the fat neck/7.25" fretboard, which was hard because I loved the sound coming from that guitar. But, I think my biggest problem was with bends, so if I'm thinking correctly the shorter scale should work in my favor.I might just have to scrape up the change to buy this thing. And like said, I can always send it back! Yeah, bending on 7.25/7.5" is a big difference from a flatter fretboard. The shorter scale will help a bit, but not as much as you might think. Ironically, I just got my 13 YO a Jackson Dinky DKMG. He currently plays a Mexi Strat w/ 9.5" radius fretboard and 25.5" scale. The Jackson is 25.5" with a compound 14" - 16" fretboard radius. Both guitars are strung with .009's. The Jackson literally arrived Friday. My son's first remark as he began to play it was, "Dad, is this a shorter scale than my Mexi? It's SO much easier to bend on it." I explained to him that the scale was the same, it was the radius that was the big difference. He's thrilled, because a lot of the stuff he plays (going through they typical shredder adulation phase) requires a lot of bending. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lewzer Posted March 10, 2008 Author Members Share Posted March 10, 2008 Right, it's quite a difference. I guess I'll just have to play one and decide what I think. Thanks for the help, though.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Brian May Posted March 10, 2008 Members Share Posted March 10, 2008 I used to have one - and am now awaiting my RS Classic being made and sent out to me! About another month or so yet....but anyway - the one I had was the Burns BM - the newer ones have a slightly updated trem and the half moon plate behind the trem to make it look a little closer to the original Red Special...even if the trem is totally different. Re the neck size? well they aren't fat at all - nothing like the massive baseball bat size that May has on his own guitar - but that was done deliberately as they feared the market wouldnt like a huge neck - as they are not popular on most guitars so they went for something more like your typical strat thickness - albeit slightly wider at the nut. So have no fear of some huge cumbersome giant of a neck! Incedently my custom ordered RS Classic is also going to have a more standard neck dimension - that costs an extra $150 for the priviledge! But I didnt want to take any risks on a custom ordered $3049 guitar! I would've hated to get it with the massive neck size and find I didnt get on with it! So I played safe and opted for a thinned neck - hoping for something like a 50's LP Standard neck - nice n rounded and slightly on the thick side but not massively so. A nice managable handful is what I like. I remember trying out an old Ibanez RX guitar some years ago - I bought the Deluxe RX750 which had a thinner neck size slightly thinner than a strat...but one of the lower models in the range had this monstrous huge neck that felt scary! I wouldnt want that!!! They do sound good the BM guitars - and if you listen to the sound demos on Brian May world by May himself you will have to agree that in his hands at least they sound pretty damn close to his own guitar! So for the money they are well worth it. The zero fret is something you will have to adjust to as when you bend notes on say the first few frets say upto fret 5 you can feel the string scraping across the zero fret and it feels a little annoying at first....on my old Burns BM I had it changed for a standard nut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lewzer Posted March 10, 2008 Author Members Share Posted March 10, 2008 I used to have one - and am now awaiting my RS Classic being made and sent out to me! About another month or so yet....but anyway - the one I had was the Burns BM - the newer ones have a slightly updated trem and the half moon plate behind the trem to make it look a little closer to the original Red Special...even if the trem is totally different. Re the neck size? well they aren't fat at all - nothing like the massive baseball bat size that May has on his own guitar - but that was done deliberately as they feared the market wouldnt like a huge neck - as they are not popular on most guitars so they went for something more like your typical strat thickness - albeit slightly wider at the nut. So have no fear of some huge cumbersome giant of a neck! Incedently my custom ordered RS Classic is also going to have a more standard neck dimension - that costs an extra $150 for the priviledge! But I didnt want to take any risks on a custom ordered $3049 guitar! I would've hated to get it with the massive neck size and find I didnt get on with it! So I played safe and opted for a thinned neck - hoping for something like a 50's LP Standard neck - nice n rounded and slightly on the thick side but not massively so. A nice managable handful is what I like. I remember trying out an old Ibanez RX guitar some years ago - I bought the Deluxe RX750 which had a thinner neck size slightly thinner than a strat...but one of the lower models in the range had this monstrous huge neck that felt scary! I wouldnt want that!!! They do sound good the BM guitars - and if you listen to the sound demos on Brian May world by May himself you will have to agree that in his hands at least they sound pretty damn close to his own guitar! So for the money they are well worth it. The zero fret is something you will have to adjust to as when you bend notes on say the first few frets say upto fret 5 you can feel the string scraping across the zero fret and it feels a little annoying at first....on my old Burns BM I had it changed for a standard nut. That's good to hear. Especially from the man himself. I'm GAS'n really bad for a white one now. I think it will fit nicely in my collection. Bump for the workforce.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cbh5150 Posted March 11, 2008 Members Share Posted March 11, 2008 This thread reminds me...where's ArKay ??? Anyway, I can't vouch for the current ones, but I have played a Burns version - althoug I own two 24.75 scale guitars, the 24" did not seem that much different overall... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lewzer Posted March 12, 2008 Author Members Share Posted March 12, 2008 Just want to bump one more time to ask: Are the any problems playing this guitar while sitting? With the really short lower horn, I'm worried it might slip around.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Scott Abene Posted April 11, 2008 Members Share Posted April 11, 2008 Hi, First... I am a strat player. I always have been. Second... My rule is never buy a guitar that you have not played before you buy it... So... I have wanted that red special for 30+ years. I bought it off of MUSIC123.com about 3 months ago and worried the entire delivery time. It showed up in a cardboard box packed in its gig bag. Out of the box it was one of the nicest off the shelf guitars that I have ever played. I spent about 3-4 hours setting it up to my anal retentive playing specs and I have to say I love it. It is well balanced both standing and sitting. The tremelo stays where it should and all in all it is a lovely guitar that is easy playing. I cannot wait to break it in for years to come. The downside to this instrument for me (a strat player) are the location of the knobs and all those whacky switches. Still though; this will be the first guitar that I own or have ever owned that will most likely stay stock in every aspect. Brian did a great job on this instrument and I do not even mind that the tremelo is different than the original RED SPECIAL. -Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lewzer Posted April 11, 2008 Author Members Share Posted April 11, 2008 Great picture! I'm glad you like it. I went for the Honeyburst model and I love it. The only problem I'm having with it is that the tone knob fell off and won't even grip the post. Other than that it plays great and sounds amazing. With all those switches, there's almost any tone for any style in this thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Scott Abene Posted April 11, 2008 Members Share Posted April 11, 2008 try tightening up that hex screw in the knob :poke: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members twofoolsaminute Posted April 11, 2008 Members Share Posted April 11, 2008 So, is there a guitar that is set up somewhat similar (electronically) to the Brian May that doesn't look like a Brian May? I just can't like the looks of that guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Scott Abene Posted April 11, 2008 Members Share Posted April 11, 2008 to me it does not look much different than that in your member profile. Check out BURNS Guitars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Scott Abene Posted April 11, 2008 Members Share Posted April 11, 2008 all things considered though I do not mind the shape very much at all and the way that the neck meets the body it makes access to the higher frets quite easy and effortless. You can find Burns guitars here: Burns guitars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lewzer Posted April 11, 2008 Author Members Share Posted April 11, 2008 try tightening up that hex screw in the knob:poke: Wow....how could I not figure that out. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ashasha Posted April 11, 2008 Members Share Posted April 11, 2008 YESSS, more BMG owners. I've had mine for about a year or two (I really don't know how long it has been) and its just such a cool guitar to have in the arsenal. Glad to see that there are some others that are getting into it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rock-lobster Posted April 11, 2008 Members Share Posted April 11, 2008 i've never played one but that guitar sits oddly for me. some days i look at it and say WANT WANT WANT! and then other times i look at the body shape and go DO NOT WANT! probably something that would annoy me after a while Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lewzer Posted April 11, 2008 Author Members Share Posted April 11, 2008 Another thing... Does anyone know of an inexpensive hard case that will fit this guitar? I'd love to have the BMG case but it's a little expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lewzer Posted April 12, 2008 Author Members Share Posted April 12, 2008 Another thing... Does anyone know of an inexpensive hard case that will fit this guitar? I'd love to have the BMG case but it's a little expensive. Anyone? Here's a crappy pic of mine: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Scott Abene Posted April 12, 2008 Members Share Posted April 12, 2008 i've never played one but that guitar sits oddly for me. some days i look at it and say WANT WANT WANT! and then other times i look at the body shape and go DO NOT WANT! probably something that would annoy me after a while It sits just fine on left or right leg. honestly, it looks like it won't but it does just fine and is as comfy as my old strat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Scott Abene Posted April 12, 2008 Members Share Posted April 12, 2008 Anyone? Here's a crappy pic of mine: I came real close to buying that color. It is a beaut. I bet you look rather silly just wearing those two tone {censored} kickers and twanging that geet though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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