Members docjeffrey Posted March 21, 2010 Members Share Posted March 21, 2010 You don't see them on HCEG very often--I think there are maybe three of us regulars who own them. I can see how the 24" scale might be an issue for some players, but this Korean made beauty is a seriously well designed instrument. The tonal possibilities are HUGE! Three beefy Kent Armstrong/Burns Tri-Sonics wired in series with in/out phase switches for each pickup. Good range with both the volume and tone knob. Decent trem (actually, it's quite good once you get it setup and broken in). Zero fret could be a drawback for some. The glass-like finish is sweet and not at all sticky. The neck is a bit of a handful. Grover self-locking tuners and a graphite nut keep the trem in line. Ebony board is amazing, as is the fretwork. I used a cheap Flip Video camera for this clip. The audio on the Flip cameras is biased for speaking and it's not great quality, but you can get the idea from this video. I tried to dial in some unMayish tones using the Top Boost channel and a Hot British Distortion. Be kind. I realize that the audio quality is dodgy. I've been trying out this Flip camera that I borrowed from my wife this week. I'm looking to buy a bunch of camcorders for cheap to use with my teacher ed students, so I'm putting the Flip through its paces. Video Clip: Brian May Guitar through Vox AC30TBX I'll post the YouTube link when it's ready. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members photon9 Posted March 21, 2010 Members Share Posted March 21, 2010 I think they're HAWT! I just don't happen to have one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Poltergeist Posted March 21, 2010 Members Share Posted March 21, 2010 when what i actually need is satifisfied, i might actually give those a run Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sfarfsky Posted March 21, 2010 Members Share Posted March 21, 2010 video and sound quality was surprisingly good. I didn't really hear any diversity in the music/tone though :poke: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Surfdude Posted March 21, 2010 Members Share Posted March 21, 2010 I think my guitar with the Peavey neck is a 24" scale. Love the short scale but the thinness of the neck cramps my hands like no other guitar does. Short scale..good. Thin neck.....bad. Not sure what the neck dimensions are on the Brian May. Surfy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members docjeffrey Posted March 21, 2010 Author Members Share Posted March 21, 2010 video and sound quality was surprisingly good. I didn't really hear any diversity in the music/tone though :poke: Thanks. I've been using this camera all week for lots of different things. Our student teachers need something that they can use to capture samples of their teaching that's cheap and easy to setup and use. Flip makes an HD version, but that would probably be overkill. The issue right now is with Windows Movie Maker--you have to do an intermediary conversion of the MP4 video for it to work. Of course, with a Mac, it imports directly to iMovie with zero problems:-) I'm just gonna start telling my students to buy Macs eventually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Faber Posted March 21, 2010 Members Share Posted March 21, 2010 For me it's partly availability - I've never seen one irl and I'm not about to order one without trying first. Besides - it's VERY iconic and I would feel a bit odd geting up in front of people with one. Much like gigging a strat with a big SRV on the pickguard would make me feel like a poser. Good clip! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members docjeffrey Posted March 21, 2010 Author Members Share Posted March 21, 2010 I think my guitar with the Peavey neck is a 24" scale. Love the short scale but the thinness of the neck cramps my hands like no other guitar does.Short scale..good. Thin neck.....bad. Not sure what the neck dimensions are on the Brian May.Surfy It's big, like a late 58 or early 59 Gibson. I understand that Brian's original has a gigantic neck. This was a bit of a compromise. The fretwork and ebony board are done with such precision that you can get incredibly low action (the zero fret helps in this area). I hear that Brian uses .008's on his original. It's a very comfortable neck to play after you get over the initial shock of the depth. Extremely tall and fat frets help make it super fast though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members docjeffrey Posted March 21, 2010 Author Members Share Posted March 21, 2010 Here's the YouTube version. The audio is slightly more boxy than my Quicktime version in the first post, but you can get the general idea. [YOUTUBE]jyfTa_enhk0[/YOUTUBE] One thing about the current version is that you don't have to get red. In gold, white, or black, it might help take the pressure off when you play live. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members docjeffrey Posted March 21, 2010 Author Members Share Posted March 21, 2010 ^^YouTube flagged my video so it may not play (probably because Brian May is in the title). It should be up once they see that the content is original. By the way, I really like both the white and black versions. Here's the Quicktime version. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members flummox Posted March 21, 2010 Members Share Posted March 21, 2010 For me it's partly availability - I've never seen one irl and I'm not about to order one without trying first. Besides - it's VERY iconic and I would feel a bit odd geting up in front of people with one. Much like gigging a strat with a big SRV on the pickguard would make me feel like a poser. Good clip! That's exactly how I feel too. I'm sure other people pull it off, but I'd feel pretentious playing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members CompleteGuitard Posted March 21, 2010 Members Share Posted March 21, 2010 Again Jeff, you prove to this forum that you can be a collector and an excellent player. Its always good to hear your playing, its inspiring for the rest of us who like nice guitars but maybe should play them more I like that guitar! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ferdinandstrat Posted March 21, 2010 Members Share Posted March 21, 2010 Well looks are a but contraversial... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members docjeffrey Posted March 21, 2010 Author Members Share Posted March 21, 2010 That's exactly how I feel too. I'm sure other people pull it off, but I'd feel pretentious playing it. First of all, only us guitar geeks know what the Red Special looks like-->unless you live in England and you've seen We Will Rock You at the Dominion 100 times. Second, the gold one is sweet. Nobody would know that it's an iconic guitar. Having said that, I haven't played mine outside of my studio very often. I put more Brian-correct knobs on mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members docjeffrey Posted March 21, 2010 Author Members Share Posted March 21, 2010 Well looks are a but contraversial... Contraversial in the sense of it's not for everyone? Yeah, I agree. Kind of like Rickenbackers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kace Posted March 21, 2010 Members Share Posted March 21, 2010 Never been a fan of this guitar but that white version is hawt Thanks for the clips too. Sounded good and I especially liked the cleaner first half. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members billybilly Posted March 21, 2010 Members Share Posted March 21, 2010 I agree, it should be more popular, but personally, I struggle with anything under a 25inch scale. I have big, long, fat, hands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ferdinandstrat Posted March 21, 2010 Members Share Posted March 21, 2010 Contraversial in the sense of it's not for everyone? Yeah, I agree. Kind of like Rickenbackers. Yes, but the features are superb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members docjeffrey Posted March 21, 2010 Author Members Share Posted March 21, 2010 The audio quality of the Quicktime version is quite a bit better than the YouTube version, so check it out if your network can handle it. I like the overdrive sound that I got from the Tonebone. It sounded huge in my studio. That guitar will do metal. The ceramic magnet pickups have larger bobbins and pole pieces than typical single coils, and when you start putting them together in series, the sound just gets raunchier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarmandp Posted March 21, 2010 Members Share Posted March 21, 2010 I had a friend who owned the Guild version. If I was in the market for this guitar, I'd go hunt down a Guild version. The burns version is a budget version Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members twotimingpete Posted March 21, 2010 Members Share Posted March 21, 2010 they're cool, but I sorta have a problem with using a guitar that's a replica of a total one of a kind. I don't want to be seen as emulating someone like that or whatever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Minnie The Moocher Posted March 21, 2010 Members Share Posted March 21, 2010 I Have one - doesn't use it as much as I should, it's more kind of a "niche" guitar to me. But I really love it, it's like no other axe, extremely playable. But I think the treble booster as to come with, to delivers the good. Here' s a short Queen medley I made some years ago with it:http://www.4shared.com/file/83444375/6fe92ccd/Queen_medley.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sxyryan Posted March 21, 2010 Members Share Posted March 21, 2010 I'd love to get one myself. I have no need for more guitars until I figure out my amp situation though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members -.^Silver^ Posted March 21, 2010 Members Share Posted March 21, 2010 [YOUTUBE]RiXNM0Yh9m8[/YOUTUBE] it is pretty nice guitar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RaVenCAD Posted March 21, 2010 Members Share Posted March 21, 2010 They may be nice guitars, but they're also (IMHO) one of the ugliest guitars ever made. So while I might enjoy one if I ever picked it up, the initial disgust with the thing will prevent that from ever happening. Does that make me shallow? Yes? Well too bad, I don't care.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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