Brian May Red Special

The Red Special is the legendary guitar hand-built by Brian May and his father Harold in the early 1960s from a Victorian fireplace mantel and other household materials. Its unique construction includes three custom-wound Burns Tri-Sonic single-coil pickups, each with individual on/off and phase switches, creating a vast palette of tonal combinations. Played with a sixpence coin instead of a traditional pick, the Red Special produces the unmistakable bright, harmonically rich tone heard across Queen's entire catalog. From the layered orchestral guitar harmonies of Bohemian Rhapsody to the anthemic crunch of We Will Rock You, the Red Special is one of rock's most distinctive and innovative instruments.