Brian May Guitars Red Special Electric Guitar (Antique Cherry)

Stuart Hardwick
December 18, 2009

Rating: 10/10

This guitar is as much of a pleasure to play as it is to look at! Probably the closest I will ever get to the original! This guitar can handle any style and this is what put me off this guitar because I wanted it to be versatile and it really truly is. When I got it I noticed there was soome of the binding was knocked back abit but I dunno if that happened in the factory or at dolphin musics warehouse but it doesn\'t affect the playability of the guitar in anyway. Just ruins the cosmetics of the guitar abit. These are amazing guitars and I really recommend them to anyone!

Doc Loco
January 22, 2009

Rating: 10/10

I\'ve never played the original one and will proly never achieve that. So I shouldn\'t compare but ... this is as close to the real thing in terms of sonic aura as possible - according you play it with a treble booster and a Vox (or Vox-y) amp. But it is also a very nice guitar by itself, looking and feeling like an axe you would pay twice this price. Cherry on the cake, the setup was perfect - first time in 30 years I had nothing to adjust on a new guitar, even intonation is spot-on. And btw, great communication and overall service by the Dolphin guys, could not be more satisfied. Sorry, have to leave for an ogre battle now ... now I\'m there.

Gary Crawfford
July 2, 2008

Rating: 8/10

Everyone knows the musical history of this guitar, an axe that is as legendry as the man who plays it, so how could a fan go about reviewing this guitar while remaining impartial?
At first glance it does appear to be just another guitar, but when you take a closer look everything comes into focus, as they say the devil is in the details. We could sit and list all the songs that have been played on this piece of musical history, about how it has helped shape the rock landscape but we wont. When Brian and his father were forging this iconic guitar, all because Brian could not find a guitar that would give him the control he wanted, they could have been forgiven for thinking that here was just another instrument. Generations of fans would be held captive by the ethereal sound that emanates from the rewound tri-sonic pickups, (Brighton rock anyone?) But this guitar is more than the sum of its parts, far more in fact, the unique sound is just as important as the guitar, the pick ups or the custom tremolo because the coming together of all the elements make this guitar legendry. Look at a Fender Stratocaster with its iconic body shape and the Gibson SG Custom with its ‘devil horn’ cut away sections on the body, both great guitars played by some of the greatest guitarists ever to pick up the guitar but they are just not the ‘Red Special’.
There are flaws with the old lady, of course mainly that I don’t have one and that having one will never make you a Brian May clone regardless of curly wig. The Red Special is a guitar for fans and enthusiasts, it will forever be as legendry as Queen and Brian May and held in as high a regard as the Fender Stratocaster and the Gibson SG Custom.
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