Paula Coots's Blog: Paula's Blather about Writing. Mostly. - Posts Tagged "guitar"

Brian May's Red Special: Inside the Iconic Guitar of the Legendary Queen Guitarist by Brian May

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Astounding.
Truly. Brian May is such a consummate guitarist. And as most of us fans who happen to be guitarists know, that with the help of his father, Brian designed and made a killer guitar. This book digs in and shows us how, and that is an amazing story of creativity, practicality, love, perfectionism, dedication, patience and freaking brilliance. In over 50 years, the truss rod has NEVER needed adjustment! What? And the frets? Never replaced!! Damn. If you're a guitarist, you know how unheard of that is. Plus, if you're not a guitarist, but you are a Queen fan...the book is a fantastic insight into Brian, as well. It touches on the relationship he had with his Dad, especially for the two years it took to make the guitar. Using hand tools and mostly parts that were lying around in Harold's shed in case they could be used for something someday, a priceless guitar was created. Brian's description of what it felt like to play on top of Buckingham Palace on the Queen's Jubilee Anniversary concert is worth the price alone. If you're a guitar geek like me, the fact that Brian let them take the Red Special APART in 2013 (except the tremolo block---wisely leaving that alone) to photograph all its insides...man, it sent ME into spasms of gear terror. Enough said. I find it hard to express how much I love this book, this story, this music, this guitar, this man. What a true genius.



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