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REVIEWS_GUITAR REVIEW
To play, the Super feels nice and light
and is very well balanced...
capabilities. The guitar features two rotary
controls, one volume and one tone, with
authentic lathed aluminium “flying saucer”
knobs, and 250k pots.
The knife-edge tremolo tailpiece is an exact
replica, built to Brian’s original design
and specification by Kazutaka Ijuin of KZ
Guitars, with the bar crafted from Greg
Fryer’s templates. This tremolo and tailpiece
is visually stunning, and the performance is
fantastic, with an accurate response, fantastic
pitch return and tuning stability.
One of the design compromises you will
find on the Super is the bridge, however,
with Brian’s roller system being replaced
with a custom modified Wilkinson roller
bridge. The bridge on the original is a totally
hand made unit that Brian designed, hand
tooled from a block of aluminum and to
manufacture units such as this would again
effect the retail price drastically, pushing it
into the realms of the Guyton.
So the Super is visually stunning - a really
beautiful looking guitar, and having played
Brian’s ‘Old Lady’ on numerous occasions I
can tell you that it felt every bit like the Red
Special. That said, one has to remember that
there was something Zen like, or magical
about how the original was built. Would
Brian have produced a second guitar that felt
exactly the same as the original if he had the
exact same materials? I think not; my point
is, that many people get very picky when
discussing Red Special replicas. The only
guitar the truly feels like the original Red
Special is the original; but this guitar does a
bloody good impression of it!
To play, the Super feels nice and light and is
very well balanced, which is surprising when
you consider the thickness of the neck. Thick
and sturdy, its sheer size obviously goes hand
in hand with the chambered mahogany
body helping the production of long sweet
sustaining notes. Unamplified, the Super was
zingy, vibrant and loud. Plugged in it was
heaven. You really can notice a difference
between the standard Brian May branded
pickups and the Adeson Burns, as well as the
fact they’re screwed directly into a chambered
mahogany body.
Engaging the bridge and middle produced
a thick growl, but with plenty of space and
highs. I used a Fryer treble booster (and a
sixpence!) into a TAE pedal for the demo,
and I think you’ll agree the tone is superb.
The neck pickup is much more mellow than
the Special’s, and has a rich warm character,
that morphs into a creamy sustain as the
guitar volume is increased. Start combining
pickups and knocking one out of phase and
the Super screams with plenty harmonic
overtones - wonderful!
94 Guitar Interactive Magazine Issue 40