Red Special Build - PT13 Demo

Part 01 - Blockboard Sandwich -    • Red Special build - PT01 - Blockboard...  
Part 02 - CNC Body -    • Red Special build - PT02 - CNC Body Cuts  
Part 03 - CNC Neck -    • Red Special build - PT03 - CNC Neck  
Part 04 - Body Glue Up -    • Red Special Build - PT04 - Body Glue Up  
Part 05 - Router Bearing Repair -    • Red Special Build - PT05 Repairs - Ro...  
Part 06 - Applying Veneers -    • Red Special Build - PT06 - Applying V...  
Part 07 - Binding and Staining -    • Red Special Build - PT07 - Binding an...  
Part 08 - Veneer Sand Through Repair -    • Red Special Build - PT08 Repair - Ven...  
Part 09 - Neck and Fingerboard -    • Red Special Build - PT09 Neck and fin...  
Part 10 - Neck finishing -    • Red Special Build - PT10 Neck Finishing  
Part 11 - Frets -    • Red Special Build - PT11 Frets  
Part 12 - Assembly -    • Red Special Build - PT12 Assembly  
Part 13 - Demo -    • Red Special Build - PT13 Demo  

: : : Demo : : :

Here's the first video run-through of the guitar, amp and basic pedal setup I use to get close to the Brian May sound. For my main sound, I'm simply using the homemade guitar (with Adeson pickups) through a Greg Fryer Treble Booster Super, into a Vox AC30TBX. I am also using a Weber MiniMass attenuator in this video.

I should point out that I am more of an an enthusiast of the guitar itself than I am a serious tone hunter or tribute band player. This video is mainly just to demonstrate the guitar itself and show that it finally makes noise. (full list of disclaimers below)

For my recording setup, it's also quite basic... I close-mic'd both amps with a Shure 57. (A hundred bucks, but you know how they sound) Then I used a Sennheiser shotgun mic to pick up a bit of the room. (This this mic travels with the camera, so I used it) Depending on the song, the room mic was either 3 feet away, or about 10 feet away.

Thank you to everyone who has been following the video series so far. I hope to post more stuff when I can, but this was fun to put together!

Disclaimers:
a) My playing chops have gone quite rusty through inactivity. I also just learned a few of these riffs for the sake of the video, so there are flubs and fuck ups, and admittedly certain things I just didn't play accurately. My normal playing style is "inspired by Brian", but quite a bit different.

b) The chorus/delay settings used in this video were just very quickly and roughly set, I'm sure they're aren't accurate.

c) The MiniMass attenuator settings are pictured in the video, which made for quite a low recording volume. In addition, I was in a sound treated room, so the sustain and feedback weren't as full and robust as they normally sound in a house or live setting. I only bought the MiniMass to use for this function, and so far I'm impressed with it. I've never used other attenuators so I can't really comment, but it DOES give me some great natural feedback response at quite a low volume, and with the Fryer treble booster, that BM sound comes to life!

d) As for the mix, generally there was no EQ added, but I did tend to play with where to place the room mic in the mix to highlight different frequencies. This recording happened very quickly and I didn't have time to A/B things or even listen to the mix after recording, if I had, I would have moved the close mic around as I went. The sound I ended up with seemed a bit harsh to my ear and too close to the cone, so the room mic added back in a bit more warmth.

Big thanks to Doug Short for our seemingly unending collaboration on this build. Check out his build and lots more info here: dsgb.net