Watch the Episode: bit.ly/BrianMayRigRundown Merch & Magazines: shop.premierguitar.com Don't Miss a Rundown: bit.ly/RIgRundownENL Subscribe to PG's Channel: bit.ly/SubscribePGKZread

Proves just how great Brian May is to have Robert Plant as his tech!

@randalclarke5487

3 жыл бұрын

Huh????🤔

@user-ro4cu7om2g

3 жыл бұрын

⁉️❓❔❕❕

@chrisward4576

3 жыл бұрын

Um..... that's not Robert Plant

@nopodemosmas

3 жыл бұрын

😂😂😂😂

@SuperZiggyCraft

3 жыл бұрын

I SWEAR IT WAS JUST ME THAT THOUGHT THAT

Those AC30s get creamy rich at full saturation. Sublime sound. People think Brian is playing hard but he's actually playing with a very light touch.

"it's really easy to setup" Turn everything to max on the normal channel. You HAVE to love this!

Brian doesn't mess around with tone shaping, crank them all up and we're good lol

@daniellurman9093

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah, I noticed that too! Everything on max, got it!

@melonah

3 жыл бұрын

You mean crank..crack is what musicians in the 80s mostly did

@MzuMzu-nx1em

3 жыл бұрын

@@melonah I have heard was a N.Y. huge trend, the rest of the world was saving for more safe ... fun

@MzuMzu-nx1em

3 жыл бұрын

But , his British sounds is appreciated by few ...

@AlbertoJorgeSoares

3 жыл бұрын

Sonorational Yep. He has never used distortion pedals, that comes from his amplifiers at full volume.

I love how Brian sets up his Amplifiers. But damn my ears would already fall of from one Ac30 at full volume xD

@Longhorn.Rock_Roll61

2 жыл бұрын

Lol you need some in ear monitors

@peteyoung7665

11 ай бұрын

@@Longhorn.Rock_Roll61In ears suck.And one AC30 is not loud.3 100 watt Marshall heads with 6 cabs is loud..he.

@Longhorn.Rock_Roll61

11 ай бұрын

@@peteyoung7665 I've never used in ears to old school. I'm thinking Brian uses stack after stack after stack of Vox Amps on stage

I love it, everything just dimed and Brian controls it all with his volume on the guitar.

When he played Seattle about a decade ago he used one amplifier (mic'd) and one empty shell on top of it. That was it. I worked the stage for that show.

@brugges

3 жыл бұрын

Now he needs to cover lambert's voice on stage

@rwlane

3 жыл бұрын

@@brugges 😂👍

@AtomicExtremophile

Жыл бұрын

@@brugges lol I loathe Lambert, he's tuned Queen into its own tribute band.

A good live sound engineer is an acoustic sculptor of great Mastery.

This was one of the most special rig rundowns and probably my favorite, it was nice to see Pete talk about this iconic setup and also my favorite part was when Brian sat down and talked of the origin of Red Special as well as some of the specs what a video!

When I saw Queen back in 1977 Nov. 18th in Detroit Mesonic aud. Brian May used four rows of four vox AC 30 total of 16. They were arrayed on four 'stair steps', he called it his rock orchestra.

@peteraustin370

Жыл бұрын

And according to his own comments.....only the specially doctored pair were ever switched on....!!!!!!

@davebain1982

Жыл бұрын

All 16 were never ever used at the same time..... Just like now all 9 are never ever used at the same time

This is pretty much exactly how I used set up for my Knights of Columbus and Friday night church gigs back in the day...

The Video on KZread where Brian explains he’s playing into one amp you hear directly with the signal going through a delay for the next amp and a second delay for the third was stunning. His setup is worthy of an astrophysicist.

@roverwaters3875

3 жыл бұрын

I believe at Wembley 86 he had a fourth one solely for chorus effect. I might be wrong but he did have more active amps on stage back then.

@chrissmith7669

3 жыл бұрын

@@roverwaters3875 the Video where May demonstrates the delay and how he uses it is just amazing.

@ImpostorModanica

3 жыл бұрын

@@chrissmith7669 Do you have a link?

@chrissmith7669

3 жыл бұрын

@@ImpostorModanica ; In this Video he demonstrates the single then dual delays and how he uses them. kzread.info/dash/bejne/eqdsmamun7LcidI.html

Haha someone got a labelmaker for Christmas! 😀

Gutted AC-30's, turned wide-ass open with a homemade guitar (or spot-on replicas)... And yet, the magic's in his fingers. Great video and explanation of Dr Bri's amp set-up.

@Red.be89

3 жыл бұрын

You missed where he said it runs through a wet-dry-wet stereo rack for effects too :P

@the_minimalistic_adventure

3 жыл бұрын

I don't believe he uses the replicas live. It's always the original RS. But I do believe he has a replica or two as backup if needed.

@Stefan-

3 жыл бұрын

Its very cool that the guitar he has played his whole career is a guitar made from a table among other things that he and his father made because he couldnt afford a good guitar.

@user-lx3dn9bt9e

3 жыл бұрын

@@the_minimalistic_adventure he uses replicas live. He loves he prefers his old Lady, but for some songs he takes replicas kzread.info/dash/bejne/nH6TscOmiJC2cZs.html

This kind of videos are amazing! I love to learn from the big ones.

“So if you give me your silly American girlie power, I can ... make it man’s power... stuff that’ll kill you.” 😆. If and when Vox decides to build an official, authorized Brian May AC 30, THIS comment belongs in all the sales ads.

@bear8903

3 жыл бұрын

I would definitely buy an old 60s/70s style brian may vox thatd be awesome

@Lack0

3 жыл бұрын

Actually there's an official vox AC30BM just like his modified amps. Also with built in treble booster and a switch for 15w.

@tomdick693

3 жыл бұрын

yeah, its a good thing the American girlie power saved england in WWi and WWII..... your're welcome btw

@JN-North.Guitars

3 жыл бұрын

@@tomdick693 yawn yawn!

@JN-North.Guitars

3 жыл бұрын

It’s called humour! Irony, sarcasm! He’s not serious!

He used to carry 12. Glad to see he's toning down in his old age.

@DandamanV

3 жыл бұрын

There's no "toning down", there's still plenty of tone there!

@dieterdeclercq

3 жыл бұрын

@@DandamanV wooosh

@_-_Michael_-_

3 жыл бұрын

......to 9......

@narvul

3 жыл бұрын

I count 11.

@josephpbrown

3 жыл бұрын

@@dieterdeclercq you're the one who's missing the joke here

This gave me a whole new level of respect for sound engineers

I thought this video was like 8 years old until I looked at the description. Very consistent over the years...

BRILLIANT!... playing through various combos for true sound separation and a modular amp set up for different tones and pedals!

Coolest rig rundown I think I've seen. We call them valves here downunder as well Ya get get toothpaste in tubes

@stevep2430

3 жыл бұрын

And don't forget the man power.

Good to know that Brian is on team send it.

My favorite amp for both guitar and bass. I used to rig my AMP amp to go out through a vox and then tweaked the bass signal over EQ, but it was the cleanest , warmest bass sound.

Wow what an incredible setup and great insight into Brian May's rig. I can't imagine playing live through one Vox AC 30 at full power, let alone three. I bet the sound onstage is out of this world.

@vayabroder729

3 жыл бұрын

AC30’s are louder than hell; can’t imagine that mountain 😉

@peteyoung7665

Жыл бұрын

It's not loud.It's only 30 watts and two speakers.A 100 watt Marshall full stack is loud=8 speakers.

He’s right about “silly American power” Ac30s, Marshalls...sound MUCH better when used on the power they were designed to use.

@ezekielbrockmann114

3 жыл бұрын

I think he's talking about North American 120v power as opposed to European 220volts.

@andrew6978

Жыл бұрын

@@ezekielbrockmann114 And 50 vs 60 hz.

This tech is Legend level. I wish i could learn from him. That dude is a plethora of knowledge.

Amazing!

Was quite pleased to see it’s in essence quite a straightforward setup - but just turned up really loud.

1:00 but that's the speaker I've got in my Orange Tiny Terror. As it turns out, I've been sounding like Brian May all along.

@davebain2656

2 жыл бұрын

No one sounds like Brian May. Wouldn't even matter if you had his rig cloned to the smallest of specs, no one will ever sound like any other guitarist, it's all in the fingers my friend

AC270

@johnnymegabyte

3 жыл бұрын

not quite. only 6 working.

Those three on the floor are Korg era Voxes; when the Marshall factory built them in the ‘90’s.

Best guitar sound I've heard with some distance. Love the other bands I've heard (even my favorite) but none of them (big or small) sounded as great as this rig. 1 chord into the first song and I knew this sound was going to be something special and it really was.

Oh man, just one of those please!

Incredible

I worked at The Pyramid in Memphis for about 10 years at and at The Mid South Coliseum for about 10 years before that and saw just about everyone come through and all of their set ups.

Was literally looking at the pictures of this last night lol... what a sight... an epic wall of Vox deliciousness.

It would be nice to have one of those classic amps :)

B May one of the best not many will remember the sound of this amp VOX I can remember Super Beatle amp back in the day also one of the best and they just keep rocking in the new world Ty for posting

@brianmay6212

3 жыл бұрын

Your welcome, thank you

@SimpleManGuitars1973

3 жыл бұрын

I would kill to have a Super Beatle. Those things are awesome. I love my AC30 and AC10 though. Super Beatles are worth a FORTUNE now! Apparently Jimmy Page was using one on Whole Lotta Love.

@brianmay6212

3 жыл бұрын

@@SimpleManGuitars1973 thank you for the love and support

What kind of mics are in the amps?

Those original JMI Vox AC-30's spent more time on the repair bench than they did on stage. They were notorious for breaking down if you looked at them wrong.

@middle_pickup

3 жыл бұрын

I hear that all the time, but I know people who have toured with original 64 and 65 AC30/6 amps. They didn't have that kind of failure with theirs. I think it's overhyped. I'd be more concerned trying to gig with a modern Chinese amp.

@middle_pickup

3 жыл бұрын

@@powertothebauer296 the custom classic amps were shit. The current custom amps seem to be better, but my UK 🇬🇧 Vox hasn't given me trouble really either.

@joethrelfall6370

Жыл бұрын

These are not standard vox ac30s they are point to point wired. These ones were built by Greg fryer.

They look so nice and fun to me as a guitar composer, time to go shopping for new gear this holiday season!

@sillysausage4549

3 жыл бұрын

What's a "guitar composer"?

@Yumaky

3 жыл бұрын

@@sillysausage4549 Someone that composes guitars.

My late father use to have VOX not sure if it's the same as these ? I was very young at the time, but the sound quality was superb through his 1961 Fender Stratocaster which stays in the family. I have a Fender Stratocaster 1984 Creamy guitar. That was my other father's guitar as a back up on stage, but he never really got on with that one. But always kept it and played it through a Peavey instead of the VOX 🎸 VOX eventually he sold to a friend for studio work/band practice. Lovely amps great sound and yes a warmth certainly shows on stage.

You could heat a small neighborhood with all of the heat generated by those amps...

@brianmay6212

3 жыл бұрын

So true and accurate.

I was waiting for him to say “Lonnnnnnnnggg strokes, and don’t dabble.........and don’t smoke”

@Bulletguy07

3 жыл бұрын

@J Nelson Though Brian is said to be an anti-smoker I can't help but wonder how much of that is just media hype because his guitar technician smokes....and of course Freddy also did.

before I ever learned how BM runs his AC30s, I was doing the same to mine - normal channel, no tone stack, no MV one blue and one 70th anniversary in my cab. Just an awesome sound, and then I'll hit it with a zendrive or timmy of I want a bit thicker overdrive.

Fascinating, thanks a bunch for this video. But 3 x AC30s all running at full chat?! Is Brian's hair some kind of acoustic dampener to stop him going deaf?

Nice rig! I almost got jealous, but then I´ve remembered each of these weight more than 30kg.

in the 80's ( I spotted this one in the Live Aid) Brian carried 16 amps if I'm not mistaken.

@davebain1982

Жыл бұрын

Not all 16 amps were ever used at the same time, just like now not all 9 are used, only 3

He even say sorry for saying "valve" 😆

My ideal bedroom rig 😁

I'm finding so many old videos being posted, not pointing out the original production date.

I wonder, what brand valves does he use?

Well explained

Nice video about British and American accents 🙂

Amazing all turned up to full. Must sound awesome.

@kevinsims1559

3 жыл бұрын

I remember that........30 of them! Looked fantastic.

They need to feature this dude in Spinal Tap 2.

Wish he had said what make of valves/tubes they used.

All to the maximum, that`s Bryan May :o)

1:47 classic Pete

This actually was at the 2014-2015 tour.

Interesting. Looks like he’s using just 421’s for mics. Wouldn’t normally see that being the lone mic for a guitar cab.

@Liveengineer

3 жыл бұрын

Proven old school Nuclear Blast Handlers

@middle_pickup

3 жыл бұрын

I understand the decision for the 421. The more common choice of the 57 would have less bass content, and Brian's tone is pretty cutting as is. I imagine the 421 sounds great on his tone.

How does one practice with ac cranked up

Anyone know who that Australian tech is who did the servicing of those amps? There's the sticker on the back. Can't make out the name.

I'd be so interested to see the specific mods on those amps. Maybe the info is online somewhere? I have a 1993 Korg era Marshall made AC30/6TB. That's what those three he's playing started life as. I'm interested in what was done to them...

@Meddled

3 жыл бұрын

Deleted trem and reverb circuit maybe?

@middle_pickup

3 жыл бұрын

@@Meddled The amp didn't have reverb. I'm more interested if there are any component value changes.

@joethrelfall6370

3 жыл бұрын

@@middle_pickup turned into normal channel only ac30s.

P&W dream rig

@middle_pickup

3 жыл бұрын

Not at that volume! lol

That tech is great. "This power supply will take your girly American power, and turn it into manly power!"

@Jmexis

3 жыл бұрын

Met him once, told him I loved him

@thehound2161

3 жыл бұрын

He could get even more British power if he plugged in more than 3 of those 10 AC's. He is boasting about the power, but we see it is actually just a fake show of power. Typical Brit. Fake and boasting about it.

@j_freed

3 жыл бұрын

Famous last words. ⚡️ I believe if you earth yourself with 220 V AC, you just vaporize? 💨

@Flornmonk

3 жыл бұрын

@@thehound2161 Who hurt you?

@Keigan884

3 жыл бұрын

He seems like such a nice cool guy!

Este amplificador, se hizo famoso en 1960 cuando The Shadows grabaron su versión de "Apache" que llegó al Nº 1 en las listas de UK y fundaron el rock instrumental. Brian May, es uno de los amigos y admiradores de este grupo. En 1996, fue invitado a participar del CD tributo "TWANG", donde interpretó el tema "F.B.I." de 1961. kzread.info/dash/bejne/k66XvKSnddrWdsY.html

Whats that little black thing on top of the upper left Ac30 ? (Timestamp 0:55)

What really amazes me to this day, is how he can get a true heavy metal chunk out of those things when he wants to. Just goes to show you can do most anything with some tools, pedals and a good ear

@MuvoTX

3 жыл бұрын

Yep... HUGE part of Brians tone is the serrated 6 pense. Gives a natural edge to his picked notes that a plastic plectrum cant. That combined with the treble boost.... like 30 db of clean signal gain iirc. I use old brass chuck-e-chese game tokens as picks for this reason. Theyre not serrated, but still sound edgier than plastic.

@odralebazerimar9084

Жыл бұрын

@@MuvoTX you should consider getting a stone pick. I bought one and haven’t looked back. You get the extra edge and everything

Euro voltage gang!

"He's the Governor". / Jeff Beck (RIP) comment on Brian May.. He said this about him Early 1980's I believe. When a man is right - a man is right. Brian May is a little beyond. His sound. His style. / O.K. I saw EVH in his prime - I saw Randy Rhodes. I saw Neil Schon. Now I have to see Brian May. - "Al, I saw Brian May - and he blew me away". / "Well I could have told you that would happen". / I think Brian May would (MAYBE) like Al DiTo. (Of course I can't be sure). But, I do have the songs which I do believe would make things a little bit easier for a person like me to approach a person of his stature.

soooo, no kemper profiler module ??

Considering it's not a high gain amp, it's logic to want more for more

What amp does he use

@Otis-Isom

3 жыл бұрын

Orange micro dark

@marcospintor1333

Жыл бұрын

Line 6 spy-derrr

LOVE THIS VIDEO! Anything VOX, all about it. AND QUEEN!

Those amps go to 11 for that extra push over the cliff!

What, 9 AC-30s on stage and not a fire extinguisher in sight .

@jammer70s

3 жыл бұрын

Right, they say them things run bloody HOT!

@patricksommer3971

3 жыл бұрын

after a concert you could nearly cook on my friends AC15. And brian has like 18 of those

@alecboyyes

3 жыл бұрын

@@jammer70s Lol, I have the chassis out of mine as I'm tube rolling and playing next to it, you can feel the heat coming from it to the point that any radiator in the room is made obsolete.

The Queen castle

10 people are still playing the spider.

hey.....they make this really cool thing.....its called an ISO Cabinet :) ask Elwood Francis about it :)

These one's go to 11

All that sustain and feedback he controls with the volume I'm pretty sure he has humbucker s as Alex Lifeson he played a strat with humbucker s in the back

Pretty much my 90s highschool metal band set up except it was with 4 crappy used $25 peavy rage practice amps.🥴

Could a impulse response make the same job?

@joshuaunitt3009

3 жыл бұрын

If you’ve been used to hearing a wall of amps behind you for 40 years, you might not want to give it up

@jucaguitar

3 жыл бұрын

@@joshuaunitt3009 You are absolutely right.

@jucaguitar

3 жыл бұрын

@Thomas Ertzeid Gulseth the pressure of nine amps and eingteen speakers must be insane ...

What make of tubes?

@saltpeter500

3 жыл бұрын

Valves

@Richard_P_James

3 жыл бұрын

@@saltpeter500 which MANUFACTURER

@saltpeter500

3 жыл бұрын

There's probably a reason he didn't disclose which valves he uses, most guitar guys don't give away all their tone secrets. www.guitarplayer.com/gear/the-best-guitar-amp-tubes-you-can-buy-right-now

Celestion blue is a 15 watt speaker

@brianmay6212

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you.

Some guys are just dead determined to stick with the old stuff. It's so reliable that we have to have 6 back-up amps at all times.😆Does it blow speakers? Yes all the time!!! 😆 😆 hey to each his own. But the guy could do that with two cabinets two heads and one rack box and he would have his live gear and a backup. And it would be newer technology that almost any large music store in any big city would have in case an emergency. But again. To each his own. The guy still rocks either way.

@noname-jr1vo

3 жыл бұрын

@@powertothebauer296 yeah. I'm a sound engineer and a guitar and drum tech. I attended the Atlanta Institute of Music. I've actually studied and had access to the pre mix tracking and masters of all of Queens albums. They were kept in a vault that had everything from Patsy Cline to Slayer. I was able to retire Dec 2019 at 41 years old. My generation perfected computer recording. (It sucked at first, now it's awesome) My generation is also recognized as part of the last generation of producers and engineers that knows how to work with analog tape and did so out of necessity. From 2" reel to 4 track cassette or reel to DAT and ADAT. Tone definitely matters in the studio or small venue or concert hall. But True tone can't be determined in a stadium or colosseum. It's impossible. Especially since what the audience is hearing is coming from the House P.A. and not his amps. House P.A. is digitized and timed for latency. This ensures that the front row and the nose bleed sections aren't hearing two different things. I doubt Brian is playing at the local pubs these days. So I might know just a little bit. Just maybe.

@powertothebauer296

2 жыл бұрын

@@noname-jr1vo Yes clearly , it comes from the house , but I hears the amp who are connected to the desk and this dynamic range I her comes from the cranked up amps and not from a digital simulator , and despair how good a simulator is he will never sound as good as an real valve amp. And one thing is for sure Analog beats every digital setup, digital is it easier to process afterwards. But the most important thing is , if you played and hear your gear for more than 40 or 50 years know instantly something is wrong , when you change one part of your gear.

So how does that work out exactly? He did say 230 volts? Elect engineers tell me,I'm very interested. Knew the power grid was diff in countries but this concept sounds diff. Is it 3 phase,Delta, what??

@Johngonefishin

3 жыл бұрын

Been running my 64' AC-30 at 240 volts on the selector here in the US with a Rockstone RT 1000W step-up transformer for many years, absolutely smooth operation, runs cooler, I couldn't tell you why, but it works better.

@ExternalInputs

3 жыл бұрын

230/240 volts is what the rest of the world uses, but the US had to be out of step like they are with so many things. The power supply he is using delivers a very consistant power level that is optimal for the amps and removes the variables in local power delivery around the world. There's a rig rundown on Angus Young from AC/DC where they use the same Kikusui power supply and they go into a bit more detail. They had theirs set at 236 volts from memory, which the tech said was right for the Marshall amps they were using.

@davidhill1846

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for reply guys..preciate!!

When 8 is not enough,and ten is a bit much. Number9NumberR9Number9

Is that the roadie from waynes world 2?!

@JimWhitakerMusic

3 жыл бұрын

J Dug jr. ...Jeff Beck pops his head ‘round the door.... 🤣🤣

@TomsGreenMind

3 жыл бұрын

...and I had to beat them to death with their own shoes 😂

@billdivine9501

3 жыл бұрын

Classic! Was think the same while he spoke! 😆 what a cool job that must be. I’d love to be an assistant, just for the experience and to be around all that gear!

@wgb01001

3 жыл бұрын

It rained all morning and then it cleared up in the afternoon. ... And that’s it. I almost remembered somfing else, but it’s gone. 🤷🏼‍♂️

I owned an AC-30. Its a clean amp imo. I blended it with a Marshall. I found these amps like single coil pickups best. My humbucker guitars were ungodly harsh through it. I ended up selling it after owning it for 3 months. They just don't work for me.

@alecboyyes

3 жыл бұрын

Which era AC30? I play humbuckers through my late 70s model and it sounds great!

What a contrast bw the man's soft spoken demeanor and his outlandish rock "voice".

Dang, I hope he gives his tech a nice pension and Life Insurance

@davebain1982

Жыл бұрын

I'm pretty sure Pete is well paid, don't you think? 🙄

Wonder how much time they spend checking for phasing?

@myguitarcloud5987

3 жыл бұрын

Real nightmare😂

@pwarner

3 жыл бұрын

Not needed because each amp is getting a different signal (Dry, Wet L, Wet R)

Brian wrote all the guitar solos on Freddie's songs made for the band

@VisiblyJacked

3 жыл бұрын

no s***. Brian May is one of the great guitarists

@Youtubax

3 жыл бұрын

Hello Captain Obvious.

@afxmnstr

3 жыл бұрын

Hey guys, go easy, its Roger Waters cat.

@davebain1982

Жыл бұрын

No he didn't. The only solo Brian wrote on a Freddie penned song was bohemian rhapsody.... Also Brian didn't even write all his solos anyway, Freddie wrote them on piano and Brian transcribed it to guitar..... Do your research ffs, it's not hard

@roverwaters3875

Жыл бұрын

@@davebain1982 😆😆

I have a vox mini 5 rythm

Since when is Del Preston the roadie for Queen?

@KeeperOfPoops

3 жыл бұрын

i'd say it's Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant lol

He learned a lot from Rory Gallagher is what they say see watching Rory playing a strat with all that sustain. Maybe so

you guys should definitely post more edited clips like this from interviews. i find it really hard to follow your longform interviews at times, some of these musicians are not so great at being interviewed and fall off track so quickly lol