Editing Brian May (section)

==Musicianship==

===Guitar style===
[[File:Koeln1998 Brian May.jpg|thumb|right|upright|May [[tapping]]]]
{{Quote box
 | quote  = I can listen to any player and pantomime their sound, but I can't do Brian May. He's just walking on higher ground.
 | source =&nbsp;—[[Steve Vai]]<ref>{{cite magazine | url= https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/100-greatest-guitarists-153675/brian-may-2-154589/ | title= 100 Greatest Guitarists | magazine= Rolling Stone | date= 18 December 2015 | access-date= 19 April 2019 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190322144636/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/100-greatest-guitarists-153675/brian-may-2-154589/ | archive-date= 22 March 2019 | url-status= live }}</ref>
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{{Quote box
 | quote  = His tone immediately grabbed me. Brian has his own style and sound, so you can always tell his work. Even in 1971 he had incredible finesse, amazing fluidity.
 | source =&nbsp;—[[Andy Powell]], [[Wishbone Ash]]<ref name="Jackson2011"/>
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May has been referred to as a virtuoso guitarist by many publications and musicians.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |year=2007 |title=Queen |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Sharpe-Young |first=Garry |title=Brian May |publisher=[[RockDetector]] |url=http://www.rockdetector.com/person/may/brian+harold |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904041346/http://www.rockdetector.com/person/may/brian+harold |archive-date=4 September 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Coleman |first=Mark |date=9 October 1986 |title=''A Kind of Magic'' |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |issue=484 |url=http://rollingstone.com/artists/queen/albums/album/210159/review/5946266/a_kind_of_magic |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001090826/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/queen/albums/album/210159/review/5946266/a_kind_of_magic |archive-date=1 October 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Donaghy |first=James |date=17 February 2007 |title=Not another axe to grind |periodical=[[The Guardian]] |url=http://guardian.co.uk/theguide/music/story/0,,2013600,00.html |location=London |access-date=26 April 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070304213650/http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguide/music/story/0%2C%2C2013600%2C00.html |archive-date=4 March 2007 }}</ref><ref name="Sutcliffe">{{cite book |last1=Sutcliffe |first1=Phil |title=Queen: The Ultimate Illustrated History of the Crown Kings of Rock |date=2009 |publisher=[[Voyageur Press]] |isbn=978-0760337196 |page=164}}</ref> He has featured in various music polls of the greatest rock guitarists, and in 2011 was ranked number 26 on ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine's list of the "[[Rolling Stone's 100 greatest guitarists of all time|100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time]]".<ref name="Rolling Stone"/> In January 2007, the readers of ''[[Guitar World]]'' voted May's guitar solos on "[[Bohemian Rhapsody]]" and "[[Brighton Rock (song)#Brighton Rock|Brighton Rock]]" into the "top 50 Greatest Guitar Solos of all time" (No.20 and No.41 respectively).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.guitarworld.com/50-greatest-guitar-solos|title=50 Greatest Guitar Solos|publisher=Guitarworld.com|access-date=27 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170601115757/http://www.guitarworld.com/50-greatest-guitar-solos|archive-date=1 June 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> Former [[Van Halen]] vocalist [[Sammy Hagar]] stated, "I thought Queen were really innovative and made some great sounding records... I like the rockin' stuff. I think Brian May has one of the great guitar tones on the planet, and I really, really love his guitar work."<ref name="Sutcliffe"/> [[Justin Hawkins]], lead guitarist of [[the Darkness (band)|the Darkness]], cites May as his earliest influence, saying "I really loved his tone and vibrato and everything. I thought his playing sounded like a singing voice. I wanted to be able to do that. Whenever I went to guitar lessons, I was always asking to learn Queen stuff."<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/26822-the-darkness-justin-and-dan-hawkins-swan-on | title=The Darkness' Justin and Dan Hawkins Swan On | work=[[Premier Guitar]] | first=Tzvi | last=Gluckin | date=15 February 2018 | access-date=26 May 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190526203526/https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/26822-the-darkness-justin-and-dan-hawkins-swan-on | archive-date=26 May 2019 | url-status=live }}</ref>

American guitar virtuoso Steve Vai has spoken highly of May's work, saying:{{blockquote|In that whole genre, in that whole period—he's one of the most unique contributors. He doesn't get credit. Because what he does is so rich and so specific, and so deep, it fits so well in Queen music, you just feel it as part of that music. But when you break it down and when you look at it from a guitar player's point of view, it's unique, and nobody to this date could do what he does and make it sound like that. He is an iconic player. His tone, his choice of melody notes, he doesn't just do solos. His solos are melodies, and they're perfectly in place.<ref>{{cite web | url= https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/steve_vai_brian_may_doesnt_get_enough_credit_his_solos_are_melodies__theyre_perfectly_in_place.html | title= Steve Vai: Brian May Doesn't Get Enough Credit. His Solos Are Melodies & They're Perfectly in Place | website= [[Ultimate Guitar]] | date= 24 December 2018 | access-date= 30 September 2019 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190929232015/https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/steve_vai_brian_may_doesnt_get_enough_credit_his_solos_are_melodies__theyre_perfectly_in_place.html | archive-date= 29 September 2019 | url-status= live }}</ref>}}

Most of May's electric guitar work live and in the studio is done on the [[Red Special]], which he built with his father, an electronics engineer, when he was sixteen years old.<ref name=redspecial/><ref name=Grdn2014/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/aug/09/hey-sound-homemade-guitars|title=Hey, what's that sound: Homemade guitars|first=David|last=McNamee|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=27 September 2014|date=11 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150330161424/http://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/aug/09/hey-sound-homemade-guitars|archive-date=30 March 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{YouTube|cPD7_hQk7hk|Brian May Interview}} The Music Biz (1992). Retrieved 19 August 2011</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.songwritershalloffame.org/exhibits/bio/C2341|title=Songwriters Hall of Fame – Brian May Biography|publisher=Songwritershalloffame.org|access-date=27 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141025081039/http://www.songwritershalloffame.org/exhibits/bio/C2341|archive-date=25 October 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="rdspecial"/> It was built with wood from an 18th-century fireplace, and was composed of household items such as mother-of-pearl buttons, shelf edging, and motorbike valve springs. While May and his father were building the Red Special, May also produced plans to build a second guitar. However, the Red Special was so successful that May did not need to build another guitar.<ref name="The Spade"/> These plans were eventually given to guitar [[luthier]] Andrew Guyton in around 2004–05. Guyton made some slight modifications and the guitar was built. It was named "The Spade" as the body's shape resembled the form shown on playing cards. The guitar also came to be known as "The Guitar That Time Forgot".<ref name="The Spade">{{cite web|url=http://www.guytonguitars.com/the-spade-guitar.html|title=The 'Spade' guitar|website=Guyton Guitars|access-date=6 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180407053706/http://www.guytonguitars.com/the-spade-guitar.html|archive-date=7 April 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

May commented on the Red Special:

{{blockquote|I like a big neck – thick, flat and wide. I lacquered the fingerboard with Rustin's Plastic Coating. The tremolo is interesting in that the arm's made from an old bicycle saddle bag carrier, the knob from the ends of a knitting needle, and the springs are valve springs from an old motorbike.<ref>Mick St. Michael (1992). ''Queen in Their Own Words''. p.62. Omnibus Press, 1992</ref>}}

In addition to using his home-made guitar he prefers to use coins (especially [[Sixpence (British coin)|a sixpence]] from the farewell proof set of 1970), instead of a more traditional plastic [[plectrum]], because he feels their rigidity gives him more control in playing.<ref name="Jackson"/> He is known to carry coins in his pockets specifically for this purpose.<ref name="Jackson">Laura Jackson (2011). [https://books.google.com/books?id=9bMW7YFSiuoC&q=brian%20may%20sixpence&pg=PT14 "Brian May: The Definitive Biography"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200314151322/https://books.google.com/books?id=9bMW7YFSiuoC&pg=PT14#v=onepage&q=brian%20may%20sixpence |date=14 March 2020 }} Hachette UK, 2011</ref>

A meticulous arranger, he focuses on multi-part harmonies, often more [[Counterpoint|contrapuntal]] than parallel—a relative rarity for rock guitar. Examples are found in Queen's albums ''A Night at the Opera'' and ''A Day at the Races'', where he arranged a jazz band for guitar mini-orchestra ("Good Company"), a vocal canon ("The Prophet's Song") and guitar and vocal counterpoints ("[[Teo Torriatte]]").

May explored a wide variety of styles in guitar, including: [[sweep picking]] ("[[Was It All Worth It]]" "Chinese Torture"); [[tremolo]] ("Brighton Rock", "[[Stone Cold Crazy]]", "[[Death on Two Legs (Dedicated to...)|Death on Two Legs]]", "[[Sweet Lady (Queen song)|Sweet Lady]]", "Bohemian Rhapsody", "[[Get Down Make Love]]", "[[Dragon Attack]]"); [[tapping]] ("[[Bijou (Queen song)|Bijou]]", "[[It's Late (Queen song)|It's Late]]", "[[Resurrection]]", "Cyborg", "Rain Must Fall", "Business", "China Belle", "I Was Born To Love You"); slide guitar ("Drowse", "Tie Your Mother Down"); [[Jimi Hendrix|Hendrix]] sounding licks ("[[Liar (Queen song)|Liar]]", "Brighton Rock"); tape-delay ("Brighton Rock", "White Man"); and melodic sequences ("Bohemian Rhapsody", "[[Killer Queen]]", "These Are the Days of Our Lives"). Some of his solos and orchestral parts were composed by [[Freddie Mercury]], who then asked May to bring them to life ("Bicycle Race", "Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon", "Killer Queen", "[[Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy]]"). May also performed notable acoustic works, including the finger-picked solo of "White Queen" (from ''[[Queen II]]''),  "[[Love of My Life (Queen song)|Love of My Life]]" and the [[skiffle]]-influenced "'39" (both from ''A Night at the Opera'').

Aided by the uniqueness of the Red Special, May was often able to create strange and unusual sound effects. For example, he was able to imitate an orchestra in the song "[[Queen II#"Procession"|Procession]]"; in "[[Get Down, Make Love]]" he was able to create various sound effects with his guitar; in "Good Company" he used his guitar to mimic a trombone, a piccolo and several other instruments for the song's Dixieland jazz band feel. Queen used a "No synthesizers were used on this album" sleeve note on their early albums to make this clear to the listeners.<ref>Cunningham, Mark (October 1995). [http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/1995_articles/oct95/queen.html "The Making Of Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody'"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121141500/http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/1995_articles/oct95/queen.html |date=21 November 2008 }}. Sound on Sound. Retrieved 23 May 2012</ref> May also used his guitar to create the chime effect in "Bohemian Rhapsody".<ref name="bohrapchimes">{{YouTube|Z85YsUAU6pA|The Making of 'Bohemian Rhapsody'}}. Retrieved 28 December 2012.</ref>

===Influences===
[[File:Brian May 2017 Guitar_Cropped.jpg|thumb|upright|Brian May performing in 2017]]
May's early influences included [[Cliff Richard]] and [[the Shadows]], who he says were "the most metallic thing(s) out at the time". Many years later he gained his opportunity to play on separate occasions with the Shadows' lead guitarist [[Hank Marvin]]. He has collaborated with Richard on a re-recording of 1958 hit "[[Move It]]" on Richard's duets album ''[[Two's Company (Cliff Richard album)|Two's Company]]'', which was released on 6&nbsp;November 2006.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/twos-company-the-duets-mw0000448982|title=Two's Company: The Duets|work=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=27 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905000130/http://www.allmusic.com/album/twos-company-the-duets-mw0000448982|archive-date=5 September 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

May always stated that [[the Beatles]], [[Led Zeppelin]],<ref>{{cite web|last=Prato |first=Greg |url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p13633|pure_url=yes}} |title=Brian May at Allmusic |work=AllMusic |date=18 July 2012 |access-date=18 July 2012}}</ref> [[the Who]] and [[Jimi Hendrix]] were the greatest influences on him. On the ''Queen for an Hour'' interview on BBC Radio&nbsp;1 in 1989, May listed Hendrix, [[Jeff Beck]] and [[Eric Clapton]] as his guitar heroes. In a 1991 interview for ''Guitar World'' magazine, May referred to the Who as "my inspiration", and on seeing Led Zeppelin stated, "We used to look at those guys and think, 'That's the way it should be done.'"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.intellectualonly-mercury.ru/interview/The_Life_Of_Brian.htm |title=The Life of Brian in Guitar World |publisher=Intellectualonly-mercury.ru |access-date=29 August 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110810112604/http://www.intellectualonly-mercury.ru/interview/The_Life_Of_Brian.htm |archive-date=10 August 2011 }}</ref> May told ''[[Guitarist (magazine)|Guitarist]]'' in 2004, "I don't think anyone has epitomised [[Riff#Riff|riff]] writing better than [[Jimmy Page]] – he's one of the great brains of rock music".<ref>"Whole lotta riffs". ''[[Guitarist (magazine)|Guitarist]]''. Issue 247. March 2004.</ref>

May also cites [[Rory Gallagher]] as a major influence, saying "He was a magician. He was one of the very few people of that time who could make his guitar do anything, it seemed. I remember looking at that battered Stratocaster and thinking, 'How does that (sound) come out of there?'" According to May, "...&nbsp;it was Rory that gave me my sound, and that's the sound I still have."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hollywood.com/general/brian-may-i-owe-my-sound-to-guitar-hero-rory-gallagher-60430802/|title=Brian May: 'I owe my sound to guitar hero Rory Gallagher'|website=[[Hollywood.com]]|access-date=4 June 2019|date=30 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190604074058/http://www.hollywood.com/general/brian-may-i-owe-my-sound-to-guitar-hero-rory-gallagher-60430802/|archive-date=4 June 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> May was also influenced by [[Steve Hackett]], guitarist of the [[progressive rock]] band Genesis,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/steve-hackett-talks-wolflight-phrasing-and-the-nylon-knack-620021|title=Steve Hackett talks Wolflight, phrasing and the nylon knack|first=Matt|last=Frost|work=MusicRadar|date=29 April 2015|access-date=4 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530062816/https://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/steve-hackett-talks-wolflight-phrasing-and-the-nylon-knack-620021|archive-date=30 May 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> in particular his harmony guitar solo at the end of the band's epic 1971 song "[[The Musical Box (Genesis song)|The Musical Box]]".<ref>{{cite web | url= http://dmme.net/interviews/hackett.html | title= Interview with Steve Hackett | publisher= dmme.net | date= January 2001 | access-date= 23 August 2015 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150928235530/http://dmme.net/interviews/hackett.html | archive-date= 28 September 2015 | url-status= live }}</ref> Hackett said of May, "Equally, his energetic approach to guitar inspired me."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/news/140438/|title=The guitarguitar Interview: Steve Hackett|first=Ray|last=McClelland|website=guitarguitar|date=10 August 2018|access-date=4 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190604072235/https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/news/140438/|archive-date=4 June 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Equipment===

====Guitars====
[[File:Queen + Adam Lambert 5 (38119549814).jpg|thumb|upright|Brian May (pictured in 2017) playing his custom-made [[Red Special]]]]
[[File:Brian May's Signature Red Guitar.jpg|thumb|upright|Replica of May's Red Special in the shop window, [[Denmark Street]], London]]
From 1975 onwards, May had some replicas made of the Red Special, some of which were also used for live and recording purposes, others being mainly spares. The most famous replicas were made by John Birch in 1975 (May smashed it during a concert in the US in 1982), [[Greco guitars|Greco]] BM90 (featured in the promo video of "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy" in 1977), Guild (back-up from 1984 to 1993), Fryers (1997–1998, used both live and in the studio) and Guyton<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.guytonguitars.com/rsintro.php |title=Guitar Builder (Luthier) in East Anglia, UK – High Quality Hand Made Custom Electric Guitars by Andrew Guyton |publisher=Guytonguitars.com |access-date=15 July 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203025707/http://www.guytonguitars.com/rsintro.php |archive-date=3 February 2014 }}</ref> (back-up from 2003 to present). On stage, May used to carry at least one backup guitar (in case he broke a string). He occasionally would use others for specific songs or parts, such as alternative tunings. Currently, May owns a company that makes guitars whose design is modelled after the original Red Special guitar.

*July 1973&nbsp;– May 1974: [[Fender Stratocaster]] CBS era (thought to be 1972)<ref name="MR"/>
*October 1974&nbsp;– May 1975: [[Gibson Les Paul]] Deluxe, and the Stratocaster from the previous tour.<ref name="MR"/>
*November 1975&nbsp;– May 1976: Same two guitars as before, plus a natural finish John Birch replica of the Red Special.<ref name="MR">{{cite web |url=https://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/in-pictures-brian-mays-other-guitars-384279 |title=In Pictures: Brian May's Guitars |website=MusicRadar |url-status=live |access-date=10 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190430081212/https://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/in-pictures-brian-mays-other-guitars-384279 |archive-date=30 April 2019 }}</ref>
*September 1976: Same three as before, plus a Martin D-18 acoustic for "'39".
*January 1977&nbsp;– August 1979: Just the Birch replica plus an Ovation Pacemaker 12-string acoustic on some numbers ("'39", "Love of My Life", "Dreamer's Ball").
*November 1979&nbsp;– June 1982: Birch replica (back-up), [[Fender Telecaster]] ("Crazy Little Thing Called Love" 2nd verse, middle-eight and solo), Ovation (acoustic numbers).
*July&nbsp;– November 1982: Added a [[Gibson Flying V]] as second back-up. On 9 August 1982, May smashed the Birch guitar, so the Flying&nbsp;V became the only spare.
*August&nbsp;– October 1984: The Flying V became a second back-up again as his main spare was the Guild replica. He also used Roger Taylor's Gibson Chet-Atkins Classical Electric.
*July 1985&nbsp;– August 1986: Gibson Flying V no longer used. The rest remained the same. May used a Gibson Chet-Atkins guitar on the 1986 Magic Tour.<ref name="MR"/>
*In 2012, he received a double-neck replica of the Red Special, with the second neck having 12-strings. He used this guitar at a few gigs with Adam Lambert now being able to play the 12-string part from the studio version of "Under Pressure" live.<ref name="Double-neck Red Special">{{cite web|url=http://www.musicradar.com/guitarist/brian-mays-guyton-double-neck-549856|title=Brian May's Guyton Double Neck|author=Simon Bradley|date=23 July 2012 |work=MusicRadar|access-date=27 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140701225039/http://www.musicradar.com/guitarist/brian-mays-guyton-double-neck-549856|archive-date=1 July 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>

He currently has a Gibson 12-string SJ200 to replace his Guild 12-string. He previously used an Ovation Pacemaker 1615 model. Some of the non-RS electric guitars he used in the studio included:
*[[Burns London|Burns]] Double Six on "Long Away" (1976)<ref name="MR"/> and "Under Pressure" (1981).
*Fender Telecaster on "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" (1979).<ref name="MR"/> May used it for the video (but not the recordings) of "Back Chat" (1982).
*Gibson Firebird on "Hammer to Fall" and "Tear It Up" (album versions only, not on stage).<ref>{{cite web |title=Album Data, The Works |url=https://www.queensongs.info/album-data/queen/the-works |website=Queen Songs |access-date=13 May 2024}}</ref>
*[[Ibanez JS Series|Ibanez JS]] on "Nothing But Blue" (1991).
*[[Parker Fly]] on "Mother Love" (1993–1995).

For acoustic, he favoured Ovation,<ref name="MR"/> Martin, [[Tōkai Guitars|Tōkai]] Hummingbird, Godin and Guild. On a couple of videos, he also used some different electric guitars: a Stratocaster copy on "Play the Game" (1980) and a [[Washburn RR-V Tour Series|Washburn RR2V]] on "Princes of the Universe" (1986).

In 1984, [[Guild Guitar Company|Guild]] released the first official Red Special replica for mass production and made some prototypes specifically for May. However, the solid-body construction (the original RS has hollow cavities in the body) and the pick-ups (DiMarzio) that were not a replica of the Burns TriSonic did not make May happy. The production of the guitars stopped after just 300&nbsp;guitars. In 1993, Guild made a second replica of the RS, made in just 1000&nbsp;copies, of which May has some and used as a back-up. At the moment, he uses the two guitars made by Greg Fryer—the luthier who restored the Old Lady in 1998—as back-up. They are almost identical to the original, except for the Fryer logo on the headstock (May's original one has a sixpence).

====Amplifiers and effects====
[[File:VOX AC30 Twin.jpg|thumb|The [[Vox AC30]] amplifier]]
{{Quote box
 | quote  = I've never heard a guitar sound so loud! He had a wall of AC30s cranked, and it was like a jumbo jet taking off. It was phenomenal.
 | source =&nbsp;—[[Marillion]] guitarist [[Steve Rothery]] on sharing a stage with May in the 1980s.<ref>{{cite web | url= https://www.vintageguitar.com/30070/steve-rothery/ | title= Steve Rothery | work= [[Vintage Guitar (magazine)|Vintage Guitar]] | first= Greg | last= Prato | date= February 2017 | access-date= 19 April 2019 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190419201015/https://www.vintageguitar.com/30070/steve-rothery/ | archive-date= 19 April 2019 | url-status= live }}</ref>
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May has used [[Vox AC30]] amplifiers almost exclusively since a meeting with his long-time hero [[Rory Gallagher]] at a gig in London during the late 1960s/early 1970s.<ref>Rick Wakeman's Face To Face interview programme, available at rockondigital.com</ref> In the mid-1970s he used six of them, with an [[Echoplex]] delay (with extended delay time) plugged into a separate amplifier, and a second Echoplex plugged into yet another amp; he used a homemade booster, his only effects pedal, which was on all the time.<ref name="reply">{{cite news|title=Pro's Reply: Brian May|date=August 1975|work=[[Guitar Player]]|page=154}}  (repr. January 2014)</ref> His choice is the model AC30TBX, the top-boost version with Blue Alnico speakers, and he runs the amp at full volume on the Normal channel.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.brianmaycentral.net/bms.html |title=Vox AC30 Brian May |publisher=Brianmaycentral.net |access-date=27 September 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141029011512/http://www.brianmaycentral.net/bms.html |archive-date=29 October 2014 }}</ref>
[[File:Fryer Brian May Treble Booster Touring, true bypass & LED mod by Cluster.jpg|thumb|upright|left|May [[treble booster]]]]
May also customises his amps by removing the Brilliant and Vib-trem channels (leaving only the circuitry for the Normal). This alters the tone slightly, with a gain addition of 6–7&nbsp;dB. He always used a [[treble booster]] which, along with the AC30 and his custom '[[Deacy Amp]]' transistor amp, built by Queen bass player John Deacon, went a long way in helping to create many of his signature guitar tones.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://queenwillrockyou.weebly.com/deacy-amp.html|title=The Legendary Deacy Amp|publisher=queenwillrockyou.weebly.com|access-date=12 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016064332/http://queenwillrockyou.weebly.com/deacy-amp.html|archive-date=16 October 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> He used the Dallas Rangemaster for the first Queen albums, up to ''[[A Day at the Races (album)|A Day at the Races]]''. Effects designer [[Pete Cornish]] built for him the TB-83 (32&nbsp;dB of gain) that was used for all the remaining Queen albums. He switched in 2000 to the Fryer's booster, which actually gives less boost than the TB-83.

When performing live, May uses banks of Vox&nbsp;AC30 amplifiers, keeping some amps with only guitar and others with all effects such as delay, [[flanger]] and chorus. He has a rack of 14&nbsp;AC30s, which are grouped as Normal, Chorus, Delay&nbsp;1, Delay&nbsp;2. On his pedal board, May has a custom switch unit made by Cornish and subsequently modified by Fryer that allows him to choose which amps are active. He uses a [[Boss Corporation|BOSS]] pedal from the '70s, the Chorus Ensemble CE-1, which can be heard in "[[Sheer Heart Attack|In The Lap of The Gods]]" (''[[Live at Wembley '86]]'') or "Hammer to Fall" (slow version played live with P.&nbsp;Rodgers). Next in the chain, he uses a Foxx Foot Phaser ("We Will Rock You", "We Are the Champions", "Keep Yourself Alive", etc.), and two delay machines to play his trademark solo in "Brighton Rock".

====Piano and other instruments====
As a child, May was trained on classical piano. Although Freddie Mercury was the band's primary pianist, May would step in occasionally (such as on "Save Me"<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUyPyTn-IS4 |title=Queen Save Me (Live) |via=YouTube |date=11 May 2009 |url-status=live |access-date=10 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200303064815/https://www.youtube.com/watch?index=5&list=RDf8usNj4x9NA&v=yUyPyTn-IS4&app=desktop |archive-date=3 March 2020 }}</ref> and "Flash").<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sheetmusic-free.com/flash-theme-sheet-music-queen/ |title=Flash Theme Sheet Music Queen |website=sheetmusic-free.com |access-date=10 April 2020}}</ref> He mostly used Freddie Mercury's 1972 Steinway piano. From 1979 onwards, he also played synthesisers, organ ("Wedding March",<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Es5NDQAAQBAJ&q=brian+may+synthesiser+and+organ+on+wedding+march+on+flash&pg=PT148 |title=Freddie Mercury: A Kind of Magic |last=Blake |first=Mark |date=12 September 2016 |publisher=[[Omnibus Press]] |isbn=9781783237784 |access-date=10 April 2020}}</ref> "[[Let Me Live]]") and programmed drum-machines for both Queen and outside projects (such as producing other artists and his own solo records). In the studio, May used [[Yamaha DX7]] synths for the opening sequence of "One Vision"<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uAV0DwAAQBAJ&q=may+yamaha+dx7+synth+on+one+vision&pg=PA173 |title=Queen: Album by Album |last=Popoff |first=Martin|date=27 November 2018 |publisher=[[Voyageur Press]] |page=173 |isbn=9780760362839 |access-date=10 April 2020}}</ref> and the backgrounds of "Who Wants to Live Forever"<ref>{{cite web |url=https://equipboard.com/pros/brian-may/yamaha-dx7-synthesizer |title=Brian May Yamaha-DX7 |website=equipboard.com |url-status=live |access-date=10 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180626145144/http://equipboard.com/pros/brian-may/yamaha-dx7-synthesizer |archive-date=26 June 2018 }}</ref> (also on stage), "Scandal" and "The Show Must Go On".

The first instrument May learned to play was the [[Banjo uke|banjolele]]. He used a "genuine [[George Formby]] Ukulele-Banjo" in "[[Bring Back That Leroy Brown]]" and [[A Night at the Opera (Queen album)|"Good Company"]]. Occasionally, May would also record on other string instruments such as harp (one chord per take, then copied and pasted by the engineer to make it sound like a continuous performance) and bass (on some demos and many songs in his solo career, and the Queen + Paul Rodgers album). May was keen on using some toys as instruments as well. He used a [[Yamaha Corporation|Yamaha]] plastic piano in "Teo Torriatte"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ultimatequeen.co.uk/queen/songs/a-day-at-the-races.htm |title=A Day At The Races |website=ultimatequeen.co.uk |url-status=live |access-date=10 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191115231741/http://www.ultimatequeen.co.uk/queen/songs/a-day-at-the-races.htm |archive-date=15 November 2019 }}</ref> and a toy mini [[koto (musical instrument)|koto]] in "The Prophet's Song".<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gZ5ZCgAAQBAJ&q=may+mini+koto+prophets+song&pg=PA189 |title=The Bible in Music: A Dictionary of Songs, Works, and More |last1=Long |first1= Siobhán Dowling  |last2=Sawyer |first2=John F.A. |date=3 September 2015 |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |page=189 |isbn=9780810884526 |access-date=10 April 2020}}</ref>

====Vocals====
May is also an accomplished singer. From Queen's ''[[Queen II]]'' to ''[[The Game (Queen album)|The Game]]'', May contributed lead vocals to at least one song per album. May co-composed a mini-opera with [[Lee Holdridge]], ''Il Colosso'', for [[Steve Barron]]'s 1996 film, ''[[The Adventures of Pinocchio (1996 film)|The Adventures of Pinocchio]]''.  May performed the opera with [[Jerry Hadley]], [[Sissel Kyrkjebo]], and [[Just William]].  On-screen, it was performed entirely by puppets.