Brian May vs Angus Young — Hard Rock Guitar Comparison
Brian May and Angus Young are both hard rock icons of the 1970s British scene — and they represent opposite poles in terms of gear philosophy. May built his own guitar from fireplace parts, uses a sixpence coin as a pick, and stacks Vox AC30s for orchestral layering. Young uses a standard production Gibson SG with no pedals straight into a Marshall. Complexity versus directness.
Guitar Comparison
| Brian May | Angus Young | |
|---|---|---|
| Guitar | Red Special (homemade) | Gibson SG Standard (production) |
| Construction | Hand-built by May and his father | Standard Gibson production |
| Pickups | Burns Tri-Sonic single-coils (3) | Gibson humbucker (bridge only used) |
| Pick | Sixpence coin | Standard guitar pick |
| Controls | Complex switching (on/off/phase per pickup) | Volume 10, Tone 10, bridge only |
The Red Special
The Red Special is one of the most famous homemade guitars in rock history:
- Mahogany body, oak neck (from a 100-year-old fireplace mantlepiece)
- Burns Tri-Sonic pickups — British single-coils from the 1960s
- Custom switching: each pickup has on/off and phase switches, allowing phase cancellation combinations impossible with standard guitars
- Vibrato unit (spring-loaded, hand-built) — called the "Vibrato" by May
- Never been repaired — the same guitar from the early 1960s
Why a coin pick?
May uses a sixpence (British coin) as his pick. The coin's rigidity and the rounded edges produce a specific attack character — harder attack transient, different wear on strings, and a "dimpled" sound at the attack point.
Amp Comparison
| Brian May | Angus Young | |
|---|---|---|
| Primary amp | Vox AC30 (multiple) | Marshall Super Lead / JMP |
| Configuration | AC30s daisy-chained for layering | Single Marshall cranked |
| Drive approach | Natural AC30 drive + treble booster | Full power amp saturation |
| Treble booster | Dallas Rangemaster (pre-AC30) | None |
The Vox AC30 vs Marshall Comparison
Vox AC30 character: EL84 output tubes, 30W, natural compression — less headroom than Marshall, earlier saturation, brighter character. The AC30 at full volume has a different saturation quality than a Marshall Plexi — more compressed, more harmonic.
Marshall Super Lead character: EL34 output tubes, 100W, more headroom, bigger sound — the saturation hits harder when it arrives.
May's multiple AC30 units running simultaneously create a wall of sound with a different character than Young's single Marshall. The layered AC30s produce a more complex, orchestral saturation.
Tone Character
Brian May's tone:
Multi-part guitar orchestration — Queen's guitar sounds on recordings like "Bohemian Rhapsody" are May alone, tracked multiple times with slightly different phase relationships. The Red Special's phase switching produces unique harmonic combinations.
Angus Young's tone:
Singular, direct power. A single SG through a single Marshall at full volume. No layering, no complexity. The simplicity is part of the statement.
Technique Comparison
Brian May:
- Sophisticated right-hand picking with sixpence coin
- Vibrato arm technique using his custom unit
- Multi-part harmony playing (self-produced guitar orchestras)
- Jazz and classical influence in chord voicings
Angus Young:
- Extremely consistent downpicking and alternate picking
- Duck-walk stage performance (running and duck-walking while playing)
- School uniform as permanent stage costume
- No extended techniques — pure direct rock playing
Complexity and Directness as Deliberate Choices
Neither May's layered orchestration nor Young's stripped-down simplicity happened by accident — both represent a considered philosophy about what a guitar should do in a rock band. May's phase-switching Red Special and stacked AC30s exist specifically to make one guitarist sound like an orchestra. Young's stock SG and single cranked Marshall exist specifically to make the guitar hit as hard and directly as possible.
Trying to copy May's sound with a standard guitar setup will fall short — the phase-cancellation combinations are genuinely unique to the Red Special's custom switching, not achievable through EQ or pedals alone. Trying to copy Young's tone with pedals or amp modeling misses the point entirely — the whole appeal is guitar-and-amp-only directness.
Common Mistakes
Assuming Angus Young's tone requires special gear beyond a standard SG and Marshall. As the guide states plainly, there are no effects in his signal chain at all — the "secret" is playing technique and amp volume, not hidden pedals or modifications.
Trying to replicate Brian May's phase-switching character with a standard three-pickup guitar. The Red Special's specific on/off/phase switching per pickup creates harmonic combinations that a conventional guitar's simpler switching cannot reproduce, regardless of how the pickups themselves are wound.
Using a standard guitar pick to approximate Brian May's attack. As the guide explains, the sixpence coin's rigidity and rounded edges genuinely change the attack transient — a conventional pick, however thin, won't replicate that specific character.
Assuming Vox AC30 and Marshall Super Lead are interchangeable for either player's sound. The EL84-driven AC30's earlier, more compressed saturation is central to May's layered orchestral tone, while the EL34-driven Marshall's higher headroom and harder-hitting saturation is central to Young's direct power — swapping one for the other changes the fundamental character, not just the volume.
ToneStakr's Take
These two approaches represent genuinely opposite ends of hard rock guitar philosophy, and both are worth understanding even if you only pursue one. May's layered Red Special orchestration rewards patient studio experimentation and is difficult to replicate live without real commitment to the custom-switching approach; Young's direct SG-into-Marshall setup rewards nothing but volume, technique and commitment to simplicity — arguably the more accessible of the two for most players to actually achieve at home.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Red Special made from?
A mahogany body and an oak neck sourced from a 100-year-old fireplace mantlepiece, fitted with Burns Tri-Sonic single-coil pickups. Brian May and his father built the guitar together in the early 1960s, and it remains unrepaired to this day.
Why does Brian May use a sixpence?
A sixpence coin is rigid with rounded edges, producing a specific attack character distinct from a standard guitar pick. He has used one consistently since early in his career, and it's become as identifiable to his sound as the Red Special itself.
Does Angus Young use any effects?
No — his guitar runs directly into a Marshall amplifier with no pedals or additional processing whatsoever. The entire tone comes from the direct interaction between the SG's humbucker and the amp's natural saturation at volume.
How does Brian May create the multi-part guitar sound?
By tracking the same guitar part multiple times with slightly different tuning or pickup phase settings, using the Red Special's custom switching to create distinct harmonic layers. No keyboard, synthesiser or studio trickery beyond multi-tracking is involved.
Is the Gibson SG Standard a beginner-friendly guitar, or does it require Angus Young's specific technique?
It's genuinely beginner-friendly on its own — the SG Standard is a well-regarded production guitar suited to any playing level. Replicating Young's exact tone and energy requires developing his specific downpicking consistency and stage presence, but the guitar itself imposes no special barrier.
Could a home player realistically build a Red Special-style rig?
Not exactly — the custom phase-switching wiring is a genuinely bespoke modification not available on standard production guitars. Some boutique builders offer Red Special replicas with similar switching, but a stock guitar cannot replicate this specific feature without modification.