Brian May

• Use a coin as a pick — the rigid edge creates a brighter, more defined attack
• Treble booster (not overdrive) into the AC30 is the key — it drives the amp harmonically
• Out-of-phase pickup combinations add that slightly hollow, glassy tone character
• Vibrato is from the arm of the Red Special — set up your Strat trem for light pressure
• Harmonise everything — Queen guitar parts typically stack 3–6 layered guitar lines
• AC30 tone: volume 6–7, treble at 6, bass at 5, top boost engaged
• Pick attack is hard and precise — May hits strings firmly, which drives the booster harder
• Learn to layer guitar harmonies in 3rds and 5ths for the Queen orchestral wall of guitars
• Study "Bohemian Rhapsody" solo and "Brighton Rock" for the full Red Special vocabulary
• The "Brighton Rock" solo features two-handed tapping executed with the coin pick — May discovered the technique independently before it became mainstream; study the solo as a tapping exercise separate from the tone challenge, since the two-handed mechanical coordination takes dedicated isolated practice
• Harmony guitar parts in Queen recordings are typically two or three guitars playing the same melody line harmonised in thirds and sixths — learn the original melody first, then work out the harmony line by ear rather than from tablature, as developing this skill is what makes the orchestration replicable in new contexts
• The AC30 top boost channel responds differently at different volume levels — at low volume, the tone is clear and bell-like; as the volume increases past 6, the output stage begins to saturate in a musical, sustained way. Practice going between these two voices to understand the amp's dynamic range before adding the treble booster

Brian May built his guitar — the "Red Special" — from an oak fireplace mantelpiece with his father. Paired with a sixpence coin pick and a Dallas Rangemaster treble booster into Vox AC30s, it produces one of the most harmonically rich and immediately recognisable tones in rock history.

May built his own guitar at 16 (the "Red Special") and never needed another. The Vox AC30 / Deacy Amp / phaser combination is among the most distinctive and immediately recognisable signal chains in rock history.