I still have the guitar. It still buzzes: Brian May reveals the radical mods he made to his 10 acoustic for Queens debut album, all to make it buzz [Video]

Brian May has always been one of guitar’s great modders. This, after all, is the genius mind behind the Red Special, the electric guitar that he and his father built from the ground up, turning some spare wood from a fireplace and whatever else was lying around into this truly unique tone machine.

The rest is history. But some of his lesser-celebrated mods are no less radical – like those he made to a cheapo acoustic guitar during the recording of Queen’s 1973 debut album.

Where most players set their acoustic up to sound cleaner, searching for that hard-to-find sweet spot where the action is super-playable and yet there is no string buzz spoiling the party, May took a different approach, and he has revealed the lengths he went to ensure the guitar did buzz on record – even going as far as to use “a knitting needle” in the process.

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