Brian May Guyton “Badger” Replica

This is one of the more recent replicas that Andrew Guyton made for Brian. The guitar got its nickname “Badger” from a little badger inlay on the pickguard. In case you’re wondering why – Brian has long advocated for the protection of wildlife and is fond of badgers in particular.

The guitar is, of course, heavily based on the original Red Special, but it features some significant changes in this case. This replica features a carved maple arched top with an “F” hole – which was actually something Brian wanted to do on the original Red Special, but had no proper tools at that time. It also has a different bridge style, and it doesn’t have a tremolo but a fixed brass piece.

Brian uses this guitar to play the song “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” live. One thing that helps him with that, apart from the fact that the guitar is semi-acoustic, is that it has a piezo pickup installed below the bridge. This pickup makes the guitar sound almost like an acoustic when plugged into an amp.