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GUIDED TOUR OF THE 

BRIAN MAY SPECIAL’S

TOP PANEL

As you’re about to discover, this unique combo is a truly versatile piece of gear that’s

ideal for practicing, recording, or hooking-up to your favorite amp for added gain and

sustain. We’re sure it will provide you with a plethora of great additional guitar tones

that 

feel as good as they sound. Let’s take a quick tour of the features and controls

that make your new 

Brian May Special as flexible as it is toneful...

The Top Panel

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2

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4

5

6

7

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9

1. INPUT jack

This is where you plug your guitar into the 

Brian May Special. Please use a high

quality guitar cable.

2. GAIN control

This adjusts the gain of the 

Brian May Special’s Booster section and, in so

doing, affects the overall gain of the amplifier. Turning this control up (clockwise)

will produce rich, overdriven tones that range from mildly crunchy to maximum

saturation. Also, when this control is turned down to low settings, your sound will

clean up nicely. This control is also extremely effective when you are using the

BOOSTER OUTPUT (3) to drive the pre-amp of another amplifier.

3. BOOSTER OUTPUT jack

This output allows you to use the Brian May Special’s Booster section to drive the

pre-amp of another amplifier. Doing this will “push” the input of the amplifier you

connect it to into a smooth, overdriven sound and will add sustain and musical

harmonics. Remember, the BOOSTER section of the 

Brian May Special is an

exact emulation of the homemade Treble Booster pedal Brian uses to drive the

Normal channel of his AC30s whenever he is playing live or in the studio.

Summary of Contents for BRIAN MAY SPECIAL VBM1

Page 1: ...Owner s Manual 1 E ...

Page 2: ...s required when the apparatus has been damaged in any way such as power supply cord or plug is damaged liquid has been spilled or objects have fallen into the apparatus the apparatus has been exposed to rain or moisture does not operate normally or has been dropped Do not install this equipment on the far position from wall outlet and or convenience receptacle Do not install this equipment in a co...

Page 3: ...0 combos is a Brian May trademark that is instantly recognized in all four corners of the globe As soon as said wall is spotted on a stage the audience immediately knows who is going to be plugging into it What isn t as well known is the source of many of Brian s most celebrated recorded tones Believe it or not many of them have been made using a tiny homemade combo that was built for him by Queen...

Page 4: ...ce sounds as far apart in time as The Fairy Feller s Masterstroke from Queen 2 and Bijou from the Innuendo album Well It s here At last I am secure in the knowledge that Steve Grindrod Vox now know how to provide me and you with an infinite supply of sounds that could NEVER be squeezed out of an Amp Simulator THIS WILL DO IT FOR YOU Or my name s not BM Plug right in and Enjoy Cheers Brian May Dec ...

Page 5: ...is world famous homemade Red Special guitar the result ing tone was both extremely pleasing and unique As a result of the great sound it produced this 100 homemade set up was used to record a large amount of Brian s lead and guitar orchestration work on Queen s vast catalogue of hit albums and singles Obviously the original Deacy is a very unique and due to its age irreplaceable amplifier Not surp...

Page 6: ... a very useful facility as Brian uses his homemade Treble Booster to overdrive the AC30s he uses live and the Booster section of the Brian May Special sounds exactly the same as Brian s homemade device An Emulated Recording Headphone jack An External Speaker jack IMPORTANT NOTE In Brian May s Original Deacy System both the Treble Booster and the Deacy amp are powered by 9 Volt batteries Because of...

Page 7: ... section and in so doing affects the overall gain of the amplifier Turning this control up clockwise will produce rich overdriven tones that range from mildly crunchy to maximum saturation Also when this control is turned down to low settings your sound will clean up nicely This control is also extremely effective when you are using the BOOSTER OUTPUT 3 to drive the pre amp of another amplifier 3 ...

Page 8: ...r mellower overdrive that s ideally suited for more subtle dynamic playing styles Keep in mind that the effect of this switch will vary depending on how you have the GAIN control 2 set As always experimentation is the best way to achieve your desired sound 5 TONE control This control has been placed after the overdrive circuitry of the Brian May Spe cial and adjusts the overall tone of the amp Tur...

Page 9: ...ing a ONLY use an extension cabinet of 8 Ohms impedance or more with this amplifier NOTE using speakers with impedances of less than 8 Ohms can damage the amplifier b DO NOT use a speaker cabinet with a Wattage rating that is less than 10 Watts If you ignore this warning you could end up blowing a speaker and that s definitely not recommended c ALWAYS use a high quality speaker cable unshielded to...

Page 10: ...12 lbs 5 6 kg Output Power 10 Watts RMS Speaker 1 x 6 5 custom voiced full range speaker Inputs Input jack Outputs Booster Output External Speaker and Recording Headphone Line Out Controls Gain Tone and Volume Gain High Low push switch Power switch with LED Specifications are subject to change without notice ...

Page 11: ...er technology of the time and having been played for many years by Brian it has a relatively mellow sound when compared to today s hi tech hi fidelity speaker systems As it happens said mellowness is actually quite complementary when the original Deacy is used in conjunction with Brian s homemade guitar and Treble Booster Due to the very low input impedance 12kOhms of the amp John Deacon sal vaged...

Page 12: ... model would satisfy the following three criteria i It would sound and feel exactly like his homemade Deacy system which comprises of his Treble Booster and the original Deacy amp built by John Deacon ii It would also offer more power features and tonal flexibility iii It would be as affordable as possible ...

Page 13: ...N switch on HIGH this is equivalent to the original pedal The GAIN control allows for different sounds to be produced ii The BOOSTER OUTPUT jack allows the Booster to be fed into another amp AC30 Normal channel for instance for Brian s on stage sound Use of this jack makes the rest of the Brian May Special inoperative This has been done for the reason that due to circuit constraints the output fro...

Page 14: ... vii VOLUME controls the output volume of the POWER AMP viii 10 WATT POWER AMP This is a flat response amplifier and speaker sys tem recreating the same signal that is sent to the recording PA system ix EXTERNAL LOUDSPEAKER JACK This allows the monitor amp output to be sent to an external speaker system NOTE using this mutes the internal speaker This can either be a full range monitor system or if...

Page 15: ...ed this product via the internet through mail order and or via a telephone sale you must verify that this product is intended to be used in the country in which you reside WARNING Use of this product in any country other than that for which it is intended could be dangerous and could invalidate the manufacturer s or distributor s warranty Please also retain your receipt as proof of purchase otherw...

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