Then when you want to dial it back a bit for the other sections of the songs, simply turn down the volume control on your guitar. Here’s where to start with your amp settings.īrian May played a lot of lead guitar riffs and solos, so to give the tone enough presence to cut through the mix, the treble should usually be fairly high. If you are using a solid state amp and don’t have an overdrive pedal, then try setting the gain to around midway to achieve some crunch, but stop it getting too heavy and sounding more “metal” instead. If you’re using a solid state amp, then you could either use an overdrive pedal and set the drive setting to around midway. If you’re using a valve (tube) amp, then you’ll probably want the volume around 3/4 the way up to achieve the overdrive effect. I’ll go into some specific amp settings for each song later in the article. Some songs are on the smoother side, whilst others can sound quite gritty. Queen’s overdriven tone did differ a little bit in each song. Now let’s go through some basic amp settings to achieve them both. We can also break down Brian May’s sound into a clean and overdriven tone. Simply search the amp model and brand online if you’re unsure. Most beginner amplifiers, or those designed for home use will be solid state amps. You’ll know if you have a tube amp, because it needs to warm up before you play, and it can get very hot. If you have a solid state amp, then you can either use an overdrive pedal, or try to balance the gain setting so it has enough grit, but doesn’t sound too heavy.If you have a tube amp (valve amp), then turn the volume up until it starts to sound crackly and the tone breaks up.This overdriven tone can be achieved in two ways. What I mean by this, is the tone was more saturated and crackly than a metal band that would use distortion instead. It’s worth noting that Queen had a more overdriven tone than a distorted tone. Then I’ll explain how to make the changes based on your equipment, to get closer to Brian May’s tone. So in this article, I’ll be giving you some basic amp settings to start with to help narrow things down a bit. So although there are some characteristics that run through the different albums, you’ll need to make adjustments to suit each song you’re trying to play. If you’re not using the exact same amp, pedals and guitar, then you’ll need to make some adjustments.Ģ. Air Populaire by Aleksander Tansman (Guitar Tab) Classclef is completely FREE but we won't say no to kind donations.It is very difficult to give a one-size-fits-all amp setting preset to sound like Brian May for a couple of reasons.ġ.Nina Bobo (Sleep, Nina) arranged by Jubing Kristianto.Yamko Rambe Yamko arranged by Jubing Kristianto.

How to play killer queen on guitar