This is my headless version of Brian May’s iconic Red Special, as featured in Guitar World.
Specs:
Weight: 2.5 kg
Scale length: 24 inches
Fret Board Radius: 7 1/4 inch
Neck width at zero fret: 46 mm
Thick mahogany neck (matching the original feel)
Body: Australian Blackwood with mahogany veneer and white binding on front and back
Neck joint: One bolt + two screws
Fretboard: Mahogany, stained black
Frets: Stainless steel zero fret + 24 nickel silver frets
Pickups
I wound these pickups in my workshop. They are authentic air-coil designs with twin magnets (no plastic bobbins), built in the same style as the originals. The covers were laser engraved by Creative Devils. The DC resistance and inductance readings are very close to those Greg Fryer recorded during his 1998 restoration of Brian May’s guitar.
Electronics & Hardware
Six push-button switches: Wired in series on a custom-milled PCB allowing the same pickup combinations as the original Red Special.
Guyker tremolo system
Volume & tone knobs and whammy bar from The Cyber Shop
The string guide / headless nut was custom CNC made to match the wide neck and wider string spacing.
Disclaimer : Brian May has not endorsed this guitar. Copyright 2026 . Spidey4fun. All rights reserved.
Guitar & AMP Projects
Deacy Amp
I purchased a box of high quality transformer laminations to make my transformers. I have left overs and willing to make a few for others untill the box runs out. Both the driver and audio transformer are bifilar wound as per the original transformer made in South Rhodesia in the 60's. The audio output transformer is wound for a 35 Ohm speaker but as demonstrated by Mr Deacon's construction works fine with two 16 ohm speaker in parallel with a 1mfd cap. If you're interested in a set of transformers please send me an email.
Headless Red Special Build
The original Deacy Amp was built by John Deacon from parts of an old radio (Conquest PR80) he found in a bin. Brian May loved the tone and used it on many Queen recordings. Building an accurate reproduction was a very challenging project. The biggest difficulty was recreating the unique audio output transformer (the original factory closed in 2005 and specs are very hard to find). I milled the PCB, sourced period-correct components, and wound several transformers until I got the right sound and characteristics.
If you're interested in purchasing a custom made Headless Red Special please send me an email.