Bohemian Rhapsody guitar tone

The rig Queen used

Researched from interviews, production write-ups and gear histories — not guessed.

Signal chain

The order the original sound was built in. The exact settings get dialled for your own amp or modeller when you generate the tone.

1. Brian May 'Red Special'

   1

   guitar
2. Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster

   2

   boost
3. Vox AC30

   3

   amp
4. Vox 2x12 Cabinet (Celestion Alnico Blue)

   4

   cab
5. Sennheiser MD441

   5

   mic
6. Trident A-Range Console Preamp

   6

   post

Why we think this is right

This is one of the best documented rigs in rock, and the interesting part is how little of it changes. The Red Special, a treble booster and a Vox AC30 on the Normal channel produce every guitar sound on the record; the difference between the soft answering figures under the ballad, the solo and the heavy section is Brian May's right hand and the guitar's own volume control, not a channel change or a pedal. We have written the three scenes that difference actually produces and merged the closing section into the ballad scene because it is the same sound. The long opening and the operatic passage carry no guitar and have deliberately been left without a scene.

Sources

• Brian May interviews on the Red Special, treble booster and Vox AC30 rig
• Roy Thomas Baker interviews on the A Night at the Opera sessions
• Trident Studios A-Range console history and Queen session documentation
• Direct listening analysis of the 1975 album master

More example tones

• Tie Your Mother DownQueen
• Killer QueenQueen
• OneMetallica
• BatteryMetallica
• Sad But TrueMetallica
• Summer of '69Bryan Adams