Killer Queen guitar tone
Queen · Brian May
Sheer Heart Attack (1974)
chimey British boost-driven crunch / multi-tracked bell-like lead
The rig Queen used
Researched from interviews, production write-ups and gear histories — not guessed.
Guitar
Brian May Red Special
Amplifier
Vox AC30 Top Boost (rhythm); John Deacon 'Deacy Amp' for the orchestral solo/harmony layers
Cabinet
Vox AC30 2x12 (Celestion Alnico Blue)
Microphone
Close dynamic on the AC30 (Trident Studios)
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.
Get this tone on your rig
Pick your amp or modeller and we’ll build Killer Queen for it — with a preset file you can load, not a list of knob positions.
Why we think this is right
Brian May's tone on 'Killer Queen' (Sheer Heart Attack, 1974) is exceptionally well documented: his homemade Red Special (Burns Tri-Sonic pickups) into a treble booster into a Vox AC30 Top Boost, cranked for natural valve overdrive. The multi-tracked 'orchestral' solo/harmony guitars were famously cut through John Deacon's home-built solid-state 'Deacy Amp' (also fed by a treble booster) for the bell-like sustain, while the AC30 carries the rhythm stabs. Sources converge on Red Special -> treble booster -> AC30 as the core recreatable rig; recorded at Trident Studios (prod. Roy Thomas Baker).
Sources
- Guitar-magazine rig features on Brian May (Red Special / treble booster / AC30)
- Brian May interviews on the Red Special, treble booster and the Deacy Amp
- Sheer Heart Attack (1974) album & production notes (Roy Thomas Baker, Trident Studios)
- Documented history of the John Deacon-built 'Deacy Amp'