A special guitar, one-of-a-kind gear, unmistakable sound. Brian May’s guitar tone has powered some of the biggest rock anthems the world has ever heard. His intricately-layered harmonised leads, muscular rhythm guitar, and sweet clean tones blazed a path for rock guitarists, proving that rock music can have both brains and brawn.
"This machine is wild!! It transforms your guitar into a different instrument in a different universe - in this case, MY universe. Dial in one of the presets to get into Hammer to Fall or Bo Rhap or Killer Queen. Then make your own custom adjustments to fine- tune it, and mould it, and create the tone you want to own. And ... save!! Enjoy!"
Brian May
Available in a convenient desktop app and plug-in for your DAW, AmpliTube Brian May carefully replicates his rig, including 2 amps, 3 cabinets, and 5 stompbox effects, all modelled with the supervision of May himself.
From Brian’s treble booster to his three-amp VOX® AC30™ setup to his carefully-curated effects selection, the attention to detail in modelling this inimitable tone will make you the champion of guitar tone. Get the tones that rocked millions today!
It all starts with the guitar…
As much as the effects and amplifiers, the true key to May’s tone is his Red Special guitar. In the early 1960s, Brian and his father built this guitar from materials they had on hand, including wood from their fireplace mantel and springs from a motorbike! Even the Burns Tri-Sonic pickups were altered.
For AmpliTube Brian May, we knew we needed to provide the unique sound of this instrument, so we went the extra mile to develop a new stompbox effect to help simulate the tone and controls of the Red Special itself.
What’s included in AmpliTube Brian May
AmpliTube Brian May features 10 brand new models including 2 amps, 3 cabinets and 5 stomps created to recreate both the guitar and gear Brian used live and in the studio. A new pedal modelling his Red Special guitar, the unique home-built “Deacy” Amp (with adjustable battery power!), the famous triple-amp setup, his tone-shaping effects, and even a harmoniser so you can nail those Queen leads and go Headlong into the tone that sparked a rock revolution – they’re all here.
2 Amplifiers
BM 30
Based on the classic triple VOX® AC30™ setup, this model offers 3 amps with the effects chain in a Wet-Dry-Wet configuration to match Brian May’s iconic setup.
BM DK
Originally created by John Deacon, after modifying an old radio. This small amp soon became the trademark sound of many Queen songs.
3 Cabinets
2x12 BM 30 Blue
Triple cabinet based on the cab section of VOX® AC30™ equipped with with Celestion™ Alnico Blue speakers.
2x12 BM 30 H70
Triple cabinet based on the cab section of VOX® AC30™ equipped with with Celestion™ G12H Anniversary speakers.
1x6 BM DK
Cabinet section of the BM DK amp, featuring a 6” speaker, modelled after the mysterious “Deacy” amp.
5 Stompboxes
Red Special
Created by a detailed study of Brian May’s famous guitar, this helps add the unique tonality and controls of the Red Special itself.
Treble Booster
Based on the original KAT® Treble Booster, this stompbox effect will enrich your guitar tone similar to Brian May’s by boosting it before it reaches the amp.
May Wah
Based on a rackmount Dunlop® Cry Baby® wah, modelled in the exact configurations Brian uses to shape his tone.
FOX Phaser
Based on fOXX® Foot Phaser, a pedal-controlled phaser with a unique and distinctive sound.
Star Gate
This noise gate helps clean up the signal chain, minimising the noise feeding Brian’s unique amp and pedal setup.
Groundbreaking Modeling Technology
For the AmpliTube Brian May, we used our latest Dynamic Interaction Modeling™ to deliver the highest level of ultra-realistic sound when modeling Brian's gear. The product of 20 years’ experience modeling analog gear, DIM™ models the behaviour of EVERY component in the circuit all the way down to its smallest nuance and character. IK models have set the industry standard evidenced by our co-branding recognition from the most influential partners in the industry such as Fender®, Ampeg®, Orange®, Soldano® and many more.
Applied to Brian May’s rig, the result is the same sound and feel you’d get from the real gear as he used in the recording studio and live in concert.
Specs
- Industry-standard sound with DSM™ (Dynamic Saturation Modeling) and VRM™ (Volumetric Response Modeling) technologies offer the most realistic emulation of real world gear and the best sounding models
- Perfect as a plug-in for studio recording and mixing in any Mac/Win DAW, native compatibility with 64-bit applications and operating systems
- Also perfect for live performance thanks to the standalone version with instant preset switching
- Highest supported Sampling Rate: 96 kHz
- DAW automation and BPM synchronization
- 5 separate modules
- Rig of up to 12 stomps, 2 Amp heads + 2 Cabs + 2 x double mics and 8 rack effects can be configured in up to 8 serial/parallel configurations
- Two movable microphones allow you to mic the cabinet exactly like in real world studio and live environment
- Stereo signal path makes it suitable for any type of instrument including drums, keyboards, vocals and more
- Perfect integration with IK’s range of audio interfaces and floor controllers allows for instant recording and performing in the studio or on stage with full programming at the software level
- 2-track built-in multitrack recorder with DAW-like features enables you to quickly capture ideas or even record a small band in the standalone application without the need to open a DAW and with the convenience of AmpliTube superior quality audio processing
- Imports any Wav, Aiff, sd2, Apple Caf, Flac, MP3 audio file (Standalone version)
- SpeedTrainer for speeding up/slowing down imported tracks without affecting the pitch – the perfect tool for practicing and improving your instrument skills or learning your favourite riffs and solos (standalone version)
System Requirements
AmpliTube is a 64-bit application and requires a 64 bit CPU and Operating System.
Mac® (64-bits)
Minimal: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo, 2 GB of RAM (4 GB suggested), macOS 10.7 or later.
Supported Plug-in formats (64-bit): Audio Units, VST 2, VST 3, AAX.
Windows® (64-bits)
Minimal: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo or AMD Athlon™ 64 X2, 2GB of RAM (4 GB suggested), Windows® 7, Windows® 8 or Windows® 10. Requires an ASIO compatible sound card.
Supported Plug-in formats (64-bit): VST 2, VST 3, AAX.
Internet connection is required as all of the Custom Shop operations are web based.