Sir Brian May requested star-themed design for his Gibson 12-String guitar
Queen icon Sir Brian May is grateful that Gibson incorporated a star-themed design on the limited-edition Brian May SJ-200 12-String acoustic guitar.
Sir Brian May requested a star-themed design for his Gibson limited-edition guitar.
The Queen rocker has collaborated with the instrument brand on the Brian May SJ-200 12-String acoustic guitar and was grateful for the lunar homages in tribute to his passion for astronomy despite the challenges posed by the artwork.
Speaking at the launch of the guitar at the Gibson Garage in London on Tuesday (18.02.25), Brian said: "This was very difficult because they had the lone stars, the five-pointed stars originally and they said, 'Oh it's going to be really hard to do your star'. I said, 'Can you try?', and eventually they came back and said, 'Yes we can do it'.
"You also have all the lovely solar system bits and pieces, including Mercury."
The 77-year-old musician explained that he had plenty of input into the guitar's design, such as the reversal of the instrument's octave strings.
Brian said: "I suggested things, I asked for things. One of the things I particularly asked for was the reversal of the octave strings. Traditionally, the high string on the octave string is on the top, so you hit the high string first if you're strumming. I didn't like that, I like it to thump on the bottom.
"I like to be able to pick upwards and play the tunes of the high strings. So they did that for me."
The 'Hammer to Fall' artist is unsure if his idiosyncratic design will catch on but revealed that Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi is a fan.
He said: "I don't know if that is going to catch on or not. A lot of people have liked it who played it. I know Tony Iommi liked it."
