Total Guitar's December 2019 issue offers a treat for Queen and Brian May fans. Not only was there a fully tabbed version of Queen's 'Now I'm here' track from the Sheer Heart Attack album, but there was a great review of AmpliTube Brian May, courtesy of gear editor, Charlie Griffiths. He was so impressed that he bestowed upon it (see what we did there!) the royal honour of the Total Guitar Best Buy Award. And he used it in the recording of the 'Now I'm here' demo track.
Charlie didn't stop there, he wanted to make sure that Guitar World readers also joined in the fun and got to know the secrets of AmpliTube Brian May so the review was shared with them.
Here are some of Charlie's comments:
"Sheer tone attack! IK Multimedia opens the palace doors to the Queen's throne room"
"Don't have a Brian May guitar? No problem, thanks to the genius-like inclusion of IK's 'Red Special' stompbox which simulates Brian's guitar. First select whether your guitar is single coil or humbucking - then let AmpliTube do the rest."
"IK's treble booster based on the KAT pedal Brian uses to add gain and tighten up the low end of his tone. A nifty 70s/80s/90s switch ensures your tone is era-correct."
"The jewel in the crown is IK's Deacy amp - based on a six-inch radio speaker modified by John Deacon. Amazingly, IK has included a 'battery power' control for authentic tonal tweaks."
Charlie's final verdict was:
"This ultimate Brian May rig is user friendly and the presets cover all the iconic Queen tones. IK Multimedia has delivered the works!"
For:
+ Brilliant tones, designed in collaboration with Brian May
+ Makes the 'Deacy amp' tone available to the masses
+ Intuitive design
+ Basic version of AmpliTube 4 included
Against:
- Nothing!
AmpliTube Brian May receives a 5 out 5 maximum score and is crowned with a Total Guitar Best Buy Award.
Read the review on Guitar World
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