Brian May gave Tony Iommi a Christmas present

It’s (almost) Christmas, you can do more: you can give a special gift to Tony Iommifor example. He thought about it Brian Maywhich gave Iommi one left-handed replica of his classic Red Special guitar.

There Red Special The original was assembled from scratch in the early 1960s by May with his father Harold, unable to afford a major brand. Constructed from mahogany from an old mantelpiece and an oak fingerboard with mother-of-pearl buttons, it remained May’s primary guitar on stage throughout Queen’s success in the 1970s and 1980s, a symbol of the band’s sound. Iommi revealed that May gave him a personalized replica of the left-handed model: “A real gift from Brian, the result of two years of work. Christmas came early!” writes the Black Sabbath guitarist on social media.

The luthier Andrew Guyton adds, “It’s made with the exact same vintage construction as Brian May’s original Red Special, but with a shape that recalls Tony’s iconic Jaydee Old Boy neck. It features a built-in treble booster and authentic vintage-style pots and pickups to replicate the classic tone.”

Earlier this year, May teamed up with Gibson to release a new limited edition 12-string acoustic guitar, the Brian May SJ-200. Only 100 examples were made. This week, May’s wife Anita Dobson hinted that although Queen are working on new music with Adam Lambert, they are unlikely to resume large-scale touring. “They’ll do little bits, but they won’t do big tours.”