Riff Tone

I Want It All

Queen

Guitarrock1980s

Original Gear

GuitarBrian May Red Special

AmpVox AC30 (Normal channel, modded, no reverb/tremolo circuits)

PickupsBurns Tri-Sonic single-coil pickups (custom wired, series/parallel/phase switching)

Amp Settings

gain7

bass6

mid7.5

treble7.5

reverb1

presence5.5

Effects & Signal Chain

boostFryer Fryer Treble Booster

Notes

Studio recording, 1988-1989 for 'The Miracle' album. Main riff section. Guitar is the original Red Special. Vox AC30s in wet-dry-wet configuration, center amp dry, sides with delay. Fryer Treble Booster always on. No amp reverb. Effects switching handled offstage in live, but in studio likely manual. No evidence of Deacy amp or other amp for riff section.

Tone Character(10)

edgy and aggressivefull-blooded chimejuicy British crunchpenetrating midstight rhythm attacksinging sustainupper midrange accentuatedthick and dirty distortionpower chord grindarticulate and harmonically rich

Difficulty

The riff requires tight, aggressive rhythm playing with syncopation and dynamic control, as well as fast chord changes and precise muting, making it moderately challenging for intermediate players.

Sources

Rig Rundown: Queen's Brian May - Premier Guitar Brian May's Guitar Gear, Pedals & Amps Brian May’s guitar gear: how to sound like the iconic Queen guitarist | Guitar World The guitar tones of Queen's "I want it all" - arena rock but ' ...

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