DigiTech Brian May Red Special

Not so hard to use after you figure out what the knobs do. Pretty straight forward....a little too straight forward. Manual is fairly simple too.

I use this thing along side with a Boss GT-10 by plugging its out2 mixer output straight into the GTs input. Of course, I turn off the compressor, OD/DS and preamp section of the Boss (only leave the chorus, reverb and other similar fx) as the Digitech Out2 already has speaker and cabinet sims. The reason I do this is because the Brian May RS has an analog treble booster hardwired into it, so in order to take advantage of it it's best to plug the guitar directly in it as opposed to running it in the send/return loop of the BOSS. As far as sounds, this thing nails such tones as Keep Yourself Alive, Bohemian Rhapsody, WWRY/WATC, Brighton Rock and Crazy Little Thing (except for the acoustic sim) almost to perfection.I was a little disappionted by the Tie Your Mother Down....it's not bad but not quite what I expected. A neat tone that you can also get is by selecting the Brighton rock model, offing the delay and turning the guitars volume almost all the way down. You get a clean trebly boosted tone (of which I am very fond) that reminds me of the intro to It's Late (Queen fans know what I'm talking about).

I've heard several people complain about how hard is to engage the toe and heel switch...I don't seem to have that problem. I did have a problem with the power supply which nearly caught fire the first time I plugged it in. Luckly the device was not connected and no harm was done to the pedal and I had another AC adapter lying around.
Other than that seems very solid

Despite my little incident never dealt with them

Definitly worth having, not only for Brian May fans but to other guitarists as well. Of course that there are a few tones that you probably won't use very often but the vast majority can be useful for a classic rock vintage crunch sound. One guy here said that the
phisical layout of the pedal is somewhat of a compromise. I agree, but you have to admit that for its price and posibilitites it's a pretty sweet deal.

If I keep the pedal on the floor it is easy to use the harmonizer setting for real time playing (you sway the pedal to get a minor or a major third). Changing settings is also natural (especially since the toe switch is hard to press otherwise). However, all the other tweaking of the knobs is better done with the pedal on a raised surface such as a desk, so that it is in arms reach. They do make a footswitch to change patches.

I use the mixer output and run it trough bose computer monitors. I also tried it trough a 6.1 yamaha home surround sound. The sound I get this way inspires me to play. I have not tried it trough a guitar amp on a gig yet. I also recorded some tracks in to iMac's Garage Band and that got a very inspiring sound too.

The telecaster sound (heel position for model 5) can be made to distort. To my ear in such a setting, when playing appropriately, I sounded like Wilko Johnson of Dr.Feelgood quacking away. With very little imagination, other famous telecaster sounds (K.Richards, Status Quo etc) came out too. Also, when recording the telecaster distorted sound, the slight digital grittiness gets masked by other tracks but the character of the sound still comes trough very well. The clean telecaster setting, with some bassy tone dialed in, can pass for a jazz sound if no other options are available (complex chords don't come out well)

The acoustic guitar sound is nice and would likely do reasonably well for a performance trough an amplification system (PA, recording, small club gig).

The Brian May sounds are quite uplifting and inciting. Crancked up Vox AC30 sounds very powerful to me, and this pedal and it's Brian May Vox AC30 sounds is able to bring out that power. Several models give plenty to choose from. One setting even blends in Deacy amp by rocking the pedal forward. A great Brian May sound is the one in the echoplex patch on model 6. By rocking the pedal to heel position the repeats go away. When the repeats are real close and the sound is as clean as possible, (it is not possible to clean it up all the way) it sounds similar to Pat Metheny's delay setup.

The harmonizer (heel position on model 5) can do fifths (or no fifitths) with a third that changes by rocking the pedal, from minor to major. Feels great to have control of a multilayered triad in real time.

Deacy AMP is probably great for recording multiple lines, it's somewhat shrill sounding on it's own. Harmonizing guitars by multitracking is a field of endless inspiration. Mays guitar sounds stack great.

In general, digital grittiness makes the sound somewhat unusual, when compared to analog tones. However, when played, it's very easy to get carried away and just plain enjoy yourself.

By how this pedal inspires me to play, the sound is a clear 10. This is not so much from a viewpoint of someone looking for a dead on Brian May sound, but more from a perspective of someone finding a great tool to have fun with.

Seems reliable. I think of it as a computer in a sturdy box. I show respect.

Did not have to deal with them

This pedal makes me want to play a lot. The physical design is somewhat of a compromise.

crazy, CRAZY, uncanny realism...and i'm not even using a guitar w/trisonic pickups. i grew up listening to queen in headphones over and over 'til i wore out the record and/or tape so i feel i'm qualified to have a strong opinion here. i'd really like to hear someone play through this who has never heard Brian May or Queen. because when i play through it, guess what? i can't help but play like BM. that sound and his style of playing are so tightly linked...it's like my hands take over and go into BM mode. is this bad? from an originality/creative standpoint, yes. (the world has enough clones!) from a fun standoint, no. i don't know how digitech's other artist models sound, but man, they NAILED IT on this one.

dislikes? i had to use a razor and trim the rubber bumpers under the treadle so i could engage the rear switch. before i did this, i swear i was going to have to stomp it through the floor in order to get it to engage. not a HUGE deal, but still a major oversight on a 200 dollar pedal. my only other gripe is the choice of tones that they modeled. who the **** wants a model of a piezo equipped ovation? so many electric guitars now have piezo pickups in them that this choice seems crazy (lazy) to me. i DO however appreciate the fact that digitech isn't farming out to china or thaiwan like so many others. the cynic in me says, "give it time..."
anyway, great pedal. it's biggest downfall is that it may make it tough for some to sound original due to the immediately identifiable tone of Brian May contained within this pedal. i'm just having fun with it. if you can, go stereo w/it at least once and kick in the brighton rock solo setting.

This pedal is very easy to use. Although changing from sound to sound is a nightmare as you have keep kneeling down and it is quite difficult to change the modes of sound(toe/heel).

Well really i am not impressed at all with this pedal, for one, its lacks warmth and gain. But to come over that problem, i plug in a treble booster in front of this pedal to give it much more gain and warmth, i use a Pete Cornish TB83, or my homemade treble booster made by Julian Hemmingway.
One other thing what i like bout this pedal is that it isnt noisy like a normal treble booster on its own.
My setup is Vox ad50vt > Treble booster > Digitech rs pedal > Burns Brian May guitar. and with that setup i am very happy with the sound i get, and if i stand in the right place near the amp, i can get some nice sustain and controlable feedback, just like Brian.

This pedal has cut out on me once or twice, but i had it checked out by a good friend of mine and since its been checked its been great and i aint had no problems at all.
My opinion now on this pedal is i would gig this without a backup 100%.

Well since ive had this pedal, ive had a few problems with it, it has cut out once or twice. Ive rang Digitech up and their customer service was crap.

If it got stolen, i think i would just stick with what i have at the time.
Ive been playin for 4years, I'm in a club/pub band, All my sounds are based round Brian May if its the clean sounds or the distortion/drive sounds.
In the band we play music from the 60's till present day. Most of the stuff we play, this pedal suits it. And the odd song we do i just bypass the pedal and just use the sounds off my amp through the guitar with no other fx.

It has a knob that you can set to get different Queen song's effects, which is pretty simple but there is no way change to another setting with the foot pedal. You have to reach down to change it.

Not much editing of patches is avaliable with the foot pedal.

I tried the pedal out using a Les Paul and then into an Orange amp.

It gets a fairly good Vox amp model and the flange and phase sounds
are like Brian May but it has a sterile digital sound lacking any real analog warmth.

After I finished testing the pedal I plugged straight into the Orange amp and noticed all the natural guitar sound come back.

It looks ok, but it is digital so who knows?

Never dealt with them.

If you are not that picky about sound and want a quick simulation
of Brian May's tone it would be fine.

If you are picky about sound, then you will be disappointed. Because
if you really listen it's just another fake sounding digital
multi-effects processor.

Due to my perspective and how I use the pedal, I can't be as harsh in this category. I agree it's not 100% easy to dial in the "ideal" BM sound immediately, but I feel part of adjusting the dials is a necessary process. With so many adjustments to include with the 7 modes, there are a lot variables to play with. Within the first time of using it, I found a great setting that I could use in a live environment, keeping the ability to use the toe + heel mode along with the expression pedal(mode 6, Control 3 o'clock). BUT, keep in mind, I'm not in a Queen tribute band. If I was in that situation, I would be more content to have the ability to cycle through the 7 modes effortlessly (As you change modes, adjustment is needed to the dials).

In regards to the manual, I was content with the information it supplied.

I'm real happy with the tone considering it's digitally created. Digitech has really surprised me with the few things they've done including the Digiverb (The spring setting does a close-to-perfect Fender reverb-tank for the money). The main thing I was looking for was the flat out, open "A" nastiness Brian gets out of the full-blown AC-30s and I definately have that. Please keep in mind the other pieces of my setup:

Guild '93 Brian May Pro and a modded Peavey Classic 30 with a Weber Blue Dog speaker.

This combination nails it, especially loud. At the same time, the pedal leaves plenty of room to modify the sound to your taste. The other modes are a plus and get fairly accurate with adjustments to the knobs. Again, the tone on Mode 6 (Brighton Rock) and the delays really make this pedal shine.

I don't see a need for any additional effects running while this pedal is in play. The pedal is not noisy

This thing appears to be built like a tank. No flimsy parts

I have not needed to contact Digitech so I do not have an opinion at this time.

One can easily dismiss my opinion about this considering what I play: Blues, Rockabilly, Surf, Roots Rock, Rock....

but I'm real happy with the overall tone. I've been a Brian fan for years and I've tried a lot of different options to get something close to his sound. In essence, it's an expensive journey. I feel the Digitech is a great avenue for us that do not have the money to put into getting exclusive Vox AC-30s and numerous boutique treble boosters and Deacy amp emultators and special "green"/"blue" speakers, etc.

I'm going to be harsh in this catergory because, while it ultimately sounds great once you figure it out, it is not logically well laid out or intuitive. Furthermore, there are important bits of info that were left out of the manual that you need to know.

The first time I hooked it up with the external FS3 footswitch, I was not able to toggle between the different models using the up and down buttons. They were pretty much doing the same thing that the mode button on the FS3 does, which is toggling between the toe and heel tones on each model. I finally figured out that you can't toggle between models unless the model knob is manually on model 1 on the Red Special pedal. After that, it worked fine. Without the external FS3, you've got some hard, lead footed stomping you need to do to toggle between the toe/heel and off position, so I recommend using the FS3. Once you get it set up correctly with either your amp and/or mixer, it sounds great. But here are a few notable problems that convince me that this pedal could have been better thought out: 1. you have no way of knowing what model you're on if you're using the FS3, since you have to keep the pedal knob on model 1 and there's no model number or LED next to each model on the Red Special pedal. 2. On most models the CONTROL knob effects the midtones, but on certain parameters it effects phase levels, delay rates, and reverb depth. However, you have no way of saving any changes you make to any of the CONTROL or other settings. This is especially ridiculous on the Brighton Rock model 6 setting, where CONTROL effects the delay time on the toe setting and the 3 part harmony blend on the heel setting. So, for example, if you had dialed in a bigger midtone bump on another model patch and then wanted to jump to the Brighton Rock patch, you're stuck with whatever delay rate corresponds to where you last had the CONTROL knob set unless you reach down and manually change it. Furthermore, the delay will only repeat 3 times before it ends, so while you can adjust the speed of the delay you can't adjust the duration. The way the pedal should have been designed should have kept all effects separate from each model with the ability to dial in the effect AND save the settings regardless of what amp or model you're using. You should be able to dial in the phaser, harmonizer, reverb, treble booseter, or delay into any of the models/tones you are using rather than be stuck with the one or two models that happen to have them built in. How hard would this have been? My cheap little Zoom PS-02 can do this already. There's really only two amps, the VoxAC30 and the Deacy (which is useless in a live setting), so you should also have a choice of amps in each model setting. Bottom line: great sounds and dumb layout limits, what could have been, a great all round pedal instead of a niche pedal.

The best part about this pedal are the tones, once you can look beyond the limiting flexibility. I've used it on my Burns Red Speciall as well as my Strat, and the pedal gives you the option of adjusting for single coil, humbucker, or the Red Special-type guitars. The Strat sounds very convincing on some settings. When using with your amp, my recommendation is to go into your low gain input, since most of the tones on this pedal employ the treble booster and that's how Brian got his sounds anyway. Going into high gain can sound very shrill and piercing on some settings. There is also some digital fizziness evident on some settings, so you need to play around with your amp and pedal volume/gain settings to find a happy medium. The manual is very helpful in outlining each model setting as well as the sounds you get by utilizing the expression pedal (toe and heel sounds). The expression pedal can be very sensitive, so it takes some getting used to. The harmonizer, is one of the best I've ever used, and while it is not intelligent, it tracks incredibly. You can rock from toe to heel to go from a major to minor 3rd, which covers most of what you'd need a harmonizer for. The acoustic setting is just as good if not better than my Boss AC-3, though it does sound infinitely better as a line feed to a mixer than through an amp. You'll need to keep the manual handy, as you'll quickly forget how the pedal effects the sounds in different settings. Some models/settings are pointless, IMO. The Deacy is useful only when recording, the Winter's Tale setting is really just some reverb and should have been just a reverb parameter you could apply to any model, (I would have taken a Wah effect over this easily since Brian used Wah on many recordings), and the Crazy Little Thing Telecaster patch, while decent for having a different tone onboard, is not really indicative of Brian's sounds. Flanger settings on Keep Yourself Alive patch are too over the top and not accurate to the original recording, so it's better to keep it light. Besides, there's a better, more accurate phaser setting on the We Will Rock You patch that could have just as easily been used on the Keep Yourself Alive patch, since it sounds closer to the recording (Again, you should be able to use the effects separate from the models/amps!).

The pedal is solid, well built, and heavy, so keep that in mind if you're planning on adding it to your pedalboard. I think it will withstand gigging no problem. I did mention the funky problems I had model switching with the footswitch, and I also had sokme problems re-calibrating the pedal, so I'm not sure if this was due to a defective pedal or the fact I mentioned about needing to have the pedal on model 1 to control it externally.

I'm currently playing in a classic rock cover band, and we're covering a few Queen songs. I've been playing for 25 years and my main guitar is a '52 RI Tele and my Rivera Rake amp. I've been itching to finally break out my Burns Brian May guitar for this purpose, though the guitar is versatile enough to use in a wide variety of applcations. The Digitech Red Special pedal instantly gets you close to many of Brian's trademark tones, and even if you're not trying to recreate Brian's sound this pedal will still give you some killer tones and some nice additional sounds such as the acoustic emulator, the delays, and especially the harmonizer. The packaging is nice, it comes with a real sixpence (crucial for getting closer to the May sound) and a satin bag embroidered with Brian's signature. It sounds the most authentic through the PA/mixer, but you can get decent tones through an amp that's set flat and inputting through your low gain. For sounds alone, I give this a high rating, but it's just aggravating that it could have been better designed and more flexible than it is.

It is fairly simple stuff since each mode has a dual trigger (Toe or Heel). Also, the limited number of sound combinations minimize any possible complexity. The manual is straight forward and tells you everything you need to know.

If you like Queen and have an affinity for Brian May's distinct sound, you will not be disappointed. It sounds great. There a quite a few distinctly different distortion sounds as well as a flanger, phaser, delay and a harmonizer. Also, the "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" Toe setting is an excellent Acoustic Simulator.

I use a Fender Standard Strat HSS with a Boss GS-10 Multi-effect. It is best when no amp models are selected or any other effects are on. Adding modulation and/or delay works well but it can get noisy with a lot of other layered effects.

It has a very sturdy metal chassis that is built to last. Also, it takes a little time to break it in. You have to mash it hard the first few times toggling on and off. This is not a big deal once you realize you won't break it.

I have not had to contact them.

Overall, I give it a 9 rating. I would give it a 10 if it had a little more tweak-ability and if it was cheaper. I am extremely satisfied with it and now use it as my primary distortion pedal.

The presets are very easy to use. Slight modifications are also very simple to make.

The manual is clear. By using Queen song examples, it makes it easy to figure out what you are going to get.

The sample sounds are very good. I didn't care for the Clapton pedal, but am very impressed with the Brian May.

The distortion set for each setting sounds very good and the ability to get a Brian May sound is so simple that you almost feel sorry for Brian May. Now we can all do it!!

I have recorded direct with the unit and it went beyond my expectations.

The acoustic setting stinks. Why does digitech continue to put these there. Absolutey useless. Dear digitech, please don't do this on future artist series models.

However, one bad setting does change my mind about the pedal. I love it and look forward to incorporating these sounds live.

Seems pretty tough. As with the expression factory (which I love, love, love) the knobs could be tougher. However, I take good care of my things and believe that it will last as long as I need it to.

It does exactly what I hoped it would. However, I didn't expect to adapt so quickly to using these sounds effetively. I only perform one Queen song live, but I expect that for leads on other songs, this unit will allow me to garner some attention.

Easy to use but is much easier to switch patches and modes with the optional 3 button footswitch. My only gripe is not being able to visually see what patch you are on when using the opt footswitch.

I wouldn't say that it is overly versitle but that really isn't the point. The modelled sounds are awesome. Care should be taken when using an overly bright channel or amp as things can get shrill really quick. Faves are the "Tie Your Mother Down" & "Brighton Rock" patches.

Seems built like a tank but being digital (and new), I will leave this one out....

Have yet to have the need to deal with DigiTech.

Being a big Queen/Brian May fan, this was a must have, as was the Guild guitar & treble booster, Vox AC30, etc. I will be using it for the first time at a gig this weekend and am actually planning to plug it straight into the PA so we'll see.....