The Bohemian Rhapsody guitars
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During pre-production of the Bohemian Rhapsody movie, I was approached by Brian May's office to ask the best way to replicate Brian's guitar. Various ideas were tossed back and forth, but it quickly became obvious that given the scale, budget and detail driven nature of the film, that we would have to build them from scratch. Also, during the time period covered in the movie, the guitar details had changed, namely, red dot or black tape, levels of wear and different tuners. Firstly, I was asked for three guitars to be available in two weeks! - This was impossible, so this was revised to two guitars to be supplied. An 80's version to be delivered in two weeks time for filming of the Live Aid scenes, then a 70's version to be supplied two weeks after that.
So, I set to it, and spent the first day analysing the build process, and trying to find every way we could cut corners on the build to speed things up. As long as they looked ok, that's all that mattered. The guitar bodies were built from plywood with only just enough removed to hold pots and switches - a far cry from the original. The pickups were just covers filled with plywood to hold the rubber shim. The switches and volume/tone controls were operational, but not wired, and the tremolo was just screwed in. The guitars actually played, but did feel a little odd. The good thing is, they looked accurate! - They had period correct tuners, correct wear and tear and black tape/red dot in all the relevant places. Happily, Brian and the production team were thrilled with the guitars, and Gwilym Lee really set them off with his stunning portrayal of Brian. |
The 70's guitar The 80's guitar
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