What do you get the guitarist who has everything? Let’s just assume they have already got their own Gibson (and Epiphone) signature guitars. They already have their own custom-wound electric guitar pickups (Gibson again).
What if they have actually heaved heavy metal into existence, and have pretty much seen it all?
This festive season, Brian May had this exactly problem when thinking of a suitable Christmas gift for his best pal, Tony Iommi; and he found the perfect gift. He got the Black Sabbath guitarist and godfather of heavy metal a master-built left-handed version of the Red Special, the electric guitar May built with his father when he was starting out and has used almost exclusively ever since – only this Red Special comes with some choice customisations, as per Iommi’s preferences.
Overseeing the build was Andrew Guyton, of Guyton Guitars, who has first-hand experience with the O.G. Red Special, having been tasked with refurbishing it. Guytone has been making officially authorised replicas of it since 2003, and he infused this Queen guitar with some classic Sabbath DNA.
“It’s built with the exact vintage construction of Brian May’s original Red Special, but shaped to match Tony’s iconic Jaydee Old Boy neck,” explains Guyton.
Like May, Iommi is a big fan of the Dallas Rangemaster treble booster. It was a huge part in finding his sound. Guytone has taken all of this into account. “[It] features a built-in treble booster and authentic vintage-style pots and pickups to replicate the classic tone,” he adds.
All that is missing is a Vox AC30 – and maybe a Maestro Echoplex – and you have Brian May’s tone, all in one guitar, but with the feel of one of the most legendary metal guitars of all time, the Jaydee Old Boy.
The Old Boy built by John Diggins in the late 1970s and was first used by Iommi to record overdubs on Black Sabbath’s 1980 studio album, Heaven & Hell. Soon after, it became his number one electric.
A second-gen SG-style electric, it reflected Iommi’s changing tastes, from the big stuff (the pickups, the 24-fret neck) to the small but significant details, such as the strap button being moved from the top horn to the neck heel, a feature that now all Gibson SGs share.
Old Boy’s distressed finish could be said to be ahead of the curve. But that was just an accident.
Diggins had made this guitar on his kitchen table. The finish didn’t cure properly. Oh, and someone left it in a car in a baking hot day.
“It wasn’t forced. It wasn’t made to look like that,” said Iommi, in the official Tony Iommi website. “It had nice paintwork when I first had it, and it just fell away. One of the stupid things was leaving it in the boot of a car in the States, and the heat made all the paintwork start bubbling – that’s what started the relic look.”
Chances are Iommi won’t be leaving his new Red Special in the boot of the car. This one is a keeper. “Huge thanks to my best friend Brian May and master builder Andrew Guyton for this incredible left-handed Red Special replica,” wrote Iommi. “Andrew personally delivered it last week — a true gift from Brian, two years in the making. Christmas came early!”
Festive, heartwarming, we love it. And maybe these two legends should put these guitars to work in the studio some time soon.
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