April 2002 Issue - NAMM Show 2002 Report: Brian May and Michael Angelo Guitars
By Larry Meiners
Signature guitars are all the rage in the musical instruments business. This is not a new phenomenon; even hot banjo players endorsed instruments before guitars become popular many years ago. An ever-increasing roster of signature models was exhibited at NAMM Show in Anaheim, California.
Burns USA is marketing Brian May's Signature guitar which is a replica of his hand-made original Red Special model used on countless Queen tracks. Michael Angelo's signature guitar is a new design offered by Tradition Guitars. Both are excellent instruments and perform very well, while at the same time meeting many of the demands expected by working musicians.
Brian May's Signature Series guitar feature: mahogany body and neck, triple Burns Tri-Sonic pickups, 24-fret neck, locking Grover tuners, ebony fingerboard and vibrato system. The body has an acoustic chamber in the area behind the bridge for special resonance characteristics. This is one cool looking guitar.
Michael Angelo is the super speed-demon guitar player that can jam with the best and all the rest. Not only can Michael play with blinding speed, he can also play slow and tasty riffs by the truckload. Tradition Guitars is offering the Michael Angelo Millennium Series guitar in three different versions. A variety of configurations are available, including locking tremolo and stop tailpiece models. If Michael likes them, that's good enough for me. If you saw Michael demo these guitars at the NAMM Show, I think you would agree.
2002 © Larry Meiners All Rights Reserved