10 Iconic Rock Stars' Guitars

Brian May has almost never been pictured playing anything other than his so-called 'Red Special' guitar. Built for him with his father's help, it was a truly original guitar. With hardware adapted from existing machinery about his house, a body cut from the wood from an old fireplace and pickups that came from a Burns guitar, it didn't even mimic the body shape of any existing guitar.

For many years there wasn't even an option to buy a copy of the model, although eventually a number of companies took it in turns to try to tap into the unique sonic mojo that May created with his father. Given how long May has been in the spotlight, it is truly remarkable that he has only ever been associated with the one guitar that he started off with. It would seem bizarre to picture him playing anything else.

May's choice of amplification was equally unconventional, particularly early in his career when he was using a bank of Vox AC 30s. Hardly the amp of choice for hard rock styles. What May, along with so many other distinctive guitarists proved, was that it doesn't really matter what equipment you use in the end - all that matters is what you have to say through that gear.