10 Rock Guitarists That Are Impossible To Duplicate

Most of the guitar community gets their start pounding out a simple blues progression. As much as it might be fun to see how you can twist that simple riff again and again, 90% of every great guitarist always seem to have that one starting point. Once that was under his belt though, Brian May already had a slew of influences to draw from.

Before we even get to his style though, May's style is impossible to duplicate strictly because of the guitar he uses. Having the same guitar since the beginning of his career, the warhorse Red Special is still one of the most inventive designs of any guitar. Rather than spent his money on the guitars in the shop, this whole thing was made out of an old fireplace that May and his dad furnished into an instrument, which made for a rich sound whenever he played.

Outside of the searing lead licks that May had from time to time, it's impossible to cover most Queen songs properly with just one guitar, since May was known for overdubbing different guitar parts in harmony with each other. Aside from the layers of vocals, you were also getting a virtual symphony every time Brian would choose to take a solo. While some might be looking to get a filthy sound out of their six string, Brian May's tone always feels like it's polished to an absolute sheen.