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Red Special
The Red Special is the electric guitar designed and built by Queen's guitarist Brian May and his father, Harold, when Brian was a teenager in the early 1960s. The Red Special is sometimes referred to as the Fireplace or the Old Lady by May and by others.Hey, what's that sound: Homemade guitars ''''. Retrieved 17 August 2011 The name ''Red Special'' came from the reddish-brown colour the guitar attained after being stained and painted with numerous layers of ''Rustins Plastic Coating''. The name ''Fireplace'' is a reference to the fact that the wood used to make the neck came from a |
Brian May
Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and astrophysicist, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead guitarist of the rock band Queen (band), Queen. May was a co-founder of Queen with lead singer Freddie Mercury and drummer Roger Taylor (Queen drummer), Roger Taylor. His songwriting contributions helped Queen become among the most successful acts in music history. May previously performed with Taylor in the blues rock band Smile (band), Smile, which he had joined while he was at university. After Queen's formation in 1970, bass guitarist John Deacon joined to complete the line-up in 1971. They became one of the biggest rock bands in the world with the success of the album ''A Night at the Opera (Queen album), A Night at the Opera'' and its single "Bohemian Rhapsody". From the mid-1970s until the early 1990s, Queen played at some of the biggest venues in the world, including at Live Aid in 1985. As a member of Queen, May became regarded ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mahogany
Mahogany is a straight-grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: University of Texas Press. pp. 164–165. . and part of the pantropical chinaberry family, Meliaceae. Mahogany is used commercially for a wide variety of goods, due to its coloring and durable nature. It is naturally found within the Americas, but has also been imported to plantations across Asia and Oceania. The mahogany trade may have begun as early as the 16th century and flourished in the 17th and 18th centuries. In certain countries, mahogany is considered an invasive species. Description The three species are: *Honduran or big-leaf mahogany ('' Swietenia macrophylla''), with a range from Mexico to southern Amazonia in Brazil, the most widespread species of mahogany and the only genuine mahogany species commercially grown today. Illegal l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bakelite
Polyoxybenzylmethylenglycolanhydride, better known as Bakelite ( ), is a thermosetting phenol formaldehyde resin, formed from a condensation reaction of phenol with formaldehyde. The first plastic made from synthetic components, it was developed by Leo Baekeland in Yonkers, New York in 1907, and patented on December 7, 1909 (). Because of its electrical nonconductivity and heat-resistant properties, it became a great commercial success. It was used in electrical insulators, radio and telephone casings, and such diverse products as kitchenware, jewelry, pipe stems, children's toys, and firearms. The "retro" appeal of old Bakelite products has made them collectible. The creation of a synthetic plastic was revolutionary for the chemical industry, which at the time made most of its income from cloth dyes and explosives. Bakelite's commercial success inspired the industry to develop other synthetic plastics. In recognition of its significance as the world's first commercial synthet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zero Fret
A zero fret is a fret placed at the headstock end of the neck of a banjo, guitar, mandolin, or bass guitar. It serves one of the functions of a nut: holding the strings the correct distance above the other frets on the instrument's fretboard. A separate nut is still required to establish the correct string spacing when a zero fret is used. Function The zero fret is positioned at the location normally occupied by the nut. On a guitar having a zero fret, the nut is located behind the zero fret and serves solely to keep the strings spaced properly. The strings rest atop the zero fret, which is generally at the same height as all the others. Some people prefer and feel more comfortable with the zero fret slightly taller than the rest of the frets. The zero fret functions as all other frets do. Purpose It is claimed that with a zero fret, the sound of an open string more closely approximates the sound of a fretted string as compared to the open string sound on a guitar with no ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Poppet Valve
A poppet valve (also called mushroom valve) is a valve typically used to control the timing and quantity of gas or vapor flow into an engine. It consists of a hole or open-ended chamber, usually round or oval in cross-section, and a plug, usually a disk shape on the end of a shaft known as a valve stem. The working end of this plug, the valve face, is typically ground at a 45° bevel to seal against a corresponding valve seat ground into the rim of the chamber being sealed. The shaft travels through a valve guide to maintain its alignment. A pressure differential on either side of the valve can assist or impair its performance. In exhaust applications higher pressure against the valve helps to seal it, and in intake applications lower pressure helps open it. The poppet valve was invented in 1833 by American E.A.G. Young of the New Castle and Frenchtown Turnpike and Railroad Company, Newcastle and Frenchtown Railroad. Young had patented his idea, but the 1836 U.S. Patent Offic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vibrato Systems For Guitar
A vibrato system on a guitar is a mechanical device used to temporarily change the pitch (music), pitch of the strings. Instruments without a vibrato have other String-through body#Bridge and tailpiece systems, bridge and tailpiece systems. They add vibrato to the sound by changing the Tension (physics), tension of the strings, typically at the Bridge (instrument), bridge or tailpiece of an electric guitar using a controlling lever, which is alternately referred to as a whammy bar, vibrato bar, or incorrectly as a tremolo arm. The lever enables the player to quickly and temporarily vary the tension and sometimes length of the strings, changing the pitch to create a vibrato, portamento, or pitch bend effect. The pitch-bending effects have become an important part of many styles, allowing creation of sounds that could not be played without the device, such as the 1980s-era shred guitar "Dive bomb (guitar technique), dive bomb" effect. The mechanical vibrato systems began as a devi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Humbucking
Mains hum, electric hum, cycle hum, or power line hum is a sound associated with alternating current which is twice the frequency of the mains electricity. The fundamental frequency of this sound is usually double that of fundamental 50/60 Hz, ''i.e.''100/120Hz, depending on the local power-line frequency. The sound often has heavy harmonic content above 50/60Hz. Because of the presence of mains current in mains-powered audio equipment as well as ubiquitous AC electromagnetic fields from nearby appliances and wiring, 50/60Hz electrical noise can get into audio systems, and is heard as mains hum from their speakers. Mains hum may also be heard coming from powerful electric power grid equipment such as utility transformers, caused by mechanical vibrations induced by magnetostriction in magnetic core. Onboard aircraft (or spacecraft) the frequency heard is often higher pitched, due to the use of 400 Hz AC power in these settings because 400 Hz transformers are much smaller and lig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Microphonics
Microphonics, microphony, or microphonism describes the phenomenon wherein certain components in electronic devices transform mechanical vibrations into an undesired electrical signal (noise). The term comes from analogy with a microphone, which is intentionally designed to convert vibrations to electrical signals. Description When electronic equipment was built using vacuum tubes, microphonics were often a serious design problem. The charged elements in the vacuum tubes can mechanically vibrate, changing the distance between the elements, producing charge flows in and out of the tube in a manner identical to a capacitor microphone. A system sufficiently susceptible to microphonics could experience audio feedback, and make noises if jarred or bumped. To minimize these effects, some vacuum tubes were made with thicker internal insulating plates and more supports, and tube-socket assemblies were sometimes shock-mounted by means of small rubber grommets placed in the screw holes to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Epoxy
Epoxy is the family of basic components or cured end products of epoxy resins. Epoxy resins, also known as polyepoxides, are a class of reactive prepolymers and polymers which contain epoxide groups. The epoxide functional group is also collectively called ''epoxy''. The IUPAC name for an epoxide group is an oxirane. Epoxy resins may be reacted (cross-linked) either with themselves through catalytic homopolymerisation, or with a wide range of co-reactants including polyfunctional amines, acids (and acid anhydrides), phenols, alcohols and thiols (usually called mercaptans). These co-reactants are often referred to as hardeners or curatives, and the cross-linking reaction is commonly referred to as curing. Reaction of polyepoxides with themselves or with polyfunctional hardeners forms a thermosetting polymer, often with favorable mechanical properties and high thermal and chemical resistance. Epoxy has a wide range of applications, including metal coatings, composites, use in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Araldite
Araldite is a registered trademark of Huntsman Advanced Materials (previously part of Ciba-Geigy) referring to their range of engineering and structural epoxy, acrylic, and polyurethane adhesives. Swiss manufacturers originally launched Araldite DIY adhesive products in 1946. The first batches of Araldite epoxy resins, for which the brand is best known, were made in Duxford, England in 1950. Araldite adhesive sets by the interaction of an epoxy resin with a hardener. Mixing an epoxy resin and hardener together starts a chemical reaction that produces heat - an exothermic reaction. It is claimed that after curing the bond is impervious to boiling water and to all common organic solvents. Araldite is available in many different types of pack, the most common containing two different tubes, one each for the resin and the hardener. Other variations include double syringe-type packages which automatically measure equal parts for mixing. History Aero Research Limited (ARL), founded in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Burns Tri-Sonic
The Burns Tri-Sonic is a single-coil electric guitar pickup, with ceramic isotropic ferrite magnets and a chrome cover. This pickup is significantly different to most other pickup designs. Tri-Sonics are wider than the more popular single-coiled pickups, such as used by Fender, so if Fender pickups are replaced with Tri-Sonics physical changes to the guitar may be required, such as routing the body or altering the mounting mechanism. History The history of these Burns Tri-Sonic begins in England in the 1950s, the primary assembly site. The coils and backplates were produced in West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 .... When Jim Burns got into business with Henry Weill, in those years the pickups were much bigger, almost looked like P90s. Together they started ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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