Vox VBM-1 Brian May Special Settings - Iconic Guitar Tones Dialed In on This Amp
2 iconic guitar and bass tones to play on the Vox VBM-1 Brian May Special - each recorded before it came out, and listing it as the modern equivalent of the gear on the record - with the settings, pickup, tuning, and signal chain for each.
- bright
- crunch gain
- budget tier
Translate any of these tones to your rig
10-watt mains-powered combo with a single 6.5-inch twin-cone speaker, built by Vox around the circuit of John Deacon's homemade Deacy Amp and paired with a built-in treble booster. Gain (with a high/low switch), Tone and Volume knobs, a booster input and a recording/headphone output. The sound is compressed, saturated and treble-forward - the small-amp voice behind the stacked, orchestral guitar harmonies on early Queen records.
Median knob positions across every catalog tone that uses this amp. Useful as a starting point before you dial in a specific song.
- Gain
- 6
- Volume
- 6
Songs to Play on the Vox VBM-1 Brian May Special
Every song here was recorded before the Vox VBM-1 Brian May Special came out - it is listed on them as the modern equivalent of the amp on the record.
Other Amps in Our Catalog
Common Questions About the Vox VBM-1 Brian May Special
What does the Vox VBM-1 Brian May Special sound like?
10-watt mains-powered combo with a single 6.5-inch twin-cone speaker, built by Vox around the circuit of John Deacon's homemade Deacy Amp and paired with a built-in treble booster. Gain (with a high/low switch), Tone and Volume knobs, a booster input and a recording/headphone output. The sound is compressed, saturated and treble-forward - the small-amp voice behind the stacked, orchestral guitar harmonies on early Queen records. The most common knob positions across the songs in our catalog are summarized above.
Who plays a Vox VBM-1 Brian May Special?
Queen have the most songs on this page. All of them were recorded before the Vox VBM-1 Brian May Special came out, so it is listed as the modern equivalent of the amp they used.
Is the Vox VBM-1 Brian May Special good for progressive rock?
Yes - most of the songs in our catalog that run through a Vox VBM-1 Brian May Special are in the progressive rock, rock, hard rock world. The typical-settings card above shows the gain/EQ window that fits that material best.
What songs can I play on the Vox VBM-1 Brian May Special?
2 songs in our catalog, including "Good Company" by Queen, "Procession" by Queen. All of them were recorded before the Vox VBM-1 Brian May Special came out; it is listed on each as the modern equivalent of the amp on the record. The full list is above - each one links to the per-song settings page.
Do I need a Vox VBM-1 Brian May Special to play these songs?
No - that's the whole point of ToneMirror. Each per-song page describes the sound on the record, and our match engine translates it to whatever amp you actually own. Different EQ curve, same recorded result.