9th April 2024:

Last week I watched this video from the series “Queen The Greatest Live”.

This performance of ‘These Are The Days Of Our Lives’ featuring Roger Taylor singing is from a Queen + Paul Rodgers’ concert in 2005, and I think I read that the concert was held at Sheffield UK.

Anyway, the special significance for me personally is that on this particular song Brian May was playing my Red Special guitar ‘John’……which as many people know is a guitar that I made for Brian in 1996-97.

From 1998 ‘John’ has been Brian’s main backup guitar for his legendary Red Special in case of problems on stage such as string breakage, tuning issues, and other emergencies.

Its a great honour for me to look back fondly at this occasion from almost 20 years ago.

Screenshots from the above 2005 concert, with Brian playing ‘John’:

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2nd April 2024:

Recently a customer asked me about the best way to remove the 9V battery from the Fryer-Di Marco Treble Booster.

This is the way I prefer for installing and removing the 9V battery. It is deliberately a tight fit in the pedal so there will be no vibration noises caused by the battery on stage.

The black tool that I am using is 6mm dia Delrin plastic rod which I have shaped at one end into a screwdriver head. This ‘fake screwdriver’ comes in handy all round my workshop. A small screwdriver similar to the yellow one in the video will also do the job well. Hope this video is helpful.

Hooroo, Greg

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2nd April 2024:

Marco Giuseppe Di Marco recently sent me this photo of receiving his signature treble booster. Marco also sent photos of his guitar pedalboard and the latest diagram of his guitar rig with ‘Queenshow’ from Slovakia.

Marco used a GoPro camera to film this rehearsal of Queenshow below. It is interesting to see this early rehearsal with the band playing well and sounding great, still with a few rough edges to smooth out for their upcoming tour beginning in mid April 2024.

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1st March 2024:

This week its been good to have several new Fryer/Di Marco Treble Boosters completed and shipped, and also several Fryer Treble Booster Special pedals completed and shipped.

Next week its prototyping time on the pcb and general layout of a new treble booster which Australian guitarist Ian Moss asked me to develop. This pedal is designed to work with Ian’s Strat (standard single coil pickups) and guitar amp rig (Marshall 100W, Hiwatt 50W, Vox AC15). I began work on the idea around May 2023, and after a few prototype versions of the pedal have arrived – with Shaun Klinger’s help – at the final version which will go into production soon.

Also beginning next week is prototyping of the new Mayday 2 distortion pedal which is aimed at producing a flexible range of Deacy Amp sounds used with a treble booster and Red Special guitar.The original Mayday pedal from 2015 with its “D” switch got part of the way there in its Deacy Amp sounds, however in the new pedal we aim to go much further and offer flexibility of adjustment of level of distortion and tonality plus more distortion and output level from the pedal … and maybe some other features too.

The idea might crash and burn and end up in the trash bin…..  🙂 but if something starts to sound promising I will record a GoPro video using the Kz Jnr Hybrid guitar and will post it up.

Hooroo, Greg

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20th February 2024:

Last week I had the pleasure of visiting Brett Kingman and chatting with him and Shaun Klinger about treble booster pedals, Red Special guitars, Deacy Amps and many other things.

In the video below Brett plays the Kz Jnr Hybrid guitar, 3 Fryer treble boosters, and Manuel Angelini’s Deacy Amp replica. Thanks Brett and Shaun for a very enjoyable visit!

Also last Thursday at Brett Kingman’s place, Greg Phillips from Australian Musician Magazine visited and conducted this interview with Shaun and myself:

This is the full article from Australian Musician Magazine:

INTERVIEW: GREG FRYER & SHAUN KLINGER PEDAL COLLABORATION

I must mention that there is one small mistake in the article above which would have been a simple misunderstanding . The guitar pictured was not made by me – it was made by Kazutaka Ijuin from Kz Guitar Works in Japan, and is a Kz RS Jnr Hybrid which uses the PRS 25″ scale length.

Apart from this small detail, the article is great and it was a pleasure to meet Greg Phillips and chat about these things!

Hooroo, Greg

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18th February 2024:

Last Thursday while on a quick trip to Melbourne I visited guitar maker Ralph Diquattro. We chatted about Red Special guitars, wood, guitar making techniques, pedals, amps and even Datsun 260Z cars. Ralph and I  played a few Red Special guitars using my Treble Booster Touring pedal through the lovely sounding Manuel Angelini built Deacy Amp replica.

We played a Kz Jnr Hybrid (25″ scale length) guitar, Guyton Red Special guitar serial no #008 (fitted with a set of Matt Netherwood Yonderbosk pickups), and a BMG Korean made Red Special guitar which Ralph had just completed a modification on using Ron Smith’s BM style roller bridge and tremolo tailpiece along with Woody Thomas’ scratchplate.

To be frank, the BMG sounded thin and felt bad to play. Sorry BMG, although the retro fitted hardware from Ron and Woody would have substantially improved it and helped the guitar stay in tune, as well as giving it a vastly better appearance. It did not compare to the Kz or the Guyton which were both in a league vastly above the BMG.

The Guyton Red Special #008 had been gigged a lot and felt very nicely ‘worn in’. This is a really good guitar, the neck shape is very close to Brian may’s original neck – although not completely 100% accurate to Brian’s original Red Special in my opinion. However when I first picked up this guitar I was reminded once again by its very thick neck of how confronting Brian’s original Red Special can be if you are used to playing guitars like Fenders and Gibsons etc. An original spec Red Special neck is a challenge! Matt’s pickups are very nicely made, and sounded very good – they have similar sinewy detailed highs that I remember well Brian’s Trisonics having.

It had been several years since I last played an original style Red Special, and when playing #008 it was great to be taken back to the work that I did restoring and repairing Brian’s Red Special in 1998, and making my own 3 replicas in 1996-97.

Kz Jnr Hybrid (25″ scale length) guitar: this guitar has a 12″ radius ebony fingerboard, medium size fretwire and is finished beautifully. Its solid mahogany body has large hollow chambers. The Kz is clearly a different construction to the blockboard and oak body construction of the Guyton. The neck on the Kz is thinner than the original style thicker Guyton, the fretboard plays very nicely and its notes sing and sustain well.

Ralph and I both played the Kz and the Guyton guitars, and we swapped guitars back and forth a few times listening to how they sounded different through the treble booster and Deacy Amp.

We concluded that the better playing guitar – that means the guitar that felt nicer to play and its notes hung on better and cleaner – and also the better sounding guitar played through the Deacy Amp – was the Kz Jnr Hybrid. The Guyton was a good sounding second place, a mile ahead of the harsh sounding BMG.

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2nd February 2024:

Been a real trip the last few days dragging out my 1996 Brian May Red Special replica plans to assist with final drawings (scratchplate and layout) of my ‘Astronaut’ Red Special guitar project. ‘Astronaut’ is my version of the Red Special guitar redrawn and re-imagined in Fender scale length.

This is a guitar concept that I first properly envisaged back at Brian’s studio Allerton Hill in 1998. I began the drawings around 2005, spoke to Barry Moorhouse about the concept in 2007 here in Sydney (but unfortunately he didn’t seem interested), in August 2014 during the Queen + AL Australian tour I showed Brian the mid stage drawings with comparisons to Red Special Strat Tele Les Paul body shapes, and little by little every year or two I have come back to the drawings to refine the overall body shape and concept.

Early last year I was preparing to scrap this guitar idea and walk away from it and other things, and sadly I thought this was a guitar which would never see the light of day (because I have not been making guitars since 1997) ….. until I mentioned it again to my friends Daizo and Kazutaka from Kz Guitar Works in Japan who I had earlier around 2018 spoken to about the concept. They remembered it and thought that now was a good time to make prototypes and develop the guitar’s potential.

On Facebook yesterday a friend asked me about the name ‘Astronaut’. My answer to Mark Stevens was that yes there is a connection to my first VJ’s name (the VJ is an Australian class of sailing dinghy which I have been sailing since I was 13). Around 2005-07 because I was doing a whole lot of stuff for Brian such as building his AC30s, treble boosters, WWRY pedals and AC30s, kicking of the Brian May Super guitar project (with Kazutaka Ijuin making them in Japan), developing other Brian May/Fryer pedals etc, I searched around for a name for my redesigned Red Special which somehow also fitted in with stuff Brian was interested in. I wanted a connection in the guitar’s name. As you’d know, Brian was full on into his PhD in Astrophysics around that time, so the first name idea that came to me was ‘Astro Star’. Which was OK but a little clunky sounding. Then I was doing more design work on the guitar in 2012 when Neil Armstrong died, and straight away it occurred to me that the guitar should be named Astronaut. The link to my first VJ Astron – which as you mention was the first Keith Smith built Astronaut, was obvious!  I was very happy with the new name because of the dual connection, and immediately drew up a promo poster featuring a doctored image of the famous moon walk photo taken by Neil Armstrong of Buzz Aldrin on the Moon – featuring Buzz carrying an Astronaut guitar in his left hand of course with the slogan ‘Houston we do not have a problem…..’ 

By the way as many people would know, my 1996 plans were what I made the replicas for Brian from, a few photos below of those guitars

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26th January 2024:

The first 6 Fryer/Di Marco Treble boosters are now completed and tested and are ready for shipping, and I am making more which will be ready to ship very soon. Its been very enjoyable cranking out my hackneyed old Brian May licks when I’m doing the testing!

In this photo I am using a Kz Jnr Hybrid (PRS 25″ scale) guitar played through a Vox AC30 amplifier (one of my 100% handmade AC30s from 2010), also a Vox MV50 and one of Manuel Angelini’s amazing sounding Deacy Amp replicas. Cheers n beers, Greg

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1st December 2023:

Today was screenprinting day over at Adam’s factory.

We screenprinted the new Fryer-Di Marco Treble Booster boxes and the new batch of Treble Booster Special boxes.

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16th November 2023:

Drilled and powdercoated boxes have arrived from the USA for the new batches of Treble Booster Special pedals and the new Fryer/Di Marco Treble Booster pedals.

Next step is the screenprinting at Adam’s workshop.

The pic below is from April this year of Adam screenprinting boxes for the TB Touring, TB Deluxe and TB Super pedals.

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10th November 2023:

Thanks to Kees Van Ede for letting me know about this photo posted on www.brianmay.com a few days ago of Brian May playing my 1997 Red Special replica guitar ‘George Burns’ at Dallas – on stage with the Dallas Cheerleaders.
The concert at Dallas Texas is part of the current Queen + Adam Lambert North American tour.

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7th November 2023:

Pre-ordering is now open on my webshop for the new limited edition  Fryer/Di Marco Treble Booster. The shipping date of the first pedals made is expected to be the second week of December 2023.

Webshop page for ordering is:

https://fryerguitars.bigcartel.com/product/fryer-di-marco-treble-booster

Description of the Fryer/Di Marco Treble Booster:

Handmade by Greg Fryer.

Hand selected and tested BC182L transistor from the same batch of transistors used in the treble boosters made for Brian May by Greg Fryer from 1998 to 2005.

Selected hfe (gain) of transistor considered by Marco Giuseppe Di Marco to sound best with his onstage Vox AC30 rig after many months of live playing tests.

Moderate gain around 31db, sweet detailed balanced sound perfect for use with a Red Special guitar and Burns Trisonic pickups.

Dual use as either a strap mounted or floor mounted treble booster.

Neoprene rubber strip on back for strap use.

New PCB design and PCB layout specially designed for this custom made pedal.

PCB potted in epoxy resin to help reduce unwanted vibration noises which can occur in loud stage environments.

Satin Black colour for less obtrusive stage use.

Powered by a 9V battery.

Quality Switchcraft jacks.

Price: $AUD411.00 (not including shipping)

According to xe.com website this amount is approx equivalent to (as of 6 November 2023):

249.00 Euros

$USD267.00

GBP: 216.00

Japanese Yen: 39,990.00

Shipping cost:

Within Australia: $AUD22.00 by Express Post

Outside of Australia: $AUD65.00 by EMS Express Post International

Photos courtesy of Marco Giuseppe Di Marco of him using the prototype Fryer/Di Marco Treble Booster with his band ‘Queen On Fire’:

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30th August 2023:

Kees Van Ede has kindly scanned and sent me this photo which was taken in mid-August 1998 of Brian May testing 3 Deacy Amps during the rehearsals for the Another World 1998 world tour. The photo appeared on the Another World 1998 Tour concert program.

In the photo are from left: Pete Malandrone, Brian, David Petersen, and Steve Prior.

The Deacy Amps being tested are from left: Brian’s original Deacy Amp, Petersen/Fryer Deacy replica no 2, Petersen/Fryer Deacy replica no 3.

Brian is playing his Red Special guitar through one of my 1998 tour Treble Booster Touring pedals (bare aluminium casing with slide in-out Bulgin 9V battery box), into the Petersen/Fryer Deacy replica no 2.

Around a week earlier I had left Allerton Hill to return to Australia. The Petersen/Fryer Deacy replica no 1 was among the things I brought back from Brian’s studio. My objective was to continue Deacy Amp research and development so that some time in the future we could produce for the BM enthusiasts around the world an authentic sounding Deacy Amp replica.

The photo below was taken by Mark Reynolds in July 1998 shows my workshop at Brian’s Allerton Hill studio. On the bench can be seen two of the three Deacy Amp replica cabinets that I was working on. David Petersen was building the amplifier sections of the 3 amps at this time.

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19th August 2023:

Recently Luke Holwerda has made digital copies of many of my photos taken at Brian May’s Allerton Hill studio during 1996, 1997 and 1998.

Amongst the photos were some that I had forgotten about which were taken on 17th February 1998.

On this day Brian was celebrating his daughter Emily’s 11th birthday at Allerton Hill studio. Earlier in the day Brian, Pete Malandrone, Justin Shirley-Smith and I went to ‘work’ creating a ‘make-believe magic monster maze’ in the recording desk room, complete with magical monster sound effects that studio whizz Justin cooked up on the recording desk.

Later that afternoon Emily and a group of her friends arrived for the party, and were led with blindfolds into the ‘monster magic maze’ up in the recording desk room.

Brian had invented a magical storytime adventure for Emily and the girls, with questions to be answered at every ‘stage’ of the adventure through the maze. After the girls successfully solved the question puzzles, this led to them being finally able to ‘pat’ the docile ‘monster’ lying on the floor of the cave.

Still with their blindfolds on, the room was full of excited giggles and squeals from the girls as each patted the monster. Then Brian said ‘you can take your blindfolds off now’. The  ‘monster’ turned out to be ‘Max’ the dog who was patiently lying on the floor!

This photo below shows Justin on the desk, Brian with his back to the camera, and me with the microphone attempting to make ‘monster noises’! 🙂

Thanks for the splendid digital copies Luke!

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14th August 2023:

My GoPro video of using the modified Manuel Angelini Supersonic PR80 Deacy Amp with the Kz RS Jnr Hybrid guitar on 4th August 2023.

Soon I am planning A/B GoPro video tests after I install Brian May Red Special style 6BA brass posts into the guitar body control cavity – do they make any difference to the Red Special pickup sound?

I intend to shortly after install new Matt Netherwood Yonderbosk Trisonic pickups and record GoPro videos showing their sounds using the modded Deacy Amp, Vox AC30 and Vox MV50 amp.

Hooroo,

Greg Fryer

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5th July 2023:

Some interesting looking pickups arrived in the post today! Will get these fitted soon and I intend to record some GoPro videos showing how these sound through my Vox MV50 amp, Vox AC30 amp, and Manuel Angelini Deacy Amp 🙂

Recently I gave Matt the last of the 0.5mm black Kautex rubber sheeting that I used in 1998 when I took apart Brian May’s Trisonic pickups from his Red Special guitar. I brought back stacks of it to Australia in August 1998, and little by little have used most of it since then. You can see the distinctive pattern on the rubber sheeting if you look closely at the 6 circular holes in the pickup cover. Unfortunately the new stuff doesn’t look much like the 1998 rubber sheeting.

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28th June 2023:

Many thanks to Daizo Tokuda for the lend of his lovely Kz ‘RS Hybrid Jnr’ guitar for some prototype pickup testing I am conducting soon for the ‘Astronaut’ guitar design prototype.

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13th June 2023:

The post (copied below) is one that I posted on 2nd September 2014 after my girlfriend and I met Brian May in Sydney during the Queen + Adam Lambert Australian tour. We chatted for over an hour during which I showed Brian the drawings for my ‘Red Special inspired’ guitar ‘Astronaut’.

Although recently I had thought the Astronaut guitar project may never see the light of day, it seems there’s life in the old gal yet….. 🙂

2014 post is here – slightly ‘tweaked’ to read better:

2nd September 2014:

The ‘Treble Booster Super’ pedal above is one I made specially for Brian May and was given to him on Monday night 25th August in Sydney. My girlfriend Sharon and I visited Brian and chatted for over an hour at his Circular Quay hotel near the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It was great to catch up again, and although the Q+AL tour has been very tiring Brian was his usual friendly and welcoming self, one of nature’s real gentlemen.

I showed Brian the new pedals that I had developed and also the drawings for a new guitar design of mine – named ‘Astronaut’.

The Treble Booster Super is probably the best treble booster that I have made so far for playing through an AC30, same good olde Brian May treble booster circuit with a few tweaks here and there to suit the new transistor. This particular transistor is one that I stumbled upon a couple of years ago and immediately loved the sound of how it worked in the BM circuit with an AC30.

The transistor gives similar strength of output to the BC239C used in my 2008 version Treble Booster Deluxe and Treble Booster Plus pedals, but delivers a nicer harmonic makeup and more richness of sound than the BC239C. When Brian is back home after the tour I aim to chat more about this pedal, and soon I will explore soon the possibilities for both handmaking and factory making this model.

Couldn’t resist taking this snap below of the Harbour Bridge lights at midnight after we left Bri’s hotel, it seemed so perfect, and I was chuffed to see the following day on http://www.brianmay.com that Bri had taken a similar shot on the Sunday morning. That coathanger always makes a good photo 🙂

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31st May 2023:

Chris Tarakson from The Guitar Amp Tech here in Sydney recently told me about this interesting and well researched YouTube video about Brian May’s Red Special guitar.

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28th May 2023:

Final artwork has been done for the Fryer/Di Marco treble booster

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22nd May 2023:

My apologies that I haven’t yet posted details about pre-ordering the  new Fryer/Di Marco Treble Booster. I have been delayed working on some other urgent things, been burning the midnight oil!  Very soon I expect that all details will be finalised so that pre-order details can be posted.

Today I was at the graphic art studio and we were doing artwork mockups for the new pedal’s screenprinting. Below are photos of things we experimented with. At times we compared the new artwork with some of my great older pedals such as the Brian May/Fryer Treble Booster Touring from 2008.

Hooroo, Greg

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28th April 2023:

Today I was over at Adam’s screenprinting factory, helping him with the job of screenprinting new boxes for the Treble Booster Touring, Treble Booster Super, and Treble Booster Deluxe pedals.

Adam is a really helpful and talented guy, and has been doing the screenprinting on my pedals since around 2004. Its always a fun day over there helping him with the screenprinting.

It hardly seems like any time has passed since we screenprinted the last batch of these same pedals in October 2021.

Thank you to everyone who has bought and enjoyed using the Treble Booster Touring, Treble Booster Super, and Treble Booster Deluxe pedals!

 

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2nd February 2023:

Latest update on the Fryer/Di Marco treble booster:

https://fryerguitars.com/fryer-di-marco-treble-booster/

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10th January 2023:

Today the postman delivered a new Deacy Amp replica from France made by Manuel Angelini of  https://doxyworld.com/

I did some brief playing tests today using the various power options (small 9V PP3 battery, large 9V PP9 battery and Manuel’s adjustable power supply). Although its early days the amp sounds very nice and very promising!

Soon I intend to write a piece for this page regarding my impressions of the new amp’s sound and will compare it to playing Brian May’s original Deacy Amp, Nigel Knight’s KAT Deacy Amp replica, and my 2003 MkII Deacy Amp replica.

Later I also intend to do record some GoPro videos and will post these on YouTube when done.

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11th August 2022:

New product coming soon:  the ‘Fryer/Di Marco Treble Booster’ is based on the prototype which I recently made for Marco Giuseppe Di Marco (pic below). Marco is using the new booster mounted on his guitar strap, and is currently on a tour of Europe with his band “Queen On Fire”.

Please see: https://www.facebook.com/queenonfireofficial

This pedal uses my Treble Booster Touring circuit. It has a handmade pcb which has a different layout to the standard TB Touring pedal pcb, also has a hand selected/tested transistor and components, and a few other nice handmade touches. The pedal uses a lightweight diecast aluminium box which is suitable for mounting on a guitar strap for use with a wireless system.

As the project moves along I will post more details and photos here:

https://fryerguitars.com/fryer-di-marco-treble-booster/

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19th July 2022:

The JAN97 Fryer 25th Anniversary Treble Booster webpage has been updated with ordering details of both JAN97 Type 1 and JAN97 Type 2 treble booster limited edition:

https://fryerguitars.com/jan97-fryer-treble-booster-25th-anniversary-re-issue/

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8th July 2022:

A few new products are on the webshop:

JAN97 Type 2 re-issue 25th Anniversary Treble Booster. I am only making a small number of these boosters so please place an order through the webshop or let me know  via email if you would like one reserved.

http://fryerguitars.bigcartel.com/product/jan97-type-2-fryer-treble-booster-25th-anniversary-re-issue

Recently I made 4 special black ‘one-off’ treble boosters which are pictured in the post further below. These were made in a lightweight aluminium box and can be used as strap mounted boosters for players who use wireless transmitters live on stage.

2 of the boosters were made for Marco Giuseppe Di Marco from Italy. Marco is a well known professional guitarist who also has a strong internet profile. On the webshop I have the remaining 2 boosters available for sale:

(SOLD)Treble Booster Touring black 2022 (SOLD)

JAN97 Type 2 Treble Booster black 2022 1 pc only available:

http://fryerguitars.bigcartel.com/product/jan97-type-2-fryer-treble-booster-black-2022-serial-number-002

Description of how the trimpot effects the sound in smoothing the top end and hiss:

Some people (myself included) like the sound best with the trimpot set at 0  🙂

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5th July 2022:

On my webshop tomorrow 6th July 2022 will be 2 of these black custom order boosters pictured below: TB Touring circuit in lightweight box #002 and  JAN97 Type 2 treble booster [with no level pot] in lightweight box #002.

Also on the webshop tomorrow will be a small number of my 25th Anniversary re-issue JAN97 Type 2 treble boosters (with adjustable 10K trimpot). Cheers, Greg

Some extra weight has been milled out of the lids on the black boosters (below), this may be helpful if the guitarist uses the booster on a strap.

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30th June 2022:

Some JAN97 Type 2 treble boosters and a few black one-off special treble boosters are being made right now. In next few days I will post details about prices and availability of the JAN97 Type 2 25th Anniversary re-issue treble boosters.

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16th June 2022:

JAN97 Type 2 25th Anniversary re-issue treble booster: the first prototype was assembled today. More news soon on this classic booster re-issue.

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8th May 2022:

Wonderful to have this beautiful sounding Vox AC30 back in the fold again. This amp is one which I handbuilt for a customer in 2010 and features a unique Brilliant Channel circuit which was developed through my own R & D testing during several years of live playing, and a circuit which I only used in 3 amps made around 2010.

The amp has two channels: the ‘Brian May’ tuned Normal channel of course, great for using Red Special guitars and treble boosters etc, and the special circuit Brilliant Channel which makes the amp especially useful for playing Strats or Les Pauls. Happy days!

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27th May 2022:

The first batch of JAN97 25th Anniversary Treble Boosters (Type 1) have been recently shipped. Please allow approx 14 days building time if ordering the JAN97 booster from the webshop.

One of the first people to order the JAN97 booster, Fumihisa-san from Japan, sent me these photos today. They show his Kz Red Special guitar, Fryer JAN97 treble booster and Fryer Mayday overdrive (made in collaboration between Kz Guitar Works and Fryer Guitars). Many thanks to Fumihisa-san for these photos.

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11th April 2022:

Guess what I am buying soon? This little bedroom monster…… am really looking forward to playing this authentic sounding amp!  🙂

Back on 6 February 1998 at Allerton Hill studio I was the first guy to open up Brian May’s legendary Deacy Amp and photograph and document it thoroughly. Firstly with David Petersen in 1998, and then with Colin Bloxsom and Nigel Knight I began the journey of making Deacy replicas and attempting to unravel the mysteries of the Deacy’s unusual design.

Soon I am making a couple of versions of my 2003 MkII Deacy with Shaun Klinger from Melbourne Australia, and we will be using the last of my MkII output and coupling transformers, Eurotec speakers and germanium transistors from the Deacy prototype development work that I did in the late 1990s/early 2000s. The MkII is an amazing sounding Deacy replica, although it is not 100% authentic in circuit and appearance to Brian’s original Deacy. From experience I can tell you that the MkII was better sounding than the KAT amp. I tested them side by side many times….chalk and cheese – it ate the KAT for dinner. The KAT amp had some very good points such as excellent appearance, booklet and build quality, however overall I was very disappointed by its sound.

Still I believe there is one other amp out there that is likely to be even closer in sound to the legendary Deacy Amp than MkII or KAT. Made by a guy who is even more obsessive than me……  if thats possible haha!  🙂

For some years I have wanted one of Manuel Angelini’s beautifully handcrafted versions of the Supersonic PR80 which sounds and looks as close as possible to Brian’s original legendary Deacy Amp. Now its time to rock!

Photos below courtesy of Manuel Angelini:

My photos of the original legendary Deacy Amp from 6 February 1998:

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5th April 2022:

I am proud to announce that pre-orders are now open for the 25th Anniversary re-issue of my JAN97 Fryer Treble Booster (type 1).

The  two JAN97 Fryer boosters type 1 and type 2 were used by Brian May in 1998 to record his album ‘Another World’. Brian also used these boosters in live performances during 1998 along with the 3 Fryer Red Special guitars ‘John’, ‘Paul’ and ‘George Burns’.

I am handmaking a limited run of 50 pcs and anticipate that the first JAN97 type 1 boosters will be available to be shipped in the 3rd week of April 2022.

(Update 8th April 2022 re JAN97 type 2 booster: In late April I intend to make prototypes of the JAN97 type 2 booster and am hopeful that I will have some available in mid May or early June 2022)

To pre-order please visit the Fryer Guitars webshop:

http://fryerguitars.bigcartel.com/product/jan97-fryer-treble-booster-type-1-25th-anniversary-re-issue

For more info about the JAN97 treble boosters type 1 and type 2 please see:

https://fryerguitars.com/jan97-fryer-treble-booster-25th-anniversary-re-issue/

Cheers, Greg Fryer

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24th March 2022:

On the Fryer Guitars webshop I have available one only Treble Booster Special pedal serial number T067, which has been handmade by myself and Japanese luthier Kazutaka Ijuin.

To order: http://fryerguitars.bigcartel.com/product/treble-booster-special

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14th March 2022:

2 of my last Treble Booster Super “white label” pedals are now available at the reduced sale price of $AUD169.00 each (plus shipping). The pedals carry the usual new pedal warranty.  The white label pedals have been superceded by the 2022 screenprinted version. The ‘white label’ and screenprinted TB Supers are identical in sound and construction. Cheers, Greg

$AUD169.00 is approx $USD123.00 ;  £GBP 95.00 ;  € 114.00 ; ¥JPY14,455.00

Please see the webshop links:

http://fryerguitars.bigcartel.com/product/treble-booster-super-white-label-version-serial-number-220

http://fryerguitars.bigcartel.com/product/treble-booster-super-white-label-version-serial-number-216

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12th February 2022:

My work building the 25th Anniversary JAN97 Fryer Treble Boosters has been delayed a little while because of a fortunate coincidence which has had me very busy elsewhere for a couple of months. I am hopeful that I will be back building the JAN97 boosters very soon and will post updates here when available. Cheers, Greg

‘Type 1’ JAN97 (standard TB without added trimpot) made for Brian May in 1997, pictured on Brian’s purple AC30 and Deacy Amp at Allerton Hill studio July 1998:

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16th January 2022:

Dear customers, I am currently on holidays until Monday 24th January 2022. Unfortunately there are only limited stocks of the Fryer Treble Boosters  currently available on my webshop  https://fryerguitars.bigcartel.com/

However since December 2021 I have been building more pedals and expect to have more available of Treble Booster Touring, Treble Booster Super and Treble Booster Deluxe upon my return to work.

All the best, Greg Fryer

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19th December 2021:

One of the Treble Booster Supers that I have just finished making is on my webshop at the reduced sale price of $AUD219.00 (plus shipping). This treble booster serial number #223 has a slight scratch in the paintwork below the ‘Treble Booster Super’ name, and is otherwise brand new and the booster sounds and works perfectly. To order please see my webshop link:

https://fryerguitars.bigcartel.com/product/treble-booster-super-223-at-reduced-sale-price

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7th December 2021:

First prototypes of 25th Anniversary JAN97 Fryer Treble Boosters are getting close.

This is a retro prototype of what I call ‘Type 1’ (standard TB without added trimpot) same as I made for Brian May in 1997, pictured on his purple AC30 and Deacy Amp in July 1998 here below:

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28th October 2021:

Coming soon: thanks to Luke Holwerda for reminding me that January 2022  will be the 25th Anniversary of my January 1997 treble boosters which were made for Brian May.

I am considering making a limited re-issue run of these ‘retro’ pedals to celebrate the 25th Anniversary, and hope to have more details soon.

In 1998 at his Allerton Hill studio, Brian used 2 of my JAN97 treble boosters to record his ‘Another World’ album with.

At the studio we modified one of the boosters to have a small 10K trimpot which acted as a hiss filter (photo below). Brian and I then experimented with this treble booster in his guitar room, with Brian playing through the treble booster and his AC30 set at full volume. I adjusted the trimpot as Brian played to find the setting that he thought sounded best. We used that resistance setting (5K6) in my Brian May/Fryer Treble Booster Touring pedals.

Circuit-wise, the 1999 Brian May/Fryer Treble Booster pedal and the early 2000s Brian May /Fryer Treble Booster Touring pedal were identical to JAN97 type 2 treble booster.

The other (unmodified standard) JAN97 treble booster was featured in the Total Guitar magazine Christmas Edition 1998 on page 29. Here it sits on top of Brian’s purple Vox AC30 in the guitar room.

(please click on images to enlarge)

Total Guitar magazine Christmas Edition 1998 page 29:

Photo by Mark Reynolds of JAN97 treble booster sitting on Deacy Amp (photo taken in July 1998)

JAN97 Fryer treble booster modified in 1998 with trimpot:

There was a 3rd JAN97 treble booster made which was experimental and featured a mini switch on the top. It had a 9V Adaptor socket fitted on the side of the box because Pete Malandrone was interested to find out if we could make a treble booster for Brian which did not need a 9V battery.

However Brian did not like the sound of this booster and it was not used for recording and only used for more of my experiments. The problem was that the larger value electrolytic capacitor required to smooth/filter the noise introduced into the audio circuit by the 9V Adaptor power supply also effected the audio sound of the guitar by making it darker and duller to the ‘feel’ of the guitar tone. Photo below

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28th October 2021:

The newly screenprinted Fryer Treble Booster Deluxe, Touring and Super  pedals are now available to order from my webshop.

The pedals feature fab new graphic designs – but same old great sounds and build quality!

Fryer Treble Booster Deluxe 2021:

http://fryerguitars.bigcartel.com/product/treble-booster-deluxe

Fryer Treble Booster Touring 2021:

http://fryerguitars.bigcartel.com/product/treble-booster-touring

Fryer Treble Booster Super 2021:

http://fryerguitars.bigcartel.com/product/treble-booster-super

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31st August 2021:

Little by little I am putting up on my website some of the international guitar magazine articles written about the work which I did for Brian May in the 1990s and 2000s. The first of these is the well known article from Guitarist July 1998 edition.

Please see: https://fryerguitars.com/guitar-magazine-articles/

And here below is this first one:

  

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28th August 2021:

Its covid lockdown-ville here in Sydney, and what better thing to do than to begin the process of sorting through and making digital copies of the great many photos that I took from 1996 to 2007 of Red Special making and repairing, BM pedal making, BM AC30 making, Deacy Amps, and WWRY productions amp and pedal making etc.

A small number of my photos have previously been scanned and published either on my website, in various guitar magazines, or in Brian May’s Red Special Book, but the vast majority have not yet been scanned.

The Red Special journey was quite an extraordinary one for me, one that I sacrificed absolutely everything for. Looking back from this distance of 2021, at times now I can hardly believe that the amazing journey actually happened.

There are over 600 photos to be scanned, here below is a brief sample of some from the top of the pile:

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21st August 2021:

The talented Marco Giuseppe Di Marco has recently produced a 2021 version of his ‘Rig Rundown’ video in which he demonstrates his live Brian May rig. Marco shows the guitar/pedals/amps rig that he uses live with his band ‘Queen On Fire’. After a long absence due to the 2020 coronavirus lockdowns in Europe,  ‘Queen On Fire’ are now back playing live gigs in Italy.

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3rd May 2021:

Bob Wegner has kindly sent me an email which contains a very interesting photo of Brian May playing live onstage with Queen on 13th May 1978.

Bob explained: “One more for you, Greg – this is from a 1978 Japanese “Music Life” magazine, taken at Wembley Arena on the last night of the News of the World tour. Here he’s got an EBow in one hand and tremolo arm in the other, doing his impression of a 747 with the Echoplex delay off the top of his solo spot. First good shot I’ve seen of this.” Thanks again Bob!

I have also posted the photo on this page of my website:

https://fryerguitars.com/history-of-brian-mays-treble-boosters-and-pedalboard-used-with-queen-from-1970-to-around-1986/

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19th April 2021:

Yesterday I was going through some photos which had been put away for a while, and found a few from 1998 which I have been meaning for some time to have framed. In August 1998 as I was about to leave Brian May’s Allerton Hill studio and return to Australia, Brian very kindly signed several photos for me.

Bri signed the 2 photos below for myself, and signed the 3rd photo down for my Mum and Dad. Where has the last 23 years gone for heavens sake? Yes its about time they were framed….. some very nice memories.

PS: the photo was taken by Babz B. Photobabe at the Joe Satriani/ G3 concert at Wembley in July 1998 where Brian made a guest appearance and played my Red Special replica guitar ‘George Burns’.

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18th April 2021:

Bob Wegner from Canada has kindly sent me this photo from the ‘Live Killers’ Queen tour  of 1979 which shows Freddie Mercury and Brian May onstage. It shows a good side view of Brian’s live pedalboard at the time.

The picture is dated and credited: “17th January 1979 Hamburg by Werner Baum”. (Please click on image to enlarge)

 

4th June 2020:

Origins of Brian May’s Legendary Deacy Amp update:

I have updated details regarding the origins and background of the Deacy Amp. Articles and photos have been very kindly provided by Peter Goodridge, son of Supersonic PR80 designer Bob Goodridge; and by Manuel Angelini the world expert on the Supersonic factory and the PR80 radio which spawned the Legendary Deacy Amp’s audio circuit.

I have also posted up some of my Deacy Amp photos taken in 1998 during my time at Brian May’s Allerton Hill studio.

Please see my webpage: https://fryerguitars.wordpress.com/deacy-amp/

Photo from Manuel Angelini:

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3rd May 2020:

Over the last couple of years I have conducted several experiments with French guitar maker Mickael Dansan of Dansan Guitars to produce a new variation of my Treble Booster Super pedal.  This is a product which Mickael is now selling from his website: https://dansanguitars.com/

During 2018 and 2019 Mickael and I tried different voicings of the Fryer Treble Booster Super circuit, and settled on a version which Mickael felt very closely resembles the sound of Brian May’s well known BC149 treble booster from the mid 1970s. Unlike using vintage pedal components, this design can be reproduced commercially using RoHS compliant components.

Marco Giuseppe Di Marco has kindly produced this video for Mickael which demonstrates the booster:

Product description:

“Treble Boost Dansan”:

Produces a rich powerful sound with good harmonic detail and excellent treble definition.

* 33.5 dB gain

* Balanced definition & detail with punchy mid range

* Sparkling rhythm sounds with guitar volume control rolled back

* Designed to emulate the Brian May BC149 transistor treble booster sound of the mid 1970s

* Powered by a 9V battery with extremely long battery life, current consumption < 508ma

Please contact Mickael by email if you are interested in any of these little gems, his email address is: contact@dansanguitars.com

Cheers, Greg

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17th February 2020:

A big weekend of music has just passed here in Australia!

On Saturday night 15th February 2020 I attended the ‘Queen + Adam Lambert’ concert in Sydney at ANZ Stadium. A severe storm swept though Sydney half an hour before showtime and the concert organisers wisely delayed the concert start by approx 3/4 hour. My sister Penny and I got drenched with rain standing outside waiting to get into the venue, but fortunately for everyone the rain cleared just before kick-off and what followed was a stunningly impressive performance from Brian May, Roger Taylor, Adam Lambert and the band. It was an awesome show!

John Farnham closed the Fire Fight benefit concert with “You’re The Voice” which featured an allstar cast including Brian May who played my dear old guitar ‘George Burns’. Thanks Brian!

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2nd May 2019:

For powering any of the Fryer effect pedals which require a 9V Adaptor unit I recommend the following Voodoo Lab Pedal Power products. They have models to suit all budgets and requirements:

http://www.voodoolab.com/pedalpower_iso-5.htm

http://www.voodoolab.com/pedalpower_2.htm

http://www.voodoolab.com/pedalpower_ac.htm

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29th November 2018:

Marco Giuseppe Di Marco has kindly produced this comprehensive review of the new Treble Booster Special pedal. The review also features a comparison of my 2018 and 2008 versions of the Treble Booster Deluxe pedal.

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18th October 2018:

Last week I listened again to these great soundfiles from 2014 and 2008. The soundfiles were done by Peter Michalowski and Frank Rohles, in which they kindly recorded short demos of my pedals.

Peter’s soundfiles are from 2014 and include band rehearsals, in these Peter demos my Treble Booster Super.

Clean chordal and picking through to more distorted and TYMD:

Brighton Rock Delays:

Hammer To Fall from rehearsal:

Frank’s soundfiles are from 2008 and demo my Brian May/Fryer Treble Booster Touring, Brian May/Fryer Treble Booster Deluxe, Brian May/Fryer Treble Booster Plus, and prototype 2008 Treble Booster Special pedals.

Treble Booster Special 2008:

BM/Fryer Treble Booster Touring 2008:

BM/Fryer Treble Booster Deluxe 2008:

BM/Fryer Treble Booster Plus:

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30th August 2018:

Danny Rodd has very kindly produced 3 short video clips comparing 3 of the new 2018 Fryer Treble Boosters: TB Touring, TB Deluxe and TB Super

Danny is playing an Esteban Anderson Red Special guitar and using the Fryer Treble Boosters through a Vox Pathfinder 15W amp

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29th August 2018:

A special discounted price of $AUD199.00 each is being offered until the end of November 2018 on the new 2018 Treble Booster Super and 2018 Treble Booster Deluxe (featuring the improved 2014 circuit and TB Super transistor), both handmade by Greg Fryer.

Both pedals are available in pre-production form (TB Super is blaze blue colour, TB Deluxe is purple colour) until the end of November 2018 when the screen printed 2018 versions of both pedals will be available. The pedals can be powered either by 9V battery or 9V Adaptor.

Both pre-production pedals are available at the special discounted price of $AUD199.00 each plus shipping whilst stocks last.

Shipping to countries outside Australia by International Airmail costs $AUD55.00 and shipping within Australia by Express Post costs $AUD22.00

Please order through the Fryer Guitars webshop or contact me directly at fryerguitars@hotmail.com

To order TB Super: http://shop.fryerguitars.com/product/treble-booster-super

To order TB Deluxe: http://shop.fryerguitars.com/product/treble-booster-deluxe

From http://www.xe.com currency exchange comparison of 29 August 2018:

$AUD199.00 is approx equal to: $USD146.00  £GBP114.00  €125.00  ¥16,257.00

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14th August 2018:

Coming soon in mid September 2018, the new 2018 version Treble Booster Deluxe and Treble Booster Super pedals handmade by Greg Fryer in Sydney Australia.

TB Deluxe is being made in Purple colour and is made to Greg Fryer’s improved 2014 Treble Booster Deluxe circuit which features the same harmonically rich sounding transistor used in the Treble Booster Super and Treble Booster Special pedals.

The TB Super 2018 is being made in Blaze Blue colour. The TB Super 2018 circuit and transistor is exactly the same as Greg’s handmade TB Supers made from 2014 onwards in the bare aluminium enclosure.

Because many guitarists have asked for the option of a 9V Adaptor socket as well as 9V battery, the TB Deluxe 2018 and TB Super 2018 will feature both a 9V Adaptor socket and a side mounted 9V Bulgin battery box.

Price of both pedals is $AUD250.00 each plus shipping and they will be available to order  from the Fryer Guitars webshop. Shipping to countries outside of Australia by International Airmail costs $AUD55.00 and shipping inside Australia by Express Post costs $AUD22.00

http://www.xe.com currency comparison from 14 August 2018:

$AUD250.00 =  $USD181.50   £GBP142.00   €160.00   ¥20,146

Pictured below is a prototype version of the TB Deluxe 2018. More photos soon in purple colour.

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9th August 2018:

Photos from Jeroen Lips of the Netherlands of his Red Special rig with new pedals Treble Booster Special and Electrolead Tri-Splitter. Report and comments to come. For more gear pics and pics from a recent live outdoor concert please see: https://fryerguitars.wordpress.com/treble-booster-special-testimonials-soundfiles-and-pics/

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17th June 2018: review of the 2018 Fryer Treble Booster Touring pedal by Marco Giuseppe Di Marco

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10th June 2018:

Thanks to Sebastien Merlin for sending me about this photo from the ‘Party At The Palace’ held in 2002 to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. In the photo my Red Special guitar ‘John’ which was made in 1996-97 for Brian May, sits just behind Paul. Brian joined Paul McCartney, Rod Stewart, Joe Cocker and many other well known singers and musicians onstage at this historical event.

Youtube video of the great Beatles song ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ from ‘Party At The Palace’ from which the screenshot above was taken at approx 46 seconds in:

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23rd May 2018:

Now available for the first time since 2008 handmade by Greg Fryer, the Treble Booster Touring.

The 2018 Treble Booster Touring pedal is handmade to exactly the same circuit and sound as my Treble Booster Touring pedals and strap mount boosters made for Brian May and for general sale since 2001.

To order please see Fryer Guitars Webshop: http://shop.fryerguitars.com/

or email Greg Fryer at fryerguitars@hotmail.com

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28th February 2018:

A blast from the past: just found these photos from June 2007 of the beginnings of the Brian May Super guitar. Barry Moorhouse and Kazutaka Ijuin very kindly visited my workshop and held discussions over a couple of days to get the ball rolling with the ‘Brian May Super’ Red Special guitar project.

More details about the guitar here: https://fryerguitars.wordpress.com/bm-super/

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22nd February 2018:

Queen + Adam Lambert played Sydney again. What a show and what great playing and singing. Nice to see Brian playing ‘John’ and ‘George Burns’ out on stage again.

For pics please see https://fryerguitars.wordpress.com/queen-adam-lambert-2018-tour/

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1st November 2016:

Pics from the two guitarists in the ‘We Will Rock You’ Australia production James Barber and Simon Croft:

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2nd September 2014:

The ‘Treble Booster Super’ pedal above is one I made specially for Brian May and was given to him on Monday night 25th August in Sydney. My girlfriend Sharon and I visited Brian and chatted for over an hour at his hotel at Circular Quay near the Harbour Bridge. It was great to catch up again and although the Q+AL tour has been tiring Brian was his usual friendly and welcoming self, one of nature’s real gentlemen.

I showed Brian the new pedals that I had developed and also the drawings for a new guitar design of mine – named ‘Astronaut’.

The Treble Booster Super is probably the best treble booster that I have made so far for playing through an AC30, same good olde Brian May treble booster circuit with a few tweaks here and there to suit the new transistor. This particular transistor is one that I stumbled upon a couple of years ago and immediately loved the sound of how it worked in the BM circuit with an AC30.

The transistor gives similar strength of output to the BC239C used in my 2008 version Treble Booster Deluxe and Treble Booster Plus pedals, but delivers a nicer harmonic makeup and more richness of sound than the BC239C. When Brian is back home after the tour I aim to chat more about this pedal, and soon I will explore soon the possibilities for both handmaking and factory making this model.

Couldn’t resist taking this snap below of the Harbour Bridge lights at midnight after we left Bri’s hotel, it seemed so perfect, and I was chuffed to see the following day on http://www.brianmay.com that Bri had taken a similar shot on the Sunday morning. That coathanger always makes a good photo