Celebrating classic rock's favorite astrophysicist, the Gibson Custom Brian May SJ-200 12-String is a gorgeous acoustic guitar shooting for the moon. Constructed with careful Gibson Custom craftsmanship and shining like an infinite number of celestial bodies, this distinct twelve-string comes together as a celebration of one of rock guitar's most fantastical players.
Sir Brian May earned his doctorate in astrophysics in 2007 after a long sabbatical as the lead guitarist of Queen. His decades with the band have given the rock music world plenty to chew on while his degree in astrophysics has brought him to work with NASA and many universities, bringing his passions and expertise in astronomy to the forefront. Today's Gibson Custom Brian May SJ-200 matches Brian's legacy in the rock limelight with his enduring passion for space in one radiant acoustic.
This Brian May special begins with a bold SJ-200 acoustic body built from a AAA Sitka spruce top and AAA Indian rosewood back and sides. The large and pronounced body of this acoustic gives it a loud and authoritative voice right off the bat with sweetness and nuance. Its prominent shoulders and lower bout make it notably imposing yet still easily slipped under the arm and ready to play. Multi-ply top and back binding accentuates its rich burst finish around the edges of the SJ-200 body.
The SJ-200 continues on from here with a two-piece AAA maple neck with a walnut stringer. This neck, taking a Round profile, offers a full yet effortlessly playable feel in hand. An Indian rosewood fingerboard pairs with this neck bearing twenty frets. Punctuating this rosewood, the Brian May SJ-200 features agoya shell eight-point star inlays that shine brightly and make an excellent and fitting visual motif.
Up top, this SJ-200's headstock features a mother-of-pearl Gibson logo, gold Grover Mini Rotomatic tuning machines and a bone nut that solidifies strings past the fingerboard. These hardware specifications match with the guitar's rosewood Moustache bridge adorned with four 60s Style agoya inlays. All of these careful hardware considerations contribute to an overall lush and twinkling sonic palette, as harnessed and projected by onboard Fishman Matrix electronics.
Two final features of this twelve string are different, yet very impactful. The first is a custom-designed pickguard, personally themed by Brian May in an ode to our system's planets. The second is that this twelve string's strings are intentionally mounted in reverse order to produce a unique and distinctive sound unlike any other Gibson twelve-string acoustic. It travels with a special twelve-string hardshell case with Brian May's signature on the exterior.
Space: the final frontier. As a true explorer of musicality, there's few players who have been to the outer limits of rock 'n' roll stardom like Brian May. Capturing so much of what makes Brian May a legendary guitarist, this SJ-200 12-String is a bold instrument going where no acoustic has gone before.
This Gibson Custom model is limited to 100 pieces worldwide and is crafted in Gibson's Bozeman, Montana acoustic factory.
