IK Multimedia promises “tones that will rock you” with AmpliTube Brian May

Following Monday’s not-so-subtle tease, IK Multimedia has now officially unveiled the AmpliTube Brian May edition.

Available for Mac/PC, iPhone and iPad, the package promises to span the Queen legend’s entire career of electric guitar tones, in collaboration with the man himself.

11 new models are included, including Vox AC30-inspired combos, May’s compact ‘Deacy’ amp, plus a trio of cabinets: models of 2x12 Vox AC30s with Celestion Alnico Blue or G12H Anniversary speakers, and a 1x6 Deacy cab.

IK Multimedia AmpliTube Brian May

(Image credit: IK Multimedia)

A range of stompboxes are onboard, too, including May Wah, Fox Phaser, Treble Booster and even a pedal dedicated to capturing the sound of the Red Special, offering its unique control capabilities to any guitarist.

Thankfully, there’s also a built-in noise gate, the Star Gate, to tame the hiss of those heavily boosted AC30 models.

A discography of tones have been assembled for the package by Jamie Humphries, guitarist for the stage production of We Will Rock You, while each sound boasts IK’s Dynamic Interaction Modelling to capture the sound of every component in the circuit.

The Brian May Collection is available now for PC/Mac ($99.99/€99.99), iPhone and iPad ($19.99).

It’s unlikely to be IK’s only AmpliTube artist collaboration this year, with recent endorsee Joe Satriani also in the running for his own signature collection.

Brian May, meanwhile, is busy putting the finishing touches to his own guitar company’s first model for another artist, a signature electric for rising Texas singer-songwriter Arielle.

Michael Astley-Brown
Editor-in-Chief, GuitarWorld.com

Mike is Editor-in-Chief of GuitarWorld.com, in addition to being an offset fiend and recovering pedal addict. He has a master's degree in journalism from Cardiff University, and over a decade's experience writing and editing for guitar publications including MusicRadar, Total Guitar and Guitarist, as well as 20 years of recording and live experience in original and function bands. During his career, he has interviewed the likes of John Frusciante, Chris Cornell, Tom Morello, Matt Bellamy, Kirk Hammett, Jerry Cantrell, Joe Satriani, Tom DeLonge, Ed O'Brien, Polyphia, Tosin Abasi, Yvette Young and many more. In his free time, you'll find him making progressive instrumental rock under the nom de plume Maebe.