The Game Funk-Rock Split — Deacon Strat Chops & May Punctuations
John Deacon—not Brian May—played the clean funk rhythm, most likely on a new Fender Stratocaster, while May later added sparse distorted punctuations to push the track toward rock. The exact clean amplifier, Strat pickup position and controls are undocumented, so that chain is deliberately generic; May’s overdubs use his established Red Special and boosted AC30 sound. Source: Guitar World’s Queen track-by-track interview (2024) and Brian May interview (2019).
Signal Chain
Notes
The clean rhythm must stay relaxed and wrist-driven; too much distortion ruins the groove. Keep May’s dirty accents sparse so they add impact without turning the song into a conventional rock arrangement.
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See the same signal chain mapped to another platform. Knob values carry over as starting points — gain ranges differ between platforms.