“I saw the Red Special. I pointed and said, ‘Is that it?’ Brian said, ‘Yup. Want to try it?’” Steve Vai says he once played Brian May’s guitar “like a baby giraffe on roller skates” – now the Queen icon has gifted him his own custom ‘Green’ Red Special

Brian May [left] leans back and feels a chord as he performs live with his Red Special. Steve Vai [right] wears a ballcap and looks pleased as punch as he shows off his custom 'Green' Red Special that May had built for him.

Brian May has given Steve Vai the gift of a lifetime. It’s a Red Special replica, custom built by Andrew Guyton, with some signature Vai-style twists on the Queen guitarist’s DIY custom electric guitar – not least a change of colour, reimagining the O.G. Red Special as the ‘Green’ Red Special.

“I own a lot of guitars, but this one stands alone. Its soul and history are baked into it and topped with a healthy smattering of love,” says Vai, writing on his Instagram account. “I will treasure it for the rest of my life, and yes, I’m taking this one to the grave with me.”