By building his own guitar, May could customize the look, sound, and mechanics. First, he wanted to make sure the guitar would "talk" to him. He'd been obsessed with Jimi Hendrix and hoped his guitar would create feedback the way Hendrix is able to do with his. May told Guitar Magazine most guitars at the time had too many flaws. He said tremolo arms, or whammy arms — the kind used to make a guitar warble — were very popular, but strained the instrument's neck too much. To counteract this, he wanted a guitar with a rod that would make the arm go back to its original position.
It took about two years for May and his dad to finish, according to The Guardian. He said they used mainly hand tools to craft this first guitar, utilizing materials from around the house. The neck was the fireplace mantle, which is why May sometimes refers to the guitar as The Fireplace. They hand-carved the fretboard with some mother-of-pearl inlays made from buttons. The unique tremolo arm was parts of a bicycle topped off with one of his mom's knitting needles. May said his father took such care while helping him build the guitar that when he accidentally gouged the wood, he never really forgave himself.
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