Any love for BC Rich??

[dragonfire709]

My quest continues. I am still looking for a 'metal' looking twin humbucker guitar to use in my newish band (wwwmrtemper.co.uk - new album and website coming soon!!). To recap at present im using a red Maverick G1 that sounds great, but just isnt metal enough!!

Here's the kind of stuff it needs to do;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_JYTTRjxKc&feature=related

I've been looking at Icemen, Deans etc etc, but have just found this baby;

http://www.mockspecial.com/

But i dont know a great deal about BC Rich's. The spec looks good for the money, but are they any good? I need a good reliable guitar that will stay in tune at gigs. Does anyone have much experience in them?

Ta

Roy

[PhilKing]

I have an original Mockingbird and love it.  I also have a Warmoth clone with FR and Wenge/Ebony neck.  The original has Cold Sweats which give an awesome amount of tones (but it does have all the original switching), the Warmoth has a Nailbomb set and also sounds great. 

[warpthrone]

Its mostly the body shapes that put me off, but every now and again they come up with something nice (the mocking bird is pretty tasty)

[Ratrod]

I really like Mockingbirds and 10-string Bich's.

The specials are nicely made but they just look so wrong with the bridge that far back. Not good for the tone either.

I'd rather go for a Mockingbird (exotic) Classic or an ST (if you want a Floyd).

However, for just a little more cash you can find an eighties Japanese built NJ.

[sgmypod]

mmmmm orig mockingbird

[Philly Q]

I really like Mockingbirds and 10-string Bich's.

The specials are nicely made but they just look so wrong with the bridge that far back. Not good for the tone either.

Agreed on all points (though I've never tried one so I don't know about the effect on the tone).

I'd also probably go for an Exotic Classic.  They had some slightly more upmarket ones called the Calibre Classics, made in the Czech Republic, but they seem to have been discontinued.  And has the NJ series been discontinued too?

[Alex]

Those Mockingbirds are really good actually, they are among the best guitars in that price class you can buy. The specific model you pointed out, however, comes with vintage voiced Alnico-II pickups if I remember correctly.

[indysmith]

Any love for BC Rich??

No :lol: The ones I've played have been embarrassingly bad. (looking and sounding) (...and playing, actually :? )

[Crazy_Joe]

The Mockingbirds look quite nice, i like the looks of their Gunslingers though.

[Antag]

BC Rich is the classic case of an entire brand being damaged by its cheap models.

Leaving aside one's opinion of the styling/shapes, "real" BC Riches - i.e. those made in the US - are/were absolutely wonderful instruments.

But most people will only ever see BC Rich on the headstock of a guitar that's been (badly) put together in Korea, is on sale for <£250 (overpriced even then), & feels/sounds awful...

[Nadz1lla]

I have a bronze series Warlock with a Nailbomb at the bridge, she sounds nice, is reliable and is my main guitar. I do also have an NJ Warlock with a full set of Nailbombs and she sounds fantastic, I just need to work out how to tune her down to drop C sharp and I'll probably use her for everything. I just can't seem to get the hang of detuning a floyd, hah!  :lol:

I do have a bronze series Mockingbird, but she's in bits at the moment and never sounded as nice as my bronze Warlock. Which is odd. But then I'm not sure if they were both made in the same country. I'm actually surprised at how good I can get my bronze Warlock to sound seeing as it's made out of something like 12 ply.  :?

[MDV]

BC Rich is the classic case of an entire brand being damaged by its cheap models.

Leaving aside one's opinion of the styling/shapes, "real" BC Riches - i.e. those made in the US - are/were absolutely wonderful instruments.

But most people will only ever see BC Rich on the headstock of a guitar that's been (badly) put together in Korea, is on sale for <£250 (overpriced even then), & feels/sounds awful...

QFT

[dobbins]

I agree with much of what Antag has to say with one caveat, my NJ Eagle is one of the nicest guitars I've ever played and its made in Korea. So many people look down on BCR just because of some of their ghastly modern shapes e.g. Beast, but the classic shapes are beautiful and play beautifully. There is quality out there if you're willing to look and pay for it. Pups are a bit gash, but I guess thats why BKPs are here...

[psy]

I love the Mockingbird shape.  I've got 3 of them, all NJ's (I'll get a USA model one day).  I've got a pointy headstock NJ with a bolt on neck & floyd trem, a 3 a-side headstock again with the bolt on & trem.  And my main guitar is a NJ Classic.  That's a through neck with a TOM bridge. 

The pointy headstock & classic are nice heavy lumps of wood (just how I like them).  All 3 are really solid guitars, but like Antag says because the whole range has BC Rich on the headstock a lot of people scoff at them because they've played a budget version at some point.

I'm not too keen on the more 'metal' shapes they make.  I think the Mockingbird has a nice balance curves & points.  You should check out the exotic model too if you fancy a one with a TOM on it http://www.bcrich.com/Mockingbird_exotic_classic.asp

[dragonfire709]

It looks like they are a bit of a mixed bag, then. I guess the proof of the pudding will be actually trying one. I'll have to try and source one locally and have a noodle on it.

Whatever i go for has to have a TOM as I have one guitar tuned to e with a Floyd, but this one is for the dropped d tunes and a Floyd always feels wrong to me in dropped d!!

Cheers guys!

Roy