Author Topic: Vintage BC Rich (Read 1824 times)

jalevinemd · « **Reply #30 on:** August 16, 2006, 11:05:18 AM »

I'll second that notion, Joey. And so my search continues. And yes, thanks Sarsicus for the very helpful info. I'm sure I'll be bending your ear should I find a Mock to buy. I actually bid on a '79 on ebay. It went for over $2100! Plain maple no less. Makes me scared of what a nicely figured Koa Mock will fetch.

Regards,

Jonathan

sarsicus · « **Reply #31 on:** August 16, 2006, 08:48:35 PM »

Yeah, the times are changing for sure regarding these instruments. I think the days of getting one cheap because the dealer thinks it's ugly and pointy are over. I do think that American handmade guitars from 74-85 are the next big thing-Alembic, BC Rich, Olivo, Moonstone, John Birch, Hyak-these are all to me the perfection of the handmade equation. To put it in perspective, I bought both my mocks for $2000 a piece. To a lesser extent the dealers didn't know what they had-the store who sold me the shorthorn didn't know the rarity of that shape variant, and the dealer who sold me the longhorn had no idea that BC Rich made only a handful of Mocks with a maple neck and koa wings. I got these less than 2 years ago and the prices have skyrocketed since then. Keep lookin-you will find one and they make great investments if they're clean and original. Wait for the right one-like I said I've bought about 10 in the past two years and kept only the best two. Good luck on the figured Koa though-very rare and very sought after. Here's another angle of my shorty-check the fiddleback koa

When you find one you like don't hesitate to contact me and I'll check it out for you. Good luck!

jalevinemd · « **Reply #32 on:** August 17, 2006, 08:39:22 AM »

You're killing me with these pictures!

sarsicus · « **Reply #33 on:** August 17, 2006, 09:19:47 AM »

I'm proud of them-and I really feel that due to the rarity they should be shared with everyone who has an interest in them. I'm sure you have already, but if you haven't you should check out Terada's site bcrich.net and look through the Vintage File section of the site. You'll get a massive crash course on the external and internal details to look for. After that stop by Neal Moser's forum at mcs.acidpit.org. He's the guy who invented the original BC Rich gonzo electronics and the Bich. There are a good amount of BC Rich nuts over there that can offer a wealth of information. I'm gonna try to go to the Chicago show and bring these with me. I'll see you there, let you check these out. When is it this year?

valvil · « **Reply #34 on:** August 17, 2006, 01:22:38 PM »

I've seen a few in the $1990-5500 range. Late 70s early 80s models. I used to have a Koa Mockingbird bass about 14 years ago. Nice player, though I was not fond of the electronics.

Valentino

bigredbass · « **Reply #35 on:** August 17, 2006, 06:56:46 PM »

OK, so this afternoon I'm across the street at Sam Ash/Nashville and there's a clear finish, Quilt-top Mockingbird that says BC Rich NJ Series. It this a downmarket version? Two cream humbuckers but only three knobs and a pickup switch, not the BUNCH of knobs I see on sarc's or as I remember them. So what's an 'NJ Series'?

J o e y

2400wattman · « **Reply #36 on:** August 17, 2006, 06:58:19 PM »

Hey Val, why did'nt you get some Alembic electronics outfitted in it?
BTW, A Guitar Ctr. near me had a mid '80's N.J. Bich with a tag of $5,000.00!! My guitarist and I saw that and laughed our asses off. We knew there was no way that Japanese Rich's would command that kind of bread. So it sat for about a year then it was gone. I don't know if or how much it was sold for. I did find out through one of the salesmmen that a guy brought that guitar in to sell, so the manager at the time cut the guy a check for $3500.00!! He thought that the N.J. stood for New Jersey and apparently had no idea it stood for Nagasaki, Japan. He was subsequently relocated to another store for he had done many deals like this and it hurt them very, very badly. Oh boo hoo! if there is any Gtr. Ctr. employees out there I make no apologies, YOU KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING TO THE MUSICAL INSTRUMENT BUSINESS! Also, the Bich was in great shape but not worth even $500.00. Get Down!!!

richbass939 · « **Reply #37 on:** August 17, 2006, 07:48:44 PM »

A friend of mine has about six B. C. Rich basses including one that he says is the seventh bass they made. He doesn't play anymore but is hanging on to them. A couple of years ago he was in his basement and noticed water dripping on the case of #7. The latch was rusted shut. When he finally got the case open the finish was attached to the case lining and just separated from the bass. He sent it off to be refinished (still waiting). He was heartbroken but what can you do at that point?
Rich

valvil · « **Reply #38 on:** August 17, 2006, 09:15:53 PM »

That never even entered my mind at the time; I did not even know Alembic made replacement electronics. Plus the Mockingbird was not the most comfortable shape to play for me. A bit like a standard point or omega...first position was further away than I liked. Loved the shape though.

Valentino

s_wood · « **Reply #39 on:** August 18, 2006, 07:00:08 AM »

Man, I love BC Rich basses. Before I got my first Alembic my #1 bass was a 78 Eagle, and I still own it and love it.

Here is a great web site hosted by Neal Moser, who designed the body shapes for most of the original instruments. He also has an extensive stock of original parts, and gifs of the wiring diagrams.

http://www.nealmoser.com/indexnav2b.htm

sarsicus · « **Reply #40 on:** August 18, 2006, 08:27:25 AM »

Neal designed the Bich shape as well as refining the hookpoint on the original seagull shape. A man named Johnny Go-Go from Whittier Music designed the Mockingbird, Bernie Rico designed the Seagull, Eagle, and Warlock. An employee designed the Wave, and Rick Derringer created the Stealth.

gtrguy · « **Reply #41 on:** August 18, 2006, 09:04:35 AM »

I have three of them. I never understood the 'long horn' 'short horn' Mockingbird thing though. Maybe you can explain it. I also have an early 77 Eagle bass with the humbucker style pickups and have seen only a couple of others with them. Do you know more about that too?

sarsicus · « **Reply #42 on:** August 18, 2006, 11:51:26 AM »

You can see the difference between long and short horn in the pictures above. The story goes that once the original longhorn mockingbird was built Bernie strapped it on and it was unbalanced (neck heavy) They went to revise the shape and came up with the shorthorn which is slightly more balanced. The shorthorns were rare-introduced around 1977, they were only available as custom orders after 1981.

If your eagle bass is a 1977 it might have the HI-A pickups. I have seen a few that were factory made with a Bill Lawrence L-500 in the bridge. Got any pics of that Eagle?

gtrguy · « **Reply #43 on:** August 18, 2006, 12:08:02 PM »

Here it is. S/N under 60.

dannobasso · « **Reply #44 on:** August 18, 2006, 03:06:33 PM »

It's not Koa but I like it. Bought it new ser #84817