I want a "REAL" B.C. Rich Custom Shop Guitar

[DocNrock]

Given what you have said in this thread, I think you did the right thing.  It might not say "B.C. Rich" on the headstock, nor is it a B.C. Rich design, but you know that it has "soul" of the heyday B.C. Rich guitars because it will be hand-built by the same guy who was responsible for them back then.

That said, I have a newer Made in Korea B.C. Rich Mockingbird ST.  I couldn't believe the quality of the components that were on it for $599 at Guitar Center.  It has Grover Super Rotomatic tuners, a real Original Floyd Rose, neck through construction, a real ebony fretboard, a gorgeous quilt maple veneer, and the signature multitude of controls.  After a proper setup, the action and playability were superb.  The only thing substandard on the guitar were the "Duncan Designed" pickups.  But then again, who keeps the original pickups?  :icon_biggrin:  I think this goes along with what Mayfly said about the quality of guitars currently. 

But my guitar will not hold a candle to the Moser you are getting.  Mine was CNC'd in Korea.  Yours will be hand-made by the guy who made the original B.C. Richs, only in an era when overall quality is much better!  Congrats!   

 

[Torment Leaves Scars]

Given what you have said in this thread, I think you did the right thing.  It might not say "B.C. Rich" on the headstock, nor is it a B.C. Rich design, but you know that it has "soul" of the heyday B.C. Rich guitars because it will be hand-built by the same guy who was responsible for them back then.

That said, I have a newer Made in Korea B.C. Rich Mockingbird ST.  I couldn't believe the quality of the components that were on it for $599 at Guitar Center.  It has Grover Super Rotomatic tuners, a real Original Floyd Rose, neck through construction, a real ebony fretboard, a gorgeous quilt maple veneer, and the signature multitude of controls.  After a proper setup, the action and playability were superb.  The only thing substandard on the guitar were the "Duncan Designed" pickups.  But then again, who keeps the original pickups?  :icon_biggrin:  I think this goes along with what Mayfly said about the quality of guitars currently. 

But my guitar will not hold a candle to the Moser you are getting.  Mine was CNC'd in Korea.  Yours will be hand-made by the guy who made the original B.C. Richs, only in an era when overall quality is much better!  Congrats! 

Well, here's a story for ya about B.C. Rich.  Since I was 15, I wanted a custom Warlock.  That dream ended about 5 years ago after I priced one out to about $6,000+.  Ironically enough, this Moser will probably cost me nearly as much.  :doh:

Approximately four years ago, I hit a store in Gettysburg, PA, which is about an hour (at least) drive from me.  I was bored one day, and just decided to take a trip to Gettysburg and brush up on some American history, and just enjoy the weather.  While I was there, I did a search on some music stores in the area.

So, I get to this music store (I can't remember what it was called) and it was like 7th Heaven.  This place had every make/model of guitar, amp, and everything else you could think of.  They had American-made Deans and Jacksons, which I'd never seen, along with a wonderful selection of everything else! 

...And there it hung.  I couldn't believe it when I saw it.  It was a black B.C. Rich Custom Shop guitar, but had a "burst" of brown, which I didn't like, but whatever, it was a B.C. RICH CUSTOM SHOP WARLOCK!  I saw it, and I nearly fell over.  I was in shock, I'd finally come eye to eye with the car I'd dreamed of...or so I thought.  I immediately picked up the $5,600 "masterpiece" and sat down with it.  I was so excited, I almost drooled all over the thing.  Here's what followed:

- I plugged in and turned up the volume.  The knob fell off in my hand.  Under the knob, the pot was poking through an oval routing in the body, which of course, made the entire pot very wobbly and unstable.  I just pushed the knob back on and figured I'd overlook it.

- I turned up the tone and now this knob fell off in my hand.  Under the knob, the pot was poking through an oval routing in the body, just like the "volume" pot.  It was also very wobbly and unstable.

- I hadn't even started playing yet and already had two knobs fall off, exposing very sloppy routing and craftsmanship.  Now, it was time to play.  I slid my fingers down the fretboard and the fret-ends were so sharp, I nearly ripped my finger wide open.  Instead, I only left a few layers of skin at the store. 

- Upon further inspection, not only were the frets sharp, but I also came across a share of "dead" frets or "pinging" areas.  The frets were not shiny at all, and looked like someone cut up wire hanger, then beat them into a piece of wood with a hammer.

- By this time, I just had to hear this thing.  The sound was atrocious.  I mean, there is no other way to explain it.  The sound of this thing was enough to cause anyone's ears to bleed.  The feedback was insane, the sound was staticky, and it was just horrible.

To put it lightly, this was no doubt THE WORST guitar I'd EVER played, and remains such to this day.  Ever since that day, I'd never touched another B.C. Rich, other than to "entertain" myself with how poor the quality is, or just to "see" if the quality was as poor.  Picking up a B.C. Rich had pretty much become something of an "amusement" for me; "I wonder how crappy this one is!"

I can honestly say that while B.C. Rich's cheapest offerings have somewhat sharp frets and and what-not, I'm yet to come across even $200 model that is as bad as this Custom Shop model was.

Since that bad experience, I've run into a few of the Korean models you speak of, mainly an Eagle and Mockingbird.  They both played very nicely and the quality seemed to be fairly good.  They were each priced at around $599-$699.  For the money, I thought they were good guitars.  The Mockingbird ST is probably the one it was.  It was a very sharp looking instrument, and I would have been happy to take it home with me.  ccasion14:

Anyway, after running into this awful Warlock, I decided to pull the trigger on my Warmoth parts.  The W is just the opposite of what that Rich was.  My W is a wonderful player, and I haven't the slightest regrets about my purchase.  Despite having a few other very nice guitars in my stable, my W is the one I ALWAYS reach for.  arty07:

 

[Orpheo]

Given what you have said in this thread, I think you did the right thing.  It might not say "B.C. Rich" on the headstock, nor is it a B.C. Rich design, but you know that it has "soul" of the heyday B.C. Rich guitars because it will be hand-built by the same guy who was responsible for them back then.

That said, I have a newer Made in Korea B.C. Rich Mockingbird ST.  I couldn't believe the quality of the components that were on it for $599 at Guitar Center.  It has Grover Super Rotomatic tuners, a real Original Floyd Rose, neck through construction, a real ebony fretboard, a gorgeous quilt maple veneer, and the signature multitude of controls.  After a proper setup, the action and playability were superb.  The only thing substandard on the guitar were the "Duncan Designed" pickups.  But then again, who keeps the original pickups?  :icon_biggrin:  I think this goes along with what Mayfly said about the quality of guitars currently. 

But my guitar will not hold a candle to the Moser you are getting.  Mine was CNC'd in Korea.  Yours will be hand-made by the guy who made the original B.C. Richs, only in an era when overall quality is much better!  Congrats! 

Well, here's a story for ya about B.C. Rich.  Since I was 15, I wanted a custom Warlock.  That dream ended about 5 years ago after I priced one out to about $6,000+.  Ironically enough, this Moser will probably cost me nearly as much.  :doh:

Approximately four years ago, I hit a store in Gettysburg, PA, which is about an hour (at least) drive from me.  I was bored one day, and just decided to take a trip to Gettysburg and brush up on some American history, and just enjoy the weather.  While I was there, I did a search on some music stores in the area.

So, I get to this music store (I can't remember what it was called) and it was like 7th Heaven.  This place had every make/model of guitar, amp, and everything else you could think of.  They had American-made Deans and Jacksons, which I'd never seen, along with a wonderful selection of everything else! 

...And there it hung.  I couldn't believe it when I saw it.  It was a black B.C. Rich Custom Shop guitar, but had a "burst" of brown, which I didn't like, but whatever, it was a B.C. RICH CUSTOM SHOP WARLOCK!  I saw it, and I nearly fell over.  I was in shock, I'd finally come eye to eye with the car I'd dreamed of...or so I thought.  I immediately picked up the $5,600 "masterpiece" and sat down with it.  I was so excited, I almost drooled all over the thing.  Here's what followed:

- I plugged in and turned up the volume.  The knob fell off in my hand.  Under the knob, the pot was poking through an oval routing in the body, which of course, made the entire pot very wobbly and unstable.  I just pushed the knob back on and figured I'd overlook it.

- I turned up the tone and now this knob fell off in my hand.  Under the knob, the pot was poking through an oval routing in the body, just like the "volume" pot.  It was also very wobbly and unstable.

- I hadn't even started playing yet and already had two knobs fall off, exposing very sloppy routing and craftsmanship.  Now, it was time to play.  I slid my fingers down the fretboard and the fret-ends were so sharp, I nearly ripped my finger wide open.  Instead, I only left a few layers of skin at the store. 

- Upon further inspection, not only were the frets sharp, but I also came across a share of "dead" frets or "pinging" areas.  The frets were not shiny at all, and looked like someone cut up wire hanger, then beat them into a piece of wood with a hammer.

- By this time, I just had to hear this thing.  The sound was atrocious.  I mean, there is no other way to explain it.  The sound of this thing was enough to cause anyone's ears to bleed.  The feedback was insane, the sound was staticky, and it was just horrible.

To put it lightly, this was no doubt THE WORST guitar I'd EVER played, and remains such to this day.  Ever since that day, I'd never touched another B.C. Rich, other than to "entertain" myself with how poor the quality is, or just to "see" if the quality was as poor.  Picking up a B.C. Rich had pretty much become something of an "amusement" for me; "I wonder how crappy this one is!"

I can honestly say that while B.C. Rich's cheapest offerings have somewhat sharp frets and and what-not, I'm yet to come across even $200 model that is as bad as this Custom Shop model was.

Since that bad experience, I've run into a few of the Korean models you speak of, mainly an Eagle and Mockingbird.  They both played very nicely and the quality seemed to be fairly good.  They were each priced at around $599-$699.  For the money, I thought they were good guitars.  The Mockingbird ST is probably the one it was.  It was a very sharp looking instrument, and I would have been happy to take it home with me.  ccasion14:

Anyway, after running into this awful Warlock, I decided to pull the trigger on my Warmoth parts.  The W is just the opposite of what that Rich was.  My W is a wonderful player, and I haven't the slightest regrets about my purchase.  Despite having a few other very nice guitars in my stable, my W is the one I ALWAYS reach for.  arty07:

man, that's horrible. A great guitar doesn't 'have' to be super expensive...

 

[Torment Leaves Scars]

Given what you have said in this thread, I think you did the right thing.  It might not say "B.C. Rich" on the headstock, nor is it a B.C. Rich design, but you know that it has "soul" of the heyday B.C. Rich guitars because it will be hand-built by the same guy who was responsible for them back then.

That said, I have a newer Made in Korea B.C. Rich Mockingbird ST.  I couldn't believe the quality of the components that were on it for $599 at Guitar Center.  It has Grover Super Rotomatic tuners, a real Original Floyd Rose, neck through construction, a real ebony fretboard, a gorgeous quilt maple veneer, and the signature multitude of controls.  After a proper setup, the action and playability were superb.  The only thing substandard on the guitar were the "Duncan Designed" pickups.  But then again, who keeps the original pickups?  :icon_biggrin:  I think this goes along with what Mayfly said about the quality of guitars currently. 

But my guitar will not hold a candle to the Moser you are getting.  Mine was CNC'd in Korea.  Yours will be hand-made by the guy who made the original B.C. Richs, only in an era when overall quality is much better!  Congrats! 

Well, here's a story for ya about B.C. Rich.  Since I was 15, I wanted a custom Warlock.  That dream ended about 5 years ago after I priced one out to about $6,000+.  Ironically enough, this Moser will probably cost me nearly as much.  :doh:

Approximately four years ago, I hit a store in Gettysburg, PA, which is about an hour (at least) drive from me.  I was bored one day, and just decided to take a trip to Gettysburg and brush up on some American history, and just enjoy the weather.  While I was there, I did a search on some music stores in the area.

So, I get to this music store (I can't remember what it was called) and it was like 7th Heaven.  This place had every make/model of guitar, amp, and everything else you could think of.  They had American-made Deans and Jacksons, which I'd never seen, along with a wonderful selection of everything else! 

...And there it hung.  I couldn't believe it when I saw it.  It was a black B.C. Rich Custom Shop guitar, but had a "burst" of brown, which I didn't like, but whatever, it was a B.C. RICH CUSTOM SHOP WARLOCK!  I saw it, and I nearly fell over.  I was in shock, I'd finally come eye to eye with the car I'd dreamed of...or so I thought.  I immediately picked up the $5,600 "masterpiece" and sat down with it.  I was so excited, I almost drooled all over the thing.  Here's what followed:

- I plugged in and turned up the volume.  The knob fell off in my hand.  Under the knob, the pot was poking through an oval routing in the body, which of course, made the entire pot very wobbly and unstable.  I just pushed the knob back on and figured I'd overlook it.

- I turned up the tone and now this knob fell off in my hand.  Under the knob, the pot was poking through an oval routing in the body, just like the "volume" pot.  It was also very wobbly and unstable.

- I hadn't even started playing yet and already had two knobs fall off, exposing very sloppy routing and craftsmanship.  Now, it was time to play.  I slid my fingers down the fretboard and the fret-ends were so sharp, I nearly ripped my finger wide open.  Instead, I only left a few layers of skin at the store. 

- Upon further inspection, not only were the frets sharp, but I also came across a share of "dead" frets or "pinging" areas.  The frets were not shiny at all, and looked like someone cut up wire hanger, then beat them into a piece of wood with a hammer.

- By this time, I just had to hear this thing.  The sound was atrocious.  I mean, there is no other way to explain it.  The sound of this thing was enough to cause anyone's ears to bleed.  The feedback was insane, the sound was staticky, and it was just horrible.

To put it lightly, this was no doubt THE WORST guitar I'd EVER played, and remains such to this day.  Ever since that day, I'd never touched another B.C. Rich, other than to "entertain" myself with how poor the quality is, or just to "see" if the quality was as poor.  Picking up a B.C. Rich had pretty much become something of an "amusement" for me; "I wonder how crappy this one is!"

I can honestly say that while B.C. Rich's cheapest offerings have somewhat sharp frets and and what-not, I'm yet to come across even $200 model that is as bad as this Custom Shop model was.

Since that bad experience, I've run into a few of the Korean models you speak of, mainly an Eagle and Mockingbird.  They both played very nicely and the quality seemed to be fairly good.  They were each priced at around $599-$699.  For the money, I thought they were good guitars.  The Mockingbird ST is probably the one it was.  It was a very sharp looking instrument, and I would have been happy to take it home with me.  ccasion14:

Anyway, after running into this awful Warlock, I decided to pull the trigger on my Warmoth parts.  The W is just the opposite of what that Rich was.  My W is a wonderful player, and I haven't the slightest regrets about my purchase.  Despite having a few other very nice guitars in my stable, my W is the one I ALWAYS reach for.  arty07:

man, that's horrible. A great guitar doesn't 'have' to be super expensive...

You're absolutely right, Orpheo.  I've played many cheaper guitars which were excellent instruments.  One of the biggest surprises I'd ever played was an Aria Pro II "Les Paul" shaped guitar a few years back.  That guitar played better than any Gibson Les Paul I'd ever played, and retailed for $600.  Had I $600 at the time, I would have left with it.

Gibson doesn't build the best Les Paul...just sayin'...

 

[Orpheo]

Given what you have said in this thread, I think you did the right thing.  It might not say "B.C. Rich" on the headstock, nor is it a B.C. Rich design, but you know that it has "soul" of the heyday B.C. Rich guitars because it will be hand-built by the same guy who was responsible for them back then.

That said, I have a newer Made in Korea B.C. Rich Mockingbird ST.  I couldn't believe the quality of the components that were on it for $599 at Guitar Center.  It has Grover Super Rotomatic tuners, a real Original Floyd Rose, neck through construction, a real ebony fretboard, a gorgeous quilt maple veneer, and the signature multitude of controls.  After a proper setup, the action and playability were superb.  The only thing substandard on the guitar were the "Duncan Designed" pickups.  But then again, who keeps the original pickups?  :icon_biggrin:  I think this goes along with what Mayfly said about the quality of guitars currently. 

But my guitar will not hold a candle to the Moser you are getting.  Mine was CNC'd in Korea.  Yours will be hand-made by the guy who made the original B.C. Richs, only in an era when overall quality is much better!  Congrats! 

Well, here's a story for ya about B.C. Rich.  Since I was 15, I wanted a custom Warlock.  That dream ended about 5 years ago after I priced one out to about $6,000+.  Ironically enough, this Moser will probably cost me nearly as much.  :doh:

Approximately four years ago, I hit a store in Gettysburg, PA, which is about an hour (at least) drive from me.  I was bored one day, and just decided to take a trip to Gettysburg and brush up on some American history, and just enjoy the weather.  While I was there, I did a search on some music stores in the area.

So, I get to this music store (I can't remember what it was called) and it was like 7th Heaven.  This place had every make/model of guitar, amp, and everything else you could think of.  They had American-made Deans and Jacksons, which I'd never seen, along with a wonderful selection of everything else! 

...And there it hung.  I couldn't believe it when I saw it.  It was a black B.C. Rich Custom Shop guitar, but had a "burst" of brown, which I didn't like, but whatever, it was a B.C. RICH CUSTOM SHOP WARLOCK!  I saw it, and I nearly fell over.  I was in shock, I'd finally come eye to eye with the car I'd dreamed of...or so I thought.  I immediately picked up the $5,600 "masterpiece" and sat down with it.  I was so excited, I almost drooled all over the thing.  Here's what followed:

- I plugged in and turned up the volume.  The knob fell off in my hand.  Under the knob, the pot was poking through an oval routing in the body, which of course, made the entire pot very wobbly and unstable.  I just pushed the knob back on and figured I'd overlook it.

- I turned up the tone and now this knob fell off in my hand.  Under the knob, the pot was poking through an oval routing in the body, just like the "volume" pot.  It was also very wobbly and unstable.

- I hadn't even started playing yet and already had two knobs fall off, exposing very sloppy routing and craftsmanship.  Now, it was time to play.  I slid my fingers down the fretboard and the fret-ends were so sharp, I nearly ripped my finger wide open.  Instead, I only left a few layers of skin at the store. 

- Upon further inspection, not only were the frets sharp, but I also came across a share of "dead" frets or "pinging" areas.  The frets were not shiny at all, and looked like someone cut up wire hanger, then beat them into a piece of wood with a hammer.

- By this time, I just had to hear this thing.  The sound was atrocious.  I mean, there is no other way to explain it.  The sound of this thing was enough to cause anyone's ears to bleed.  The feedback was insane, the sound was staticky, and it was just horrible.

To put it lightly, this was no doubt THE WORST guitar I'd EVER played, and remains such to this day.  Ever since that day, I'd never touched another B.C. Rich, other than to "entertain" myself with how poor the quality is, or just to "see" if the quality was as poor.  Picking up a B.C. Rich had pretty much become something of an "amusement" for me; "I wonder how crappy this one is!"

I can honestly say that while B.C. Rich's cheapest offerings have somewhat sharp frets and and what-not, I'm yet to come across even $200 model that is as bad as this Custom Shop model was.

Since that bad experience, I've run into a few of the Korean models you speak of, mainly an Eagle and Mockingbird.  They both played very nicely and the quality seemed to be fairly good.  They were each priced at around $599-$699.  For the money, I thought they were good guitars.  The Mockingbird ST is probably the one it was.  It was a very sharp looking instrument, and I would have been happy to take it home with me.  ccasion14:

Anyway, after running into this awful Warlock, I decided to pull the trigger on my Warmoth parts.  The W is just the opposite of what that Rich was.  My W is a wonderful player, and I haven't the slightest regrets about my purchase.  Despite having a few other very nice guitars in my stable, my W is the one I ALWAYS reach for.  arty07:

man, that's horrible. A great guitar doesn't 'have' to be super expensive...

You're absolutely right, Orpheo.  I've played many cheaper guitars which were excellent instruments.  One of the biggest surprises I'd ever played was an Aria Pro II "Les Paul" shaped guitar a few years back.  That guitar played better than any Gibson Les Paul I'd ever played, and retailed for $600.  Had I $600 at the time, I would have left with it.

Gibson doesn't build the (best) Les Paul...just sayin'...

No. but I do

 

[Torment Leaves Scars]

Given what you have said in this thread, I think you did the right thing.  It might not say "B.C. Rich" on the headstock, nor is it a B.C. Rich design, but you know that it has "soul" of the heyday B.C. Rich guitars because it will be hand-built by the same guy who was responsible for them back then.

That said, I have a newer Made in Korea B.C. Rich Mockingbird ST.  I couldn't believe the quality of the components that were on it for $599 at Guitar Center.  It has Grover Super Rotomatic tuners, a real Original Floyd Rose, neck through construction, a real ebony fretboard, a gorgeous quilt maple veneer, and the signature multitude of controls.  After a proper setup, the action and playability were superb.  The only thing substandard on the guitar were the "Duncan Designed" pickups.  But then again, who keeps the original pickups?  :icon_biggrin:  I think this goes along with what Mayfly said about the quality of guitars currently. 

But my guitar will not hold a candle to the Moser you are getting.  Mine was CNC'd in Korea.  Yours will be hand-made by the guy who made the original B.C. Richs, only in an era when overall quality is much better!  Congrats! 

Well, here's a story for ya about B.C. Rich.  Since I was 15, I wanted a custom Warlock.  That dream ended about 5 years ago after I priced one out to about $6,000+.  Ironically enough, this Moser will probably cost me nearly as much.  :doh:

Approximately four years ago, I hit a store in Gettysburg, PA, which is about an hour (at least) drive from me.  I was bored one day, and just decided to take a trip to Gettysburg and brush up on some American history, and just enjoy the weather.  While I was there, I did a search on some music stores in the area.

So, I get to this music store (I can't remember what it was called) and it was like 7th Heaven.  This place had every make/model of guitar, amp, and everything else you could think of.  They had American-made Deans and Jacksons, which I'd never seen, along with a wonderful selection of everything else! 

...And there it hung.  I couldn't believe it when I saw it.  It was a black B.C. Rich Custom Shop guitar, but had a "burst" of brown, which I didn't like, but whatever, it was a B.C. RICH CUSTOM SHOP WARLOCK!  I saw it, and I nearly fell over.  I was in shock, I'd finally come eye to eye with the car I'd dreamed of...or so I thought.  I immediately picked up the $5,600 "masterpiece" and sat down with it.  I was so excited, I almost drooled all over the thing.  Here's what followed:

- I plugged in and turned up the volume.  The knob fell off in my hand.  Under the knob, the pot was poking through an oval routing in the body, which of course, made the entire pot very wobbly and unstable.  I just pushed the knob back on and figured I'd overlook it.

- I turned up the tone and now this knob fell off in my hand.  Under the knob, the pot was poking through an oval routing in the body, just like the "volume" pot.  It was also very wobbly and unstable.

- I hadn't even started playing yet and already had two knobs fall off, exposing very sloppy routing and craftsmanship.  Now, it was time to play.  I slid my fingers down the fretboard and the fret-ends were so sharp, I nearly ripped my finger wide open.  Instead, I only left a few layers of skin at the store. 

- Upon further inspection, not only were the frets sharp, but I also came across a share of "dead" frets or "pinging" areas.  The frets were not shiny at all, and looked like someone cut up wire hanger, then beat them into a piece of wood with a hammer.

- By this time, I just had to hear this thing.  The sound was atrocious.  I mean, there is no other way to explain it.  The sound of this thing was enough to cause anyone's ears to bleed.  The feedback was insane, the sound was staticky, and it was just horrible.

To put it lightly, this was no doubt THE WORST guitar I'd EVER played, and remains such to this day.  Ever since that day, I'd never touched another B.C. Rich, other than to "entertain" myself with how poor the quality is, or just to "see" if the quality was as poor.  Picking up a B.C. Rich had pretty much become something of an "amusement" for me; "I wonder how crappy this one is!"

I can honestly say that while B.C. Rich's cheapest offerings have somewhat sharp frets and and what-not, I'm yet to come across even $200 model that is as bad as this Custom Shop model was.

Since that bad experience, I've run into a few of the Korean models you speak of, mainly an Eagle and Mockingbird.  They both played very nicely and the quality seemed to be fairly good.  They were each priced at around $599-$699.  For the money, I thought they were good guitars.  The Mockingbird ST is probably the one it was.  It was a very sharp looking instrument, and I would have been happy to take it home with me.  ccasion14:

Anyway, after running into this awful Warlock, I decided to pull the trigger on my Warmoth parts.  The W is just the opposite of what that Rich was.  My W is a wonderful player, and I haven't the slightest regrets about my purchase.  Despite having a few other very nice guitars in my stable, my W is the one I ALWAYS reach for.  arty07:

man, that's horrible. A great guitar doesn't 'have' to be super expensive...

You're absolutely right, Orpheo.  I've played many cheaper guitars which were excellent instruments.  One of the biggest surprises I'd ever played was an Aria Pro II "Les Paul" shaped guitar a few years back.  That guitar played better than any Gibson Les Paul I'd ever played, and retailed for $600.  Had I $600 at the time, I would have left with it.

Gibson doesn't build the (best) Les Paul...just sayin'...

No. but I do

You sure about that?

I was just on B.C. Rich's website and was checking out the new Warlock N.J. Series.  Unfortunately, I couldn't find a price, so I hit Musician's Friend.  Dig this...

- Neck Through
- Mahagony Body
- Ebony Fingerboard
- Floyd Rose 1000 (?)

$500.  I'm seriously considering taking a chance on this thing.  Those are some pretty nice features for a $500 guitar.

 

[Orpheo]

Given what you have said in this thread, I think you did the right thing.  It might not say "B.C. Rich" on the headstock, nor is it a B.C. Rich design, but you know that it has "soul" of the heyday B.C. Rich guitars because it will be hand-built by the same guy who was responsible for them back then.

That said, I have a newer Made in Korea B.C. Rich Mockingbird ST.  I couldn't believe the quality of the components that were on it for $599 at Guitar Center.  It has Grover Super Rotomatic tuners, a real Original Floyd Rose, neck through construction, a real ebony fretboard, a gorgeous quilt maple veneer, and the signature multitude of controls.  After a proper setup, the action and playability were superb.  The only thing substandard on the guitar were the "Duncan Designed" pickups.  But then again, who keeps the original pickups?  :icon_biggrin:  I think this goes along with what Mayfly said about the quality of guitars currently. 

But my guitar will not hold a candle to the Moser you are getting.  Mine was CNC'd in Korea.  Yours will be hand-made by the guy who made the original B.C. Richs, only in an era when overall quality is much better!  Congrats! 

Well, here's a story for ya about B.C. Rich.  Since I was 15, I wanted a custom Warlock.  That dream ended about 5 years ago after I priced one out to about $6,000+.  Ironically enough, this Moser will probably cost me nearly as much.  :doh:

Approximately four years ago, I hit a store in Gettysburg, PA, which is about an hour (at least) drive from me.  I was bored one day, and just decided to take a trip to Gettysburg and brush up on some American history, and just enjoy the weather.  While I was there, I did a search on some music stores in the area.

So, I get to this music store (I can't remember what it was called) and it was like 7th Heaven.  This place had every make/model of guitar, amp, and everything else you could think of.  They had American-made Deans and Jacksons, which I'd never seen, along with a wonderful selection of everything else! 

...And there it hung.  I couldn't believe it when I saw it.  It was a black B.C. Rich Custom Shop guitar, but had a "burst" of brown, which I didn't like, but whatever, it was a B.C. RICH CUSTOM SHOP WARLOCK!  I saw it, and I nearly fell over.  I was in shock, I'd finally come eye to eye with the car I'd dreamed of...or so I thought.  I immediately picked up the $5,600 "masterpiece" and sat down with it.  I was so excited, I almost drooled all over the thing.  Here's what followed:

- I plugged in and turned up the volume.  The knob fell off in my hand.  Under the knob, the pot was poking through an oval routing in the body, which of course, made the entire pot very wobbly and unstable.  I just pushed the knob back on and figured I'd overlook it.

- I turned up the tone and now this knob fell off in my hand.  Under the knob, the pot was poking through an oval routing in the body, just like the "volume" pot.  It was also very wobbly and unstable.

- I hadn't even started playing yet and already had two knobs fall off, exposing very sloppy routing and craftsmanship.  Now, it was time to play.  I slid my fingers down the fretboard and the fret-ends were so sharp, I nearly ripped my finger wide open.  Instead, I only left a few layers of skin at the store. 

- Upon further inspection, not only were the frets sharp, but I also came across a share of "dead" frets or "pinging" areas.  The frets were not shiny at all, and looked like someone cut up wire hanger, then beat them into a piece of wood with a hammer.

- By this time, I just had to hear this thing.  The sound was atrocious.  I mean, there is no other way to explain it.  The sound of this thing was enough to cause anyone's ears to bleed.  The feedback was insane, the sound was staticky, and it was just horrible.

To put it lightly, this was no doubt THE WORST guitar I'd EVER played, and remains such to this day.  Ever since that day, I'd never touched another B.C. Rich, other than to "entertain" myself with how poor the quality is, or just to "see" if the quality was as poor.  Picking up a B.C. Rich had pretty much become something of an "amusement" for me; "I wonder how crappy this one is!"

I can honestly say that while B.C. Rich's cheapest offerings have somewhat sharp frets and and what-not, I'm yet to come across even $200 model that is as bad as this Custom Shop model was.

Since that bad experience, I've run into a few of the Korean models you speak of, mainly an Eagle and Mockingbird.  They both played very nicely and the quality seemed to be fairly good.  They were each priced at around $599-$699.  For the money, I thought they were good guitars.  The Mockingbird ST is probably the one it was.  It was a very sharp looking instrument, and I would have been happy to take it home with me.  ccasion14:

Anyway, after running into this awful Warlock, I decided to pull the trigger on my Warmoth parts.  The W is just the opposite of what that Rich was.  My W is a wonderful player, and I haven't the slightest regrets about my purchase.  Despite having a few other very nice guitars in my stable, my W is the one I ALWAYS reach for.  arty07:

man, that's horrible. A great guitar doesn't 'have' to be super expensive...

You're absolutely right, Orpheo.  I've played many cheaper guitars which were excellent instruments.  One of the biggest surprises I'd ever played was an Aria Pro II "Les Paul" shaped guitar a few years back.  That guitar played better than any Gibson Les Paul I'd ever played, and retailed for $600.  Had I $600 at the time, I would have left with it.

Gibson doesn't build the (best) Les Paul...just sayin'...

No. but I do

You sure about that?

I was just on B.C. Rich's website and was checking out the new Warlock N.J. Series.  Unfortunately, I couldn't find a price, so I hit Musician's Friend.  Dig this...

- Neck Through
- Mahagony Body
- Ebony Fingerboard
- Floyd Rose 1000 (?)

$500.  I'm seriously considering taking a chance on this thing.  Those are some pretty nice features for a $500 guitar.

I put 'best' between parentheses, because IMHO Gibson doesn't make a 'les paul' at all. And I believe that my les pauls are much, much better than Gibsons. You know, I have so many customshop guitars and I only play my own. I mean, they have to be better than anything I can find on the market. Otherwise, there's no use putting it out there. The playability and tone are absolutely superb. I just have to learn how to do that darned clearcoat binding, because the color and the clearcoat themselves are as I want them to be. So yeah. I'm sure about my guitars

those asian made bc riches are sweet. I've seen them before, they're really good. 500$ is a bargain, man. really. swap the pups and electrics for better stuff and you're good to go.

 

[stubhead]

N.J. means Nagoya, Japan. But at least some of the "NJ Series" is now made in Indonesia. Only the accountant remains unconfused....

 

[DocNrock]

Dude, that sucks about the Custom Shop Warlock!  Oh well.  And I can understand why you always reach for your Warmoth.  I pretty much reach for one of mine most of the time. 

For $500, I'd snag that guitar.  I would bet it is very similar, build-wise, to the Mockingbird ST that I have.  Like Orpheo said, swap out the pickups and possibly the electronics, give it a proper set-up, and I would bet it would be a great guitar.

 

[Torment Leaves Scars]

I put 'best' between parentheses, because IMHO Gibson doesn't make a 'les paul' at all. And I believe that my les pauls are much, much better than Gibsons. You know, I have so many customshop guitars and I only play my own. I mean, they have to be better than anything I can find on the market. Otherwise, there's no use putting it out there. The playability and tone are absolutely superb. I just have to learn how to do that darned clearcoat binding, because the color and the clearcoat themselves are as I want them to be. So yeah. I'm sure about my guitars

those asian made bc riches are sweet. I've seen them before, they're really good. 500$ is a bargain, man. really. swap the pups and electrics for better stuff and you're good to go.

Yes, the Asian ones I've played have been pretty decent...well, the ones hovering in the $500+ range.  The dirt-cheap ones have not impressed...AT ALL.  Then again, no dirt-cheap guitar has ever impressed me.  :redflag:

N.J. means Nagoya, Japan. But at least some of the "NJ Series" is now made in Indonesia. Only the accountant remains unconfused....

Yes.  A lot of people think the "NJ" stands for "New Jersey."  :icon_scratch:  I'd be interested in knowing whether the NJ Series are still made in Japan, or if it's just another "series." 

I checked the specs on the NJ Series models and the DELUXE model was a 25.5 scale and had nicer hardware.  The STANDARD NJ model had a 24 5/8 scale, and of course, some cheaper hardware.  I wonder why they were made in different scales.  As my (lack of) luck would have it, the STANDARD one, which is the $500 one, would be the short-scale.  That's kinda a deal-breaker for me.

 

[stubhead]

No, they specifically tell you that "NJ Series" is a type of guitar, which can be and is made in Indonesia. Unlike Fender, who get very quiet around questions whether an "American Standard" Strat is, necessarily, made in America, or whether that name just means a series of features. Assume the worst, when even your "Made-in-America" stickers come from China... :icon_scratch:

 

[Torment Leaves Scars]

No, they specifically tell you that "NJ Series" is a type of guitar, which can be and is made in Indonesia. Unlike Fender, who get very quiet around questions whether an "American Standard" Strat is, necessarily, made in America, or whether that name just means a series of features. Assume the worst, when even your "Made-in-America" stickers come from China... :icon_scratch:

I'm a bit of a snob.  I refuse to buy any guitar not made in America anymore, other than an Ibanez or ESP, but they'd both have to be made in Japan.

 

[bagman67]

No, they specifically tell you that "NJ Series" is a type of guitar, which can be and is made in Indonesia. Unlike Fender, who get very quiet around questions whether an "American Standard" Strat is, necessarily, made in America, or whether that name just means a series of features. Assume the worst, when even your "Made-in-America" stickers come from China... :icon_scratch:

I'm a bit of a snob.  I refuse to buy any guitar not made in America anymore, other than an Ibanez or ESP, but they'd both have to be made in Japan.

I see where you're coming from, but by adhering to that practice, you're deliberately foreclosing a lot of very reasonably priced, high quality guitars.


Of course, you can still find a lot of really nice guitars when you restrict your choices the way you have; but it's not necessarily rational (in the economic sense) to do it that way. 

 

[Torment Leaves Scars]

No, they specifically tell you that "NJ Series" is a type of guitar, which can be and is made in Indonesia. Unlike Fender, who get very quiet around questions whether an "American Standard" Strat is, necessarily, made in America, or whether that name just means a series of features. Assume the worst, when even your "Made-in-America" stickers come from China... :icon_scratch:

I'm a bit of a snob.  I refuse to buy any guitar not made in America anymore, other than an Ibanez or ESP, but they'd both have to be made in Japan.

I see where you're coming from, but by adhering to that practice, you're deliberately foreclosing a lot of very reasonably priced, high quality guitars.


Of course, you can still find a lot of really nice guitars when you restrict your choices the way you have; but it's not necessarily rational (in the economic sense) to do it that way.

I wasn't always such a guitar/gear snob about American-made stuff.  Unfortunately, every foreign-made piece of gear I've had (save for my Boss pedals...) have had problems of one type or another.  Most of the foreign-made guitars I've owned have had electronics which have failed within sooner than two years of ownership; pickups, 3-way switches, buzzy/sharp frets, and just overall poor quality. 

I don't particularly have a lot of gear; only a few pedals and a mixer.  My Behringer mixer is just crap (my wife didn't know, she just knew I wanted a mixer...) and doesn't work half the time, I had two TC Electronics "Hall of Fame" reverbs that literally broke within two minutes of using them.  Yes, the "original" and "replacement" didn't last five minutes combined.  :tard:  I had a Randall RT-100 head that had a dirty channel that didn't work when I got it.  The replacement literally "fizzed out" on my two weeks after I got it.  :help:

I have four American-made guitars.  My oldest is a 1994 Fender Telecaster Plus.  I bought that guitar new.  It has NEVER given me ANY problem whatsoever.  My other American-made guitars are a 2003 Jackson USA KV2, my Warmoth, and a 2011 Taylor 414ce.  All of these guitars have held up WONDERFULLY.

After my Randall RT-100s broke, they (Musicians Friend) asked me if I wanted another replacement.  HELL, NO, I didn't want a replacement!  :doh:  I just paid an additional $200 and got my Peavey 3120 head, which had never given me ANY trouble until an idiot friend of mine plugged it into a mixer without a cabinet, causing the phase inverter to blow.  It's not a big deal, as the tubes were nearly TWO YEARS OLD; they were the original tubes that came in the head.

After such experiences, I'm very apprehensive about spending my money on ANY foreign guitar or gear, other than Boss products (Made in Taiwan).  This NJ Series Warlock sounds very tasty, especially given its mahogany body and ebony fretboard, but I can't help but thing there are certainly areas where the cost-cutting is abundant, and I just have nightmares about everything else about that guitar being less than decent quality.

 

[stubhead]

It seems kind-of hit or miss, but you can find out a good bit about origins, and what sort of price point the designer was working from, maybe "cost-point" is a better word. I mean everybody knows about the Matsomoku guitars, but- you can't be certain that every Westone and Aria Pro II is a hidden gem, because not every one was made in that factory, and their were certainly different specs and cost level for the guitars made there.

Fender seems to regularly get "caught" making guitars offshore that turn out to be too good, and start biting into their "USA" models. They also often experiment with Squires and/or Japan-only sales for things like the hollowbody Jazzmasters, Jags with "normal" six-screw tremolos etc. I would guess that what happens to them is that they throw open bidding for, say a "Squier Classic Vibe" series, and the winning factory/corporation - which may have been making toasters and glow-in-the-dark Jesus statues last week - that factory's owners say "Wooie! Fender! Lets make them a bit better than what they want!" The idea being they'll get more Fender business. Instead, the first bunch of customers go crazy, sales go crazy, "real" Fenders' sales tank, and Fender has to go to the factory and say "NOT-so-nice, OK?"

http://www.amazon.com/Factory-Towns-South-China-Illustrated/dp/9888083694

It's a kinda wild, unprecedented situation, and like most new things some people are getting rich and some people are getting shafted. I mean, everybody knows there is no real "Michael Kelly", right? And the "Patriot" isn't....  I don't think anybody yet has gotten too busy tracking which factories did what... Like, I have had three different guitars all made in Korea in 1999, all of them have the serial number in a no-serif type, gold letters on a little clear sticker. One was a DeArmond, one was a Schecter, one was a Ibanez. And ALL of them had really good wood, one or two questionable pieces of hardware (tuners, pots), all of them needed a bit of clean-up duty on fret ends, or binding or what-not. And all of them were under $250 used, and with a few fixes were GREAT guitars. That factory obviously had sourced some decent wood, and were able to follow directions well, and I have no idea how to find out who they were or what else they made.

I do know that "DeArmond" was Guild's own Asian offshoot, and when Fender bought Guild, they ended up using up the leftover "M75" wood bodies and necks in a small series of SQUIERS - which would likely be punching way above their weight class. A few of the DeArmonds, like their Starfire and X155 knockoffs, are selling for up to two or three times their original retail. Fender didn't want anything to do with guitars named "DeArmond" so they sold the whole pile to Sam Ash Music, who ran them out at $250- $300.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dearmond-X155-Hollowbody-Electric-Guitar-Antique-Burst-Finish-w-Case-/271321835071?pt=Guitar&hash=item3f2c0aa63f

I coulda had ten or twelve of these, $269 a pop. :sad1: I'm just not GOOD at this greed thing, dagnabbit.