My 2nd Warmoth Build!!!

[Mr Real Nice]

Chris, do you happen to have pics of the back of your mahogany neck?

 

[Chris_Lohmann]

Ted,

Is that yours? That's a beauty! Nevertheless, to my eye, that 3x3 headstock looks out of place when used with the Mockingbird body style. I think it would look great on a Gretsch or some other type of more "conventional" electric guitar body style, but not on a Mockingbird. B.C. Rich has earned a reputation for their radical shapes, but I think that 3x3 headstock is anything but radical and runs contrary to what I've come to expect from B.C. Rich.

Chris, do you happen to have pics of the back of your mahogany neck?

I'll try to post some pics of the back shortly. Perhaps tomorrow or over the weekend.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

Although the B.C. Richs have had the unconventional bodies, the 3+3 headstock and the body construction, with the maple and walnut, shows a little bit of craftsmanship to it.  In other words, there's something to the guitars and not just a gimick with the body shape.  The Gibson Explorer and Flying V have what it is considered a modern shape, but they are nearly 50 years old.  The Strat when it was introduced was considered modern, futuristic, and flashy.  Those B.C. Richs have been around for 30+ years now.  They are now becoming classic.

Now to the pointed headstock.  I remember those in the early 90s, I had a friend with one.  They have a bolt-on neck and were solid colors because the wood was nothing particularly fancy.  The 3+3 is a nicer build with a neck-thru design with multi-piece body.  See where I'm going with this?

 

[Ted]

Ted,

Is that yours? That's a beauty! Nevertheless, to my eye, that 3x3 headstock looks out of place when used with the Mockingbird body style. I think it would look great on a Gretsch or some other type of more "conventional" electric guitar body style, but not on a Mockingbird. B.C. Rich has earned a reputation for their radical shapes, but I think that 3x3 headstock is anything but radical and runs contrary to what I've come to expect from B.C. Rich.

Chris, do you happen to have pics of the back of your mahogany neck?

I'll try to post some pics of the back shortly. Perhaps tomorrow or over the weekend.

I wish it was mine. I like the 3x3 headstock, but the headstock on your build is very nice too.

I really don't like the more modern BC Rich guitars, very gimmicky. The headstocks are horrible.

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

Smoking cool bird you got there, love it. I agree with Doc needs a Floyd, and maybe a rev Jackson-style headstock.. Or even the Kenneth Lawrence headstock.

Thanks. I'm glad you like it. As I said in the first post of this thread, I tend to be more of a rhythm guitarist and don't really play solos very often, so I knew that I didn't want a tremolo of any kind (that includes the Floyd Rose). Two of my other guitars have recessed Original Floyd Rose tremolos so I'm familiar with how they operate and I find that keeping them set up in top form is a huge pain. For someone like me who doesn't really have much of a need for a tremolo, they're really not worth the hassle. Hardtail bridges, on the other hand, are much more rugged and low-maintenance and suit my needs much better than a tremolo. I'm confident that I made the right choice when I chose the bridge for this guitar.

Of all of the different headstock shapes that Warmoth offers, I think the Kenneth Lawrence/Hetfield headstock is, by far, the best match for the Mockingbird body. As I said earlier, I intended for my next Mockingbird to have the Kenneth Lawrence/Hetfield headstock, but it looks like I'll never get the chance now. The reason why I chose not to get the Kenneth Lawrence/Hetfield headstock on this Mockingbird was because I knew I wanted a flame maple headstock veneer dyed black to match the top of the body. Warmoth can put a veneer on the Kenneth Lawrence/Hetfield headstock, but only on part of it. In other words, the veneer wouldn't cover the whole face of the headstock(see image below).

The image above is from Warmoth's showcase and depicts a mahogany/indian rosewood Kenneth Lawrence/Hetfield neck with a lacewood peghead veneer. Do you see how the lacewood peghead veneer doesn't cover the whole face of the headstock? I knew that I wanted the whole face of my Mockingbird's headstock to be covered by a flame maple veneer. In that case, I felt that the Jackson-style headstock was the best choice for this particular build. I'm afraid that I'm going to have to disagree with you in that I don't think a reversed Jackson-style headstock would've matched well at all.

Chris, according to the guys at Eurotubes, the hot ticket for this amp is to swap out the EL34s for KT77s.

I see. So, have you ever tried that? If so, how does it sound?

I agree, KL's & Mock's are an appealling looking match.

 

[rounce55]

That is sooo sick.

 

[Visago]

Very classy build man! The Mockingbird has always been my favorite BC Rich shape out of all the rest and that guitar just kills. Killer looking top and the black dye is another fav of mine as far as colors go. I tried the 85 in the bridge on a Gothic SG I used to have and didn't like it as it was muddy but maybe I need to try it again on my Warmoth V. It has an Alder body with a Maple neck and Ebony fretboard so it is very bright but I downtune to drop C so the tuning offsets it a bit. Currently running an 81. Again....great job! 

 

[RU36]

love the new ax.  Just curious, most set up the EMGs with the 85 in the neck and 81 in the bridge...why the swap...how does it sound??

I'm glad you asked. I've tried most of the major electric guitar pickup brands available. In addition to EMG, I've tried Fender, I've tried Gibson, I've tried Seymour Duncan and I've tried DiMarzio. In my opinion, EMG's are head and shoulders above the rest. Of the EMG's, I've tried their main three active humbuckers; the 81, the 85 and the 60. I've tried Kirk Hammett's dual 81 configuration. I've tried James Hetfield's 81 at the bridge, 60 at the neck configuration and I've tried the EMG recommended installation for the 81 and 85 (i.e. 81 at the bridge, 85 at the neck). I've never understood why EMG recommends that they be installed that way. First of all, the conventional wisdom is: the pickup with the highest output gets put in the bridge position. Well, the EMG 85 actually has slightly more measurable output than the 81. So, it should be the one in the bridge position, not the 81. Additionally, the 85 has an alnico V magnet which gives the pickup a rather warm tone. In contrast, the 81 has a ceramic magnet which gives that pickup quite a bright tone. The neck pickup area of an electric guitar is a naturally warm sounding area. In contrast, the bridge pickup area of an electric guitar is a naturally bright, thin sounding area. By putting the 85 at the neck and the 81 at the bridge, you're making a warm sounding area sound even warmer and a bright, thin sounding area sound even brighter and thinner. So, I thought if I were to swap the pickups, the 85 might add some warmth and thickness to the bright, thin sounding bridge area and the 81 might add some more clarity and sensitivity to the warm, and sometimes muddy, sounding neck area. Fortunately, EMG makes changing their pickups very easy thanks to what they call the "Quik-Connect" cable. The "Quik-Connect" cable allows you connect and disconnect the cable from the pickup at the pickup, leaving all wiring in place. See images below.

Note the 3-pronged connector on the underside of the pickup. That is where the "Quik-Connect" cable (shown on the right) connects and disconnects from the pickup. Using this system, I've changed my pickups in as little as 15 minutes. All you have to do is:

1. De-tune your strings enough so that you can pull/bend them out of the way (you don't have to take the strings all the way off, especially if your pickups are mounted in mounting rings and not on a pickguard).

2. Using a powerdrill (or screwdriver, if that's all you have), pull the four corner screws out of the mounting rings. Lift the mounting ring with the pickup in it out of the guitar body, reach underneath and disconnect the cable. The mounting ring with the pickup in it should come free from the guitar.

3. Using a screwdriver, pull the height adjustment screws out of the mounting ring (if your mounting rings are identical, you can skip this step).

4. Swap/change the pickups.

5. Replace height adjustment screws (if you had to do step 3).

6. Reconnect the cable(s).

7. Place the mounting rings back down into the guitar body.

8. Replace each mounting ring's four corner screws, tune the strings back up and you're good to go! You don't have to rewire anything, you don't have to solder anything.

It is this procedure that enabled me to try so many different combinations.

So, one day about three years ago, I had an EMG-ZW (Zakk Wylde) set in my 1997 alpine white Gibson Les Paul Custom installed per EMG's recommendations (85 at the neck and the 81 at the bridge). Using the procedure described above, I switched the pickups, plugged the guitar back in and fired up the amp. I started out with the 81 (in the neck position now) through my amp's clean channel. This was familiar territory since I had previously used the 81 in the neck position when I tried Kirk Hammett's dual 81 configuration. It did just what I expected it would do. It made the neck pickup area sound brighter, much less muddy with added clarity and sensitivity. Then, I switched to the 85 at the bridge and switched my amp from clean to overdrive. I only played a few notes, stopped playing and said, "Oh. My. GOD!" I was speechless. It still leaves me speechless to this day. The 85 at the bridge sounded low, warm, thick and heavy adding warmth and thickness and more low end to the usually bright, thin sounding bridge area. I can best describe the sound as "sparkle & roar". The 81 in the neck position sparkles and the 85 in the bridge position roars; especially when using the high-gain overdrive of my Mesa/Boogie Triple Rectifier. It is CRUSHING!!!

Thanks for this post, I too have been running the "backward" 81/85 set up for a while now for the exact same reasons and it sound so killer.
Accurate and clean, with great dynamics and growl.
And the neck PU sounds crystal clear for leads

 

[Chris_Lohmann]

Hello old friends.

Some of the older members here may remember me and this thread and this guitar from several years ago. I know I haven't been here in a while, but I wanted to let you guys know that I'm putting this Mockingbird up for sale. I wish I didn't have to sell it, but I'm unemployed and behind on my mortgage so I've got to let it go. I wanted to give you guys first crack at it before I put it up on eBay or something because I think you guys will appreciate it more. I'll post another thread in the "Gear For Sale" forum but I wanted to start here first.

$1200.00 or best offer. Includes B.C. Rich hardshell Mockingbird case. I'll pay shipping. I can accept PayPal. Send me a private message if you're interested.