History Of: Bc Rich Guitars

BC Rich are an organization specialising in pointed and extreme electric guitar shapes appropriate for rock, hard rock and heavy metal music. Bernardo Chavez Rico was a doubtful person to build distinct guitars. Bernardo Rico (aka Bernie) was an accomplished Flamenco acoustic musician. From the early to mid 60s Bernie Rico exclusively created Flamenco guitars in Bernardos Guitar Store in Los Angeles, Cal. Previous Vice President, Mal Stich, comments, When you walked into Bernardo's the first thing you noticed was wall to wall electric guitars hanging from the ceiling like birthday party balloons. There was a glass counter with strings, picks, guitar parts and accessories. Behind the counter was a window and you could watch the guys building guitars. And, the coolest thing was that there were usually Classical and Flamenco musicians pickin away. I recall Flamenco players firing at each other with riff after riff. Bernie's father, Bernardo Mason Rico, was always sitting in his chair next to the Coca Cola soda machine while friends and neighbors, even the postman, stood spellbound as they listened to the music.

We are recognizing BC Richs Fortieth Anniversary stamping 1969 as the time Bernie began on his first real try to manufacture guitars and basses. It has been recorded that 10 basses influenced by the Gibson EB-3 bass in addition to 10 matching Les Paul influenced guitars were hand-crafted. At present few of those instruments exist, and its thought that less than the number listed above had been actually completed.

The time around 1972 was exceptionally auspicious. The initial electric guitar design, the Seagull, was handcrafted in Bernardos shop. True to future style, the Seagull guitar was visually unique as well as revolutionary. The guitar's neck-thru design (now an embarkment of BC Rich) featured a heel-less design extremely rare for that era.

Bernie quickly hired a number of proficient creative designers to compliment his very talented craftsmen. Most of the unique shapes that would emerge from this expansion had grown to become legendary shapes associated with electric guitars. Around 1976 came the Mockingbird, and then the additional development of the Seagull, the Eagle guitar emerged, and around 1978 came the Bich. A few of the most well-regarded axemen immediately took to the revolutionary direction of BC Rich Guitars.

With rising success, there was a need for a less expensive mass-produced BC Rich guitar. Approximately 1978 Bernie set up the BC Rico brand name to devise electric guitars to be imported from Japan. The first try was not profitable when the Rico Reed Company filed a lawsuit over the use of the brand. Regardless of the final result, the choice was already made to implement the BC Rich name on imported guitars. Merely a handful, maybe a hundred or so BC Rico instruments ever made it to the US.

When the early 1980s arrived, the Warlock was introduced. Almost immediately the hair metal culture of the era slaved to the Warlocks edgy and distinctive sculpt. The Warlock, while nowhere near the newest style developed, rounds out the first 5 traditional BC Rich shapes.

The 1990s and 2000s witnessed a brand new crop of nasty models even pointier than the 1980s designs. These included the Zombie, Draco, Ignitor, Beast (brainstormed by Brian Hoffman, guitarists of death metal band Deicide), Warbeast (a mixture of Beast and Warlock).

BC Rich are also recognized for their endorsement deals with a number of celebrated and revered hard rock and metal musicians including Kerry King of Slayer (whose signature guitar is diabolic V-shape that has extensive tribal visual work over the guitar's body. He also has a signature guitar primarily based on the Warlock). The late Chuck Schuldiner of Death (when Schuldiner died of cancer in 2001 BC Rich Guitars released a tribute model based on his preferred guitar, the BC Rich Stealth). Paul Stanley of KISS, and Paolo Gregoletto (bassist in Trivium) are also endorsed BC Rich players. If you're like me, when you think of hard rock and metal... you think of recognizable guitars like BC Rich. They helped form rock and roll.