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The BC Rich name stands for quality machinery perfect for all metal, grunge, hard rock, shock rock and hardcore music. And regardless of social acceptability and some rough patches with the company, the durable, cutting edge machines, with outstanding sound and attitude-riddled appearance do just fine being named "Rich Bitch Guitars" on the streets.
Bernardo Chavez Rico
The creator of BC Rich guitars, Bernardo Chavez Rico, was born in 1941, birthday unknown, in East L.A. Through the 50's he helped his father build ukuleles and banjos and fell in love with instruments. It's no wonder that when Rico grew into an adult he became a luthier for himself.
Starting out, Bernardo opened his own repair shop where he worked on classic and Spanish guitars. He also designed and made many guitars with the name BC Rico on them during this time though only 300 of them are known to have survived.
In 1967 Bernardo adopted the name B.C. Rich for his company and later, when Bo Diddley, legendary American songwriter and musician, came to Bernardo to have his guitar's snapped neck repaired, he decided it was time to expand.
During the first two years of his new, accelerated career, Bernardo made 350 acoustic guitars.
- B21 series
- B28 series
- B38 seriesv
- B41 series
For these guitars he used the newly popular X-bracing which extended the life of the guitar through normal wear and tear, and kept the sound crisp as a result of that extra life span. Bernardo also only used the finest woods for his guitars:
- Spruce tops
- Brazilian Rosewood for backs and sides
- Ebony for finger boards
In around 1972, Bernardo began making and releasing solid body electric guitars. He created several different models after the Les Paul and Strat style guitars, which continued his reputation for creating quality, high end instruments. After that, however, there was a bout of ill will for the BC Rich company as Class Axe, the guitar manufacturer that Bernardo was using, was caught releasing his models with glued backings and shabby parts. Once he became aware of his marred reputation, Bernardo regained power over the manufacturing of his guitars and began the repair process. In 1999, at the peak of BC Rich regaining its glory, Bernardo Chavez Rico passed away.
The Rich Buzz Goes On
In 2000 the guitars began making a buzz in the music world when they introduced the B.C. Rich Speedloaders. Speedloaders are a cutting edge, custom stringing system that does not require keys for tuning. Instead the strings are held in place by a slotted nut device at the top of the fret board where usually a nut would be.
Another major innovation introduced by the BC Rich company was their release of their Acrylic Series guitars, made of acrylic, which gives them their gorgeous transparent body. With viewable electronics practically exposed, these guitars make for an awesome stage performance.
Lastly, BC Rich is widely known for their very racy looking guitars like the Warlock and the NJC Mockingbird. Both models sport unusual shapes, beautiful finish, and the BC Rich exclusive parts. For more information about this unique company, visit www.bcrich.com.
B.C. Rich Guitars(1)
B.C. Rich Guitars(2)
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