Bernie Rico Jr.

[Chrisb]

Re: Bernie Rico Jr.

Thats the V I was talking about, very cool design. The headstock is lame though. There is an archtop version I saw somewhere too.

[FSU_Seminoles]

Re: Bernie Rico Jr.

[ QUOTE ]
yeah, that headstock is pretty damn ugly...

but they do LOOK well made...

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the second headstock looks cool to me

[j2379]

Re: Bernie Rico Jr.

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Some of the designs are hideous, but some I like alot. The Bat shape archtop V is pretty cool IMO. But the problem is they could be alot of bling and no bang if you know what I mean. The custom shop was fine for a few years after Bernie Sr died. But in the last 3 or 4 years most of what Veli said is true from what I've heard. Its very sad because I was a big fan of the Bernie Sr era BC Rich guitars and always wanted a Handmade. Now I wouldn't be caught dead with one. They still aren't bad guitars but not at all justifying of the price you pay. As for Bernie Jr. I have a hard time believing his father didn't at least teach him how to run things right. I think alot of the blame being placed on Bernie Jr's head is speculative. So my opinion is until I get a chance to play one of these (which is unlikely since they don't seem easy to come by around here) I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.

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The "Custom SHOP" was crap from 94' & after. & it only got worse as time went on. people at the company SR, JR or whomever decided it would be good to use cheaper truss rods & cut corners where it might not be noticed. bad idea. From the looks of the JR guitars they seem to be built by the same people as BCRichs were/are. So basically that means over priced, hit or miss quality & probably alot of flaws & issues. the blame doesnt fall completely on JR, SR had alot to do with the down fall of BCRich, BOTH TIMES.

[Chrisb]

Re: Bernie Rico Jr.

Sr was also responsible for putting that company on the map in alot of way so if you ask me its a wash. And I played plenty of handmade's from 98-03 that were just as good as the old late 80's early 90s guitars.

[j2379]

Re: Bernie Rico Jr.

sorry to say some of us BCR freaks think those guitars were crap. actually after 86/87, they were not the same as the old ones. go try a few late 70's early 80's BCRichs, the only the same as the late80's ones is the logo & shapes. trust me ive had dozens of them over the yrs. actually for about 10yrs i played nothing but "USA" BCRichs.

[Chrisb]

Re: Bernie Rico Jr.

I do know, I had a "old school" USA Gunslinger as I mentioned on a few other threads. I also had a 2001 Ironbird for a time (I was disappointed I couldn't get a stealth). No real difference, they were both fantastic and I've played several the last time I was at a NAMM show (would be 2002 I think). Now granted they put their best out for NAMM but still I think the SR/JR's are being blamed for what was probably a cost cutting company policy.

Most craftsmen I know want their work to be the best it can be. Quality is relative and I certainly haven't played as many as you have but be that as it may, it probably has less to do with the Rico family then you might think. Typically these sort of cost cutting procedures to lower cost come from the top or at the very least the top of the custom shop. Point being, and I say this on every thread. I never bash a guitar until I try it. No one here apparently has tried Rico Jr's new guitars, so they look nice but who knows?

[BallsOnParade]

Re: Bernie Rico Jr.

I think the "Lobster claw" headstock would look better on the V, although they both are unattractive for V bodies...should be more like a double sided harpoon type of headstock, the ones they use on the V's are just to square-ish for V's like the newer BCR V's (I liked Kerry King's late 80's early 90's BCR V's with the inline 6 reverse headsocks best...does anyone know if they were ever a production line or just custom to Kerry?)

[zeegler]

Re: Bernie Rico Jr.

I really like the Vixen V, but I don't like the headstcoks at all. As I've said before, I don't like the Widow or Beast headstocks either, especially on V shaped guitars. They look fucking ludicrous. I'd be really interested in having a custom Vixen built if they could do a different headstock.

[FSU_Seminoles]

Re: Bernie Rico Jr.

a few more pics



[image]http://www.exodusattack.com/pimg.htm[/image]

[Rupe]

Re: Bernie Rico Jr.

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I do know, I had a "old school" USA Gunslinger

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I believe j2379 is referring to the "real" old school BCR's, before the script logo...the Gunslinger does not fall into this catagory. I've owned at least 10 BCR's, mostly 85 and earlier, but a couple as new as the late 90's, and the music store that I worked in was a BCR dealer. There is clearly a difference in the quality of the old vs. the new. That's not to say that you can't get a good one after 85, its just less likely. I had to do numerous warranty repairs on late 90's models and saw alot of shoddy workmanship...and I'm referring to the US guitars only. I never bothered with any of the imports.

[JBall008]

Re: Bernie Rico Jr.

Doesn't Tracii Guns play those?

[Chrisb]

Re: Bernie Rico Jr.

Your referring to the R logo customs? I've played a few but never owned one. Never noticed any difference between the 2 USA ones I had. Then again I may have gotten good ones.

As for the Rico Jr. The price is not bad at all on them. A Trans Black Neck Thru Vixen with full abalone binding and abalone swirling star inlays sells for 2400 from DCGL. Not bad. They go as low as for the SB bolt on series which are still plenty nice (looking). Curious to see how they really play though. Hopefully someone here makes the plunge [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[FSU_Seminoles]

Re: Bernie Rico Jr.

the pic I posted of the vixen has an ebony fretboard and comes with a hardcase for 1700 without the white binding

[Venomboy]

Re: Bernie Rico Jr.

Tracii Guns had Neal Moser make him a MCS Black Widow V. Who knows if he's actually playing it or not.

I have 3 BCR customs from 2001 and 2000. They're all very nice yet they each feel different. There's a few quirks on each one of them. I got them all for reasonable prices so I'm not complaining. At the last 3 NAMMs the BCR custom quality has been all over the place from extremely nice to way too high action and sloppy details.

I would like to play a Rico Jr to form an opinion of them. Some of them look nice, some look...eh... I think there's interesting design things happening but the details need some finesse. There's a bit of clunkiness to the appearance of each one.