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Body Style	Body Wood	Neck Wood	Fbd. Wood	Scale	Frets	Pickups	Switching	Neck Joint	Strings	Weight	Price
BCRB	Soft Maple (one piece)	Rosewood	Ebony	24.75"	24 Large/Medium *Dual Size	Neck: ZachAttack A5 9.4K Bridge: ZachAttack A5 13.1K	Mater Volume, 6-way rotary pickup selector	Glued	ZOG 10+ RW	7.5 lb	$3250 with case

Pickup Sellection:   1- neck humbucker,   2- neck inside coil,   3- both inside coils,   4- both humbucking,   5- bridge inside coil,   6- bridge humbucking

 

I do almost everything out of nostalgia and sentimentality. It was 1978 and I had just started playing the guitar, after years of faking classical piano. I also started going to guitar shops at that time. Understandably, everything about the guitar was daunting at the time. I still had to figure out what all this was about. I never liked guitar shops since the beginning and for decades now I have been avoiding even stepping into one. However, back then some things made a strong impression on me. It certainly wasn't the people or the store itself but a few specific instruments. Some of these unique instruments are vivid in my mind to this day.

One of these instruments was the coolest looking guitar I had ever seen. I feel this way even now. I remember it was hanging on a hook on the wall and it was brand new. It was a curiosity and unique even then. As a side note, I just remembered something really refreshing about those days, when you walked into any store, nowhere could you see any figured wood. No burl or flamed maple of any kind. Being in a guitar store in the 70s was much less nauseating then it is today. Today even the least expensive instruments must have some kind of a grotesque wood or wallpaper glued to them under that thick plastic, or nobody would ever buy it. How did anyone even play without fancy tops back then? I have no idea. That PRS guy should be tarred and feathered just for introducing all this grotesque looking fake wood and debasing the whole guitar market. We must admit that he did revolutionize the guitar industry in some way at least. His greatest achievement is to penetrate the empty heads of the stupid guitar consumer. I have no talent for that because I have no inclination to do it.

As I said, this instrument had a body of clear plain maple, which sadly would never be possible these days. The price tag said $850, which was a lot of money at that time, possibly the most expensive guitar in the store and it seemed like a million dollars to me; totally unattainable, nor was I deserving of it. I didn't know what the brand even was at the time but it looked so different and visually artistic that it was striking, even without fancy wood. I later learned it was a B.C. Rich, Bich model. Around the same time I saw a guitar magazine cover showing Steve Perry of Aerosmith in concert with it. He had a red one, no fancy top on that one either. People didn't even know what fancy tops were and vintage Gibson Les Pauls had not been discovered yet, although they had mostly mildly figured tops and looked measured and real. I fell in love with this plain clear maple Bich at this store but didn't even take it down from the wall. I was too intimidated and I couldn't play much on it anyway. I didn't even think the cool dudes working there and who made me feel 2 feet tall, would even permit it. By the way, stores love to hang guitars by their necks. I never thought that was a good idea and it always bothers me to see it, kind of like guitar abuse, all that weight pulling on the headstock. My opinion, don't hang anything by its neck. I always though that guitar store owners actually don't care much about guitars, but that's a topic for a another time. The more you hate what you are selling the more effective and successful you will be as a store owner; sad but true in my opinion. That's a good seminar topic they can teach at the next NAMM show, I wonder why they haven't done it yet. I mean, who can ever sell something they love? If you love guitars, never own your own guitar shop or even work in one, you will do terrible and be an miserable person.

The next time I visited the same store the Bich was gone and I never saw it again. Wouldn't it be cool to find out where that exact guitar is right now, if it even survived? Ever wonder about the life history of individual guitars? Where do they end up? What will be done to them? What schmuck will get their filthy hands on them. I bet its quite interesting. I once saw a movie about a violin and what happened to it over centuries. It was a crappy movie but the concept fascinated me. The life history of an instrument from the time a craftsman made it. From raw wood to the present day over hundreds of years. The life history of a guitar is not quite so dignified. Mainly because the far less accomplishment, education and dedication of the average guitar player when compared to violin players throughout the centuries. I mean a guitar today exchanges hands among a multitude of eBay rats, who should not even go near any guitar. This is not a very inspiring scenario. Idiots are drawn to guitars and a smart guy, like the PRS guy, takes advantage of it. You actually may be one of these idiots reading this right now. Do yourself a favor and take up a different hobby, something you better qualify for. Either that, or just open up your own guitar boutique, you more than qualify for that.

B. C. Rich in the 70s were completely hand made in a little place the size of a larger garage. I often envy the huge homes of unionized government workers and teachers, not for their fancy houses but only for the size of their three car garages. They can keep their house but all I want is their garage. One can build a great shop in one of those large garages, which otherwise go wasted.

B. C. Rich were way ahead of their time in many ways. Consequently this unique shape does not look tired even day. Some had extreme electronics and switching and even 10 strings, enough to make my head spin, but the one I saw in that store was a simple 6 string version. Some years later I even saw a BC Rich shop-tour in a guitar magazine article, which fascinated me.  Those people actually built guitars with simple tools, unlike the factory mass-production situations today that use robots instead of people. B. C. Rich is considered the first boutique guitar brand, well, right after Alembic that is. It was a considerable departure from Gibson and Fender in every way possible, in terms of design, visually and components used. Many things were revolutionary at the time, which may be common today, such as using aftermarket pickups, a custom bridge, active electronics, phase switching, pointy shapes, neck-through construction and of course that unique artistically harmonious shape, which never looked cheesy.

I never did buy or own a B.C. Rich but now I do. I never actually even played a B.C. Rich, so I have no idea what they feel or sound like. Since they never did acquire mainstream popularity, I never even heard anyone playing one. If they don't get paid for it, not even your local hero guitar slinger would touch one. Again, another topic for another time. Actually, I am not really interested in what B.C. Rich are like. None of that matters to me because what you see on this page is a Zachary guitar, not a B. C. Rich and that's the way I want it, "that's the way it aught to be, mama say, that's the way it's gonna stay". It was purely the visual impact of the design that originally struck me and that is all I needed as an inspiration. I only need a spark of inspiration to work with and make something profound. I am so sensitive to visual stimuli that I process the creative possibilities almost instantly. I can visualize something before its even created. Its one of the fundamentals of being able to do what I do and you thought it had to do with woodworking skills. Think again.

Let's not forget that the B.C. Rich I saw in 1978 is not the same guitars the company was selling later. The original guitars were deservedly iconic instruments, while the later import production were nothing more than toys for kids. What a tragedy to see this happen and I have seen numerous companies forced to debase themselves in this way. I sort of equate it to a girl who is pure being forced to sell her body to ugly dirty slobs. Consequently the company had changed hands several times over the years, manufacturing was moved to various countries and many cheap and compromised variants had been released to satisfy all price points of the industry. I knew the world was in trouble when in the 80s I noticed in music shops B.C. Rich guitars in all of their iconic shapes but now with bolt on necks, opaque plastic finishes, air-brushed graphics of vixens, Floyd Rose bridges and with the amazingly low price tag of only $365. I immediately knew something was not right and these were not the guitars I originally crossed paths with. This was not the same Bitch I saw 10 years earlier. The brand had become illegitimate and a mockery of itself. Much of its original designs were bastardized and tastelessly cheapened to make it just another generic budget kid's guitar, worthy of being sold at Best Buy or Guitar Center for that matter. To my horror I could even find these new B.C. Rich in pawn shops everywhere. Then they came out with their new crude and garish shapes straight from Dracula's castle, which only Lurch should play. This was followed by a repulsive collection of very forgettable Sunset Boulevard trash Heavy Metal endorsers, uglier than Lurch himself, the cocaine bitches included. There was no artistry there, just tacky commercialism to get the moms of ignorant young metal heads to afford to buy it. Once reserved for pros and adult aficionados of fine hand made instruments, now ignorant snotty kids who had no knowledge of any company legacy, past artistry and glory, were now picking up B. C. Rich in pawn shops to play Death Metal on. They never even knew the original handmade B.C. Rich ever existed. Maybe you were one of these 13 year olds in the 80s, who helped shape the guitar industry we have today. Good job, you should be proud of yourself. But I know its not really your fault. There was nobody to educate you and you were not bright enough to educate yourself. In fact the guitar magazines you were reading made you even stupider, they turned you into the perfect consumers. The only crime you may have committed is to stay ignorant. What ever happened to the original B. C. Rich company, which made those impressively creative and unique instruments? You see in the musical products industry you must play the game to be included and they decided to play the game where the rules were dictated by the rulers of the industry and not themselves.

 

One of my fears is always that those of you who have followed this web site for years and some almost since day one, may get jaded. This motivates me to continually create something different, something more, hopefully progressively better. The challenge with this one was to turn a neck-through design into a glued-in neck design. This is not as easy as some tinkerers may think. By the way, the way to identify a tinkerer in any discipline, is by their disproportionate amount of self confidence. Its their inability to measure the magnitude of the world around them. They think everything is easy, even if they never attempted it. True masters make it look easy but they actually suffer and agonize over their work, always questioning their own abilities. The challenge here was to preserve the original shape accurately, yet also make it structurally sound and viable as a glued neck design. The good high fret access had to be retained and the finished reworking of the design had to be authentic and not contrived. The shape of an "inspired by" guitar must be exact, otherwise its just an adulterated bastard which looks like hell and cannot possibly be desirable.

The other unique and special thing about this particular Zachary - which will undoubtedly scare off many people - is the large gash running lengthwise in the center of the body. I knew this crack was there in the board I picked out but I didn't know how deep or large it was until I was well on the way to completing the body. A tinkerer or a highly respected luthier or an established guitar company, would never stoop this low and use garbage wood. As the continually tell us, they use the highest quality tone wood the world has ever seen. They would simply throw this piece of wood into their furnace or the dumpster. To me that seems unfortunate. Throwing away wood of any type is a crime and a sacrilege. You can be sure PRS or Taylor will not be copying this feature any time soon. Unless they hear people ask for guitars with a big crack running through the body, then they will all do it and make pretend they invented the idea and maybe even tell you morons that there are all kinds of tonal advantages to having a big crack through the body. They will do anything for sales and money, the good liberals they are and satisfy their main cheerleaders, the guitar magazines, with double page full color ads. All the schmuck guitar magazine writers will then reciprocate with stories to manipulate your limited guitar knowledge. That's how the game is played and everyone is happy.

I really liked this piece of interesting wood and I refused to use anything else. I thought about abandoning it also and throwing it away but now I am glad I didn't. It had to be this exact piece. It was a challenge which fueled my efforts. Every piece of work needs a challenge of some type, which sets the theme for the artwork. I didn't want to possibly cut it up and re-glue it together with another piece to get rid of the gash, etc. I didn't want to "fix it" in any way but was just hoping that it would not break in the process of making it. I wanted to use this wood as nature made it and keep it as a one-piece body. I don't think the original B. C. Rich company ever made a one piece body, for reasons that this body shape is rather large, requires a wide board and its hard to find a one piece board this wide. Also, with the original neck-through design it would have been impossible to do a one piece body. I proudly posted below some pics of the unfinished body to show the long gash. Its fine and solid and the gash will not effect anything, although I would not recommend it for Pete Townsend. Also chances are that if you drive a Lexus and have a large garage that's totally clean and empty with no tools of any kind, this guitar will not appeal to you. I recommend one of the new Taylor solid bodies.

I hope you are not jaded yet and if you want this freak side show to continue and be entertained, inspired, educated, enraged or whatever, you must come forward and qualify for a Zachary guitar or bass and buy one. Of course, first you must pass the intelligence test to own a Zachary. I understand this may be difficult for most people. Remember the PRS guy has no qualification standards and more of an idiot you are the more he likes you. Its the opposite in my case.

Well this new one is a bit of nostalgia for me as well and it made me go over to the other side of the basement and look at the very old Bich that I have in pieces over there. I always liked that model the best of any B.C. Rich guitar. You are correct in your comment about them being almost unplayable now. The old ones with the big R or the ones with the black letter logo were different. Todays corporate Rich's are all machines and sweat shops, plastic and lipstick. The old Bich is a work of art, a beautiful woman with a slit dress that you can almost see something through, a flash of thigh. I told you before that your Z2 reminds me of a female form stretching upward to one side, seems that works incredibly well for a guitar. Perhaps even why we all refer to our guitars as 'she' or 'her'. Its always been that way though, hasn't it?

I don't know what Neal Moser would think of this guitar but he would probably like the fact that you are doing what you do for only yourself. When he came up with this design I think that it wasn't meant to appeal to a large amount of people, it was completely different from anything at that time. I remember going to the shops and seeing those neck-throughs on the walls and thinking how bad ass they were and I wanted it so bad. My dad got me one of the old Mockingbirds that were also neck-through and had the active pre-amp and all the switches. It wasn't the same. The Bich just looks deadly.

I really like it with your neck and head. The guitar needs the 3 on a side balance and yours works better than the original's Gibsonesque version. Yeah, I was a little surprised by this one and it brought me to a smile. Good work.           Regards,        Jeff (Calgary, Canada)

I was jamming blues when I decided to check your site again for the latest treat. Just saw 250411 – What a sexy beast! Never paid much attention to BC Rich before when I saw them “hanging “.
I started playing when I was 19 (1986) so these things were strictly “heavy-metal” guitars to me at the time and I thought all gimmick. Never even bothered trying to pick one up. For me HeavyMetal buckled into “Poison” and other big hair bands and lost all credibility. Sometimes sadly I could not get past the “look” to even try to let the music redeem the band. I guess I was a superficial young man.
Anyway, the way you routed the contours was beautiful, totally transformed the “hard” shape into something that you know you can hold onto for a long time and not get tired or have your skin red and sore from edgey-pointy pressure. You must be getting tired of me always praising your neck, but it has to be said -you did it again, I am starting to think how much better all legacy guitars look with your neck, from traditional like a Tele , to this BCRB style – of course that’s just the tip of the iceberg, once you play your neck you realize all that what was not seen is where it’s all about. You just took a “blah-metal” guitar of my memories and turned it into a Jazz Monster that could spit searing tones on a whim.
Thanks Alex! Great work again!!!     Every Good Wish,   Yordys (Florida)

Yes, in 1986 B. C. Rich had predominantly heavy metal endorsers and they acquired and went with that narrow image. Not a good move, unless a company wants to be permanently typecast. Remember, however, that the Bich was designed and originally made way before the 80s heavy metal scene even started. There was no heavy metal of that type in the early 70s when this guitar was designed. It was just hijacked or handed over to the heavy metal crowd by bad management. The handmade Bich was a beautiful instrument and not appropriate for any 80s heavy metal practitioner. It was way too refined for the shallowness of most heavy metal. What would they even do with all the electronics and the 10 strings? They company also changed the edge contouring and the finishing, so the cheap 80s versions, built by other companies actually for B. C. Rich, were quite hideous and were mostly sold to kids as toys. If one can look past the radical look of this body - which I think despite being radical is very artistic, harmonious and NOT hideous - you have a versatile guitar which will do the job of any Les Paul and Strat put together. No different from a Z2 for that matter.   Alex

Breathtaking!       best, JR   (UK)

OH yeah, that is a sweet guitar. I did have the pleasure of playing one of the original BC Rich guitars and they were in fact quite nice instruments especially for the time. Like others the price was out of my league. I still think this Z version is much sweeter. Not so shiny, more like ancient weaponry. I like the CHUNKY nature and thickness of the body on this one. It looks like a AXE. I have a vision of poking a bad place with it in the heat of heavy metal passion. This is not yo mommas guitar. This is a monster for the 412 crowd. I miss my 412 cabs. There is nothing like moving that kind of air, seeing stuff move, feeling it in your back. V8 with open headers. This is just the kind of guitar meant for that. Those Z pickups though will add some bite and that thing will take heads off. I think the short scale is ideal for it as well. Fabulous detail and great wood with necessary grain.  Right, too bad the new BC Rich ones are just toys, only the shape is common. Frank (California)

Yes! I liked the B.C. Rich Bitch way back when. I thought that thing was about as cool as cool could get. I'd just look at them and drool. Very cool looking air-cutting machines indeed.I like how the wood is rotten and broken. It's just to tempting. I simply must call this guitar: the Rotten Bitch. She's simply gorgeous.

I was cruising up Alta earlier this afternoon, on my way home from the airport from the Midwest. The Squareheads up there don't shake it like they do here in the Meadows and I was welcomed home by these sweet., extremely well-built little hooker coming up the sidewalk in a pair of Daisy Dukes, shakin' it and advertising like tomorrow wasn't coming. She was trim and lean with long black hair and dark eyes. I thought she was going to run me off the road. Rotten Bitch indeed.

Whoever gets this one is going to have lots and lots of fun. What a Sweetheart.

Rock on, Alex!      Ted Noiz (Vegas)

I always look forward to the new guitars that you build, I don't always comment but I always see the passion and artistry. I don't know if you build these guitars for a living but it is obvious that you build them to feel alive.

The 70's were such a great time, aesthetically, for guitars. Lots of great ideas and not so great ideas were being explored. It is too bad that everything is homogenized these days, no one wants to take a risk. Alex, the highest praise I can give you is to say that I hold your designs and innovations in the same regard that I do those of pioneers like Dan Armstrong, Bernie Rico, Gary Kramer, etc. I hope you will take this as a compliment.

SR # 250411 is such a great looking guitar that I had to write. I could kiss your ass all day about how great it looks and I'll bet it sounds killer and while these things are all true it would ignore the true beauty of this instrument. The true beauty of this guitar is in the paragraphs of text preceding the photos. My jaw dropped as I read the words... truth is indeed a rare commodity in 2011.

In a word the BCRB is excellent.      Matt (CO)

Love the vibe of that Rotten Bich guitar. Caused me to reflect that Rick Derringer was heavily associated with B.C. Rich guitars in that prime era and had a killer show and sound at the time.
For whatever reason, his career and tone pretty much went the same way as B.C. Rich guitars from there...   Straight to the cut-out and pawn!   Adam

 

 

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