1980 Son of a Rich: restore, refinish or leave alone?

[CrashAlpha]

Originally Posted by Baird6869

It took me forever to sell mine for $350. It was on CL, Kijiji, TB and eBay.

Wow. How's that for encouraging? I was going to spend nearly that much to fix it up.

[darkstorm]

Id go for either refinish new color or refinish black like it was. And have neck pocket looked at for the issues you give and either replace bridge which allows for lower action if wanted, or have luthier do slight set in for bridge as part of refinish work so it sits little bit lower to allow for lower action.

[danomite64]

Here's the one I used to have lying around at my house a few years back:



It belonged to my guitarist (we're both lefties), and he wanted to sell it so he kept it here for me to set it up, play it, and maybe buy it, as I was looking for a Precision. I passed, because it didn't sound very good, and it played awfully. I put it on ebay, and it got about $500, probably because it's so rare.

[Baird6869]

Originally Posted by danomite64

Here's the one I used to have lying around at my house a few years back:

It belonged to my guitarist (we're both lefties), and he wanted to sell it so he kept it here for me to set it up, play it, and maybe buy it, as I was looking for a Precision. I passed, because it didn't sound very good, and it played awfully. I put it on ebay, and it got about $500, probably because it's so rare.

I owned an Identical one to this (if it isn't the actual bass).

[georgestrings]

This thread kinda makes me wonder - I've seen BC Rich fans go on about their quality when compared to Fenders, but apparantly there can be issues with BC Rich basses, too...


- georgestrings

[danomite64]

I didn't like that SoaB bass, but the top models from that period were really nice.

[two fingers]

I would get it looking however YOU want. This is not a museum piece. It probably never will be. I'm not knocking it. If YOU like it, then get it EXACTLY how you want it and PLAY it. What, or who, exactly would you be saving it for? You're supposed to SAVE it like it is so someone 50 years from now after you're gone can oooh and ah over it? Nah. YOU enjoy it however you want to. If you want to paint it with rainbow stripes and put princes stickers on it then go for it. (Sorry, I have a 3 years old daughter. EVERYTHING is princesses around here.)

Geez. Basses are TOOLS for making music. USE them. PLAY them. PAINT them. Do whatever you want with YOUR bass. Let someone else worry about preserving history. There are plenty of basses sitting in closets as we speak for that very reason. Trust me. There will be tons of hardly touched basses for the museums a century from now when we're gone. The collectors will see to that. Don't be a collector. Be a player. And rock that thing like you stile it, even if you paint it green metal flake like a bass boat! (bass, meaning fish)

[CrashAlpha]

Originally Posted by danomite64

Here's the one I used to have lying around at my house a few years back:

Is that a stain over mahogany finish? Or is that painted - I think I see some grain but I can't be sure it isn't the photo quality.

[CrashAlpha]

Originally Posted by two fingers

Sorry, I have a 3 years old daughter. EVERYTHING is princesses around here.

LOL - be honest, what disc is loaded in the family car's CD player right now? Or are you one of those rare parents who gets to listen to grown-up music still?

Originally Posted by two fingers

Geez. Basses are TOOLS for making music. USE them. PLAY them. PAINT them. Do whatever you want with YOUR bass. Let someone else worry about preserving history.

Sheer frikkin' poetry!

I haven't seen any indication that the bass would look good with any sort of natural finish, and after everything I've seen, I think my black and racing stripe motif is the prettiest version I've seen.

As for mods, I am hoping someone has some insights on how to shim the neck bass with minimal loss.

I'd like to add a bridge pickup. The single P-bass style DiMarzio pickup is incredibly loud and I'd like to keep it, but I am going to assume that the plastic has aged it'll be impossible to match. With my other basses I favour bridge-position pickups - sometimes blending with the neck pickups to round out the tone.

[spufman]

You can find 70s DiMarzio P and J pickups in the TB classifieds, occasionally.

[Chuck King]

The Son of a Rich line were nothing like the regular B.C. Rich instruments from that time period. (I know; I had one at the time and figured this out the hard way.) They are noteworthy only for being old and uncommon, but the kind of people who would pay a premium for an old B.C. Rich are the kind of people who would also know that a SoaR is not the classic, desirable kind of 80s B.C. Rich. So it seems unlikely that an SoaR will ever have a lot of collectable value. I would not worry about doing something to it that will increase its utility value to you. Certainly, fixing something broken on it, and a well-done re-fin, should not hurt its value much if at all.

[CrashAlpha]

Originally Posted by Chuck King

The Son of a Rich line were nothing like the regular B.C. Rich instruments from that time period.

Which is why I thought that the guitar represented a pivot in the BCR philosophy. The Eagle and Mockingbird were evolutionary - fantastic and beautiful retakes of classic double cutaway designs. And thru-body designs weren't common. And frankly, for most musicians they were unattainable.

I thought the Bich was more revolutionary than the previous designs. But I liked that.

And when they came out with a bolt-on, I thought: "Something is changing over there". However, I COULD afford the Son of a RIch when it came out. I sort of felt like I had been let into an exclusive club, and then when I looked behind me, I saw they weren't just letting me in, they were letting ALL the riff-raff like me in

[Jazz Ad]

Originally Posted by CrashAlpha

thru-body designs weren't common.

Quite the opposite, these were the days of neckthru construction, mostly as a mean to emulate Alembic.
Gibson, Yamaha, Ibanez, BC Rick, Aria, even Fender did some.
All brands did it back then and it was a symbol of great quality. When they didn't, they tried to look like a neckthrough with side stripes in the body.

[M.R. Ogle]

Originally Posted by two fingers

Geez. Basses are TOOLS for making music. USE them. PLAY them. PAINT them. Do whatever you want with YOUR bass. Let someone else worry about preserving history. There are plenty of basses sitting in closets as we speak for that very reason. Trust me. There will be tons of hardly touched basses for the museums a century from now when we're gone. The collectors will see to that. Don't be a collector. Be a player. And rock that thing like you stile it, even if you paint it green metal flake like a bass boat! (bass, meaning fish)

Should be engraved on a stone tablet. Amen.

[The EH Man]

I've been told by BCR owners and Neil Mose that those Charvel-made BCR necks aren't very good.
Neil's quote: " If he'd known anything about necks, he wouldn't have used one of these, they weren't that good. ;-)"
(I'd asked a question about a bass being sold as a BC Rich but it turned out to be a parts bass with a Charvel/Rich neck)

What's your take on it?

[CrashAlpha]

Originally Posted by Jazz Ad

All brands did it back then

Interesting. At my tender age and budget at the time, Alembics, Rickenbackers and BC Riches were all uncommon guitars for me. By 1980 I hadn't noticed a trend for "lesser brands" (e.g. Ibanez, in those days were rising stars) to do the same thing.

With the exception of Rickenbackers - and even those were rare - I just didn't know anybody who could afford them. Mind you, we were victims of a horrifying US$ exchange rate and distributor gouging when equipment crossed the border. Getting together CA$700 to buy a Thunderbird (which was out of stock, so they offered me the SoaR) was a big deal in those days.

I guess my perspective on what was and wasn't happening with guitar design and what was readily available is skewed.

[CrashAlpha]

Originally Posted by The EH Man

What's your take on it?

I can only speak of my bolt-on - I've been told there's a dip in the neck, but I think my luthier has done something about that when adjusting the truss rod. It's never been fussy. I like the playability towards the nut - it's actually thinner in neck profile there than my Rick, which has a fairly constant thinkness and width from nut to heel. It gets wider at the heel - which I like, but it also gets thicker there. I would never have noticed it if it wasn't for the obvious superioirity of my Rick and J Aerodyne.

But no matter what, it feels like a thundering, long scale bass when I play it. And I like that. It's something I'd play for cool points.

[smcd]

Originally Posted by two fingers

Geez. Basses are TOOLS for making music. USE them. PLAY them. PAINT them. Do whatever you want with YOUR bass.

Bass guitars aren't "tools", and the vast vast majority of players don't think that way. Most players care very much about brand, style, appearance and history. Almost no one cares about what year their hammer was made, or what color of table saw they use.

If you want to see guitars exclusively as tools, that's fine. But thank God no vintage instrument has fallen into your hands.

[CrashAlpha]

Originally Posted by smcd

If you want to see guitars exclusively as tools, that's fine. But thank God no vintage instrument has fallen into your hands.

There is, however, room for aftermarket artistry. There's some beautiful work out there.

[oddgrowth]

Originally Posted by smcd

Bass guitars aren't "tools", and the vast vast majority of players don't think that way. Most players care very much about brand, style, appearance and history. Almost no one cares about what year their hammer was made, or what color of table saw they use.

If you want to see guitars exclusively as tools, that's fine. But thank God no vintage instrument has fallen into your hands.

Um - yes they are. It's obvious the guy meant basses are tools that you use to ply your craft & express yourself, not in the sense that they are tools like screwdrivers and pliers.

I think of mine as tools & ALOT of players think of them this way - I own 3 vintage tools nearly 40 years old.

tool.