BC Rich Eagle, as good as they look?

Discussion in 'Basses [BG]' started by stuffedbread, Jun 19, 2020.

  1. stuffedbread

    stuffedbread

    Jun 19, 2020
    I've seen a lot of bc rich eagles and I was wondering if they are as good as they look.
     
  2. godofthunder59

    godofthunder59 Life is short, buy the bass.

    Feb 19, 2006
    Rochester NY USA
    Endorsing Cataldo Basses, Whirlwind products, Thunderbucker pickups
    Early USA ones from the 70's are great!
     
  3. Paulabass

    Paulabass

    Sep 18, 2017
    70's Ricos built in California and Mexico (both on the same bass!!) are outstanding, and still going up in value.
    The Koa/koa/koa ones are more in demand than koa/maple/koa.
    Early NJ, when they were made in Japan are very nice, but some of them had bolt on necks, sorta odd for the design.
    New Rich's are very mass produced (except for some very expensive Moser/Rich handmades) and as good as anything in their price range. You will always find that any two off shore instruments at the same price are going to be competitive, or one of them would not exist. If it works for you, cool basses. Oh, and don't assume NJ basses are still made in Japan, they are not.
    The Eagle shape is classic, and will look good for another 50 years!
    Pic is of a 1980, with the most desirable features- All koa, and double reverse P pickups, but all of them from the era are great.
    DSC_0001 (19).jpg
     
  4. bassclef112

    bassclef112 Supporting Member

    Sep 2, 2003
    Astoria, NY
    The Eagle is a very comfortable body shape, no comparison to a Mockingbird. I had 4 of various wood combinations. That's a Koa beauty right there.

    They are great guitars and I'd gladly get another someday.
     
  5. Killing Floor

    Killing Floor Supporting Member

    Feb 7, 2020
    Austin, TX
    Yes, there are some great playing Rich basses out there.
     
  6. Thorsoundcore

    Thorsoundcore

    Jan 22, 2009
    NYS
  7. bolophonic

    bolophonic

    Dec 10, 2009
    Durham, NC
    I had a 70’s Rico Eagle and it was very very cool. It played and felt great, but it never sounded all that great in my hands. I wound up selling it for like, $500, just to move it. Not great, but I’m pretty sure it would still just be sitting around if I had kept it all these years.
     
  8. thisSNsucks

    thisSNsucks I build Grosbeak Guitars and Basses Supporting Member Commercial User

    Dec 19, 2004
    Yonkers, NY
    Grosbeak Guitars
    Yes, awesome basses!
     
  9. I love their guitars. The basses are pretty popular in my social media collectors group as well. I'm a pretty small framed person and most their bodies are too big for me.
     
  10. Despite965

    Despite965

    Mar 31, 2018
    I have a maple 1980 Eagle. YES they are amazing. I got mine for an incredible deal. It replaced my Rickenbacker 4003 as my number one for shows. Most powerful bass I've ever owned.
     
  11. ClassicJazz

    ClassicJazz Bottom Feeders Unite!! Supporting Member

    Sep 19, 2005
    Delray Beach, Florida
    I had a 70’s Eagle, and honestly it was just ok. Nothing special. It did look great and top notch construction. But sound wise it was nothing to write home about. Also……very heavy. Ending up selling it for more then I paid for. Actually I would like to get a Japanese NJ series Eagle. I had one in the 80’s and was a cool bass. Didn’t have all that fancy electronics the US model had. Here is the Eagle I had…

    5374278E-0A0D-44BA-9F6B-AA5E967B6EE7.jpeg
     
    s_wood, Nekomata and blacktocomm like this.
  12. tb-player

    tb-player Supporting Member

    Mar 6, 2019
    That’s cool looking.
     
    ClassicJazz likes this.
  13. Rocknroller4

    Rocknroller4

    Jul 8, 2019
    Earth
    What were the dual P mockingbird basses made with? Alder? Maple?