Ok-the Varitone:-
The Varitone is a six position switch with different value Capacitors attached to each position,giving you a far wider range of tones,especially when combined with the master tone pot
The "Dual Sound" Switches:-
Basically the pick ups are 4 wire pick ups,and with the switches,you can run each pick up in "Series" or "Parrallel",and that's what "Dual sound" really is
I have today got a new score-this is what the original owner has said to me
This is what the owner of the bass wrote to me
"I bought my B.C.Rich Mockingbird in June 1979. The bass was one of three Mockingbirds and three Eagles that were bought into England by a small company calling themselves EFR Guitars.*
They bought in two Birdseye maple Mockingbird models that had Ebony strips going right through the body on either side of the neck and a third one that was made from a wood called Koa. Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy used the Koa model for the video Do Anything You Wanna Do a not very successful tune compared to Lizzys other offerings but the video itself aint bad. I ended up buying the bass that Phil had used (and abused)
What happened was, I was reading a copy of International Musician - In those days (1979) there weren't any publications dedicated to bass, like there is now so I'd buy anything musical just to read the bass section!!!! Anyway, back then, the bass reviews were being done by Jim Rodford (of the Kinks). One month, he reviewed a B.C. Rich Mockingbird and mentioned a company in Walthamstow (North London) called (I think) E.F.R. Guitars. He mentioned the Tel Number so I gave them a call. The guy (Can't remember his name) gave me the address and a week later I popped up there (I lived in South West London at the time). Anyway, to my surprise, it wasn't a music shop, just a terraced house. Tentatively, I knocked on the door - a little nervous that this could be a scam of some sort. A guy answered the door and I explained who I was and what I had come to look at and he led me down the passage and I turned right into a room with the most amazing bunch of guitars and basses*I had ever seen in my life - not your usual music shop fare. I was plugged into the exact bass that Jim Rodford had reviewed and was left alone to check it out. While I was playing it, I was checking out the other instruments and noticed three B.C. Rich Eagle basses.
After a while, I finished playing the bass and went off searching for the guy. I found him somewhere at the back of the house and we got talking. Appently, he ran this busines where he would fly to the states and hand pick guitars and fly them to the U.K. In this batch, he had bought back three Mockingbird basses - two were birds eye Maple with Ebony strips going through the body - one had already been taken by Alan Lanchester of Status Quo. He was selling the bass that I played for 750 Pounds but had this other bass that Phil Lynott had used in the video, selling for 650 Pounds due to a little bit of damage at the back*that Phil had done to it with his stud covered clothing. He mentioned that he'd have the bass back from Phil in a day or two and if I saw it, I'd want it because it was so beautiful - the bass was made of Koa - a reddish/ brown wood. I had no interest in even looking at this bass - I wanted the Maple one.
Anyway, this was Thursday and I told him I'd be back on Saturday to pick the bass up. Saturday came and I popped down to the Building Society to get my cash, only to be told that there was no way they could give me 750 Pounds without being informed 24 hours earlier - the most they could give me was 250 Pounds. You know when you've set your mind on something, you just have to go through with it so a plan went through my mind. I took the 250 Pounds, got home and put another 100 Pounds I had lying around to it - that gave me 350 Pounds, my Mum loaned me 300 Pounds and I had enough to get the Koa bass and the plan was to take the bass back, the following Saturday with the other 100 Pounds and get the Maple one.
I got to the house and told the guy what had happened and what I wanted to do and he said that was fine but he'd be very surprised if I came back. Yeah, the bass did look nice but it was damaged and I wanted a mint instrument. Anyway, I got home and the whole family said keep it. I showed them the International Musician mag which had a pic of the Maple one and they still insisted I keep it - so I did.
To be honest, I thought the Phil Lynott story was just a bunch of bull, but imagine my surprise when I was watching Top Of The Pops about three or four weeks later and there was Phill miming with MYBASS!!! Well that did it for me.
That bass is still in the same condition that it was when I bought it - it's never been gigged or used for a recording"
I had contacted the owner and talked to him about it at length!!-fantastic bass-It's been living in an Attic in the U.K. for over 24 years!!!
The bass looks to be actually Mahogany with a Brazilian Rosewood fretboard-the "Damage done by Phil" really is rather minimal
some dents from jean studs (Not a lot)
It's in fantastic condition for a bass made between August 1st and December 4th 1978
And It's
