Its sound like crap to your eyes? It looks rubbish to my ears.
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BC Rich Warlock bass
- Thread starter emongelsirroh
- Start date
Its sound like crap to your eyes? It looks rubbish to my ears.
I bought my nephew a bass. I tried my damndest to get him to get something else, but its hard to convince a 13 year old kid once he has his mind set.
He got a Bronze Warlock. The thing is HEAVY, and this is from a guy that doesn't think Warwicks are heavy at all. The balance is terrible, and yes for someone with short arms its impossible to play very well.
The sound it total crap IMO. You get all mud AND all metalic clank. I once thought that was impossible lol. Its sad to think how many metal bassist we will not have because their first bass looked and played terrible. I know my nephew hasn't picked his up in probably a year now.
Changing from a Mustang to a Warlock will be pretty dramatic since the Mustang is short scale, and the Warlock's strap placement puts the 1st fret waaaay far out.
In 20 years you'll wish you took good care of that Mustang.
He got a Bronze Warlock. The thing is HEAVY, and this is from a guy that doesn't think Warwicks are heavy at all. The balance is terrible, and yes for someone with short arms its impossible to play very well.
The sound it total crap IMO. You get all mud AND all metalic clank. I once thought that was impossible lol. Its sad to think how many metal bassist we will not have because their first bass looked and played terrible. I know my nephew hasn't picked his up in probably a year now.
Changing from a Mustang to a Warlock will be pretty dramatic since the Mustang is short scale, and the Warlock's strap placement puts the 1st fret waaaay far out.
In 20 years you'll wish you took good care of that Mustang.
Like rick, I bought my nephew (11 at the time) the bronze Warlock, because I guess at that age nothing looks more kewl. And they're not expensive, so if the kid decides he doesn't like it, you're not out much.
He's taken some lessons (that I pay for), and his teacher told me it's not a bad bass at all, everything considered. The kid loves it, and has been practicing diligently now for a year. I've never actually seen or touched it (or heard it); I bought it on the net and had it shipped directly to him (he's over 1000 miles away).
Recently he sent me some photos of him playing it (and put more pix on his myspace page). He looks very happy. I didn't buy him an amp, so he plays it through a cheesy 10w used guitar combo unit. How would he know what sounds good?
He's taken some lessons (that I pay for), and his teacher told me it's not a bad bass at all, everything considered. The kid loves it, and has been practicing diligently now for a year. I've never actually seen or touched it (or heard it); I bought it on the net and had it shipped directly to him (he's over 1000 miles away).
Recently he sent me some photos of him playing it (and put more pix on his myspace page). He looks very happy. I didn't buy him an amp, so he plays it through a cheesy 10w used guitar combo unit. How would he know what sounds good?
If he loves playing it and it encourages him to do so, that's really all that counts. Once he gets to know more about bass and what he likes as far as feel, he can venture out into some better quality basses.
FYI, I played one of these at Guitar Center and was VERY impressed with the pickups and electronics on it. It is a Korean instrument and the lack of detail shows, but the neck played well (though it was lacquered with hi-gloss so it wasn't exactly fast) and there were no sharp fret edges. The bass sounded KILLER. A huge fat tone. If you solo'd the bridge P pickup and boosted bass a bit, you got a wicked fingerstyle tone and putting both pups to full with some treble boost = total rock sound.
The lower-end models were pretty pathetic, though. Try a Dean Metalman. Those things have a nice tone AND look like you could kill your grandmother with em.
Funny pointy basses are good for metal bands, but beyond that, you're going to look silly playing one. I wouldn't own one as my only bass unless you dedicate yourself to only playing metal. Otherwise, you can count on losing gigs.
No offense but that is really not true. Most bands pay so little attention to their bassist that you could walk on stage with a day-glow pink Dano Longhorn and thrash out without them even noticing. If it plays and sounds good, use it, and if the people in the band don't like how it looks even after you shred on it, then you can probably take that as a warning sign to find some musicians and not fashion critics to play with.
I'm afraid that's also not true. The B.C. Rich models of the 80s are boutiques, with a great tone and tons of electronics to play with. They were professional class instruments. I was able to sit down with an old neckthrough Mockingbird P/J for a month and I can say it's as well built and solid as the Pedulla Thunderbass I used the month before (though they sound completely different). 
ok, maybe they were, but the bc rich that i have used recently sounded horrible, and every guitarrists and bassplayers that i know are posers
I picked up a cheap Platinum series warlock about 10 years ago. It's dayglo pink! It's one of the ones with the reverse headstock - I hate the "official" BC headstock - a warlock needs a pointy headstock.
It was a good price, and I figured it was a bit of a laugh. The neck is a bit chubby for my taste but thats no bad thing. It plays OK - actually pretty good for the price. At that end of the market I'd be comparing it to a whole bunch of generic entry level basses, and the fact it looks distinctive in that price range is all it really needs to make it stand out.
Sound is decent, and would work nice for any kind of rock - it's standard P electronics, so not much to do wrong. Didn't go down so well when i auditioned with it for a funk band, but I don't think that was the sound.
Balance was a problem, but i found that putting BOTH strap ends on the front peg made it balance perfectly. Get creative and you'll figure out how to make that work!
The main downside is it's WAY heavy. It would kill me to play a full set on it.
executive summary: Cheap, functional, fun. Why not?
Ian
It was a good price, and I figured it was a bit of a laugh. The neck is a bit chubby for my taste but thats no bad thing. It plays OK - actually pretty good for the price. At that end of the market I'd be comparing it to a whole bunch of generic entry level basses, and the fact it looks distinctive in that price range is all it really needs to make it stand out.
Sound is decent, and would work nice for any kind of rock - it's standard P electronics, so not much to do wrong. Didn't go down so well when i auditioned with it for a funk band, but I don't think that was the sound.
Balance was a problem, but i found that putting BOTH strap ends on the front peg made it balance perfectly. Get creative and you'll figure out how to make that work!
The main downside is it's WAY heavy. It would kill me to play a full set on it.
executive summary: Cheap, functional, fun. Why not?
Ian
This may have been true back in the 70's and 80's But nowadays it's slightly different. Sure the lower end ones are probably bought for the shape. But the QUALITY Bc Riches. ( And i have owned a few) Are fantastic basses.
The bass player from Chic used a Bc Rich eagle to great effect. Jason Newstead used one in Flotsam and Jetsam. Vortex from Dimmu Borgir uses a 5 string NJ warlock. I hardly think any of those are terrible bassists and posers (With the possible exception of vortex, But hes a great player)
The one thing i will say is that people should stop making generalisations, And instead of saying, all Bc Rich users are posers, Or Bc Rich are crap, they should really say "Some Bc Rich players notably of younger years are in it for the looks mostly" Or "Some Bc rich basses are crap such as the bronze and Platinum series, But anything above that is pretty damn decent"
Quite frankly The BC Rich bronze series is on par with any other low quality cheap bass/guitar that other companies have on offer, Hells its all made in the same chinese factory anyway.
This is currently coming in the post for me.
Early 90's BC Rich USA Ironbird bass. Only a bolt on. I reckon its classy with the all black hardware. This would be considered a quality bass.
I have in the past owned a number of Japanese and US built BC Riches and all have been of fantastic construction and quality. And i have owned some real nice basses in my time. I had a Gibson Custom shop Q-80 bass that couldnt even touch the sound and playability of a Japanese Eagle bass.
In the end Bc Rich has just as many Duds and Gems basses as any other company, After all, they are all built in the same Factory.
sounds like you've only played GC bronze series warlocks... which are crap as we've already mentioned.
as far as posers... sounds like a personal problem.
One more thing... its not just for metal... I marched with my beast last year with my school band... never recieved more kudos than i did with that... should be doing it again in 2 weeks... and maybe a few Bills pre-games... I'll be sure to get pics this time
Well that's your opinion, but here's the thing about righteous indignation...it don't pay the bills.
You can't blame a company for their clients. Is it Warwick's fault that the Warwick kids tune to Z flat and scoop the mids?
I don't like B.C. Rich's lower-end models, they sell because of their shape and B.C. Rich's reputation rather then how they sound. IMO of course.
My guitarist friend bought one because one of his guitar idols used them. (although that idol only used old and/or custom B.C. Riches, he uses Jackson now that his contract with B.C. Rich is up)
It was a starter set with amp ect. The amp was nice for the size, but the guitar... it totally sucked. The headstock was already chipped out of the box, he bought it new by the way. I know, I know, its a low-end, but how do you tell a friend that you told them so after they chipped the headstock and and had fret buzz from the 1st fret on the b to the 3rd fret and the pick-ups turned off or went dead at random times. He is stubborn when it comes to music.
My guitarist friend bought one because one of his guitar idols used them. (although that idol only used old and/or custom B.C. Riches, he uses Jackson now that his contract with B.C. Rich is up)
It was a starter set with amp ect. The amp was nice for the size, but the guitar... it totally sucked. The headstock was already chipped out of the box, he bought it new by the way. I know, I know, its a low-end, but how do you tell a friend that you told them so after they chipped the headstock and and had fret buzz from the 1st fret on the b to the 3rd fret and the pick-ups turned off or went dead at random times. He is stubborn when it comes to music.
This may have been true back in the 70's and 80's But nowadays it's slightly different. Sure the lower end ones are probably bought for the shape. But the QUALITY Bc Riches. ( And i have owned a few) Are fantastic basses.
The bass player from Chic used a Bc Rich eagle to great effect. Jason Newstead used one in Flotsam and Jetsam. Vortex from Dimmu Borgir uses a 5 string NJ warlock. I hardly think any of those are terrible bassists and posers (With the possible exception of vortex, But hes a great player)
The one thing i will say is that people should stop making generalisations, And instead of saying, all Bc Rich users are posers, Or Bc Rich are crap, they should really say "Some Bc Rich players notably of younger years are in it for the looks mostly" Or "Some Bc rich basses are crap such as the bronze and Platinum series, But anything above that is pretty damn decent"
Quite frankly The BC Rich bronze series is on par with any other low quality cheap bass/guitar that other companies have on offer, Hells its all made in the same chinese factory anyway.
This is currently coming in the post for me.
Early 90's BC Rich USA Ironbird bass. Only a bolt on. I reckon its classy with the all black hardware. This would be considered a quality bass.
I have in the past owned a number of Japanese and US built BC Riches and all have been of fantastic construction and quality. And i have owned some real nice basses in my time. I had a Gibson Custom shop Q-80 bass that couldnt even touch the sound and playability of a Japanese Eagle bass.
In the end Bc Rich has just as many Duds and Gems basses as any other company, After all, they are all built in the same Factory.
To be honest, the only real flaws the Richs' of the late 70's and 80's had were the electronics. Having owned a few US and NJ models myself I know that the new Rich's can't touch the old ones as far as quality is concerned. The Richs of today have been marketed more and more to the metal scene as evidenced by the Beast and the change in headstock designs. They've really painted themselves into a generalized corner where it seems they're comfortable. The only Rich I'll ever consider buying is a 70s'-80's US or NJ, period.
