BC Rich Warlock Once Over

[GruntSplatter]

I joined an 80's band and needed something pointy. I found this great looking Warlock that turns out to be from the Class Axe years. (Thank you, Lorne) I got it for $149. from GC. It's heavy as hell, the neck was bowed and the action was high. Regardless, it buzzed all over the place. EMG Select pickups, passive electronics and the one good thing: MIJ Gotoh tuners.

I stripped it. The fretboard is uneven. Some frets show they have been leveled and crowned while others were low and untouched. It doesn't look like there was work done so I would say it was like this from the factory. Amazing...
I had to shim the neck to bring it high enough to allow bridge height adjustments.
I leveled the frets 3 times to get rid of all the buzz. 3 times because I was removing a considerable amount of fret on some of the frets each time and didn't want to over do it.

I replaced the EMG Selects with a Seymour Duncan Basslines QP P/J set. I put in an Audere Classic 4-band preamp. Dyed the neck black. Put on some DR Black Beauties. Tuned in the intonation. Oh yeah, and I threw on a set of Bich feet.

It's still heavy as hell, but it sounds like a true rock machine. The fat neck doesn't seem so bad now that it's straight with no buzzing. It will do!

 

[wolfkeller]

Pretty damb sweet! What did u dye the board with?

 

[PokeyPrasch]

Looks great, recently picked up a Warlock myself for $30.
Not nearly as nice as this though.

 

[GruntSplatter]

Pretty damb sweet! What did u dye the board with?

Thanks! I got the dye from Stew-Mac.

 

[GruntSplatter]

Looks great, recently picked up a Warlock myself for $30.
Not nearly as nice as this though.

Thanks, Pokey. I kept it and decided to do all the work because it has what I wanted; a white bass with black hardware. I had the Audere preamp from another project and had the Basslines sitting around. I also added a Hipshot D-Tuner I had laying around. It's great when you can put something together with stuff you already have. Otherwise I wouldn't have spent a nickle on it.
I forgot to mention I had to cut deeper into the nut's string slots, as well. This bass needed correction all over the place. It's finish is in mint condition from that 89 - 93 Class Axe era. It probably never got played much because it was setup so horribly.

 

[PokeyPrasch]

It probably never got played much because it was setup so horribly.

Nothing kills the intention to learn quite like it.

 

[nismaniac]

Nice work man! I have an old warlock, black with cream binding that was my first bass. It's still in decent shape but it would be cool to restore to gigable quality someday.