The B.C. Rich Warlock is a
solid body
thumb , Sound sample of solid-body electric guitar.
A solid-body musical instrument is a string instrument such as a guitar, bass or violin built without its normal sound box and relying on an electromagnetic pickup system to directly detect th ...
electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...
and
bass guitar
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...
made by
B.C. Rich
B.C. Rich is an American brand of acoustic and electric guitars and bass guitars founded by Bernardo Chavez Rico in 1969.
History
The company started making electric guitars in the 1970s. In the following decade B.C. Rich gained a broad expos ...
. It features a distinct jagged shape and two
humbucker
A humbucking pickup, humbucker, or double coil, is a type of guitar pickup that uses two wire coils to cancel out the noisy interference picked up by coil pickups. In addition to electric guitar pickups, humbucking coils are sometimes used in d ...
pickups, and has been associated with the
heavy metal scene.
History
The Warlock was designed by company founder
Bernardo Chavez Rico Bernardo Chavez Rico (born October 13, 1941 – December 3, 1999) was an American luthier specializing in guitars. Known as Bernie Rico Sr. or simply B.C., Rico was born in East Los Angeles, California. Working with his father, Rico began his c ...
in 1969, stating: "This was the only guitar I ever designed at a drafting table, using straight-edges and French curves. It was lots of curves going into straight lines. At first I thought it was the ugliest guitar I'd ever designed."
The design wasn't built until local guitarist Spencer Sercombe of
Shark Island Shark Island may refer to:
Places
*Cocos Island, Costa Rica
*Shark Island, Namibia, off the coast of Namibia
*Shark Island Concentration Camp, at Shark Island, Namibia
*Shark Island (Port Jackson), in Sydney Harbour, Australia
*Shark Island (Cronu ...
prompted Rico to do so, but once it was, it soon found favor in the emerging heavy metal scene.
"The introduction of the Warlock in 1981 marked the beginning of B.C. Rich's rise to iconic status in heavy metal.
..The confluence of B.C. Rich's far-out designs and the emerging hair metal culture of the late '70s and early '80s helped cement the brand's place in the market".
The guitar was constructed similarly to other B.C. Rich models such as the Seagull, Eagle, and Mockingbird, with neck-through construction, two
DiMarzio humbucker pick-ups, and a
Leo Quan Badass bridge. As the guitar was adopted by the heavy metal scene, later models featured
Kahler Kahler may refer to:
Places
*Kahler, Luxembourg, a small town in the commune of Garnich
*Kahler Asten, a German mountain range
Other uses
*Kahler (surname)
*Kahler's disease, a cancer otherwise known as ''multiple myeloma''
*Kahler Tremolo System, ...
and
Floyd Rose
The Floyd Rose Locking Tremolo, or simply Floyd Rose, is a type of locking vibrato arm for a guitar. Floyd D. Rose invented the locking vibrato in 1976, the first of its kind, and it is now manufactured by a company of the same name. The Floyd R ...
vibratos and bolt-on necks.
Notable users
*
Kerry King
Kerry Ray King (born June 3, 1964) is an American musician, best known for being the co-lead guitarist and songwriter of thrash metal band Slayer. He co-founded the band with Jeff Hanneman in 1981 and remained a member for nearly four decades.
...
of
Slayer
Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style ...
*
Chris Poland of
Megadeth
Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal along wit ...
*
Chris Kael of
Five Finger Death Punch
*
Blackie Lawless
Steven Edward Duren (born September 4, 1956), better known by his stage name Blackie Lawless, is an American singer, songwriter and musician, best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist (formerly bassist) for heavy metal band W.A.S.P.B ...
of
W.A.S.P.
*
Lita Ford
Lita Rossana Ford (born 19 September 1958) is an English-born American guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. She was the lead guitarist for the all-female rock band the Runaways in the late 1970s, before embarking on a successful glam metal solo ...
*
Max Cavalera
Massimiliano Antonio "Max" Cavalera (; born August 4, 1969) is a Brazilian musician. He co-founded the heavy metal band Sepultura in 1984 with his brother Igor Cavalera, and was the band's lead singer and rhythm guitarist until his departure i ...
of
Soulfly, formerly of
Sepultura
*
Mick Thomson
Mickael Gordon "Mick" Thomson (born November 3, 1973) is an American musician. He is one of two guitarists for the heavy metal band Slipknot, in which he is designated #7. Thomson originally met founding Slipknot members Anders Colsefni, Donn ...
of
Slipknot
*
Robb Flynn of
Machine Head
A machine head (also referred to as a tuning machine, tuner, or gear head) is a geared apparatus for tuning stringed musical instruments by adjusting string tension. Machine heads are used on mandolins, guitars, double basses and others, and ar ...
*
Phoebe Bridgers
*
C.C. DeVille
C.C. DeVille (born Bruce Anthony Johannesson; May 14, 1962) is an American guitarist best known as a member of rock band Poison. The band has sold more than 50 million albums worldwide, including 15 million in the United States. In addition to ...
and
Bobby Dall of
Poison
Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...
*
Paolo Gregoletto of
Trivium
The trivium is the lower division of the seven liberal arts and comprises grammar, logic, and rhetoric.
The trivium is implicit in ''De nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii'' ("On the Marriage of Philology and Mercury") by Martianus Capella, but the ...
(ex-
Metal Militia)
*
Paul Stanley
Paul Stanley (born Stanley Bert Eisen; January 20, 1952) is an American musician who is the co-founder, frontman, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the hard rock band Kiss. He is the writer or co-writer of many of the band's most popular ...
of
Kiss
A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...
*
Mick Mars
Robert Alan Deal (born May 4, 1951), known professionally as Mick Mars, is an American musician and the retired lead guitarist and co-founder of the heavy metal band Mötley Crüe. He is known for his aggressive, melodic solos and bluesy riffs ...
and
Nikki Sixx of
Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1981. The group was founded by bassist Nikki Sixx, drummer Tommy Lee, lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil. Mötley Crüe has sold over 100 million albums ...
(''
Shout at the Devil''-era)
*
Craig Goldy
Thomas "Craig" Goldy (born November 6, 1961) is an American musician, best known as the guitarist of the rock bands Dio and Giuffria.
Early musical life
Goldy was born in San Diego, California. Before Dio, he played in the bands Vengeance, R ...
of
Dio and
Giuffria
Giuffria was an American rock band from Washington, D.C., formed in 1981 by Gregg Giuffria after his departure from the band Angel.
History
Giuffria was formed as Gregg Giuffria's side project in 1981 after his departure from Angel. At the o ...
*
ICS Vortex
Simen Hestnæs (born 4 March 1974), better known by his stage name ICS Vortex or simply Vortex, is a Norwegian musician. He is the vocalist of the similarly named band ICS Vortex, the avant-garde metal band Arcturus and the doom metal band Lamen ...
*
Shakey Graves
Shakey Graves (born Alejandro Rose-Garcia; June 4, 1987) is an American Americana musician from Austin, Texas.
His music combines blues, folk, country, and rock and roll. Rose-Garcia received his stage name at Old Settler's Music Festival in 200 ...
* Michael Stützer of
Artillery
Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...
*
Weird Paul Petroskey
Weird derives from the Anglo-Saxon word Wyrd, meaning fate or destiny. In modern English it has acquired the meaning of “strange or uncanny”. It may also refer to:
Places
* Weird Lake, a lake in Minnesota, U.S.
People
* "Weird Al" Yankovic ...
*
Tripp Eisen
Tod Rex Salvador (born June 29, 1965), known professionally as Tripp Eisen, is an American musician best known as the former guitarist of industrial metal band Static-X. He is the current guitarist for the band Face Without Fear, and a former m ...
, formerly of
Static-X
Static-X is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1994. The line-up has fluctuated over the years, but was long-held constant with band founder, frontman, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Wayne Static until his ...
,
Dope and the
Murderdolls
*
Joey Jordison
Nathan Jonas "Joey" Jordison (April 26, 1975 – July 26, 2021) was an American musician. He was the original drummer and co-founder of the heavy metal band Slipknot, in which he was designated #1, as well as the guitarist for the horror punk s ...
(when playing guitar for the
Murderdolls)
*
Jeordie White (when playing guitar for
Marilyn Manson
Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He came to prominence as the lead singer of the band which shares his name, of which he remains the only constant member since it ...
)
* The Seer of
Magic Sword
In mythology, legend or fiction, a magic sword is a sword with magical powers or other supernatural qualities. Renowned swords appear in the folklore of every nation that used swords.Josepha Sherman, ''Once upon a Galaxy'' p 113
In some tra ...
*
Terrance Hobbs
Terrance Hobbs (born April 6, 1970) is an American musician and the lead guitarist in the American death metal band Suffocation. Hobbs has been a constant member in the band since their first released title ''Reincremated'' along with band mat ...
of
Suffocation
Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of deficient supply of oxygen to the body which arises from abnormal breathing. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which affects primarily the tissues and organs. There are many circumstances that can i ...
See also
*
B.C. Rich Mockingbird
The B.C. Rich Mockingbird is a solid body electric guitar manufactured by B.C. Rich in 1976. There have been several variations on the Mockingbird model throughout the years. As of 2016, the current models are the Mk1, Mk3, Mk5, Mk7, Mk9 and ...
References
External links
B.C. Rich Warlock product page at bcrich.com
B.C. Rich electric guitars
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