HOME                                             

Guitar Refurbishing
I specialize in vintage BC Rich guitars circa 1974 through 1985.
I have all the retro original parts except for the original brass Quadmatic Bridge, which is no longer made. (Bummer). As I complete these unique guitars I will display a pictorial record.
I started doing this in January of 2003. So far I've met three great guys and I'm having a lot of fun doing it. I think I'll continue. If you have an old vintage BC Rich that has been butchered, such as gutting out the electronics or it needs new frets or inlays or you can't find parts for it, send me an email and we'll talk about it and see if we can't get it back up to SNUFF.
There's NOTHING like a well set up Vintage BC Rich guitar, except, a new MCS guitar. :)

I have to add a foot note to this page. I didn't realize when I first started doing this that I was going to have the opportunity to get to know so many great people. Refurbishing takes some time, especially when you're doing it as well as building guitars for "the company" MCS. However, it has given me the time to carry on extensive email communication with the owners of the guitars I’m refurbishing. It has been extremely pleasurable and I thank them all.   NM

                                                                                 

This Bich 6 was sent to me by Miles Baron (MilesKB) located in Maryland. In the process of refurbishing his Bich, we talked quite frequently and became good friends. He has also purchased Genesis neck-thru #1 from me, pictures of that guitar will be available for viewing at some point in the future on the MCS web site.
Miles is a humorous and diverse guy; he has his fingers in a lot of pies. He’s a big fan of the vintage BC Rich guitars, he is a record producer and has his own recording studio www.BaronAudio.com . Miles, along with Alexander Pepiak, were the founders of the Ovation Fan Club www.ovationfanclub.com . Miles also has the “definitive collection of Ovation solid body guitars” a quote from Bill Kaman. www.baronaudio.com/collection Check out all his links and enjoy. Thanks Miles.

                                                                                  

This is Bich #2 and I was extremely happy that David (Dr. Longlocks) Keohi from Portland Oregon sent it to me for a complete re-wire, fret job and setup. David is a recording engineer, concert promoter, musician and just about to open his own recording studio. Thanks David for the opportunity to get pics of #2.

                                                                                 

This beautiful 1979 BC Rich Koa Eagle bass was sent to me by Bernie Clifton of New York.
This instrument is what BC Rich was all about. This bass is a collector’s piece that has been used as a working bass for 20 years. It still kicks ass.
It was sent to me for a re-fret, complete setup and some minor electronics work. Thanks Bernie.

                                                  

This is a beautiful 1977 Mockingbird Short Horn. This guitar was sent to me by Ted VanHolland from Jackson Wyoming. I did a complete rewire and fret job on her. Nice guitar Ted and thanks for all the enjoyable emails. It's been fun, got any other stuff you want me to fix?

                                                                                   

This guitar was sent to me by Dr. Eric Reed of Mt. Pleasant Texas. It is a BC Rich Rave. The Rave is a low line BC Rich import. You might say, "why put a lot of money in a cheap import?". Well, that's what I asked him. His answer, "she's my baby". How can you fight that.
The guitar was a single pickup, 1 volume, 1 tone with a Fender type trem. I've converted it to 2 pickups, 1 passive and one active and put them on a one or the other switch. I've also installed a Floyd Rose Trem with a D-tuna. Then add a GMW high gloss Poly finish and a complete fret dress and PRO setup and this "baby" looks good, sounds good and plays good. Actually, pretty amazing for a $150 Rave.

                                                                                    

This Bich Bass was sent to me by David Allen of Providence, Rhode Island.
All I did to this bass was rewire it, but it was so nice I had to show it on this page.

                                                                                   

This Seagull was sent to me by Tom Tulotta of Bronxville NY. This Seagull was so messed up that I did a complete pictorial of the finished guitar on my "Guitar Photos" pages.
This guitar needed a complete new bottom half. I'll explain further on the pictorial page. Click HERE.

                                                                                    

This Short Horn Mockingbird was sent to me by Pat Larmark of Florida. I wish I had the mbs for all the "before and after" pics. There was a crack in the lower wing on the stringer line. Someone had tried to fix it by replacing the lower wing and they didn't succeed, they also got the electronic holes in the wrong place. So, we had to cut off the lower wing and replace it. I also had to replace two of the diamond inlays.
This guitar now has new machines, new bridge, new electronics, new lower wing and new paint. The only thing original now is the Lawrence pickups.
I want to thank Pat for being so patient. This refurbish job took a long time. It's hard to see in the pics, but it's painted "Glitter Rock White". This is a great color, but there is a time factor involved in working it into normal paint production.
Thanks again Pat, I hope you enjoy the guitar.

                                                                                    

This nice Eagle bass was sent to me by Blair Raguse of Tulsa Oklahoma. Originally he wanted me to do a fret job, setup and check it out in general. However, one of the shipping companies fractured the neck at the nut. So, this job turned into a complete refurb. We repaired the neck, did a complete fret job and sent it out to GMW for a refinish. It took a lot longer than originally planned, but I believe it was well worth it. Now it's basically a NEW bass. Thanks for the patience Blair. I'm looking forward to our next project. :-)

                                                                                        

This Bich 6 was sent to me by Jim Hill of Collinsville IL. It arrived in a nice BIG flight case. When I opened it this metallic blue (Mal did you choose this color? :-O) Bich was looking at me saying "PA-LEEEESE make me pretty". So, we did. It took a while to do it, (like everything these days) but it came out great. I'm not sure WHY it was painted blue in the first place because I couldn't find any flaws in the wood which was usually the reason we would paint a beautiful Koa guitar. Anyway, all's well that ends well. Thanks for being a great customer Jim. Enjoy this baby, she's a nice one. :-)

                                                                                    

This beautiful White Bich 6 was sent to me by Michael Yizzi, Philadelphia, PA. However, it wasn't so beautiful when it first came to me. He purchased it off Ebay and it came with rusted pickups and switches. It was "Glitter Rock White", but the paint has seen better days. So, we striped it down, installed new frets and sent it off to GMW for a white Poly finish. When it came back we installed ALL new parts including Kahler trem and DiMarzio pickups. Then we did a PRO setup which includes a new real bone nut, fret mill and complete action adjustment. The only thing original on this guitar is the WOOD. It's been totally outfitted with NEW RETRO parts. Mike now owns a NEW early 80's Rich Bich. As with ALL complete refurbs, this one took quite a while. Thanks for the patience Mike. :-)

                                                                                    

This nice late 90's "Hesperia shop" arched top Mock was sent to us by Jim Thompson. The paint was pealing off and there had been a buzz in the low E string since birth. We striped it, refretted it and sent it out to GMW for some really nice Polyester. She's looking good now and plays like a dream. Thanks for the patience Jim.
NEXT
TOP
HOME
"Bich, Seagull, Mockingbird, Eagle, Warlock and Beast" and "BC RICH' are registered trademarks of B.C. Rich, and no endorsement, sponsorship or affiliation by B.C. Rich is intended or implied."