B.C. Rich Warlock King of Metal Guitars

Bernardo Chavez Rico was an accomplished flamenco guitar player and guitar maker who moved away from building acoustic guitars into the exciting realm of innovative electric guitar design in the 1960s. Radical guitar designs like the Seagull, 1972, the Mockbingbird, 1976, the Eagle, 1976/1977 and the Bich, 1978, quickly became popular. The Warlock was developed in the early 1980s and became a favourite with hair bands and heavy metal players. As his guitars grew in popularity he went into producing inexpensive Japanese models under the label BC Rico. This was challenged by the Rico reed company so he developed the NJ (Nagoya, Japan) series, then later the Platinum and Bronze series of BC Rich guitars.

The angular shape of BC Rich guitars makes them ideal for the threatening image many metal players seek on stage. I personally got quite excited by the look of the BC Rich acrylic series, but was put off by reports of them being very heavy. The more expensive BC Rich guitars have a through neck, but cheaper versions are "bolt on". BC Rich have a unique design to prevent neck instability though. Although they closely resemble "neck through" guitars they have a bolt on neck concealed deep inside the body. This means they can have a "heel less" construction which makes it easier for players to access the higher extremes of the neck.The "Widow" headstock is a distinctive feature of many BC Rich guitars including the Wartribe guitars endorsed by Kerry King.

BC Rich Warlock Bronce Review

Kerry King plays and endorces BC Rich Warlock guitars, here are some of the models he uses.


B.C. Rich Kerry King Wartribe 6 Warlock Electric Guitar, Trans Black with Tribal Graphic

Many metal players like to use a seven string guitar which gives them access to a lower range of notes and a heavier sound. This is the 7-string version of Kerry King's signature Wartribe guitar.



B.C. Rich Kerry King Wartribe 7 Warlock Electric Guitar, Trans Black with Tribal Fire Graphic

B.C. Rich Kerry King Metal Master Warlock Tribal Fire Electric Guitar, Black with Red Fire Graphic

The NT series have Seymour Duncan picks ups, these are good reliable humbuckers favourite with metal players, but Warlocks often have B.D.S.M. humbucker pickups (Broad Dynamic Sonically Matched). They also often use Rockfield brand on the cheaper end models
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Active electronics provide a major boost to amplification and tone controls and give metal guitar players far greater power and control over their sound. A common set up is to have one tone control, a three way toggle switch between pickups and separate volumes for each.


Flaming Guitar iPhone 4 Case by melroseplacesf

In a small town setting it can be difficult to track down a case for a B.C.Rich guitar, students have told me this, yet their spiky profile makes them vulnerable to knocks and a hard case is really a must. B.C.Rich produce cases that will fit all the spiky shapes and the Warlock guitar case even comes with a left-handed model too!

This Warlock guitar case fits other designs snugly too!


B.C. Rich Molded Beast/Ironbird/Stealth/Warbeast/Warlock Guitar Case

The guitars below are all compatible with the case shown above.



B.C. Rich Handcrafted Beast Archtop Supreme, Trans Red



BC Rich Ironbird Pro Electric Guitar



Bc Rich Wmd Warbeast Red Bevel Electric Guitar



BC Rich Stealth Pro Electric Guitar

This model of case is suitable for left handed Warlock guitar players.

B.C. Rich Lefthanded Warlock Hardshell Guitar Case

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These books feature music from Slayer and also from the Ozzfest. They are available here from UK book supplier Alibris.

Kerry King music from Alibris UK:

ALIBRIS PRODUCT DESCRIPTION:

"Best of Slayer
New - We proudly present this songbook featuring 15 megahits in notes and tab from throughout the illustrious career of these hard rockers: Angel of Death * Black Magic * Chemical Warfare * Dead Skin Mask * Dittohead * Divine Intervention * Hell Awaits * Mandatory Suicide * Postmortem * Raining Blood * Seasons in the Abyss * Serenity in Murder * South of Heaven * Spill the Blood * War Ensemble."



Best of Slayer

ALIBRIS PRODUCT DESCRIPTION:

"The Bands of Ozzfest
New - Now into its second decade, Ozzfest has brought the best hard rock and metal to amphitheaters coast to coast. Play all the music from your favorite festival bands with this collection of 15 hits, transcribed note-for-note for guitar with tab. Includes: Cemetery Gates (Pantera) * Crawling (Linkin Park) * Crazy Train (Ozzy Osbourne) * Last Resort (Papa Roach) * Left Behind (Slipknot) * My Name Is Mud (Primus) * Seasons in the Abyss (Slayer) * Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) (Marilyn Manson)"


The Bands of Ozzfest

The construction of the Warlock neck varies from model to model, but the NT model has a maple neck with an ebony fretboard which is nice and similar to my Hamer Californian. The Warlock guitar has 24 frets which allows for a higher range than a strat or a telecaster. This higher range is much more suitable for the hard edge of metal guitar playing. It has jumbo frets which make bending notes easier but can lead to intonation problems for inexperienced players who press too hard. As the original inspiration for these guitars was the Gibson Les Paul the chances are if you like a Gibson (like me) you will enjoy playing a Warlock.

The bridge is pretty unique. A chrome plated brass SonicArt bridge designed by the Traben bass company increases mass and thus sustain - in theory at least. The basic tone of the Warlock is trebly and cuts through extremely well for rhythm and barre chords at lower gain, clean sound is almost a country twang, it is similar to my Hamer bridge sound, (Seymour Duncan), but not as mellow as my PRS. Note clarity can be lost with higher levels of distortion - as might be expected of most guitars - but the middle pickup gives a wicked sound that can best be described as a weapon of mass destruction!