25-year guitar odyssey

You want wild?

My dream guitar in high school was the B.C. Rich Bich.  It was handmade, neck-through-the-body, really expensive, and loaded with oodles of cool buttons.  As I got better at guitar, I made it my mission to get one.  I worked summer jobs and slaved away for about two years.  Finally one day I made the trek to Sam Ash music in Paramus and bought one.  I was in heaven. (This is exactly what mine looked like):

My B.C. Rich was my main guitar throughout high school and college, and the main axe I used when I began playing professionally.  Most of the recording sessions I did in the early 90’s were done with it too.

But it had its drawbacks – the biggest being the Kahler whammy bar.  The guitar was always out of tune, and very difficult to get back into tune.  On gigs, if I broke a string, I was forced to switch guitars (not true with most guitars with a standard bridge).  As the years went by, I got fed up and eventually made the switch to the Tele and Les Paul I still use.

Once I was living in Israel and my music career was on hold, I decided to sell my B.C. Rich.  I sold it to a student in Jerusalem for $550 and though it was sad, I never looked back.

Until last week.

I was in Phoenix giving a talk and my host told me about the cool B.C. Rich he found in a dumpster in Har Nof.  I said, “What kind?”  He said, “A Bich.”  I said, “I used to have one.  It had a big crack in the neck.”  (I dropped it once on a gig.  It was repaired but left a wound.)

This is where it gets cool.

He had just moved to Phoenix and was still unpacking.  He unwrapped the B.C. Rich and…

…it was my guitar!  No joke.  Crack on the neck and everything.

The guitar has taken a real beating and needs love.  But there it was.  How insane is that?

(You can read about a similar model here.)

November 23rd, 2008 Heavy Metal