Japanese Mockingbird

Reviewer:  Guitarist Magazine circa 1995 

There are few guitar manufacturers so strongly associated with one genre of music as BC Rich. Their wild, curvaceous and pointy designs of the 70's,many of which have survived until today, were welcomed with open armed by heavy rockers then and still are the weapon of choice of many metal bands today. But while Sepultura’s Max Calvera and the napalm death boys are sworn fans of the companies more outlandish shapes., other BC Rich wearers include new country star brad Hawkins, Jeff cook from Alabama, and slash rumours even reached guitarists ears that one of the girls from lush just bought one. That said, there’s no denying that the mockingbird here is a single-minded riff factory of a guitar. You are entering a no jazz zone.

This particular guitar is one of just a handful that will reach these shores with a pearloid-faced fingerboard and headstock, and given its rarity you can safely assume that these beauties will be fairly sought after. If you're at all interested the read the following and get on the phone...................

Leaving aside the extrovert shape, the mockingbird is actually a straightforward guitar in terms of the way it's put together. The body is all maple and while it's fairly thick it's not too much to pay in terms of the weight penalty, the mockingbird feels reassuringly solid rather that leaden. In terms of styling it's a love or hate thing (I’ll swear my deep affection for it now-it's always been my favourite BC Rich shape), but its surprisingly practical. The swooping lower horn and slightly elongated bottom bout means that the mockingbird balances well on knee or strap, although one of our number complained that the slightly spiky top cutaway poked his chest. The less pectorally endowed amongst us didn't find a problem though.

Hardware is of a commendably high quality, if stripped to basics.  BC Rich call the tail stop piece the "quadmatic fixed bridge”, a flash name for a simple but effective adjustable unit. Pickups are Rich’s own custom humbuckers, switchable by a simple 3 way toggle, both have their own volume control while tone is handled by a single pot. The all black finish of the hardware adds something of a pro look to the mockingbird and is obviously well in keeping with the bad boy image.

The neck, like the body, is maple and kind of Gibson-esque in feel. I’d have been disappointed to find a thin speed neck on something like this and while the mockingbird's isn't chubby, it’s wide and fat enough to ensure long-term comfort. The medium/large frets go a long way to adding to the playability of the guitar as well and, although the ends aren't bound into the smart multi layer binding, they’re generally quite well finished.

The binding itself may be smart, but it’s the pearloid fingerboard that is the star of the show. The dark grey looks really, really good-its a bit flash without being too ostentatious and actually feels great in that it's very smooth, so bending etc id facilitated further. The pearloid facing extends to the headstock as well which, other than u slightly ungainly truss rod cover, is virtually flawless. Of love the more traditional styling of this BC design, there’s something inherently right about it, and I’d been looking at the mockingbird a good few day's before I realised that the headstock isn't actually symmetrical.  Quirks, I love 'em.  The headstock area also gets a vote of confidence for it’s sporting of black gotoh tuners, very smooth, very cool.

There’s nothing groundbreaking about the way the mockingbird is put together but the strong styling, the quality hardware and the pearloid facing add up to a guitar that feels more than the sum of its parts. And that's always a good start.

Before you plug the mockingbird in it sounds less bright than you might expect. it’s certainly no thin sounding, it sustains ok, but it's not particularly prepossessing.  When you play it in though, things move dramatically.

Japanese pickups have come on leaps and bounds in the last few years and we are largely free from the over weedy syndrome that plagued them for a good while. The humbuckers on the mockingbird aren't quite as awesome sounding as some retro fit models, but they're certainly serviceable.  No one in their right mind is going to try and play funk on this beast, so all we really need to concern ourselves is how it sounds with the wick turned right up. And it sounds pretty good.

The rear pickup of the mockingbird lends itself to big, detuned, thoroughly distorted riffing and with a little mid range removed on the amp the guitar epitomises metal.  There’s a healthy w end kick and while treble is well represented, it adds a touch of edge to your tone rather than taking your head off. The neck pickup is quite useable too, if a little indistinct on the lower strings with a bucketful of gain, but for more balladic solo's etc it fits the bill nicely.

Playability, as I’ve mentioned previously, is excellent. The mockingbird came commendably well set up with a low but largely choke free action and nary a little in slight. While the fingerboard feels a little plasticy it doesn't take long to get used to the guitar, feel wise, and it's a very fun, “can’t put it down” affair once you have.

Something as stylistic as the mockingbird doesn't have to excel in a huge portfolio of functions; it can concentrate on doing one job well and without too many compromises. It’s quite obviously an out and out rock guitar and as such it really works...it plays really well, it sounds pretty good and looks absolutely fantastic. If there is one change I would make it would be the replacement of the bridge humbucker, a Duncan or maybe an Emg would make a big difference, but I could certainly live (and gig) with this standard issue for a while. It would benefit from a good few years playing in, but those years would be an absolute pleasure. It’s a guitar you should really hand on to for life, and at this price could be the best lifetime investment you'll ever make.