As a result, there is an enormous range of guitars out there. Rich guitars could be вЂ“ and were frequently вЂ“ ordered with a range of options including custom electronics, vibratos, inlays, and finishes. Rich was really somewhere between a manufacturer and a custom shop. In late вЂ™76 or early вЂ™77 the name game stopped and the model became known as the Eagle, as seen here. This became the Bodine Bass for a short while, but then the guitar got the same makeover and the model became the Seagull II (or sometimes, Seagull Junior). In вЂ™75 or so, bassist Bill Bodine lodged this complaint about his Seagull Bass, so Bernie redesigned the Seagull, adding a second cutaway and carving off the offending point on top. The Seagull was heavily promoted and sold fairly well, but players didnвЂ™t like its pointy вЂњfeatherвЂќ on the top, which kept jamming them in the chest. Weird shapes, neck-through construction, and active electronics вЂ“ RichвЂ™s holy trinity. Troiano favored active electronics, which were provided by Neil Mosher, who would play a big role in the brandвЂ™s success through the 1970s. The guitar was embraced by Dominic Troiano, whoвЂ™d just replaced Randy Bachman as lead player in the Guess Who. It was basically a tricked-out Les Paul-like single-cutaway shape with the cutaway horn flopped downward and a balancing point on the top of the upper bout. In вЂ™71, Rico designed his first odd-shaped guitar, the Seagull, which debuted at the вЂ™72 NAMM show. By вЂ™69 he was hanging with other guitar makers, including Rick Turner, which steered him in the direction of neck-through-body guitars with no heel. By 1968, this led to his making his own custom solidbodies, mainly copies of Gibson and Fender models. This gave him a taste for flashy finishes and soon he had a thriving business doing wild refins of electric guitars. Like another L.A.-area guitarmaker before him вЂ“ Paul Bigsby вЂ“ Rico was a biker. A friend named Bobby Rich performed as Roberto Rico and, taking a cue from his buddy, he anglicized his brand to B.C. In 1953 or вЂ™54 Bernie started working in his fatherвЂ™s shop and by the mid вЂ™60s was doing a lot of work for country western musicians, though he felt his name didnвЂ™t fit with his clientele. (Rico the elder also made other stringed instruments for local Mexican musicians.) Young Bernie actually studied with flamenco great Sabicas and hob-nobbed with Paco de Lucia and Carlos Montoya. Rich ended up making unusual-shaped guitars was a bit ironic because Bernardo (Bernie) Chavez Rico, the brandвЂ™s founder and namesake, began his career following in the footsteps of his father (Bernardo Mason Rico) making classical and flamenco guitars in East Los Angeles.

IвЂ™d ask the class to vote for their favorite, and the Rich almost always won the day (though the metallic green Ibanez Maxxas and the black graphite Bond Electraglide with LEDs were in the running). The move always had the 30 little kids putting hands over their ears (and put big grins on their faces!). Rich Eagle and a rousing rendition of the theme from TVвЂ™s вЂњSwamp ThingвЂќ that ended by me throwing the overdrive switch. IвЂ™d often conclude with this cool 1981 B.C. Rich Eagle When my son was young I used to do вЂњguitar showsвЂќ for his classes, showing off 10 or so electric guitars that started with conventional shapes вЂ“ a Les Paul and a Strat вЂ“ and progressed to more unusual designs.

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