To Play a Mockingbird

Apr. 25, 2009

Current mood:ecstatic

Well, for a while I have wanted a B.C. Rich Mockingbird.  Like all musicians I can't get enough musical equipment.  On Craigslist I came upon a great deal for a Mockingbird Special.  Well, it's one of those things that I know I shouldn't get, but darn it I did.  At $350 I can't complain.


The strange thing is that the Mockingbird Special costs $750 on Musicians Friend.  It costs about $150 more than an Epiphone Les Paul of equal quality, or so I thought.  It seems like the Mockingbird comes with a Tone Pro bridge and tailpiece.  They are high quality, more expensive parts than the usual cheap overseas stuff.  The Mockingbird also comes with Rockfield pickups.  So there's a reason why the Mockingbird costs a little bit more.


I am also impressed with the neck on the Mockingbird.  It's so straight that I can easily put the strings down low without any buzzing.  In fact, most new guitars I immediately fret dress, but the frets where so perfect I didn't have to do that with this guitar.  The neck is also quite thick and wide like an old Les Paul.  It can be difficult to play, but a thicker neck will also stay straighter and more stable over the years.

Lee, the original owner changed the pickups to Rockfield Fat Ass pickups.  While they do sound great, I have had a set of Bill Lawrence pickups that I have yet to put in a guitar.  I have had them for almost a year, and haven't had a guitar to put them in.  The pickups were a birthday present, and had been sitting in my luthier toolbox for a while.  While they are too bright for most people, I like the sound of them.  I got these directly from Bill and Becky Lawrence.  It's great to get a custom handmade USA pickup for less than you can buy a Seymour Duncan or Dimarzio pickup.  Bill could easily charge $120 per pickup if he wanted to, but he doesn't.  Him and Becky are really good to players.


The Mockingbird that I got is black in color and really sexy looking.  I'm really, really happy with it.  Even though my friend Don at Greenshift Music said that no one plays pointy guitars anymore, I think all guitar players should give a B.C. Rich Mockingbird a try.