B.C. RICH NIGHTHAWK reviewed by Lon

Model name: 

Lon
4
The Nighthawk I have is the classic B.C. Rich model with bolt on neck, purchased used in 1987, the serial number indicates it may have been made in 1981 but there are some issues with validating serial numbers and actual manufacture date on Rich guitars. They apparently were producing guitars so quickly that they got ahead of themselves and had to assign subsequent year serial numbers. The axe is still as purchased, all the hardware is original to date of purchase. The design is simple, well balanced and comfortable to play but it is more on par with a Paul in weight. Dual cutaway mahogany body, bolt on maple neck, this one has an ebony fretboard. Kahler trem with lockers, the tuners are Grover Imperials. It has Super Distortion D'Marzio pickups, 1 pickup selector switch, one volume and two tone pots. This axe was made to rock, the pickups are as advertised, they distort virtually any amplifier, even at low volumes. Country pickers and others needing a lot of headroom should pass on this axe. No matter how you switch the pickups, you get a humbucker's roar. The neck pickup can mimic Clapton's woman tone if you use a good tube amp (I've played this through a Fender Tremolux, Fender Super Reverb, Peavey Classic IV, Mesa Trem), it is all good if you back off the attack a bit and tune the amplifier. The bridge pickup goes from just nasty to super nasty, select this with a little boost and watch the rest of the band wake up. The sound is what you would expect from this axe, slightly dark and rowdy. Playability is good, it takes awhile to get used to the girth of the neck (B.C. started out making acoustics). Action can be set very low, tuning is extremely stable and the trem bar is within easy reach. The pots are easy to reach and have knurled knobs. This axe was thought out well prior to build, there isn't much I would change if anything. Original B.C. Rich quality throughout. No sloppy finish, open pockets or other factory blems. Even on what amounts to their "second tier" guitar, they took their time to get it right. The body of the guitar is finished in a relatively thick clear coat, the neck is also clear coat but is not as thick. All the hardware is first line. The bottom line is that this thing was built like the proverbial tank, it is so durable and resistant to wear (I take care of my gear), I will not live long enough to wear this thing out. My value for the money is high, I purchased this used for $150.00 USD in 1987. I have no idea what they cost new or what the factory support may have been. Hard rockers should love this thing, Blues players might find it a bit much for "softer" blues but very capable. This axe was not designed to play Bakersfield country licks. If this axe were stolen I would hunt down the idiot and filet him/her over a week or so.