BC Rich Warbeast..
Born and Bred For Heavy Metal

The BC Rich Warbeast is not a guitar for everyone. Its aggressive, menacing, malevolent looks leave no doubt that this is a guitar that was designed for Heavy Metal. It will have your family wringing their hands in despair, certain that you have gone to the Dark Side and your poor old grey-haired Granny running for her life. Seriously, though, all kidding aside the BC Rich Warbeast is a great guitar.

The Warbeast is a far more versatile guitar than its "I'm going to eat you for breakfast." looks might lead you to believe. It's capable of tones ranging from a great clean tone all the way to howling, screaming, melt your face Heavy Metal mayhem. Paul Riario of Guitar World Magazine can sum it up far better than I can:

There are currently six production models of the BC Rich Warbeast ranging from lower priced, entry level models all the way up to high end models designed for the professional musician. The different models have varying feature sets, which I will describe below, but all are high quality instruments.

My Personal Take...

I own one of the very first WMD Warbeast models made(the model, in fact, that Paul demoed in the video). It's fairly heavy guitar with a very fat neck and a flat, classical guitar-like fingerboard. The fingerboard makes it much easier and faster to play than the fat neck would lead you to think. The Warbeast's shape makes it look like it would be an uncomfortable guitar to play but that isn't the case.

In fact, it's easy to find a playing position that is comfortable and allows you easy access to the fretboard. My only quibble is that the BC Rich Warbeast is a bit neck heavy. I've discovered, however, that lightly resting your picking hand forearm against the bevel of the top horn on the butt of the guitar easily compensates for the guitar's neck heaviness. All in all, I love the guitar and recommend it highly. If you're a Heavy Metal guitarist, you need to give the BC Rich Warbeast a serious look.

The Current BC Rich Warbeast Lineup...

If You're Interested In Purchasing One Of These Beasts, Click On The Guitar Name

Warbeast One
Click Image For A Larger View

The BC Rich Warbeast One is an entry(beginner) level guitar. That's not to say that it's a low quality instrument. The Warbeast One features a basswood body for great tone, a bolt-on 25 1/2 inch scale length maple neck with a rosewood, 22 fret fingerboard with no fret inlays. The headstock is the SOB(Son of Beast) style. The Warbeast One has a Tune-O-Matic bridge with string-thru-body tailpiece construction for added tone and sustain. It has two BC Rich BDSM humbucker pickups, one at the bridge and one at the neck. All in all, the Warbeast One is a great entry level Heavy Metal guitar.

WMD Warbeast
Click Image For A Larger View

The BC Rich WMD Warbeast is a serious, high end guitar meant for the professional Heavy Metal guitarist. The WMD Warbeast features a neck-thru-body design for optimal tone and sustain. The body itself is made of nato(Eastern mahogany) and provides a deep, rich tone. The neck is maple with an ebony 25 1/2 inch scale, 24 fret fretboard. In keeping with the guitar's sinister look, the fretboard has no fret inlays. The neck does, however, have small, white fret markers on the top of the neck so that you can tell where you are. Rounding out the configuration is BC Rich's SOB headstock with Grover Rotomatic tuners.

The WMD Warbeast features Rockfield humbucking pickups - a Rockfield Fat Ass and a Rockfield Mafia at the neck. Let me tell you from experience that these pickups kick some serious butt. They are perfectly matched to the WMD Warbeast for superior sound quality. Rounding out the package is is an Original Floyd Rose double locking tremolo. This guitar is one serious Heavy Metal weapon.

NJ Deluxe Warbeast
Click Image For A Larger View

The BC Rich NJ Deluxe Warbeast is another very high end model, featuring neck-thru-body construction. The neck is 25 1/2 inch scale length, made of mahogany with a 24 fret ebony fretboard with a single pearl inlay at the 12^th fret. The headstock is the SOB style with Grover tuners.

The NJ Deluxe Warbeast uses EMG humbucking pickups - an EMG 85 at the neck and an EMG 81 at the bridge. The bridge itself is an Original Floyd Rose double locking tremolo. To round out the look the NJ Deluxe sports full pearl binding on the body, neck and headstock. Sweet!! This is a gorgeous Heavy Metal monster.

Trace Warbeast T
Click Image For A Larger View

The BC Rich Trace Warbeast T is a mid-range model with bolt-on neck construction and a basswood body for a nice, warm tone. The neck is maple with a 25 1/2 inch scale length with a 24 fret ebony fretboard with no fret inlays and silver pinstriping on each side of the fretboard. The headstock is the Beast style with BC Rich die-cast tuners.

The Trace Warbeast T features two BC Rich BDSM humbucking pickups - one at the neck and one at the bridge. The bridge itself is a Floyd Rose Licensed double locking tremolo. Like all BC Rich Warbeast models, the Trace Warbeast T has great tone and sustain. To round things out, the Trace Warbeast T sports silver pinstriping on the body as well as the neck, giving it a very sinister, yet cool look. This a lot of guitar for its price point.

Trace Warbeast
Click Image For A Larger View

The specifications on the BC Rich Trace Warbeast are virtually identical to the Trace Warbeast T with only a couple of exceptions. The neck and body construction are the same as the Trace Warbeast T, however, the bridge is a Tunomatic rather than a tremolo. In addition, the Trace Warbeast features a string-thru-body construction which provides great tone and sustain.

The Trace Warbeast features the same color scheme as the Trace Warbeast T for a very cool, sinister look. All in all, the BC Rich Trace Warbeast is a great entry level guitar with a great sound and high quality construction and materials.

TWBSTO Trace Warbeast
Click Image For A Larger View

When it comes to extreme and aggressive shapes, it's tough to top BC Rich. The BC Rich TWBSTO Trace Warbeast combines elements of the Warlock and the Beast to create a dangerous new breed of guitar.

The TWBSTO Warbeast features a basswood body and a bolt-on maple neck with rosewood fretboard. Thru-body stringing provides strong sustain, a tight, punchy sound and feel. Two high-output BC Rich humbuckers dish out the fire-breathing tone you crave, and a radically-styled Beast headstock adds the finishing touches to this monster.

Watch out - the BC Rich Warbeast is on the loose!

Blood Bound Warbeast
Click Image For A Larger View

If Dracula played Heavy Metal guitar, the BC Rich Blood Bound Warbeast is the guitar he would have strapped over his shoulder. The specifications of the Blood Bound Warbeast are the same as those for the Trace Warbeast except for the color scheme.

The Blood Bound Warbeast sports blood red pinstriping and fret inlays giving it one of the most sinister appearances that you will ever see on any guitar. This is one of the coolest entry levels guitars you will find anywhere. Sharpen your fangs and let's hit the night!

All in all, the BC Rich Warbeast lineup provides a range of fantastic guitars with super unique, sinister looks catering to players of all levels. Grab yourself a BC Rich Warbeast and let the battle begin!! (I got mine as soon as the first model hit the market.)

Return To BC Rich Electric Guitars From BC Rich Warbeast

Return To Electric Guitar Wizard Home From BC Rich Warbeast