B.C. Rich Stealth Marc Rizzo

Marc Rizzo is th elead guitarist for Soulfly. He also has a lot of solo work that shows his very diverse skills and mastery of the guitar. He can play just about anything from shred fusion to flamenco on guitar. He has been with BC Rich for a while and this is one of his newer signature guitars. This guitar is a 7 string BC Rich Stealth guitar with EMGs. The Stealth shape is a classic BC Rich shape. It was designed for maximum comfort and balance. It is most widely known as the model that Chuck Shuldiner played in Death. The construction on this guitar is neck through with a maple neck and mahogany wings. The fretboard is bound ebony with diamond inlays. There is a 7 string original floyd rose bridge with a locking nut up top and 7 Grover tuners. The electronics in this guitar are top notch with a set of 7 string EMG pickups. When you are dealing with 7 strings and beyond you want active pickups. The pickups in this are a set of EMG's with an 81-7 in the bridge and a 707 in the neck. This is essentially the 7 string version of the classic 81/85 setup. The controls are super simple with a master volume and a 3 way switch.

UTILIZATION

With the bigger 7 string neck on this guitar some of the classic Stealth balance is lost. It is a big more neck heavy than a 6 string Stealth is. This could probably be fixed if you moved the strap pegs around. There is no separate battery compartment for the pickups which I found odd in this day and age. To change the battery for the pickups you need to open up the entire guitar. The upper fret access is great because of the neck through construction. The neck is a bit beefier than on most modern guitars. It kind of feels like a Schecter. I think this contributes to the neck heavy feel of the guitar. The Original Floyd Rose tremolo is good and stays in tune well once properly setup.

SOUNDS

The pickups in this guitar are good for rocking the 7 string and tuning even lower. I like the 707 in both positions but the 81-7 is better if you plan on going even lower. The 81-7 is just like its name says it is an EMG 81 for 7 strings. It has all the high end clarity that the normal 81 has and for a 7 string this is important for keeping the mud out of the sound when you are tuning super low. The 707 is great in both positions. On this guitar it is in the neck position. It is a lot smoother and fuller sounding than the 81-7 overall. This can be a disadvantage when tuning super low because it tends to get muddy quicker than the 81-7 will due to its extra fullness. It is good for smooth leads and clean playing on this guitar because of the smoothness. Lead playing with the bridge pickup on this guitar can sound a bit harsh.

OVERALL OPINION

This is a really cool guitar and they are not expensive at all. Back in the day just a few years ago if you wanted a 7 string Stealth you had to go through the BC Rich Custom shop and wait a year. Now you can get this guitar for less than 1000 bucks which is pretty crazy. This is the best kind of signature model as well since it doesnt have any silly logos on it or writing. It is just black the best color for a guitar and has the normal BC Rich logo. If you are a BC Rich fan and are looking for a 7 string they got it all right on this guitar. It has the right pickups and the right feel and a radical classic BC Rich shape that everyone likes.