BC Rich Afterburner Warlock review

Featuring a chrome plate and a sharp tone, this version of BC Rich's Warlock guitar will make most metal players feel right at home

  • £335
  • $510
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The chrome top plate will certainly get you noticed

MusicRadar Verdict

The Warlock's BDSM pickups, brass bridge and weight give it a tone that rivals that of some of BC Rich's higher-end guitars, although there are some minor construction issues that are a slight cause for concern.

Pros

  • +

    A noteworthy blend of innovation, vibe and affordability.

Cons

  • -

    Construction concerns let it down.

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The chrome top plate will certainly get you noticed
The chrome top plate will certainly get you noticed

BC Rich Afterburner Warlock

The first thing you notice about this guitar is that the ever-popular Warlock shape has been adorned with a laser-cut chrome plate, in the shape of an exhaust flame (as the name suggests).

This plate offsets the 'onyx black' finish of the body to great effect, and certainly adds to the already visually striking Warlock design.

Construction

The Afterburner Warlock features a bolt-on maple neck, attached to an agathis body. Unfortunately, the attractive rosewood fingerboard - adorned with diamond-shaped inlays - has some light marks, not to mention a poorly-cut nut indent and poor finishing around the sides of the headstock. It's a decent player though, and the wide, modern profile will make most metal players feel right at home.

The pickups are BC Rich's own BDSM (Broad Dynamic Sonically Matched) humbuckers, controlled by a volume for each, a single tone and a three-way toggle switch.

With tone uppermost in mind BC Rich has included what it calls a SonicArt brass bridge piece into the equation. Designed by the Traben bass company, this comprises a block of chrome-plated brass to which the saddles are fixed, thus increasing mass and, in theory, sustain.

In use

The Warlock's construction ensures that the basic tone is a slinky, slightly trebly affair permitting a nice bite for aggressive solos and full-on barre chords, while using the middle toggle setting offers the optimum sonic weapon for the levelling of buildings.

As the gain increases so the level of string clarity decreases but, if a wall of sound is your band's goal, this will adequately fill the upper register of your tonal edifice. And as a possible clean-tone party piece, it's rather good for country twanging too...

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