B.C. Rich Beast plans

[Igzie]

Hi,

1. I’m looking for plans for a BC Rich Beast. I can find many other BC plans, but not the Beast.
I want to build one, BC Poor!

 

2. I have a neck that I bought on eBay.

https://www.tradera.com/item/391267820
 

But will I be able to use it? I’m thinking of the length and number of frets (this one has 24).

It just needs to work, not be 100% model accurate.

[Bizman62]

1 hour ago, Igzie said:

It just needs to work, not be 100% model accurate.

That makes it a whole lot easier!

So you have a neck and you'd need a body looking like the Beast. One option is to take a photograph and enlarge it to the exact size. The width of your neck will help there, make the photo match with the highest frets. You can then use the photo as a paper template to draw the outlines of the body as well as locating the knobs and switches. That should also give you the guidelines of where to route your pickup cavities.

Locating the bridge, whatever type of Floyd that may be, is pure simple mathematics based on the neck you have. The bridge pieces have to be at the same distance from the 12th fret than the nut is. Well, not exactly but well within the adjustment range. There's template drawings for about all types of bridges available so that should not be a big issue to find.

Have fun! And keep asking, this community loves to help!

[MiKro]

Here is the only thing I can find at the moment.

MK

 

guitar_plan_beast.pdf

[Igzie]

Thanks! That helps. I’ll try to take messurements based on the width of the neck and print a template.

I’ve got a 60mm thick birch piece that I will plane cut and glue. It’s been sitting indoors for about 5 years.

The birch piece has some knots here and there. Is that a small or big problem? Looks-wise I don’t care. Will stain it black regardless..

[Bizman62]

16 minutes ago, Igzie said:

The birch piece has some knots here and there. Is that a small or big problem?

You can make them a feature or a problem. If a knot falls off under the bridge pole it's a problem. If there's a knot hole right in the middle of a pickup cavity it's not a problem. If there's a knot or knot hole in a solid area of the body it's a decorative feature. Just be cautious not to have a loose knot where most strength is needed, i.e. the neck joint and the bridge area.

[Igzie]

Hi again,

What would be a likely/reasonable thickness for the finished guitar and what should I aim for in the body blank?

[Bizman62]

Again, since you're not making an exact copy, there's plenty of room for adaptation. A quick search gave 45 mm for the body thickness of the Beast. That's similar to many flat top electric guitars. You can go thinner if you want/need to, 40 mm is still structurally thick enough. The thinnest commercial guitars are some 32 mm thick.

Note that with a very thin body you'll have to pay extra attention to the balance. Unless the body wood is very heavy by nature a thin guitar might require lightweight tuners and still be neck heavy. Then again, if the body end strap button is at the end of the horn it will counterbalance the neck.

It's easier to take material off the bottom than add.

 

[Igzie]

A couple of additional questions:

1. How to choose the width of the bridge? Considering a roller bridge.

2. Does the Gibson control board featured below give me any additional functionality over ”regular” wiring for splitable humbuckers?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/293390581732

 

Edited April 10, 2020 by Igzie

[Bizman62]

1. The bridge width is dependent on the neck. Note that the fretboard is wedge shaped so the bridge has to be wider than the end of the fretboard. You'd want the outermost strings to follow the fretboard edge at a certain distance all the way so the bridge has to be of a width that will guide the strings in that manner. Draw lines along the sides of the neck, in your case also following the string lines to find out what the width between the grooves of the outermost bridge pieces has to be.

2. The control board is just a fancy way of doing a wiring harness. You can find similar ones made with wires, or wired on a metal plate. The latter serves the purpose of perfect grounding. Doing it by yourself will allow you to position the knob at will and it's not too difficult to do.