Your Gear Sucks 3 - B.C. Rich Ironbird Prophesy MKII Review

[@Yourguitarchannelsucks]

I’m now selling this guitar because I only want guitars with 2 pickups. The guitar has been professionally set up with nice low action, zero fret buzz and comes with the official hardshell case and all in brand new condition. Check my Reverb listing and feel free to make an actual fair offer. reverb.com/item/83414347-b-c-rich-ironbird-prophecy-mk2-and-official-hardshell-case-white-pearl?

[@Frontschwein666]

Biggest problem with BC Rich seems to be how few guitars they make. I'm looking for an Ironbird at the moment, but I feel like they're always out of stock.

[@Yourguitarchannelsucks]

The white one is back in stock right now. If they sell out again just be patient, they are not worth scalper prices. They are good guitars but not scalper price good. Anyway, bc rich got some more in a day or two ago. In fact, I checked their site yesterday and they had some white ones.

[@foreigner2017]

doesnt sound like a big problem. just buy different guitar. they are all the same in the end.

[@mikebunzey3146]

Goddamnnn those warbbles and arpeggios in that solo wer...sssikkkk!😵🔥

[@Yourguitarchannelsucks]

Thank you for your kind words. I greatly appreciate the support. 🤘

[@mikebunzey3146]

You are giving me ideas for my soloing! Thanks!👍​@@Yourguitarchannelsucks y

[@Yourguitarchannelsucks]

@@mikebunzey3146 Lately, I have been learning various old school death metal songs. A lot of those songs have cool solo ideas and they are not that hard to play. It’s a great place to start. I typically use songster and slow tablature down and learn one measure at a time. For example check out the Gorguts song I posted, it has an easy to learn solo in the middle of it.🤘

[@riffsfromtheabyss666]

Enjoyed your dialogue after your play through. Subscribed!

[@Yourguitarchannelsucks]

Thank you, I’m happy to have you over. Cheers! 🤘🤘🤘

[@phillippitts6294]

Can’t watch right now, but I will in the morning for sure! ☠️☠️☠️🤘🏻

[@Yourguitarchannelsucks]

Thanks! I appreciate your support.

[@gregoryduvall4758]

Order from Chaos!!!!!

[@Yourguitarchannelsucks]

I’m very happy to see someone type the name of the almighty “ Order From Chaos,” Blood and Thunder all the way !!!🤘🤘🤘

[@snowandcoal]

I'd give full 10 if they reverse the headstock. Everything else could be fixed.

[@Yourguitarchannelsucks]

It’s kinda hard to rate an instrument that you don’t actually have in your hand, appearances can be deeply misleading. I did fix the setup and it no longer buzzes and it plays very well. In fact, the neck is very fast. However, I would still only give it a 9. There were a few things that should have been addressed before they shipped it to me. For example, the paint inside all the pockets was still wet and the paint in the cavity literally wiped right off while cleaning it. Allowing the paint to fully dry before shipping an instrument should absolutely be standard. Last, I have found a love/hate relationship with the pickup tone. Some of my amps really hate it. I own other guitars that have much better tone. I will be replacing the pickup in it when I have time, which might solve it. I currently own 12 other electric guitars and several of my others have much better tone in general. So my opinion of the instrument is based on playing it directly against several other guitars. For example, my esp Ltd mirage ‘87 reissue has much better tone but the Ironbird has a better feel on the neck. However, my esp ltd f model black metal out plays both of them, both tonally, playability and craftsmanship. I would also mention my Strandbergs but they cost twice as much as this Ironbird. I compared it to other guitars I currently own at the same price point. In the end I think it is a good guitar but it is not perfect. Thanks for your comment, cheers.🤘

[@morbidalex666]

whoa!!! nice beard!!!

[@Yourguitarchannelsucks]

Thanks. 🤘

[@phillippitts6294]

Watched video this morning. That’s a cool shape. I thought about buying a Jackson death angel , and I looked at the Ibanez that has a similar shape. I ended up getting a Jackson RRT 5 . I got it on December 21. I was shitting kittens worried about it making it safe and sound! ☠️☠️☠️

[@Yourguitarchannelsucks]

I thought about buying the Death Angel guitar as well. It looks so damn nice. As for Ibanez did you mean the Xiphos? I considering buying one of those as well, they come with DiMarzio D Activators which are great. And I agree it is stressful waiting on a guitar that is the mail. What do you think of the Jackson you got?

[@phillippitts6294]

@@Yourguitarchannelsucks it was the xiphos, I didn’t remember how to spell it ! Lol

[@bud8254]

Nice review. I like the simple bridge pickup volume pot setup. My favorite BC Rich I've ever played was an 80s Gunslinger with the same setup.

[@Yourguitarchannelsucks]

Thanks for watching. What color was your gunslinger?

[@bud8254]

@@Yourguitarchannelsucks It was black. Friend I went to collage with owned it. I desperately tried to buy it from him but he wouldn't part with it. Loved that guitar man.

[@freedomtaco747]

Re: QC Issues... Did you have a chance to open up the back yet? Both MKII's I received (original i ordered and the 'fix' 😢) had issues with the tremo claw screw angle. With standard E tuning w/ 9-46 and 3 springs, the tremo claw was flush pressing on the backplate. I noticed after a setup that reinstalling the backplate would knock it out of tune.

[@Yourguitarchannelsucks]

A complete set-up was done on mine. The paint in the cavities actually wiped right off. As for the claw, I honestly don’t know because I never put the backplate back on. I had actually left it off when I did the set-up. Currently the guitar plays great and doesn’t have any tuning issues. I will put the back plate back on tonight to see if there are any issues. Mine is also set up in the key of E with 9’s. I will write another comment to you in a few days and let you know if there are any issues. Thanks for your comment and sorry to hear about those issues.

[@tommygibson9025]

How is the balance, does it want to nose dive when standing

[@Yourguitarchannelsucks]

Yeah man, there is not any balance. It dives as soon as you stand up. However, the guitar is very light. I talk about the neck dive in the video around the 4:55 minutes area.

[@malthus101]

Any use for pop music of the 80s like Prince, Heart etc? :)

[@Yourguitarchannelsucks]

Well it’s obviously way more fun to play Morbid Angel on an Ironbird. However, both Miko Weaver of Prince had a BC Rich as did Nancy Wilson of Heart.

[@malthus101]

@@Yourguitarchannelsucks cool, thanks man!

[@micahwatz1148]

Best place for a strap button is under the 15th fret. Gibson vs are the best balanced guitar to exist. But bcs are great. But yeah, you gotta give them a setup immediately

[@Yourguitarchannelsucks]

I actually agree. I had a Gibson V and it was the best “standing guitar” I ever played. I think that’s why so many live musicians play them.

[@micahwatz1148]

@@Yourguitarchannelsucks its perfectly balanced, doesnt neck dive, and you have high access and can get your hand at the right angle to shred high three note per string runs, unlike a strat or a les paul. The v can be proped up on your leg

[@Yourguitarchannelsucks]

@@micahwatz1148True

[@they_arent_human]

Any issues with the volume knob? Kinda close to hand.

[@Yourguitarchannelsucks]

I personally have not had any issue with it. However, I might not play the same as a lot of other people. I think the guitar is very comfortable and plays really well. It is one of the better guitars that I own. For my playing style I rarely run into volume knob placement issues. I do realize that some people have issues with those things.

[@they_arent_human]

@@Yourguitarchannelsucks just ordered one in black an hour ago. Was looking at the more expensive ones they just came out with but went with this because I was able to do payment plan. Also 150$ off right now on SW. I have a Korean made extreme series white warlock and it's the nicest guitsr I have. This is my first ironbird. Have you tried moving the strap button? Just saw erik Rutan moves his onto the side instead of the back of the guitar.

[@Yourguitarchannelsucks]

@@they_arent_human Congratulations on the new guitar, hopefully it will work out. I wish mine was black. When I bought mine only white ones were available. I did not move the strap buttons on my Ironbird. I don’t like modifying things like that. I also primarily play sitting down 99.9% of the time. I specifically enjoy resting it on the bottom point while sitting.

[@they_arent_human]

@@Yourguitarchannelsucks you grab a case or gigbag for yours? Thr bags are nice quality. Got one for extreme warlock a couple years ago. Either gonna get one of those or the Hardcase.

[@they_arent_human]

@@Yourguitarchannelsucks my first guitar i bought was a black bronze series warlock around 98". Havent had a black guitar since. I usually go for bright colors or natural wood. Def needed a murdered out guitar and nothing cooler than a black bird. You get the buzz under control? And tips for setup?

[@Cloudfights]

Intro is 🔥🔥🔥

[@Yourguitarchannelsucks]

Thanks, I appreciate it! 🤘🤘🤘

[@spoonerluv]

I've had guitars from every price point and "prestige" of builder - all of them have some buzz because of where I like to keep the action. It's just something I've learned to deal with.

[@Yourguitarchannelsucks]

This specific guitar doesn’t buzz anymore. I had a set-up done on it and it is good now. -- update - although I thought it was now good. I just found one high fret that is causing very bad buzz in one spot and on one note. By the way, I own several guitars at various price points that do not have fret buzzing issues.

[@MechaNintendoMast]

Great review

[@Yourguitarchannelsucks]

Thank for watching. I still have this guitar. It is not perfect but it is not horrible either. 🤘

[@TheDistortionPrinciple]

Sweet review!

[@Yourguitarchannelsucks]

Thanks man! 🤘

[@mistershabadoo]

Got DAMN this cat shreds!

[@YellowJack6]

Awesome review. Were you able to fix the buzzing? Also, did you order it straight from BC Rich? How long did it take to ship out?

[@Yourguitarchannelsucks]

I did order this directly from BC Rich. It was fairly fast. As for the buzzing : After a setup, it played very good with out buzzing but I did discover that one fret is high and it is causing buzzing on one spot, on one note. And I’m not going to lie, it annoys the hell out of me. BC Rich need to do better with their quality control because now I need to level that fret and dress it which is not something I should have to do to a brand new instrument. I will not be buying anything from them again. Too many QC issues.

[@YellowJack6]

@@Yourguitarchannelsucks thanks for the reply, I appreciate it. I ordered an Ironbird Mk1 today from their site and I’m kind of nervous about it. The lack of case and the issues you pointed out here are kind of worrying. I’m also worried that they’ll take a year to ship it out

[@Yourguitarchannelsucks]

@@YellowJack6 The guitar will probably arrive quickly without shipping damage. They packaged mine very well. However, fully inspect the guitar. Use a fret rocker to check all the frets. And if you find any problems don’t hesitate to contact BC Rich. It has been 4 or 5 months since I bought mine I’m not sure they will help me with my issues at this point. But I will probably be contacting them myself soon just to see. Check inside the cavities as well. None of my paint in my cavities was even dry

[@YellowJack6]

@@Yourguitarchannelsucks I’ll do that, thanks. That’s kind of reassuring, hopefully there won’t be issues at all ha. Love Morbid Angel and Bolt Thrower, by the way. They’re why I’ve been wanting an Ironbird for so long.

[@Yourguitarchannelsucks]

@@YellowJack6 Me too. The other day I saw a really old emperor photo and it looked like samoth was playing one too. I’ll tell you one thing I do like about it a lot. You can rest the lower point between your legs on a stool or chair ( that your sitting on) and balance it perfectly in classical position without even really holding the guitar. It makes playing it very comfortable while sitting. Check my Emperor video🤘🤘🤘

[@mikerauter1859]

Darren from Benediction plays a white one too. And how about a black one like the one and only Rick Rozz

[@Yourguitarchannelsucks]

You know Jeff Hanneman and even Tony Iommi actually played one for a very brief moment in time. Yeah rick rozz has had several, he even got another one recently. And I forgot about Benediction, I have not listen to them in many many years.

[@mikerauter1859]

@@Yourguitarchannelsucks I never knew that about Jeff! I've seen a brief instructional clip with Iommi and MAB I think played one too as believe it or not did Paul Stanley!

[@Yourguitarchannelsucks]

@@mikerauter1859Yeah if you do an Ironbird Jeff search you will pull up a few images. He has a black one but not sure how long he used it.

[@aqiboyka7670]

hey man，is it made in Indonesia?

[@Yourguitarchannelsucks]

Yes, it is made in Indonesia. However, there are lots of instruments coming out of Indonesia that are top notch. For example, my strandbergs are flawless and they are from Indonesia.

[@TheGreatBaronOBeefDip]

Whats funny is the guitar you had as a kid that you hated is going for around 2k right now, MK! ironbirds are worth a shit load, Id love one with a kahler, BC Rich were supposed to have one to buy but shit the bed. What didn't you like about it if you dont mind me asking?

[@Yourguitarchannelsucks]

If any one paid that much for the one I had than I pity them because that guitar was garbage. People are really just ripping each other off with prices these days. Keep in mind in the late 80’s and early 90’s there were tons of B.C.Rich guitars of various quality levels all over the place. A vast majority of the ones I saw and played back then were very poorly built instruments. That’s not to say that B.C. Rich didn’t make good guitars but they made a lot of cheap guitars that were not as good as their higher level models. I feel very positive that mine was made out of plywood. I remember it had all kinds of issues with the neck and horrible tuning stability. I only used it until I saved up enough money to get a Jackson. If I remember correctly, that was thirty years ago. I was 18. The hondo I got when I was 11 or 12 years old played way better than that guitar.

[@TheGreatBaronOBeefDip]

@@Yourguitarchannelsucks That would have been a Class Axe Platinum Series, I am a BC Rich history guy, did it have a large headstock and awful tremolo? Yours looked like it was a floyd, which I think some had, theres an even worse tremolo on them called bendmasters if you can imagine. And yes those go for 1.5 to 2k now, BC Rich could step up production, but I dont know whats going on.

[@Yourguitarchannelsucks]

@@TheGreatBaronOBeefDip I really don’t remember. It was 30 years ago, literally. All I remember was the guitar was horrible, and it blows my mind that people would pay anything at all for that specific series from that time period, because it was not worth the wood it was made out of. I’m serious it played very bad. However, in the end I’m not that surprised because the guitar community has become really bad about pretending certain gear is better than it is, just to rip people off. All it takes is one KZbin video, and then a second guy to attach a crazy price on Reverb to something that otherwise has very little value and then boom the whole community will pretend a 50 dollar pedal is worth 500. Endless price gouging, it’s honestly sad.

[@TheGreatBaronOBeefDip]

@@Yourguitarchannelsucks I had a warlock like it because I wanted one with a reverse headstock haha, I have had so many BC Riches, unfortunately they aren't doing what I would like them to so I am gravitating to ESP.

[@Yourguitarchannelsucks]

@@TheGreatBaronOBeefDip I actually have a super old warlock with the reverse headstock that I got around the year 2000. As for ESP-- I have an ESP LTD Black Metal F- model, and it out preforms every guitar in my home. I like it so much that I sold 3 highly expensive guitars because it just played better and sounded better. Currently, I believe they are the best bang for buck.

[@Mad_Axe_Man125]

I just ordered a new Bich..Im talking new new...2023...I hope the QC is up to par it was 1500 dollars, made in Korea. It has a quad bridge I hope I can get it stupid low like a tuneomatic.

[@Yourguitarchannelsucks]

Mine was bought in January of 2023, brand new directly from BC RICH as well. Mine is not a perfect guitar but it isn’t horrible but it does have a few issues. If you live in a big city you can probably find a good guitar tech to set it up. Mine did not have a good setup from BC RICH. I also think their QC sucks, but honestly I believe with any guitar from any manufacturer you are just flipping a coin in the air to see what you get. Maybe yours will be great, certainly give it a good inspection when you get it. My advice would be to get a fret rocker so you can test if your frets are level and then of course check the neck. Or if you live in a place that has good guitar techs have them inspected it and set it up. Also if you end up unhappy about the purchase send it back. Personally, I think all companies could do a better job these days. Good luck! Which model did you buy?

[@blakeoms]

I just ordered the black Ironbird (prophecy) in black and I got it from sweet water, I can expect it to ship in October they said, I canceled my ESP LTD SD2 after 3 delays I just lost hope but I'm excited to get mine hope yours is badass

[@Yourguitarchannelsucks]

@@blakeoms I thought they had some of those in stock at both Sweetwater and bc rich currently ? I guess they sold out again. Congratulations, I hope yours turns out well. Mine actually had some QC issues and in the end I prefer my ESP LTD over it. My advice is to get a fret rocker, and the day you get the guitar do a thorough inspection, check all the frets and make sure they are level. Inspect everything in case you want to return it. It’s better to find any and all issues immediately instead of later. However, you may get a perfect guitar. Good Luck. ( by the way the black one looks very cool)🤘

[@LepiSladja]

What about warlock behind, what year is that?

[@Yourguitarchannelsucks]

I bought that off a homeless guy around the year 1999 or 2000 for 40 dollars. It’s basically junk, like most old warlocks. The body is plywood. I’m honestly baffled by all the younger people that want many of those old guitars. So many of the old BC Rich’s from that time period are hardly good enough to be considered fire wood. Don’t get me wrong BC Rich also makes high quality good guitars. But a vast majority of the old BC RIch guitars that people are selling on reverb are garbage. I even had a BC RICH Virgo from 2004 and it was a very poor quality horrible guitar. Yet, I see people selling them on reverb and pretending they are special and asking hi prices [ literally only worth 400 dollars] Again, don’t get me wrong BCRich has over the years made both hi end and low end guitars. It’s just there is a huge proliferation of those lo quality ones that suck and suddenly people are pretending like they are good. I mean seriously that guitar on the wall is made of plywood and the pickups suck. Currently it is a project guitar. I decoupaged it with comic books a while back. I think it was a platinum but I can’t remember. It was probably made in the late 80’s or 90’s. I removed the paint from it a decade or so ago. ( originally it was metallic white ) Back in the 80’s, there was a store in my town that carried both hi end and low end BC Rich guitars. If I had known people were going to want these low end models so badly I would have bought them and stored them and waited for the pandemic to arise so I could make millions off of plywood. lol 😂 Anyway, thanks for comment. 🤘

[@LepiSladja]

@@Yourguitarchannelsucks I am one of that young people 😅 and I have bought BC rich warlock 3,4 months ago, it is silver series (axe era 1992) with 6 point vintage tremolo, plywood, but man the neck is great, it came with grover tuning machines, and for 250€ that is ok, its not the best guitar that I have but I agree pricing is shit, even in germany I see 400€ for bronze

[@Yourguitarchannelsucks]

@@LepiSladja Yeah, the pricing on the old low end ones is my biggest complaint. I just don’t like seeing people getting ripped off. Currently over here in the states I see tons of scalping of new gear on Reverb. People don’t even buy gear for themselves to actually use, instead they buy it just to attempt to sell it for a higher price. It’s really a horrible market trend within the guitar community and it’s ruining any semblance of a fair market. People are just disgustingly greedy and selfish. I think the best bang for your buck is the esp Ltd black metal line. I have one and it out plays every guitar I have and cost less than all my high end guitars. Congratulations on any guitar you get at a fair price.

[@LepiSladja]

@@Yourguitarchannelsucks Well I live now in germany and I manage to snap Harley Benton 7 string for just 60euros what is insane, but in the same time I feel that BC rich just doenst get what core audiance wants, they need to get off high horses and make normal 3 tier guitar plus custome shop, they are in position to make great cheap warlocks but they dont want it as their CEO has told a couple years ago that they only want to make high end guitars, here in europe you cannot get bc rich, new one for 3 years on thomann or any other dealer, in my opinion they should have guitars like these tier 1: bolt-on, BDSM pick ups, non fancy tremolo version of haousehold models like warlock, kkv, ironbird, beast around 500$ mark, if jackson can sell solid dinkies for half of that price so can bc rich tier 2:more diffrent models, bitch, warbeast etc... with floyd rose, same as these here 1000$, neckthough with 1 humbaucker tier 3: something like old NY models, we are talking all neckthough, with dimarzio pickups, with grover machine heads, and kahler/ better class of floyd rose 1500-2000 $ mark and for custome I dont care, this is more for US customer because tax and import fees are huge here in europe.But I get me what I am talking about, because right now I got feeling that all other iconic metal guitar are much cheaper than bc rich, example A: this is cheapest bc rich on thomann www.thomann.de/intl/bc_rich_mockingbird_extreme_exotic_fr.htm 1500 euros for guitar with floyd rose 1000, jackson is selling fying V (bolt on yes) with same tremolo for 330 euros

[@LepiSladja]

Also another question, what is rooster of artist for BC rich, I only see that five punch death something, one K-pop artist with white bc rich and Erik rutan 7000$ ironbird come on, you have a such a legacy, people woul shill out money for trey azentoth signature, why not sign up for new bends like gatecreeper, sanguisugabogg, or some black metal like dark funeral, watain ...signature basses glen benton, jo bench... wtf are they doing

[@solarfallmori]

Were you able to solve that buzzing?

[@Yourguitarchannelsucks]

Not yet, but I’m working on it. I will reply to this question again in a few days.

[@solarfallmori]

@@Yourguitarchannelsucks thanks man, I hope it works well 🤘🏻

[@Yourguitarchannelsucks]

@@solarfallmori I just thought I would let you know that the fret buzzing is resolved.

[@solarfallmori]

@@Yourguitarchannelsucks thank you! have you been able to put the action low?

[@Yourguitarchannelsucks]

@@solarfallmori Yes, it is at .067” at the 12” fret so very low. The neck is straight. It doesn’t buzz unless I play very hard. I should probably raise the action just a little because when I play thrash riffs I tend to play very hard. In other news, I have a love / hate relationship with the super distortion in it. So I might change the pickup out soon.

[@PeterSTIHL]

Leather strap gets rid of neck dive. Levys MSS7 strap is what I use.

[@Yourguitarchannelsucks]

Good to know. Personally, I enjoy playing while seated. It balances very well on the lower point, which perfectly positions it in classical position.

[@PeterSTIHL]

@@Yourguitarchannelsucks I've owned 4 Ironbirds. Basically what's going on is; the way a traditional Strat pegs are mounted on; one on the side and one on the top horn of the Strat. With the Ironbird, that top "horn" is cut away and they mounted the strap peg where it normally was before. So it messes up the geometry of the guitar when you have a regular nylon strap. Some people relocate the peg, I've seen people put weights in them. 30 dollar suede leather strap all it took for me.

[@Yourguitarchannelsucks]

@@PeterSTIHL Maybe that will help someone who is dealing with it. Thanks for information.

[@PeterSTIHL]

@@Yourguitarchannelsucks That is the reason why I posted :) I didn't want people getting discouraged by thinking these things were: "top heavy". Jackson Kelly's have the same problem. Thanks for the replies!