1983 BC Rich Robert CONTI Deep Jazz Guitar RSJG-2 Vintage Rare Rico B.C. Conte

EvilGuitars.com presents:   The Original 1983 Conti!

Get cozy, this is a long one....

Up for auction we have a very rare B.C. Rich 1983 Original Conti Deep Jazz Guitar, model RSJG-2!

First off, is the specifics of this actual guitar you are bidding on. The guitar is in very good condition. There are some minor signs of wear and some stress cracks in the top, the access area and at the neck and body connection. These issues are in the surface and are not structural issues with the guitar and the flash from the photos make them look much more pronounced than they really are. There is also some minor clouding in the clearcoat on the back near the belly cut. Please review all of the photos.

I just had the guitar brought into one of the top luthiers in the Boston area and he gave it a full check, cleaning, parts replacement and setup. The guitar plays and sounds beautifully. The parts that were changed were the pots, switch and jack due to corrosion. There was also corrosion on the brass parts which he was able to clean without issue, except for the "R" bridge, which took off most of the gold finish, so it is now dull. The problem with these guitars is pickguard "off-gassing" which can happen to any old vintage guitar with this type of pickguard (look it up, it's real, I've seen it happen). The celluloid material of these older pickguards go through a chemical decomposition and lets off a "gas" which corrodes metal parts including strings, bridges and knobs, especially gold plated ones. Luckily the worst this guitar got was on the pickguard bracket, the tune-o-matic (which was not original, and replaced with a new one) some screws and the R bridge. The pickguard and bracket has been left off and sealed in a zip lock bag. If you are going to re-attach it, I suggest you do NOT keep the guitar in it's case with it on, this is how the most damage can happen. I am also including the original pots and switch. Also included is the original case which is in excellent condition.

I have been lucky enough to have 3 of these original Brown Conti guitars pass through my fingers (out of an estimated 8 to 10 Brown ones ever made) and 2 of the 1985 Blue Conte re-issue guitars (renamed with an "e" due to Robert Conti and Bernie Rico not getting along...see the story below). These were ALL made in Japan, despite what some people think, but it's because they are TOP QUALITY Guitars. Even the Blue Conte that CC DeVille had in the 80's that said "Made In USA" was made in Japan, but had a USA logo on it. I have had experience with these specific guitars for over 16 years, and BC Rich for 30 years. I've had over 1000 BC Rich guitars pass through my hands, and have been part of the community. I am also an Authorized BCR Dealer and I am friends with new and former employees including Neal Moser and Gary Hanser. I only mention this to note that I have an understanding of these instruments and that I didn't just find this guitar on Craigslist and I'm flipping it. This guitar is from my personal collection, and after the other 4 I had were sold, I decided that this was the one for me to keep....but times change, and I am letting go of guitars that are in the "collection", and only keeping the ones I actually play regularly. The last Brown Conti sold for $3000 a few years ago, so grab this one while you can, because the almost never come up for sale.

Now, for the Rico/Conti Story as told by a former employee, these are his words, not mine, but very relevant to this guitar,

"I found this situation to be of interest and intrigue as any story with two sides to it. The intent of posting is only to provide information based on first hand accounts of the parties involved. The renditions of these stories are presented solely for entertainment purposes. Each side of the story had been told to me by the involved parties, the late Bernie Rico Sr. in 1999 and Robert Conti in 2002.

The Rico Side of the Story:

One afternoon in 1999 Bernie Rico Sr., was responding to me in a conversation regarding a request I made of him to build me a hollow body jazz box. He pulled out an old catalog, from the late seventies/early eighties and opened it up.

There was a pic of a Conti hollow body. It was exactly what I wanted. So he said "one day" he might make another hollow body. He continued, "I made this guitar, and called it the Conti to honor him, Like a tribute to him."

"But when he found out he said, How dare you use my name without asking me!! I'm going to F*@#in' sue you!"

"So I said to him, I did this to honor you!! You don't like it!! Fine, then F*@# you!!!"

Then Bernie told me that eventually everyone cooled off, and they made a deal to make the Conti 8 of today. This was a personal conversation between Bernie and Myself that was one of many Great stories he told me that cemented the fact I will be involved in music forever.

The Conti Side of the Story:

In 1981 Robert Conti was asked by a young fellow if he could help him get a BC Rich at a good price. Robert called Bernie, and arranged that deal. Apparently during that conversation, Robert made an off the cuff suggested that Bernie make a hollow body jazz guitar.

In December of 1994 Robert was alerted to an article in guitar player magazine from a reader who wanted to know what this Conti BC Rich was that he had read all about. Robert had never even heard of this guitar until that day!!! Robert had his attorney Fax Bernie and Bernie Responded via Phone. Robert said his Attorney "may have had words with Bernie" but does not recall any profane shouting between him and Bernie at any time.

The next month in January at the NAMM show 1995 Robert walked into the BC Rich booth and walked up to Bernie and said hello. Bernie said,"who are you?" Robert replied, "I'm the guy whose name you put on your guitar without asking".

Bernie and Robert began a dialogue, and it was there at the NAMM show that Robert showed Bernie his 8 string jazz guitar. Bernie flipped and suggested that BC Rich make a signature model based on the 8 string idea. Robert agreed, and the CONTI 8 of BC Rich fame was Born.

Side note: I would like to thank Robert Conti for granting me a private interview on this specific subject. Also, Robert had never SEEN one of these Jazz guitars until I sent him photo's of mine.......that was in 2002!"

Again, this is information from a former employee, take it with a grain of salt. What I do know is that in all of the 30 years I have been collecting, buying and selling BC Rich guitars, I have only ever seen 5 of the Brown Conti guitars come up for sale, and I bought everyone I was able to, which was 3. This is my last one (in any color), and I hate to see it go, but it's time for someone else to enjoy it....Good Luck!

LOTS of photos below.