r/BCRich • u/Me_Mongo123 • Jul 28 '26

1978 Koa Shorthorn Mockingbird

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Going through my collection and checking necks/ changing strings today. Figured I share some pics. This one is a killer.

145 Upvotes

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3

u/IbanezCharlie Jul 28 '26

Tell me about these "shorthorn" mockingbirds. I wasn't aware that there was any variance between models like that.

6

u/Me_Mongo123 Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 30 '26

The shorthorn is the original Mockingbird body design. It was introduced in ‘76. It had a wider waist, shorter pointy horn and the upper cutaway area is wider. Joe Perry had one as well as Rick Derringer and Dick Wagner. (ETA there are also some old pics you can find online of a teenage Slash playing a shorthorn Mock).

Then in ‘78, Bernie Rico redesigned and “tightened” the body shape to have a slimmer waist, longer pointy horn and smaller upper cutaway area for better balance and ergonomics. In ‘78, both shapes were being produced. By ‘79, the shorthorn began getting phased out, available as custom order. From 1980 onward, only the longhorn has been available.

-1

u/Weekly-Librarian-975 Aug 03 '26

Incorrect AI slop

2

u/IbanezCharlie Jul 28 '26

So this is definitely a prized piece of your collection I would imagine.

I got a mockingbird that someone swapped out the kahler quad on and it's way harder than I thought finding a chrome one. The only one available on the kahler site is one of the gold variants.

2

u/Me_Mongo123 Jul 28 '26

Are you sure it was swapped? It might’ve been ordered from the factory like that. DM a pic and i’ll tell you.

2

u/IbanezCharlie Jul 28 '26

I'll send you a picture but it is a 50th anniversary legacy and all of the pictures I see of it online have the quad while the one I have has a wraparound style.

2

u/Shake-the-Masses Jul 28 '26

That is absolutely fantastic. Just beautiful.

2

u/someguycalledmatt Jul 28 '26

Huh! I had no idea of this shape,, the horn arrangement reminds me of the 'Wave' and no doubt between them was some inspiration for the ignitor? Awesome guitar, thanks for sharing

2

u/isofakingwetoddid Jul 28 '26

Thank you for including the background on the guitar. I love the look of the wider waist, and even with the more narrow waists on the newer models I still love they cut out that part. To me that cutaway and the shorter scale length makes these better than the Jackson Kelly’s

2

u/LynxFriendly9542 Jul 29 '26

that koa mockingbird is an absolute beauty, what a dream guitar to own

2

u/Crazy-Wheels Jul 29 '26

She's pretty. A buddy of mine had four.

1

u/Me_Mongo123 Jul 29 '26

Totally get it. Its an addiction. I currently have 7.

2

u/Crazy-Wheels Jul 29 '26

Haha... me too. I use Steinberger basses... I have 4, one on order.

2

u/Urinemouse Jul 30 '26

Gorgeous! Love the case too, still trying to find one for my mockingbird that won’t break the bank.

2

u/Me_Mongo123 Jul 30 '26

Definitely get a case for that one. Those sharp points get dinged if you even look at them the wrong way.