Death metal fans can own a piece of history as the late Chuck Schuldiner’s green B.C Rich Stealth has been listed on eBay.
Schuldiner is synonymous with the Stealth’s pointy silhouette, and his name has been attached to a series of tribute models over the years, with the latest arriving in 2021. Now, however, fans can get a hold of the real deal.
The listing has been reluctantly created by Schuldiner’s nephew, Chris Steele, due to “extenuating circumstances”.
The auction runs until April 18 and has already surpassed the $20,000 threshold with over 60 bids.
The custom shop model, built between the mid-late ’90s, is said to be in “remarkable shape” and barely touched since Chuck’s passing.
While this specific guitar never saw the road, it was used by Schuldiner in the studio “from time to time” and is, according to Steele’s listing, “exactly the way Chuck left it aside from a new pot and knob. Chuck removed the knob at some point and never replaced it”.
Chuck Schuldiner produced seven studio albums with Death between 1987-98, helping pioneer the death metal genre. The band was then responsible for its reinvention with ‘91s fusion-infused Human, which also featured Cynic’s Paul Masvidal.
Going off Steele’s estimated build date, it’s most likely to have seen studio action around the time of Death’s final two albums, Symbolic (1995) and The Sound of Perseverance (1998). It may have also featured on his post-Death project, Control Denied, which produced one album in 1999.
The angular green guitar features a singular DiMarzio X2N pickup in the bridge and 10-gauge GHS Boomer strings. It ships with a certificate of authenticity, and the original, Chuck-removed tone pot.
“Up for auction is Chuck Schuldiner's USA-made, custom shop, Emerald Green B.C. Rich Stealth,” says Steele’s listing. “I would date the guitar around [the] mid to late nineties due to some B.C. Richs leaving the custom shop without serial numbers, this being one of them.
“I provide a personalized COA upon close of auction and payment. If shipped overseas I will remove the strings to preserve the integrity of the neck. Good luck and happy bidding.”
Schuldiner passed all too soon in 2001 from pontine glioma, a rare type of brain stem cancer.
Reflecting on her son's natural guitar-playing ability, Jane Schuldiner told Guitar World: “The first time he played the electric guitar, it was as if a switch was turned on in him. And it never turned off.”
Readers wanting to bid on this piece of death metal history can check out the eBay listing.
