“People are infatuated with heavy solidbody guitars for no real reason. It was a fad, a myth; the more mass, the less it can vibrate and the more the strings have to vibrate, which may be true”: How Rick Derringer helped create the B.C. Rich Stealth

Rick Derringer wields his B.C. Rich Stealth guitar onstage in 1991.

“Les Paul was a working musician who put his ideas into a working model that said something to guitar players,” offers Rick Derringer about guitars named after a musician. “That's what I'm trying to do with my Rick Derringer Stealth guitar.

“I'm one of the few guitarists who has designed an instrument from inception. Neal Schon's with Aria or Lee Ritenour's with Gibson are actually pre-existing instruments where the companies have done minor changes for the guitarist, who have leant their names for these subtle changes.”