Neal Moser was an independent contractor for BC Rich Guitars from 1974 to 1985. Neal originally got involved with BC Rich because of his electronic designs. Bernie Rico (Founder of BC Rich Guitars) saw Neal’s electronics work and asked him to join forces. Neal designed the BC Rich “Rich Bich” and the “Virgin” guitars and basses. His original electronics are still being used at Neal Moser Guitars, which is also the BC Rich Custom Shop. They are also available for sale on the Neal Moser Guitars website. Neal Moser was associated with GMW Guitar Works from 1986 to 2003. Neal Moser was the head luthier for Moser Custom Shop (MCS) from 2003 until his move to Arizona in 2010 where he opened Neal Moser Guitars.

Neal Moser’s Music Industry History.

In 1965 Neal Moser worked at Warwick Electronics Inc./Thomas Organ Company in the guitar and amp department of Vox Guitars & Amps. He did QC of new instruments and warrantee work. He also did guitar and amp demonstrations at annual company meetings. In 1966 Neal Moser enlisted in the Navy for a 3-year tour. In 1969 Neal Moser went to work for West Coast Organ & Amp doing guitar repair and customizing. This was one of the guitars Neal worked on while at West Coast Organ & Amp. https://www.groundguitar.com/jimi-hendrix-gear/jimi-hendrixs-1960s-fender-stratocaster-telecaster-neck-newport/ This is a list of some of the artists and bands Neal did work for at West Coast Organ & Amp.

Jimi Hendrix

Steven Stills

Vanilla Fudge

Neil Young

David Crosby

John Lennon

Jim/Roger McGuinn

The Who

Steppenwolf

Three Dog Night

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

The Ventures

Iron Butterfly

Flying Burrito Brothers

Canned Heat

Janice Joplin

Mammas and Poppas

Buffalo Springfield

BB King

Creedence Clearwater

John Mayall

The Byrds

Poco

Electric Flag

The Doors

Emerson, Lake and Palmer

Leon Russel

The James Gang

Ten Years After

Rolling Stones

After leaving West Coast Organ & Amp, Neal Moser set up shop at Barney Kessel’s Music World, a small music store located next door to the Capital Records Building in Hollywood, CA. There he continued to do guitar repair and custom modifications.

Neal Moser left Barney Kessel’s Music World in 1970 and decided to work from his home. Neal worked from his home from 1970 to December of 1973. Just some of the artists Neal did work for while working from his home.

Terry Kath – Chicago/CTA

Jeff Hannah – Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

Domenic Troiano – Bush, The James Gang

Prakash John – Bush, Lou Reed, Alice Cooper

Danny Weiss – The Rose band, Funk Attach

Steven Stills – Crosby, Still & Nash. Buffalo Springfield

In December of 1973 Neal Moser was contacted by Bernie Rico from Bernardo’s Guitar Shop. Neal Moser joined forces with Bernie Rico as an independent contractor in January of 1974. “Bernie contacted me after he’d seen my electronics on one of the guitars he was painting at his shop. I believe it was a double neck that belonged to Domenic Troiano from the Canadian band BUSH. Dom was a good friend of mine and he asked me if I knew a good place to get his guitar panted. I called Milt Owen, a 63-year-old LA guitar guru at that time, and he told me to send Dom to Bernardo’s Guitar Shop for paint. Bernie saw my electronics and gave me a call. Bernie invited me to the shop so we could discuss using my electronics in his NEW Seagull guitar. Later that evening he invited me home for dinner to meet his wife and kids. After dinner we talked, and I laid out the electronic design for the Seagull. Within a year it morphed into the Mock circuit and then the Eagle circuit. These electronic layouts are still used today in the present BC Rich Custom Shop and at Neal Moser Guitars. Soon after I started working at Bernardo’s Guitar Shop, Bernie handed me a Seagull guitar and asked me what I would change to make it more accepted in the guitar community. You must remember that Bernie was a pretty good Flamenco guitarist, but didn’t know that much about electric guitars. So, I changed the Seagull specs from a very wide, flat fingerboard, much like a Flamenco acoustic guitar, to a cross between a Gibson and a Fender. 1 5/8” nut width, 12” to 16” board radius, medium jumbo frets with a 24.75” scale length. These were the most accepted specs in the industry at the time. 99% of all BC Rich guitars built between 74 and 85 had these board specs. Soon after Bernie met me, he realized that guitar electronics was just one piece of my guitar knowledge and soon he had me doing many other things. My basic job was running the assembly setup shop. I supervised the shop as well as training the assembly shop employees. I laid the bridges, made the nut bones and did the final setup work on over 12,000 BC Rich guitars. I also did designing and template making. I chose the components, such as DiMarzio pickups and Badass bridges and eventually Kahler bridges. Gary Kahler came to me one day with his Kahler flat mount trem bridge proto and ask me to put it on a guitar and let him know what I thought. I loved the Kahler Flat mount trem and we started using them. Bernie and Gary designed the Quad bridge and while it was still on paper, they asked me to take a look at it. I made some saddle modifications, and they went with it. Recently, Gary Kahler has re-introduced the Quad bridge and he sent me all the parts to check out and we collaborated on the final design.

Bernie and I co-designed the Seagull II and the Eagle. I designed the Bich 10, Bich 8 and the Bich double neck. I was also responsible for working with the endorsees on their guitar orders. Often endorsees would come back over time for setups and modifications, like when Tony Iommi brought in his Ironbird for me to do a scallop job on it. When we would get new designs from our customers, like the Stealth from Rick Derringer and the Widow from Blackie Lawless…….etc., it was my job to lay out the “math”, create the electronic layout and the cavity sizes and shapes.

At some point in 74 we decided to build a less expensive Seagull, so I changed some of the Seagull specs to create the Seagull Jr. My hands were the last hands to touch a BC Rich guitar before it got polished and sent to the shipping department, unless Mal Stich grabbed it to jam for a minute. ;-) I keep referring to BC Rich as “Bernardo’s Guitar Shop”, because that is what it was when I got there. Not long after I arrived, Bernie hired Mal Stich. One day when answering the phone, Mal answered it “BC Rich” and that’s how it started.

I’d been a working musician since 1969 and was playing in night clubs 5 nights a week. I continued to play night clubs for the entire 11 years I worked with BC Rich and many years to follow, 30 years straight in all. My band also played a few BC Rich “occasions”. This is the best R&D you can ask for. BC Rich endorsees whose guitars went through my hands over the 11 years I was there.

BC Rich Players listed in 1980, 1982, 1985 Catalogues:

John A.

Carlos Alomar (David Bowie)

John Avila – Bassist with Wave Band “Oingo Boingo” 1084-1995

Arnie Badd - Musician/song writer

Jimmy Bain – Rainbow/DIO Bassist

Bob Barth

Gene Barkin – “Grass Roots

Brad Billion

George Biondo - “Steppenwolf”

Bill Bodine - “Olivia Newton John”

Tim Bogert – Bassist

Vanilla Fudge

Cactus

AB Bryant - Founding member of Canadian roots/folk band “ Headwater”

Ben Bridges - Song Writer

James Burton - “Elvis Presley/John Denver”

Geezer Butler - “Black Sabath”

Frank Carrillo – “Doc Holliday”

“Peter Frampton” – “Sticky Fingers”

Mike Chapman – Australian Record Producer and Song Writer

Craig Chaquito (Starship)

Donny Chesilback

Gene Cornish “The Rascals”

Cindy Cota (Backdoor Angles)

Jimmy Crespo “Lead guitarist for Areosmith”

Rod Stewart

Lita Ford

Suzi Quatro

,Wishbone Ash

Nite Bob Czaykowski (Areosmith)

David Diamond (Berlin)

Rick Derringer - “The McCoys

Edgar & Johnny Winters

Steely Dan

Weird Al Yankovic

Mick Dyche - British Folk Band “Sniff n the Tears”

Bernardo Edwards “Big Apple Band”

“Chic”

Jimmy Espinoza “Thee Midniters”

Eddie Estrada (Calif. guitarist. Owns Seagull #2)

Don Felder (Eagles)

Brian Fedesna

French

Lita Ford

Steve Friedman

Bill Friss

Clark Garmen (Local. Owned one of the original 16 Seagulls, probably #1)

Neil Geraldo (Pat Benatar)

Tsugutoshi Goto - Bassist for “Sadistics, Bread & Butter and Shiro Kishibe”

Rob Grange – Bassist for Ted Nugent

Sal Guglielmi – Recording artist

Josh Hanna

Carl Harvey – Guitarist for “Crack of Dawn”

“Aggrovators”

Jimmy Haslip – Bassist, Composer, Producer “Yellowjackets”

Billy Haynes

Enrique Heredia

Rene Heredia

Toby Holmes - Performing Muscian

Frank Zappa

Jon Huemme

Steve Hunter - Lou Reed and Alice Cooper, Mitch Rider

Areosmith

Tony Iommi – Pre Black Sabbath

Earth

Jethro Tull

Black Sabbath

Randy Jackson – bassist “American Idol, American Best Dance Crew” Studio work

Prakash John – “Alice Cooper, Bush, Lou Reed”

Fats Johnson

Leon Johnson

Ray Jones

Paul Kantner – Founder of Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship”

Carol Kay – World renowned Studio bass player

Danelle Kern – Leather Angels

Kerry King - Slayer

Larry Klein – Played with Willie Bobo and Freddie Hubbard

Al Kooper – Organized “Blood, Sweat & Tears”, Studio backup for Bob Dylan

David Kreiner

Jim Krueger - “Dave Mason”

Bob Kulick - “Meat Loaf”, Kiss, Wasp, etc.

Bruce Kulick - “Kiss, Union, Rosetta, etc.”

Blackie Lawless – “Wasp”

David Lindley – Founding Member of “Kaleidoscope”

Mario Luna

Kenny Marquez

Mick Mars – Lead guitarist for Motly Crue

Lori McAllistor

Mike McBay

Funky John McClaine

Kevin McCormick

Barry McGuire – New Christy Minstrels – songwriter (Eve of Destruction)

Craig McMullen - guitarist on soundtrack (Superfly)

Neil Merryweather - recorded and performed with Steve Miller, Dave Mason, Lita Ford, Billy Joel and Rick James

Lenny Michaels

Kimio Mizutani - Japanese Guitars with band “Out Cast”

Sessions Guitarist George Murray - David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Jerry Harrison

Dave Mustaine – Metallica, Megadeth

Loz Netto – guitarist with “Sniff “n” the Tears”

Tony Newton – Bass player with Smokey Robinson, Tony Williams, Steve Wonder, & Michael Jackson

Ric Ocasek – “Cars”

Eddie Ojeda – “Twisted Sister”

Michael Osbourne – “Black Sabbath”

Michael Osuna

Robertino Pagliari (Pag) – “New Yorkers”

Robert Palmer – Singer, Songwriter

Joe Perry – “Aerosmith”

Randy Piper – “W.A.S.P.”

Chris Poland – “Megadeth”,

Suzi Quatro – “Happy Days – actress- singer”

Lou Reed

“Velvet Underground”

“Berlin”

Jim Rodford - “Argent”, “Animals II”, “Kinks”, Zombies”

Nile Rogers – Co Founder of “Chic”, “Sister Sledge” in Rock n Roll Hall of Fame

David Rule

Stewart Samuelson

Barry Scott

Spencer Sercombe

Scott Sheets – “Pat Benatar”

Niki Sixx – “Motley Crue”

Ismael Soto

Derek St. Holmes

“Ted Nugent”

Steve Stabile – “Street Players”

Paul Stanley – “Kiss”

Tim Stevens

Wally Stoker – English Rock Guitarist “The Babys” “Rod Stewart” etc.

Greg Tawa – “Streets”

Trey Thompson - Played with Larry Carlton, Joe Cocker, Jose Feliciano, Steven Stills, Graham Nash, Cher, Les Dudek, Mike Finnigan, Jim Krueger, David Foster, Amy Holland, Michael McDonald, Linda Thompson

Domenic Troiano – “Mandela”, “Bush”, “ James Gang”,

Len Tuckey

Michael Turpin

Rol Varanese – “Spice of Life”

James Volpicelli

Dick Wagner – “Alice Cooper”, “Lou Reed”, “Kiss”, “The Frost”, “Bossmen”

Danny Weiss – Founding member of “Iron Butterfly”, “Rhinoceros”, “The Rascals”, “Blackstone”

Jim West – Canadian Guitarist, worked with "Weird Al" Yankovic

Brad Whitford – “Aerosmith”

John Wilkinson – Rhythm guitarist for Elvis Presley

Skip Wise

Mike Woldt

Makio Yasuta

In 1985 Neal met Wayne Charvel while Wayne was consulting with Bernie Rico on the ST III bolt-on line. Wayne and Neal quickly became friends. Wayne and Lee Garver were also friends, so when Lee asked Wayne about someone to help him, Wayne suggested he call Neal. Neal Moser left BC Rich in 1985. Soon after Neal left, he was contacted by Lee Garver who was looking for someone to help him put some guitars together. Neal and Lee got together and created Neal Moser Guitars/GMW Guitar Works. Dan Lawrence was also involved with Lee and Neal and created amazing graphics for this new line of guitars. Lee Garver, Neal Moser and Dan Lawrence worked together for many years creating some of the most sought-after guitars in the industry. Lee Garver is the owner of GMW Guitar Works. Dan Lawrence is the owner of DRL Graphics and GMP Guitars. Both still in business. The artists and bands we did work for at NMG/GMW is too long to list, but here’s a couple. Dweezel Zappa and Michael Anthony. Neal tried to retire in the late 90’s, but by 2002 he was convinced that he should start building again. Moser Custom Shop was born and continued to build high quality handmade guitars until 2010 when Neal and Earlleen decided to move to Prescott Valley, Arizona.

Neal Moser designs:

Rich Bich

Scythe/Virgin

Wraith

Spawn SV

Moser V

Siren

Phoenix

Scimitar

Genesis

Blade Runner

Other Neal Moser Guitars models.

Bastard V Designed by Rodney McGlothlin

Morpheus Designed by Rodney McGlothlin

Arachnid Designed by Rodney McGlothlin

Basilisk Designed by Dave Fox

Faststar Designed by Dan Fastuca

Starblazer Designed by Dan Fastuca

Samurai Designed by Ty Weldt

Reaper Designed by Chris Rapier

Wrath Designed by Randy Waltuch