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Please help with this Epiphone!!


ricky1918

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Hello everyone, I'm new to the forum. A friend of mine found this Epi which belongs to his uncle, but he cannot use it anymore and he can't help us to find out what it is. So my friend wants to sell it, but we don't know how much can it be worth. I don't trust the local instruments shop, they barely know what they are selling..

Let's go with the description. this is the only photo I have, I know it's not a good photo but it gives an idea.

 

10268210_10201843737922886_1054589072_n.jpg?oh=f0fe65e133b34dd4e6eb605c1b8ff00f&oe=5352E58A&__gda__=1397928814_5f4ad57b539b44b3c464db2257e6a02b

 

It has a casino-like tailpiece. It has mini humbucker, and there is no serial number written on the back of the headstock. there is a label inside the upper f on the body, but it's all covered in dust: I tried to scratch a little bit but the dust won't go away, but I didn't try with much effort.

 

Can you please help me?

 

THANKS!!

 

 

ricky

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thank you midtowner, but I noticed that 64-69 rivieras has the 2 screws truss rod cover, while modern days ones have the 3... mine has 2 screws, could it be a significant detail or no? also, I saw that modern days Rivieras have the a rounded label on the upper f, mine has a more squared one.

 

are these info somehow relevant or not?

 

thank you!

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yeah I know midtowner, unfortunately I've got only this one right now. I'm gonna take some more the next time I see it, there is also other stuff worth taking a look.

 

I'm thinking it's a very old Epi because this guy used to buy only rare stuff, he's got a Rockman XP100 amp that some of you may well know, so I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out it's a Epi worth keeping for another LOOOONG time.

 

thank you, I'm gonna post some other pics as soon as possible.

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  • 1 month later...

Hello everyone!!

Sorry for my (very) late answer, but I only managed to get my hands on the guitar today. So I've got some new pics from it!

 

 

As you correctly wondered, Steve, the rest of the body is refinished too.

 

Here's the pics:

 

Back of the headstock, it was refinished too, the serial number is very difficult to read, I read 812802 but I might be wrong. However those are Kluson Deluxe tuners.

 

10359296_10202042404369423_1693449604_o_zpsf6608035.jpg

 

 

Front of the headstock:

 

10363881_10202042405449450_1941918488_n_zpsc1bf3f2b.jpg

 

Body:

 

10376391_10202042405849460_1285783102_o_zps460438c0.jpg

 

Label:

 

10374312_10202042405809459_2029566397_n_zps24c9a860.jpg

 

As I told you before, the label in the upper F is rectangular, but I can't read anything because of something like wood dust covering it, dust which I can't remove, it's like glued on it, I don't know.

 

 

What do you think guys?

 

 

Cheers from Italy!!

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Probably that dust on the label is dust from sanding the top mixed with the clear topcoat that was applied when the guitar was refinished. I don't see how it could be removed without ruining the label because a solvent would have to be used. I'd guess that a 1960's Riviera is difficult to find in Europe and someone there would very much like to own it. Your friend could have the guitar refinished again, but would need to be certain that the person doing it has an excellent reputation. If I didn't play guitar and just wanted to sell it, I would take it to a guitar tech to get a setup and new set of strings and let the buyer choose whether or not to refinish it. I like to look at the Completed Listings on Ebay to see how much items are actually selling for and try to figure out a price from there.

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@bluelake07, my buddy doesn't play guitar, we're planning to go to a musical instruments shop and see how much they would pay it. If it's low enough, I think I will buy it for a keeping, I really like it even if it's not in original conditions.

 

@rct yeah you're right man, but I don't think selling them alone would be a clever choice.

 

 

@Steve, yeah I knew those parts were not the original ones.

 

I'll tell you the truth, I like it the way it is now, even though it is not in original conditions :)

 

I tried the pickups, they both work, unfortunately I didn't have the chance to play it since (as you have seen in the pics) the tailpiece is not mounted and the screws are missing.

 

So I'll see how much a shop would pay for it and let you guys know :)

thanks!!

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It's not the best sunburst but far from the worst either - I could live with it. I once had a Gibson acoustic with a sunburst that looked suspiciously as though it had been done with a paintbrush and this is nowhere near that level of trainwreck.

 

As a point of comparison there's a dealer in London with a Sheraton, same era with non original tailpiece (drilled into top, although you could hide it with a Bigsby - the only sensible solution for any monkeyed with tailpieces!), and similarly amateur looking refin listed for £1900. I suspect it will sell for less, and bear in mind it's a trendy London dealer with associated markup, but even so it's far from worthless. The more I look at the picture the more I like it!

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@jayyj hey thank you man! Here in my area (like 15km from where I live) there's a shop selling an Epiphone Riviera made in the 60s completely original for 3300€ (which are about 4500$). Now I can't see it on his website so maybe he actually sold it.

jayyj, can I PM you? I'm coming to London this august and I'm looking for the shops I'm visiting [biggrin] [biggrin] [biggrin] maybe you have some tips for me!!

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@jayyj hey thank you man! Here in my area (like 15km from where I live) there's a shop selling an Epiphone Riviera made in the 60s completely original for 3300€ (which are about 4500$). Now I can't see it on his website so maybe he actually sold it.

jayyj, can I PM you? I'm coming to London this august and I'm looking for the shops I'm visiting [biggrin] [biggrin] [biggrin] maybe you have some tips for me!!

 

Yes, by all means.

 

€3300 sounds about right for a thin neck (mid 1965 to 1969) Riviera - it's expensive by US standards but they're rarer over here and our VAT / sales tax adds to the

distortion. 60s Rivieras are great value vintage guitars, especially taking into account same age 335s, Sheratons and Casinos. If you halve that value for the refin and knock off acouple of hundred for the changed parts you have a good starting point for value. I'd have thought a reputable dealer could get €1500 for it.

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