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Epiphone Elitist 1966 Custom Riviera


paradigm

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Hi all,

 

Seeing as though I have now decided to keep my new guitar despite its complimentary delivery chip in the headstock, I thought I might as well post up some better pics of it!

 

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After seeing so many great guitars on this forum, and coveting Charlie Brown's beautiful Sheraton for so long (and many others!), I am super happy to have this wonderful guitar!

 

Cheers to all the Epiphone fans out there!

 

Ian

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Cougar, Charlie Brown and Red 333,

 

Thanks guys! I really love it!

 

It's a great guitar! I love the fact that it's "spec correct" to the original "Kalamazoo" era! The finish, the 2 hole

truss rod cover, and Gibson style truss rod, as well as body outline and mini-humbuckers. Would love to see

ALL Epiphone models, that are re-creations of those originals, have the same correct spec's (to their model).

"The Devil's in the Details," as they say! [biggrin] Now, if they'd only offer a vintage "cherry" finish!! [biggrin]

 

Enjoy!

 

CB

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[thumbup] Absolutely stunning color on that burst. I thought the Riviera came with a Frequensator tailpiece.

 

Thanks Sleeko!

Yeah normally Sheratons and Rivieras have the frequensator, but this model is a '66 Custom with a stop tail piece.

I think it is modelled after Robben Ford's Riviera (loosely).

I previously had 1962 Reissue Sheraton with the frequensator, it was great! The bass notes on that thing were crazy good, but I like this one more.

It's an early 40th present from my wonderful girlfriend (hence why I was so disappointed with the chip in the head stock).

I'm a very lucky guy!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Stunningly beautiful color & overall guitar!

 

Terada sure knows how to make a fine instrument. I'm fortunate enough to have three made by them, including an AIUSA-JLH Sheraton similar to CB's (but with the Frequensator), a McCartney '64 Texan, and an Elitist Casino.

 

Build quality that can match anyone.

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Thanks bobouz! I agree, the MIJ stuff has really won me over in terms of quality. In fact, I am planning a trip to Japan next year to go guitar shopping :)

Your guitars sound great, I would love to see some pics of them!

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Your guitars sound great, I would love to see some pics of them!

I've never learned how to do the pic thing on forums (too old & lazy), but can email photos.

 

PM me if there's something in particular you'd like to take a look at :-)

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...

Well seeing as though the whole Photobucket thing is no longer working, I am trying another service that i see some other members here use, PictureTrail.

Hopefully the images come out OK using this service - I don't think they are full resolution though, but at least it's better than using Photobucket.

 

I'll take some more pics and post them up at some point.

Post up your pics of your ES style guitars, I'd love to see them!

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Well seeing as though the whole Photobucket thing is no longer working, I am trying another service that i see some other members here use, PictureTrail.

Hopefully the images come out OK using this service - I don't think they are full resolution though, but at least it's better than using Photobucket.

 

I'll take some more pics and post them up at some point.

Post up your pics of your ES style guitars, I'd love to see them!

 

I changed to imgur.com

 

 

fine looking guitar there too msp_thumbup.gif

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks for the kind words crust! She's a real beauty!

I just found this clip on youtube, showing off the limited editions Elitist Casino and '66 Custom Riviera, captures the look and sound of the guitar well, much better than my pics can. Enjoy!

 

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Nice guitar, paradigm. Where did you get it from? I ask because I'm interested in buying one, but all the new ones seems to come only from Japan, and I haven't seen a used one for sale in the U.S.

 

 

Thanks traveler, I love it, it's a great guitar. I got mine straight off ebay, purchased new - i wouldn't say that would be the best way however, as i paid top dollar, but it's a keeper, so I don't really mind too much. 10 years from now I won't give two hoots how much it cost.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks traveler, I love it, it's a great guitar. I got mine straight off ebay, purchased new - i wouldn't say that would be the best way however, as i paid top dollar, but it's a keeper, so I don't really mind too much. 10 years from now I won't give two hoots how much it cost.

 

Thanks for the reply. Did you buy from a Japanese seller? If so, any issues pop up with that? And ant thoughts on how it would compare to an Elitist dot? I have one of those and am wondering if the Riviera's mini humbuckers make much difference.

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Thanks traveler, I love it, it's a great guitar. I got mine straight off ebay, purchased new - i wouldn't say that would be the best way however, as i paid top dollar, but it's a keeper, so I don't really mind too much. 10 years from now I won't give two hoots how much it cost.

 

Thanks for the reply. Did you buy from a Japanese seller? If so, any issues pop up with that? And any thoughts on how it would compare to an Elitist dot? I have one of those and am wondering if the Riviera's mini humbuckers make much difference.

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Thanks for the reply. Did you buy from a Japanese seller? If so, any issues pop up with that? And any thoughts on how it would compare to an Elitist dot? I have one of those and am wondering if the Riviera's mini humbuckers make much difference.

 

 

No problem at all, happy to talk guitars with anyone! Yeah it was a Japanese seller on eBay that I purchased it from. Did the usual checks on the sellers profile, hundreds or thousands (I forget how many) of positive feedback comments and many items sold, so I figured it was a safe enough bet, plus eBay will give you your money back if it turns out you get scammed, so no real issue there. You just pay through the nose, that's all :)

Even after all that it still had delivery damage, but I'm going to keep it and deal with that at a later date - it's just a small tiny chip on the very top of the headstock.

 

If you already have an Elitist Dot, I would say that they are pretty much the same guitar, save for the mini humbuckers vs regular humbuckers (and possibly the nitro finish? not sure what the Elitist Dots had sorry.) You can't really go wrong with a high end Japanese guitar, Epiphone Elitist, Tokai 335 etc, they are just fantastic guitars. I really like the mini humbuckers, can't say that there is a huge difference between them and regular humbuckers, I just like ém cause they are very "Epiphone", ya know? Plenty of warmth and woody-ness, quite clear and articulate sounding, perhaps not as full on / real deal humbucker experience as you get with a full sized humbucker, but I really love it. To each their own. I probably hear more of a difference than there really is - if I was blindfolded I probably wouldn't be able to guess correctly between a mini hum vs regular hum guitar anyway, others might be able to. I just dig ém, don't know what else to tell you, hope it helps.

 

I have my trip to Japan all booked in, going next March / April, going to do some guitar shopping!! Can't wait!!

 

Post up some picks of your Dot, I would love to see it!

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No problem at all, happy to talk guitars with anyone! Yeah it was a Japanese seller on eBay that I purchased it from. Did the usual checks on the sellers profile, hundreds or thousands (I forget how many) of positive feedback comments and many items sold, so I figured it was a safe enough bet, plus eBay will give you your money back if it turns out you get scammed, so no real issue there. You just pay through the nose, that's all :)

Even after all that it still had delivery damage, but I'm going to keep it and deal with that at a later date - it's just a small tiny chip on the very top of the headstock.

 

If you already have an Elitist Dot, I would say that they are pretty much the same guitar, save for the mini humbuckers vs regular humbuckers (and possibly the nitro finish? not sure what the Elitist Dots had sorry.) You can't really go wrong with a high end Japanese guitar, Epiphone Elitist, Tokai 335 etc, they are just fantastic guitars. I really like the mini humbuckers, can't say that there is a huge difference between them and regular humbuckers, I just like ém cause they are very "Epiphone", ya know? Plenty of warmth and woody-ness, quite clear and articulate sounding, perhaps not as full on / real deal humbucker experience as you get with a full sized humbucker, but I really love it. To each their own. I probably hear more of a difference than there really is - if I was blindfolded I probably wouldn't be able to guess correctly between a mini hum vs regular hum guitar anyway, others might be able to. I just dig ém, don't know what else to tell you, hope it helps.

 

I have my trip to Japan all booked in, going next March / April, going to do some guitar shopping!! Can't wait!!

 

Post up some picks of your Dot, I would love to see it!

 

Thanks for the detailed response! Sounds like other than just "wanting" the Riviera, I really have no reason to get it [smile]

 

I do, however, want one, and I do like the Elitists. I also have an Elitist Casino, pictured in the photo with the Dot (sorry, couldn't figure out how to get the photo itself to appear in this post):

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/epf7pd7abil0so0/20170828_103542.jpg?dl=0

 

Guess I'll have to mull the best use of my gear bucks. I did have occasion to make use of the eBay scam guarantee on a Suhr Badger 18 head I bought. The box that came contained an old toy fire truck! They busted that guy. He scammed several people at the same time. But I digress . . . .

 

Thanks again, paradigm! Have fun on the trip to Japan. Sounds like a great adventure.

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  • 6 months later...
  • 1 month later...

Well I just got back from my 2 weeks holiday in Japan, and all I can say is WOW!.

If you haven't been, you should go.

What a beautiful country.

Not to mention the guitars - I've never seen anything like it.

I heard all the stories, read all about Tokyo guitar district before I went, but nothing can prepare you for the sheer amount of high end guitars they have there.

It's just unbelievable. The prices on new guitars are about the same as here in Australia, perhaps slight cheaper by a few hundred dollars here and there, but the selection, the choice is just mind bending. Store after store, flood after floor, high end guitars everywhere. I'm still trying to get over it, and I've been home for a few days. The prices on second hand items however, is waaay better than here in Australia. I was super lucky in that my amazing girlfriend got me another guitar - I can't believe it. I'm still in shock. It's not an Epiphone, so I posted in the Gibson section if you want to have a look.

If you ever get the chance to go to Japan, GO! It is amazing.

Having seen what I have seen, and experienced the level of service that every store seemed to offer, I will have absolutely no problem ordering on line from Japan in the future.

 

To all those that either live in Japan, or have been there already, you know what I am talking about.

Japan is stunning, if you can go, then go!

 

Cheers

Ian

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