Lofgren Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 It finally arrived! Fantastic guitar, love it. I must say, Epi quality has been consistently high lately, especially the vintage reissues, this one is a prime example. Great fretwork, lively acoustically, great fit and finish, surprisingly good sounding mini hb pups, perfect nut fit. Almost as impressive as the 50th anniversary casino Sorry for the crappy pics, maybe will upload more through some image hosting site. EDIT: More pics below Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan189 Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 Nice! I have the same guitar. I have upgraded mine with a ABR-1 bridge, Tusq nut and Grover Deluxe tuners to complete it! :-) I play mine through a Marshall JCM 2000... it's a decent rythym guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crust Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 that looks super. someday happy new red Riviera day :) :) B) B) check out my new ES-335 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lofgren Posted September 14, 2013 Author Share Posted September 14, 2013 More pics: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bender 4 Life Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 WOW !! nicest Rivvie i've seen in a while ! which "Vintage Series" is that from? if I hadn't gotten a Cherry '62/50 Sherri w/Frequensator & minis 7 months ago, i'd be all over that !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lofgren Posted September 14, 2013 Author Share Posted September 14, 2013 Alan189: I don't think I'm even going to upgrade it (not for a long while at least), the tuners are better than I expected, no problems staying in tune whatsoever, and the pickups are surprisingly good. But perhaps down the road I'll get a couple of unpotted Skatterbrane mini HB's Yes it sounds good through a marshall, I play it through a Marshall JTM1 with a 1x12 Celestion G12 Greenback and it sounds fantastic, almost strat-like quality through the minis Also sounds extremely good through the Orange Rockeverb I must respectfully disagree on the "decent rythm guitar" though :) I think it's an awsome lead guitar, prefer it over my Gibson LP trad and Greco EG59. I think the frequensator takes some getting used to though, in regards to string tension, but it looks so awsome so I wouldn't change it for a stoptail ever crust: Thanks! You should definately get one someday :) I checked out your es-335 thread, it's beauty, how does it play? Bender 4 Life: It's not from a particular "Vintage series" per se, I just meant Epi's reissues in general that are close to vintage spec Kalamazoo-era Epi's. I.e. Casino's, Frequensator+MiniHB Rivieras and Sheratons, Mini+HB crestwood and Sorrento, etc :) This one, the "Epiphone Riviera Limited Edition "CustomShop" Cherry" is exclusive to European resellers (more info here: http://epiphonewiki.com/index.php/Riviera ), however the AIMM edition seems like the exact same run and is available in North America. The 62 Sheraton reissue 50th anniversary is one I've been drooling over for the past year, but I haven't been able to find one yet. Though I've always had a weak spot for the Riviera and prefer it over the Sheraton, so I would have gotten this one regardless. But I'll probably buy a Vintage Sunburst 1962 Sheraton 50th Anniversary if/when I find one :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgrasso Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 Nice Riviera. My favorite over the P93. I agree that you should have both the Riviera and the 62 Sheraton Reissue. My Riviera is an late model, 06 from Korea in cherry.White truss rod cover, which I like. I also bought the 62 Sheraton in cherry.Different enough for me. Did you get this new or used? Enjoy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lofgren Posted September 14, 2013 Author Share Posted September 14, 2013 Nice Riviera. My favorite over the P93. I agree that you should have both the Riviera and the 62 Sheraton Reissue. My Riviera is an late model, 06 from Korea in cherry.White truss rod cover, which I like. I also bought the 62 Sheraton in cherry.Different enough for me. Did you get this new or used? Enjoy I actually bought it new, reseller here in Scandinavia had one, not sure if it was just some old left over stock from a warehouse or if Epi's made another run of these. The Sheraton is a must-have, so I'll get it when I find one :) I'm still hoping Epi will make a "1964 Riviera 50th Anniversary" in Royal Tan, it's the missing peace of the puzzle, after all the Riviera is up there with the Casino and Sheraton as Epiphones most popular kalamazoo models Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indiekiduk Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 I prefer the Riviera with the "crown" inlay at the center of the headstock, not sure why the went with the "dot" on the Chinese version??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 I prefer the Riviera with the "crown" inlay at the center of the headstock, not sure why the went with the "dot" on the Chinese version??? Because, that vertical "oval" headstock inlay (shown) was on the original USA (Kalamazoo) Riviera! So it is "historically" correct, to the original. The Crown inlay, wasn't used on a Riviera, until they were made in Asia. I suppose, as a nod to the ES-335, which the original Riviera was more akin to, back then. CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lofgren Posted September 14, 2013 Author Share Posted September 14, 2013 I prefer the Riviera with the "crown" inlay at the center of the headstock, not sure why the went with the "dot" on the Chinese version??? The "dot" inlay is the historically accurate inlay for a Riviera. Look at pictures of 60's kalamazoo made Rivieras and you'll see. The "Crown" inlay on the other hand doesn't belong on an Epi IMHO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bender 4 Life Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 this Rivvie looks like a mating of a Casino & Sheraton.....maybe best of both. are the minis the Gibson minis they're using now? I LOVE THEM !!, they actually balance ! I'll probably end up getting a Rivvie sometime.....I sure do like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lofgren Posted September 16, 2013 Author Share Posted September 16, 2013 this Rivvie looks like a mating of a Casino & Sheraton.....maybe best of both. are the minis the Gibson minis they're using now? I LOVE THEM !!, they actually balance ! I'll probably end up getting a Rivvie sometime.....I sure do like it. The Riviera design has that something I can't put my finger on. Take a look at the following two examples from the kalamazoo era, I almost drooled myself to death: http://www.lespaulforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=178537 http://www.vintage-guitars.se/1967_Epiphone_Riviera_Model_E360TD_389885.htm Regarding the pickups on mine, i believe they are Epi produced, not the gibson USA minis that the 50th anniversary has. But these do sound absolutely fantastic, I don't feel any need to upgrade them. If I do upgrade them however, I'll probably go with Skatterbrane Windbranes, they are skatterwound, unpotted mini-PAF replicas, he's used the early Epi mini-PAF from the early 60's as a reference for the Windbranes. But They sound fantastic as they are now, and that upgrade itch just isn't there. When I bought my 2012 Gibson LP Traditional, the first thing I did was to rip out the 57 Classic pups, install a new harness with 500k pots, wired in 50's wiring, and install unpotted Mojotone PAF Clones. But with the Riviera I have no complaints with the pickups at all :) I highly recommend one :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongMan Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 are the minis the Gibson minis they're using now? Nope, the minis of the Riviera are chinese ones. The Gibson minis are only used on the 50th anniversary Sheraton and Sorrento. The ltd. edition Riviera is not from the anniversary series, it was released earlier (in 2010 I guess). The 50th anniversary Sheraton and the ltd. edition Riviera are pretty different, I have them both. I would rate the Sheraton a whole step higher than the Riviera. Better finish, better playable neck profile, lighter (3.7kg for the Sherri vs. 4.1kg for the Riviera), better hardware. Don't forget the Sheraton 50th anniversary is almost double the price than the Riviera ltd. edition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lofgren Posted September 30, 2013 Author Share Posted September 30, 2013 So now that the honeymoon is over, I have a slightly new perspective, I have also modded it somewhat (See pics below). The first thing you'll notice is that I've dulled the finish to a semi-gloss, It made a huge difference in both look and feel, it feels alot less like a toy now. The images doesn't quite capture it (crappy ipad camera), but it does look alot better in person, it has a more wine-red appearance. I wetsanded with 1200 grit and then buffed it up with Turtle Wax Super Hard Shell polish, it took 12-hours straight (ugh!). I left the face of the headstock glossy (I might dull it up later when/if I change out the electronics), and then do a 1500grit followed by a 2000 grit to make it perfect. I also gave it a whole body whipe buff with dunlop 65 lemon oil to bring back som colors Might gloss it up some more later, we'll see. Now, I do still love it's playability and above all: The pickups! It's by far my favorite guitar tonewise, even though it costs one fifth of my most expensive guitar. However, there was one huge mistake at the factory: They drilled and installed the frequencator about 10mm off-centre! I can't believe how they managed to make such a huge mistake, I mean the center seam at the back is clearly visible underneath the frequensator baseplate, how on earth could they missed it? The rest of the guitar is flawless, so I assume the tailpice was installed by another person. Anyways, I redrilled it and it's now perfectly center. Now for the pics: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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