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Matsumokus Rivieras & USA/Jap Sheraton/Riviera info required


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I live in England and am new to this forum. I've been looking in over the last few weeks, as i'd like to buy an Epiphone archtop guitar , and unsure of what to buy and what to pay etc. I'd like the best guitar I can afford and ideally want a Japanese or American guitar.

 

Ideally I'd like a Matsumokus Riviera - and wondered how rare they actually are?. How many were made and how much should I expect to pay for one?? Does anyone have one for sale?

 

I'm also unsure of whether to purchase a Riviera or a Sheraton - what model to go for etc, or whether to buy a guitar with a stop bar or frequensator tail piece.

 

I've also seen a allaged Sheraton on ebay - that's either american/japanese with a frequensator tail piece, gold hardware, mini humbuckers and a sheraton headstock - he's asking $1200 - that delleo is selling and has been discussed - would this be a good guitar?? and also a 1993 USA Riviera starting out at £800 on Ebay - what's a a good price to pay??

 

I've seen 2 1988 Korean Sheraton's - with the double Epiphone by Gibson embossed on the headstock. I saw a Sheraton II in natural for $500 (which is now sold) and a violin sunburst guitar for $700 - how much should i expect to pay for one? as I believe the early Korean guitars are very good/and better than the later ones.

 

Any help would be appreciated

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Check the forum today, under "Riviera USA '93 REISSUE"...the guy (Tokiatelejohn) that's selling the USA Riviera, on E-bay, was asking us what it's value was....?

See Iconoclast's reply...that should give you and idea, with the Asian ones being somewhat to a lot

less, probably.

 

CB

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I can't find it on Ebay now, but there was a guy selling a Japanese/USA John Lee Hooker minus the signature. It had the mini HBs. I don't know enough about them to know if this was a real Japanese/USA model or somthing different, MIK, Elitist etc.

 

Not sure if this is the same auction. The one I saw had an Epiphone shipping cardboard box and said it was new old stock.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/1996-USA-Epiphone-Sheraton-reissue-guitar_W0QQitemZ270256853813QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item270256853813&_trksid=p3286.m14.l1318

 

Maybe some of the guys can take a look and see if this is really the USA one. If it is $1200 is not a bad price for that. I paid $1200 for my Elitist Valensi when it was first issued so this would be about the same I would think. Quality wise my Elitist is just as good as any Gibson I have seen.

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Byrds1965 - I've seen this guitar too - there's no labels on it, we don't know where it's made. It's not a 1993 Sheraton as these were limited to 250,and it's been discussed in another topic.

 

This is where this forum is a great help - it's a minefield out there - there's so many epi's and the people who own them aren't too knowledgeable.

 

Thanks

 

John

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Regarding the value of a Korean Sheraton in the UK, I sold one recently on eBay for £250 and that included a set of Seymour Duncan minihumbuckers. See here: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=320258384597&ssPageName=STRK:MESO:IT&ih=011

 

The Sheraton is a really nice guitar but it was much lighter than my former Gibson Lucille + it had a very slim neck in comparison o the Lucille. That was the main reason I sold it. Having said that, I believe that the newer Korean Sheratons have a thicker neck.

 

Cheers,

John.

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Byrds1965 - I've seen this guitar too - there's no labels on it' date=' we don't know where it's made. It's not a 1993 Sheraton as these were limited to 250,and it's been discussed in another topic.

 

This is where this forum is a great help - it's a minefield out there - there's so many epi's and the people who own them aren't too knowledgeable.

 

Thanks

 

John[/quote']

 

Sorry didn't know you saw this one and don't remember a thread but I don't see them all. This auction has been around awhile then, but the original Ebay listing had the photos outside and either and Epiphone or Gibson shipping box saying that it was new old stock.

 

I work with a woman whose husband plays guitar and he has an Elitist Riviera in the burst that looks just like this one, not sure gold or chrome now off hand. He was told by the guys at Naperville music that he got one of the last ones from the Gibson warehouse when they placed the order as he ordered his after the model had been discontinued.

 

I took my red MIK to play against his as I liked my guitar but thought the PUs were a bit weak and his blew mine away and convinced me to have Duncan minis put in mine. Have not played his to mine since but I really like my MIK Riviera now.

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Regarding the value of a Korean Sheraton in the UK' date=' I sold one recently on eBay for £250 and that included a set of Seymour Duncan minihumbuckers. See here: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=320258384597&ssPageName=STRK:MESO:IT&ih=011

 

The Sheraton is a really nice guitar but it was much lighter than my former Gibson Lucille + it had a very slim neck in comparison o the Lucille. That was the main reason I sold it. Having said that, I believe that the newer Korean Sheratons have a thicker neck.

 

Cheers,

John.

 

 

 

[/quote']

 

I have to say - whoever bought that got a bargain! I wouldn't sell my Sheraton for anything near that - then again I just wouldn't sell it!

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Does anyone have a Elitist Riviera Sheraton (Sunburst) preferable, Riviera Elitist, England, or sheraton elitist blonde for sale at a reasonable price, or know of any shops/dealers which have them.

 

Coda music have elistist casino's and dots.

 

Any help would be appreciated

 

John

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Does anyone have a Elitist Riviera Sheraton (Sunburst) preferable' date=' Riviera Elitist, England, or sheraton elitist blonde for sale at a reasonable price, or know of any shops/dealers which have them.

 

Coda music have elistist casino's and dots.

 

Any help would be appreciated

 

John[/quote']

 

 

There are 2 Elitist Sheraton's on E-bay, at the moment....

One is quite reasonable, the other one is about normal, to maybe a bit high, for "used!"

 

CB

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As I live in England - they won't accept paypal, or echeque via paypal, only bank wire transfer, which is a bit dodgey i think.

 

As looking at the feedbacks one chap's got a good one, and the other guitar at $900 - 1300 - he's onll got a 82% feedback, plus they wont to ship via USPS at $450 dollars instead of USPS and have put all sorts of demands down.

 

John

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As I live in England - they won't accept paypal' date=' or echeque via paypal, only bank wire transfer, which is a bit dodgey i think.

 

As looking at the feedbacks one chap's got a good one, and the other guitar at $900 - 1300 - he's onll got a 82% feedback, plus they wont to ship via USPS at $450 dollars instead of USPS and have put all sorts of demands down.

 

John[/quote']

 

Yeah...sorry, that's the pits! Any family or friends in the USA, that could

purchase it for you, ship it to you, and you could pay them back?

 

CB

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I've seen the odd Casino and Dot Elitist advertised at around $1600 dollars £800 in the Uk, which seems to be the dealers price in the usa, but no sheraton's or rivieras.

 

Somone said they had a sheraton offered to them for £750, and asked about this - but not heard back.

 

USA dealers can't ship or sell to the uk, ebayers won't ship, or if they do, they put us at risk of possible fraud etc, although somone advised me how to get round american shipping problems - but am going to see how they get on first.

 

I'm not in a rush for a elitist riviera or sheraton - but if there was one/or came up at a reasonable price - or they'd ship to us, i'd buy it straight away, that's why i'm exploring all avenues at the moment.

 

John

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Hi Supernova.

I`m a very big fan of Matsumoku made guitars,and currently have four of them (three Casino`s,and a 1982 Aria Pro II TA-60).In the past i have also gigged with Matsumoku made Westone Thunder I,and Thunder IIA,as well as a 1984 Matsumoku made Blonde Sheraton (which had stunning wood and excellent construction).These Matsumoku made Sheraton`s and Riviera`s,and Casino`s are fine guitars,in terms of quality they are similar to Terada made Elite/Elitist guitars,but do tend to feel a bit more organic (they were 60% hand built after all!).In your position i would go for a Matsumoku made Riviera,they have in my opinion better sounding pickups (MMK 61)than the Matsumoku made Sheraton`s(MMK 75),although you may want to change those anyway.The Matsumoku made Epiphone`s are not that rare,there is usually a steady trickle on ebay,you just need to know what to look for.My 82 made Aria Pro II TA-60 has the same construction as the Riviera,including the same pickups,as does the second version of the Westone Rainbow I,all three are fine guitars.As you may or may not know,both Noel Gallagher and Paul"Bonehead"Arthurs used Matsumoku Riviera`s(and Bonehead still does!),when Oasis were on the way up.As for Frequensor Vs Stop tail,i don`t think it matters that much,there may be a little more sustain with the stop tail,but the Frequencer,is more in line with Epiphone tradition.As for price,there are cheapies still to be had,because still a lot of sellers think they are Korean,i bought an 82 Matsumoku Casino from U.S.ebay for £125.00!!,just two years ago,but i`ve also seen them go for £1000.00+ once or twice.I would think a fair price would be between £300-£450.

There is currently a Matsumoku made Riviera on U.S.ebay at the moment (auction number 250274818839),this one is in Antique Sunburst (the AS),looks like it may be fron 81,if i`ve read the serial properly,has a frequencer,but the pickups are not original!.May be worth checking out,but bear in mind it`s likely to cost an extra £100-150 for the shipping and duty combined.I`ve bought three guitars from the States before and never had any probs.

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