Riviera Advice Wanted

[indysmith]

Hi Guys

 

Just after some advice on an Epiphone Riviera I'm on the verge of buying.

 

It's a 2009 model, custom shop apparently - ignoring the nitty gritty at the moment (Yes I'm aware the Jap models are better than the China ones etc but I'm piss poor lol) it's fitted with NY mini humbucker's.

 

Now, the reason I'm going for a Riviera is because at the moment I play a dot in a band which has done the job but is as cheap as chips. I'd like something a little better built and better looking! Cant afford a Gibson so going for a Riv.

 

My question is - how much do the NY mini humbuckers differ sound and performance wise from the (I imagine cheaper) humbuckers on the dot? I've read on the forums that they are known for microphonic feedback, if that is the case I will defo not have a Riviera as I did own a Casino and the P90s squealed like a pig at high volume and it was a bloody nightmare! I assume the NY mini's come wax potted so I'm hoping it will be able to play at high volumes just as with the dot?!

 

Secondly, I've also read that NY mini's have a more pronounced treble end. Does it differ greatly from a 335 sound?

 

Saying all this I hope to achieve similar sustain from the Riviera as one can from a dot/335!

 

Hope i don't come across as completely ignorant - just don't want to balls up again like did with a Casino!

 

Any help would be appreciated!

 

Thanks all

 

Daniel

[jonnyg]

Hi Daniel

 

First off I'm going to say that I don't have a Riviera with mini-hums (but I do in fact have one of the Jap Riviera models). I have the Wilshire with mini-hums and compared to my friends SG400 they are brighter sounding with a slightly more middley tone to them, however, with a bit of graphic EQ it seems we can make both guitars sound very similar and yes, they are wax potted. Your problem with a Casino was likely due to the fact that P90's are single coil pickups and it's a completely hollow guitar whereas the Riviera has the solid centre block same as the Dot and my own Riviera. I guess that any semi will feed back easier than a solid if you throw enough volume out but at gigging levels mine, albeit with full size pups, never gave me problems and I'm sure that the latest model with mini's won't give you a problem either. As to sustain, I don't know whether a Riviera with a frequensator tailpiece sustains the same as a Dot/335 with a stopbar but I'm sure that someone who owns one will reply here. Certainly fitting a stopbar tailpiece to a trapeze equipped 335 was not uncommon in the 60's as it was suposed to increase sustain. Not having ever having done that mod I can't comment. I don't think you'll encounter the same problems that you did using the Casino with a Riviera.

 

JG

[indysmith]

Thanks for the reply, much appeciated. Are the Korean/Jap model Riv's that much better made than the Chinese made ones?

 

This is the beauty I'm looking at. The only visual difference I can see is that the headstock is fatter than some of the early 2000 Jap ones - similar headstock to Casinos.

 

[jonnyg]

Thanks for the reply' date=' much appeciated. Are the Korean/Jap model Riv's that much better made than the Chinese made ones?

 

This is the beauty I'm looking at. The only visual difference I can see is that the headstock is fatter than some of the early 2000 Jap ones - similar headstock to Casinos.[/quote']

There are loads of guys here who'll tell you that the Chinese made Riviera's are very good but I think that it's generally thought that the Korean models were a bit better than the Chinese and the Japanese models (after the 70's) were better than the Korean. I think the Japanese ones that you mean from early 2000's were the Elitist models and they were supposed to be very good but they were considerably more expensive than the current Chinese ones. My own Riviera is Japanese from '83 (it's the same model as used by Oasis) and that has been exceptional.

I was a bit bothered when I saw that my Wilshire was made in Indonesia but that's turned out to be a great buy.

I would say the best thing to do would be to go to a store if possible and try a couple. There are often differences between one guitar and another and you may find that you like one more than the other.

Keep watching this thread because I'm sure that loads of Riviera owners are going to jump in and give you a more informed opinion of the current Riviera's than I can.

 

jg