Supersonic Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 NAME: Epiphone Limited Edition Riviera Custom P93 PRICE: $450 on sale with Epiphone Hardshell case included PURCHASED FROM: Musician's Friend FEATURES: Body Wood: Laminated Maple Top wood: Laminated Maple Scale Length: 24-3/4" Neck Joint: Glued In Neck Wood: Mahogany Fretboard: Bound rosewood w/ parallelogram inlays Neck Shape: C Frets: 22 Nut Width: 1.68" Fretboard Radius: 12" Finish: Wine Red Hardware: Gold Bridge: LockTone Tune-O-Matic Tailpiece: Bigsby Pickups: 3 Alnico-V P-90 dog-ear single-coil Tuners: Grover FIT AND FINISH: This guitar is beautiful. The wine red finish with the gold hardware work perfectly together. However, there were some flaws on mine. There was a small bit of paint on the fretboard binding at the very end of the fretboard next to the neck pickup. Also, the black paint on the inside of the top f-hole looks a little sloppy. Needless to say, these are very minor flaws and definitely not anything that would make me want to return the guitar. The set up "out of the box" is one of the best I've seen. Action was perfect. The only changing I did was a new set of strings and conditioning the fretboard, oh and I removed the black toggle switch tip and replaced it with a white one purely for cosmetic reasons. The tuners are stable, the guitar stays in tune, even when the Bigsby is used. This thing just feels like a quality instrument. That's the best way I can describe it. I am a big fan of hollow/semi-hollow bodies and the body of this guitar feels like it was made for me. My favorite aspect of the guitar is the "C-Shaped" neck. One of the most comfortable necks I've played. My hands are kind of small so the neck might not be everyone's cup of tea, but for me it's perfect. SOUND QUALITY: I've seen a lot of reviews about the P-90 pickups being "muddy". I guess they are a tad on the dark side, but they can easily be manipulated with raising the bridge and middle pickups and fiddling with the volume controls. Each pickup has it's own volume control and there is one master tone control. The middle pickup is always on in all positions with the three way toggle switch (toggle switch up- neck and middle pups, toggle switch middle- all three pups, toggle switch down- middle and bridge pups), but you can turn the middle pickup off completely by turning it's volume knob all the way down. To me it has a nice "warm" sound and I really like it. It sounds great clean and is also very nice with a little distortion. If you are wanting the P-90 bite that a Casino has, then DO NOT expect it from this guitar. It's a totally different animal with a unique sound that I really like. RATING I give this thing a solid 8 out of 10. I got an especially good deal on mine as it was $50 off the regular price and came with a free hardshell case, so I really lucked out. It's a great guitar for most all types of music besides metal. I would recommend this to anyone. PICS (sorry about the glare and poor lighting) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaSTuS Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Excellent review Mike, one of these is at the top of my Epi wish list, this review just increased my GAS for one of them tenfold, thanks for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gypsyseven Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Nice review of a nice guitar, i just can't stand gold hardware... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damian Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Mine was 400.00 with a free case......It came flawless, and still is flawless....They are available in Goldtop and White...... Great guitar.....Very stable Bigsby............... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyGibson Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Congratulations. She's a beauty. The Riviera P93, especially with the case included, may give the Dot a run for it's money on being the best value Epi offers. Good straight forward review too. Enjoy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vomer Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 If you are wanting the P-90 bite that a Casino has, then DO NOT expect it from this guitar. It's a totally different animal Are they different pickups? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supersonic Posted June 29, 2011 Author Share Posted June 29, 2011 Are they different pickups? Well both guitars are listed as having "Alnico-V P-90's". The difference in the sound could be the fact the the Casino is a full hollowbody and the Riv is semi-hollow, maybe the pup covers are different, or even the wiring of the 3 pickup Riv might have something to do with it. Both are great sounding guitars, but each has a unique sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweed2 Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 Pickup covers are probably the bigger influence. I changed my Casino cover to black plastic ones (like the Riv) and the sound really "filled out", not quite as edgy (maybe the word). The body configuration and the Bigsby are going to contribute, too. I tried several of these before my Casino, but I don't use vibrato, so it won out. Still, I can't help but like the Riv. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fl00dsm0k3 Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 thats probably my next ax Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
animalfarm Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 Outstanding! THANK YOU for taking the time to do this! Right on target, and will help others once the review thread catches on. I'm placing it in there immediately. I have a review to do, myself - but it'll be a "Don't Buy this Guitar", but I've deleted all my original at home photos. Trying to recover them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoubleWide Revival Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 Great review! And great pix as well. I had wondered how the pickup selection worked on these models. I'm really enamored with the gold top version of this geet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old mark Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 Man, I already have many more guitars than I need, but I have been looking at one of these for a while now...This is NOT helping... Nice review...thanks! mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluemans335 Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 I have one in that color. Beautiful guitar, very pleased with it. I put a roller bridge on because of the Bigsby. I'd like to see Epi do a limited edition Dot with twin dog ear P-90's and a stop bar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldhippie Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 HiHiHi....I have this beauty. I bought it used with original hardcase. All in mint condition for 250 € I´m proud Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supersonic Posted March 5, 2013 Author Share Posted March 5, 2013 I always get a little bit sad when someone resurrects one of these threads that have a post from animalfarm in them. I guess it's pretty cool though, because without him, no one would have started doing reviews in the first place. Someone should take over where Greg left off and continue to compile knowledge for all of us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaSTuS Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 I always get a little bit sad when someone resurrects one of these threads that have a post from animalfarm in them.Very sad, that's for sure. Someone should take over where Greg left off and continue to compile knowledge for all of us.Not here though, just as likely to be unceremoniously dumped like last time. The DIY still lives at Robin's Unofficial Epiphone Wiki, Animalfarm's DIY Links (now with Table of Contents) as does the Serial Number ID thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinTheHood Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Very sad, that's for sure. Not here though, just as likely to be unceremoniously dumped like last time. The DIY still lives at Robin's Unofficial Epiphone Wiki, Animalfarm's DIY Links (now with Table of Contents) as does the Serial Number ID thread. And Sjael finished formatting the DIY section to the wiki when he installed the backup. Prior to that, I was only about half-way through the list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaSTuS Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 And Sjael finished formatting the DIY section to the wiki when he installed the backup. Prior to that, I was only about half-way through the list. Props to both of you Rob, I think it's wonderful it's still alive. If you ever need the links checked, updated or added to just let me know mate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinTheHood Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Props to both of you Rob, I think it's wonderful it's still alive. If you ever need the links checked, updated or added to just let me know mate. I just might in the future. With all thats going on trying to get the wiki back up to speed, the DIY is going to be a little neglected for awhile. I'm just glad that Sjael got it to the point it is currently at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coach Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 I also picked up one of these, only mine has a repaired neck. It goes to the luthier next month to see if he can adjust the neck without breaking the repair. I only paid $150 for it so I know that even if it breaks I can get the money back on the Bigsby, tuners, and pickups. I put a set of Pyramid flat wound strings on there, which I have never played before, and got close to that classic Beatles tone, not quite a Casino, but close enough for most listeners. Great compliment to my corral. -Harry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crust Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 I dig it. I put a roller bridge on mine. That did help the tuning (and string breaking) stability a little. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crust Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crust Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 something is messed up with photobucket. Oh well. They are great guitars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bacongrease Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Here's mine. Very pleased. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bacongrease Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 More pics never hurt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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