ES355 or Riviera P93

[lengle1981]

I visited a guitar shop the other day with my girlfriend and I'm looking at these guitars and she says "get one, I'll buy you it" so I'm Obviously pretty pleased but don't know what to get. I'm lovin the riviera but not sure about the p93's or the 3 pick up option. The ES355's look amazing though. I play in a band and influences range from the black keys, Paul weller, oasis, drive by truckers etc etc. Anyone have one of the above or tried them? I've heard a couple of ify reviews on the riviera so don't know what to do tbh.

[Blueman335]

I have a P-93, Sheraton, Dot, and Dot Deluxe. All are nice guitars. I put a roller bridge on the P-93, asBigsby's really need that to keep the strings from getting hung up in the saddles. If you don't care about having a Bigsby, and don't like the noise that comes with P-90's, than you're better off with a 355. Upgrade the PU's and you'll have a guitar that sounds like it costs 5 times as much.

[lengle1981]

I already have an epi SG so my concern was that both having humbuckers may be too similar what u think? Is the riviera nice then? I'm not gonna be playing it clean much

[damian]

I love my P-3.............Both options are great guitars......It's your choice....

 

Blueman335, which roller bridge did you use, and what PUs did you upgrade to in your P-3 ??

[lengle1981]

So u think both guitars would do the job? Love the white riviera and ES355.

 

Also, worried about the 3 pick up asu can't use the bridge pick up alone but I'm guessing just by turning the volume to 0 on the middle pick up will achieve that

[damian]

So u think both guitars would do the job? Love the white riviera and ES355.

 

Also, worried about the 3 pick up asu can't use the bridge pick up alone but I'm guessing just by turning the volume to 0 on the middle pick up will achieve that

 

Yes, the P-3 can be played one PU.......A member asked if the P-3 can "do metal." I tried it out for metal; yes, it'll even do metal.... ......

 

Both guitars are great though.....M.F. has a couple of ES 355s "gently used" for 559, and a used one for 447.....M.F. also has a 15% off

 

coupon right now.....IF you talk to them directly, they'll let you use the discount on new Epis....( Gotta jam the point home sometimes..)

 

15% off $699.00 for a new ES 355 is a good chunk of change.....Or, you could get the "used" ES355, and right now they have Epi Wildkats

 

for $299.00.....You could get BOTH for $746.00.......:unsure: ........Just some ideas for you..........

[Blueman335]

I already have an epi SG so my concern was that both having humbuckers may be too similar what u think? Is the riviera nice then? I'm not gonna be playing it clean much

 

There's hundreds of kinds of HB's, a huge amount of variety. 335's sound very different from SG's. 335's have a richer tone with more harmonics, from the semi-hollow body. Put a pair of Duncan Seth's in it and you'll be amazed.

[Blueman335]

I love my P-3.............Both options are great guitars......It's your choice....

 

Blueman335, which roller bridge did you use, and what PUs did you upgrade to in your P-3 ??

 

Geez, you would me ask that. I got the roller bridge from StewMac, don't remember the make, but they don't carry that many roller bridges. Ahhh, the PU's... I'm thinking Duncans, with mag swaps on the bridge P-90. I'd have to check to be sure what I put in it. After a while it all strats to blur...

[SpruceTop]

There's hundreds of kinds of HB's, a huge amount of variety. 335's sound very different from SG's. 335's have a richer tone with more harmonics, from the semi-hollow body. Put a pair of Duncan Seth's in it and wou'll eb amazed.

 

And the pickup placement of the neck HB makes a big difference to the sound as well. It's farther back. About where a 24 fret guitar would have it. The neck joint would be pretty weak if it were up against the fret board like a 335, LP, etc...

[lengle1981]

I'm probably even more undecided now about which to go for ha!

[cleveland]

Lengle,

Have the Riv p93 for two years now. Been happy with it. Did not get much stage or play time as stock as it was a bit muddy with the stock Pickups and parts. I did put a Wilkerson roller on it, changed to CTS pots and different Caps, added a push/pull pot to kill the middle pickup while allowing for single Pickup usage, and added a Big D varitone to have options to brighten it up.

 

After those changes, feel good about the versatility and the tone. The looks of the guitar (Wine Red) are killer. So many folks ask more about this guitar at gigs then anything I have had on stage. There is a lot of data on this forum I have used in the past to make the decsion to buy the P93.

 

The P90s add a nice change of pace from the all the Humbucker equipped guitars, even without the changes I made.

 

Cleveland