cyclonecy Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 Hi! I am new to the world of Epiphone and semi-acoustic guitars having come from a world of Stratocasters. I am very fortunate to have bought a beautiful Epiphone Matsumoku Riviera which I am now loving very much. Thanks to this fine forum I have identified it as being one of these. The guitar is great and I love playing it unplugged but when plugged in I find it a little dark for my tastes. Would I be doing something terrible if I replaced the MMK-61s in there with the Bareknuckle Mississipi Queen P90s I have bought? I really want to use the guitar live and for recording but am hesitating to do any modifications to such a fine instrument! If you guys think it's ok (not sacrilege!) to proceed then any guidance on pickup wiring would be really welcome. I'm hoping to cut the existing pickup wires and splice them to the P90 wires - please tell me if this is a bad idea! If it comes to taking all the electronics out I think I will have to get it done professionally... Ok, last question, all my other guitars have Graphtech saddles on - I used to be a habitual string breaker and it also sounds to me like they do something nice to the tone. I had to replace the original Tune-O-Matic bridge with a new Gotoh unit and I'm thinking of adding these. Is this a good idea? It has a stop bar tailpiece. Any guidance gratefully received, thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrw1960 Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 Welcome to the forum! I say if you got the P90's, use them. If you decide to do it I would just replace all the electronics to USA and bridge while your at it with a professional tech. I think those 90's would be a huge upgrade. Nice Riviera! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweed2 Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 Congratulations on buying such a nice guitar, and welcome to a great forum. First, I wouldn't splice the PU wires. It may be easier, but could open you up to issues down the road. I'm with mrw on the replacing the electronics while doing the PUs, but at the least, run the leads back to the pots/switch. Second, have you checked to see if the Bare Knuckles PUs will cover hwat's exposed when you pull the stock PUs? Other than that, I wouldn't hesitate changing out whatever you want to make your git the best it can be, for you. There are no rules. Here's your forum warmimg present. Don't be a stranger and keep us posted on your improvemnets with lots of pictures. +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyclonecy Posted February 21, 2012 Author Share Posted February 21, 2012 Hey mrw1960 and tweed2, thank you both very much for your warm welcome! Really good advice and I am grateful for your guidance! I have contacted the brilliant tech Dave at Smart Guitars here in the UK and he's going to sort the electrics out for me. Here is a blurry shot of my initial exploratory look... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrw1960 Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 Your quite welcome friend! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueman335 Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 Welcome aboard! And welcome to the world of Epiphone! I have a bunch of Epi's, and have upgraded the PU's on all of them. Mississippi Queens? Great PU's. I wouldn't hesitate to put those in your Riviera. You'll love the imporvement in tone quality I constantly bend strings, Peter Green style, and rarely break strings with my Epi's (like one a year). I wouldn't change saddles unless I was having a problem with that guitar. I've heard of many Fender owners breaking strings left and right, but it's not common with Epi's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frenchie1281734003 Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 I am a very big fan of Matsumoku made guitars, particularly the late 70s-early 80s Casino, Riviera and Sheraton models, and have owned a few over the years. I would suggest you go ahead with your proposed changes, but keep all the parts, so that the Riviera can be returned to stock if need be (Selling on). I really like the MMK-61 pickup myself, but those Mississippi Queen P-90s are very nice indeed! Hope this helps. Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigneil Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 just keep the original pickups somewhere safe in case you ever want to sell it on again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueman335 Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 just keep the original pickups somewhere safe in case you ever want to sell it on again. +1. Always a good idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnyg Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 I hope you enjoy that Riviera as much as I've enjoyed mine. I gigged with it 2-3 times a week from August '83 until I called it a day last new years eve. Never gave me a moments trouble. No scratchy pots, selector switch trouble or jack socket problems. Most reliable guitar I've ever owned. Pickups are a personal thing but I like the ones that came with it, although I alway use a Telecaster for recording. I'd be interested to hear how you get on with getting the pots out though. Have you seen the size of them? Except for mine having gold knobs (I never liked those black witch hat ones) looks like you have the twin of mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyclonecy Posted February 22, 2012 Author Share Posted February 22, 2012 Guys, thank you all so much for the information. I hope to get the guitar to Dave the tech next week and I will send some photos (and maybe post some sound samples if you are interested) when I get it back. jonnyg, that is a fine-looking guitar, it is indeed the twin of mine and I really like the gold knobs, maybe I'll get some too! bigneil & frenchie thanks for the tip on keeping the pickups, very good advice, I guess it's all reversible so I don't need to worry. Blueman, thanks for the point about the saddles and pickups - I'm a big fan of Graphtech saddles (I really think they do something to the tone and sustain) so I'll try them anyway and let you know! Thanks guys, I really appreciate your help and am really glad to be an Epiphone owner, +1 to you all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeweyCox Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Guys, thank you all so much for the information. I hope to get the guitar to Dave the tech next week and I will send some photos (and maybe post some sound samples if you are interested) when I get it back. jonnyg, that is a fine-looking guitar, it is indeed the twin of mine and I really like the gold knobs, maybe I'll get some too! bigneil & frenchie thanks for the tip on keeping the pickups, very good advice, I guess it's all reversible so I don't need to worry. Blueman, thanks for the point about the saddles and pickups - I'm a big fan of Graphtech saddles (I really think they do something to the tone and sustain) so I'll try them anyway and let you know! Thanks guys, I really appreciate your help and am really glad to be an Epiphone owner, +1 to you all! Your guitar, you can do what you want to it. Like the others said just keep all the original parts since that model Riviera is quite collectible because of that Noel-guy… ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyclonecy Posted March 9, 2012 Author Share Posted March 9, 2012 Just checking in to say that I now have the guitar back complete with the matched pair of P90s. Is sounds even better than I had thought it would, absolutely fantastic. The upgrade has breathed something magical into this guitar, I just love playing it! I'll try and get some more pics and sound samples over the weekend. Thanks again for all your advice, this was definitely the right thing to do! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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