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1964 Rivolli pickups


corson

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Hi everyone,,,,new guy here.

 

I recently bought a 1964 Rivoli with 2 non original black pickups.I'd like to get back to the chrome humbuckers,but can't find any .I'm wondering if the pups from an Epi EB3 would do the job as they look very similar to the old originals.What I don't know is if the EB3 pups are the same physical size as the Rivolli/EB2 pups.

 

Any help would be appreciated,,,,,,,,thanks,,,,John.

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hi corson,

 

imo, the Epi pickups being used today are not going to sound like the orginals, which were made by Gibson. the Epi pickups look identical to the originals, but do not sound the same. here's a guy who winds pickups that are close to the originals, scroll down to just below the photo of jazz pickups. or you might be able to find some Gibson pickups on ebay.

 

http://www.sgd-lutherie.com/index.html

 

probably the person who changed the pickups wanted a bit more clarity than the orginal pickups offered. the big knock a lot of people make is the neck pickup is too muddy and the bridge pickup is too nasally. other people like the sound, so it's a matter of preference. I like the Gibson sound but not everybody does.

 

good luck!

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hi corson,

 

imo, the Epi pickups being used today are not going to sound like the orginals, which were made by Gibson. the Epi pickups look identical to the originals, but do not sound the same. here's a guy who winds pickups that are close to the originals, scroll down to just below the photo of jazz pickups. or you might be able to find some Gibson pickups on ebay.

 

http://www.sgd-lutherie.com/index.html

 

probably the person who changed the pickups wanted a bit more clarity than the orginal pickups offered. the big knock a lot of people make is the neck pickup is too muddy and the bridge pickup is too nasally. other people like the sound, so it's a matter of preference. I like the Gibson sound but not everybody does.

 

good luck!

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Thanks Ramone,

 

I've been all over the web trying to find Gibson pickups to make the bass more original looking,but they just are not there.No-one seems to be making a modern lookalike replacement either.That's why I thought of buying a scrappy Epi EB3 to use it's hardware.

 

The Rivoli I have is a bit of an oddity.It has a Samshin neck pickup (which actually sounds good)and a Schaller bridge pup which is weak.It has 4 pots,,,,,2 for tone with very little variation,,,1 for volume,,,,and 1 for panning between the pickups.It has no selector switch or bass button.It has a blancked off hole beside the controls.

 

The original sunburst was removed from the body and it's now a natural colour with clear lacquer.

 

The neck appears to be original finish and the serial number dates it to 1964 Kalamazoo,but the internal factory sticker is 99% gone.

 

The bridge is John Birch and underneath is a rectangulaur cavity which has been filled in with liquid plastic or similar.

 

I'm not even sure if it left the factory with 1 or 2 pickups.

 

Sorry for ranting on,but that's the story.

 

Cheers,,,,John.

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good luck, bro! try to post some pics for us, please!

 

Just won some pickups with pots and wiring on USA Ebay from an Epi EB3.$65 including shipping will not bust the bank.I'll post some pix tomorrow.Time for zeds,,,zees,,,,,zzzz.

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Thanks for posting my pix Ramone,,,,,,,,,,,your 1995 looks fantastic.I would have prefered to convert mine back to a single pup as I rarely use my bridge pup on my '76 Rick.The problem would be that I'd have to fill in the cavity with something and I doubt if I could match the natural stain.I don't want to change the colour.

 

My first bass was an Eko Barracuda and was very similar to the Rivoli.Cost me £15 (20 USD)in 1969.I loved that bass but it was stolen,as was my Gibson Grabber,a Teisco 6 string,a Futurama 6 string and a very rare Watkins combo.The Rick was also stolen but I got it back.

 

I've been searching for years for a replacement Eko and only found a horrible green one which cost more than an early Rivoli.I didn't buy it.

 

I'll post some pix once I've put the replacement pups in.

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I've never understood why Epiphone discontinued the Rivoli or why they don't reintroduce it. I thought the reissue was a bit expensive for an Epi, especially when you consider it in relation to the Dot guitar and the EB3 bass. The Rivoli body is little different to the Dot and all the hardware is identical to the EB3. It only needs a slightly different neck so how come the £200.00 to £300.00 difference in price? I appreciate that a Rivoli would be a niche market but I would think that applies to most Epiphone or Gibson style basses. Certainly if I could only afford one bass I would go for a Fender or Fender style bass, but as a second instrument a Gibson style bass, and a semi in particular, would give a very different palette of sound.

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  • 7 months later...

if you hover the mouse over the image, a box pops up. click the img code box to copy the code and paste it here.

nice looking bass, John!

 

R3.jpg

R2.jpg

 

here's my modded reissue (1995)

rivoli-2.jpg

 

Hi Ramone,

 

just having another look at your Rivoli and I'm wondering why you put on the extra tail piece.Looks like it will take some strain off the body.

 

Do you now use long scale strings on it?.

 

Cheers,,,,John.

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