Mr. Semi Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 Good day folks! I have a Valensi Riviera and would like to learn about it's age, plant of manufacture etc. I purchased it new in 2011 from Long & McQuade in Surrey, BC with serial no. 1112210126. I've checked it on the Guitar Dater site but the serial # is not recognized. I figured one of us might know how I can look further. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobouz Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 Good day folks! I have a Valensi Riviera and would like to learn about it's age, plant of manufacture etc. I purchased it new in 2011 from Long & McQuade in Surrey, BC with serial no. 1112210126. I've checked it on the Guitar Dater site but the serial # is not recognized. I figured one of us might know how I can look further. Thanks! The serial number on mine starts with 101021..... It was purchased in 2010. I have read that the #21 in the serial number indicates the instrument was manufactured by the Unsung factory in Korea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Semi Posted December 13, 2012 Author Share Posted December 13, 2012 Thanks so much. I knew they were Korean made but I'm not current enough to know the factories etc.. These are great playing guitars are they not? I love mine and look forward to hanging the '62 Sheraton RI beside her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobouz Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 These are great playing guitars are they not? Yes indeed. The Korean Valensi Riviera (vs the Elitist version) represents one of Epiphone's best buys in recent years, imho. Very high build quality for the price, including a true one-piece mahogany neck and those sweet Gibson P94 pickups! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Semi Posted December 15, 2012 Author Share Posted December 15, 2012 Great pickups for sure. I put a matched set of Lollar P90's in my 2008 Epi LP Custom (neck 5% underwound, & RWRP) and these too are to die for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarpBoy Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 Congrats on a beautiful guitar. I've owned my Valensi since 2008. It is a beautiful, well made, wonderful-to-play guitar. I used it for two years in a Jazz quartet with flatwounds, and for blues, rock and R&B. I love it and won't ever sell it. Mine has a really nice quilt front and back. Everyone who sees it or hears me playing it makes positive comments. I had just sold a Rickenbacker 330 a couple of months before I came across the Valensi (wasn't really that taken with it) and came across the Valensi in my local Long & McQuade. Bought it on the spot and haven't looked back; I love it in a way that I never did the Ric. Factory 22 is in Korea, as you know; I've speculated that it might be the Peerless plant because of the high quality, attention to detail, etc, but I don't know for sure. It appears that the Korean semi's and hollowbodies were made in a different plant than the MIK solid bodies (typically Saien and Unsung)had been. All I know is it's an outstanding guitar that's not being made anymore. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobouz Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 Factory 22 is in Korea, as you know; I've speculated that it might be the Peerless plant because of the high quality, attention to detail, etc, but I don't know for sure. It appears that the Korean semi's and hollowbodies were made in a different plant than the MIK solid bodies (typically Saien and Unsung)had been. All I know is it's an outstanding guitar that's not being made anymore. Cheers. Sorry I didn't clarify above, but from what I've read, it's the 5th & 6th digits that constitute the factory code, so it would be #21 on the OP's guitar, and mine as well. That should be the Unsung factory. Every Korean Epiphone I've seen first hand over the last few years has had the #21 code. Since yours is an '08, it might be different. I have a Peerless-made Casino & agree that their build quality is very high. Unfortunately, I don't think Epiphone has used the Peerless factory for a number of years, but Peerless continues to build hollow & semi-hollowbodies under their own name. As you said, regardless of the factory they came out of, they are great guitars. To play a Korean made Valensi model side by side with one of the original Elitist versions (which had a short run) would be very interesting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarpBoy Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 Sorry I didn't clarify above, but from what I've read, it's the 5th & 6th digits that constitute the factory code, so it would be #21 on the OP's guitar, and mine as well. That should be the Unsung factory. Every Korean Epiphone I've seen first hand over the last few years has had the #21 code. Since yours is an '08, it might be different. I have a Peerless-made Casino & agree that their build quality is very high. Unfortunately, I don't think Epiphone has used the Peerless factory for a number of years, but Peerless continues to build hollow & semi-hollowbodies under their own name. As you said, regardless of the factory they came out of, they are great guitars. To play a Korean made Valensi model side by side with one of the original Elitist versions (which had a short run) would be very interesting! My Valensi is an '08. I bought it new that year. The serial # on mine starts with 080522. I was one of the early contributors to that thread on the Epiphone forum that started decoding the then new serial # scheme. I think factory 22 is (or was) Peerless. One thing is certain: my Valensi is not your garden-variety Epiphone. The quality of fit and finish, and even of the body wood, is very high quality. It has a very nice quilt front and back that is not Ibanez-esque veneer. You see the same quilt on the inside when you look through the F-holes, as you do with the figured 335s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.