Help - GAS for Epiphone Riviera

[TiffanyGuitar]

I guess now that you say it that way, it does give it a lot of perspective and highlights my pickiness. I also did not say that I once had a Guild Starfire (MIK). Nicely made guitar - BUT I found the pickups odd - they were "woofy" and I also found that it was very "butt" heavy - it liked to try to slide off my lap backwards. I had to hold onto it differently than any of my other instruments. I moved it on to a new home.

So, I think what all this adds up to is I save my pennies for a ES-335.

[29er]

Originally Posted by stevo58

600 grit wet sand. Slowly and carefully. As long as you are still sanding clear coat, it will be milky. Once you see color you’ve removed too much, so back up. It took me a good two weeks before I was satisfied. Patience is a virtue.

First I completely removed the finish from the neck and back/sides of the peghead. This gave me a feel for the thickness of everything (hint: really thick.) There’s a rock-hard filler coat on the neck which felt fine; I had intended to use truoil but that wouldn’t be possible and wasn’t necessary. Then I started on the body.

I’d like to take a bit more off the top, but I just don’t feel like unmounting everything again.

Pics can be found buried in this thread:

https://www.epiphonetalk.com/threads...ir-necks.4885/

Thanks, and nice work, btw. Man, the shade and attitude thrown your way in the thread by Raiyn was weird.

[stevo58]

Originally Posted by 29er

Thanks, and nice work, btw. Man, the shade and attitude thrown your way in the thread by Raiyn was weird.

Yeah, I read that and thought WTF? To his credit he apologized when he realized I didn't do a hack job. Everyone has bad days.

[FrankHudson]

Originally Posted by TiffanyGuitar

I guess now that you say it that way, it does give it a lot of perspective and highlights my pickiness. I also did not say that I once had a Guild Starfire (MIK). Nicely made guitar - BUT I found the pickups odd - they were "woofy" and I also found that it was very "butt" heavy - it liked to try to slide off my lap backwards. I had to hold onto it differently than any of my other instruments. I moved it on to a new home.

So, I think what all this adds up to is I save my pennies for a ES-335.

Did the Starfire have a Bigsby? That butt heavy thing sure sounds like that!

A 339 sized model would be worth considering as you watch the penny jar filling up. All things being equal, they are lighter and a bit easier to handle what with the smaller bodies.

[TiffanyGuitar]

Believe it or not, the Starfire had the harp tail piece. Have you ever held one? They have a larger lower bout than a 335. When my teacher played it, it almost dove backwards out of his lap too - I had already gotten somewhat used to expecting that. He noted the woofy pickups as well. They were odd in that if you hit a string a little too hard the sound jumped out at you oddly - almost like someone slapped their finger on a microphone - a lot more than any other pickup I have ever played.

I liked its build and if it hadn't had the butt heavy thing going on I probably would have hunted up some other pickups, although I know the size of those pickups can make that difficult. Anyway, I sold it to a true Starfire fan (he loves it) and found a great deal on my Sheraton, which I like loads better - although the trade off is it is a good pound+ heavier than the Starfire.

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by TiffanyGuitar

...He noted the woofy pickups as well. They were odd in that if you hit a string a little too hard the sound jumped out at you oddly - almost like someone slapped their finger on a microphone - a lot more than any other pickup I have ever played...

Did either of you try adjusting the pickups - the height of the individual polepieces, the height of the entire pickup, or both (particularly under the lower three strings)? Makes a big difference, and never assume that "factory setup" will always work for you; in nearly 60 years of playing I've only owned three guitars (out of over 75 that have passed through my collection) that needed no setup whatsoever - none of which were a Guild or Epiphone of either American or offshore origin FWIW...

FYI my wife has the MIK Starfire IV-12ST and, after adjusting the pickups as per the above, has no such issues - in fact, the LB-1 pickups have an almost Gretsch-like upper-mid chime but with more girth and body, not "woofy" in the least - nor, at 5'2", does she have any problems playing either standing or sitting. Speaking as a (retired) teacher for 45 years in both the public and private sector, I'm just curious about both your picking technique and seated playing position; if you're using the "layback" position adopted by many Big Band rhythm players in the '30s/40s heyday of full-depth 17"/18" archtops, a 16" thinline (not to mention a solidbody) is almost guaranteed to be a handful - in addition to which you might well be contacting the pickup covers or polepieces, with either pick or rebounding strings (if the pickups are too close) - and I'm quite surprised that you don't have similar difficulty with your Sheraton...

[FrankHudson]

Originally Posted by TiffanyGuitar

Believe it or not, the Starfire had the harp tail piece. Have you ever held one? They have a larger lower bout than a 335. When my teacher played it, it almost dove backwards out of his lap too - I had already gotten somewhat used to expecting that. He noted the woofy pickups as well. They were odd in that if you hit a string a little too hard the sound jumped out at you oddly - almost like someone slapped their finger on a microphone - a lot more than any other pickup I have ever played.

I liked its build and if it hadn't had the butt heavy thing going on I probably would have hunted up some other pickups, although I know the size of those pickups can make that difficult. Anyway, I sold it to a true Starfire fan (he loves it) and found a great deal on my Sheraton, which I like loads better - although the trade off is it is a good pound+ heavier than the Starfire.

First off, is anything I'm saying coming off as "attitude?" If so, not my intent. I'm a person who rather enjoys the variety of guitars, so a challenge like yours including "like this - but not that" qualifications is fun.

I've owned several dozen electric guitars over the years and tried more. I've never owned a Starfire of any variety though I've seen them and probably tried at least one briefly in a store sometime. I have owned a DeArmond X155 for many years, a full depth electric hollowbody with a 17 inch lower bout and a Guild JF30-12 string acoustic with the same lower bout measurement. Mostly with that size (and depth, they're not thinlines) it's more the issue of raising the arm to get over that lower bout, though I've often played with the guitar on my left thigh when sitting which minimized that.

Your comfort, feeling of guitar balance, and the rest of your experience is yours of course, and definitive for your purposes.

[TiffanyGuitar]

I did not pick up on any attitude and no attitude was intended in my postings either. Like you I find this fun - and everyone is different.

I have no trouble balancing the Sheraton in my lap. I don't play leaning back. I sit up straight. I can let go of the Sheraton (and my tele incidentally) in my lap and the guitars just basically sit there - might neck dive slightly. The Guild, however, would immediately dive backwards. I had to play it with a strap. Must be just me. It all worked out fine because I love the Sheraton. Somehow the semi hollows almost seem like home since I am used to reaching over acoustics. Similar to why square tele bodies don't bother me - they seem normal to me.

I did experiment with lowering the pickups in the Guild, and it definitely would help the "woofiness," but I could never get them to balance to my liking (neck and bridge balancing) and the pickups got too quiet for me when I lowered them. The guitar was drop dead gorgeous so I went away sad that it just did not fit me. Maybe it was just the one I had. I came away thinking that perhaps the manufacturers had compromised on the reissue pickup quality.

I would like another semi-hollow and the Riviera called out to me as potentially something different - but I will probably wait to get a 335.

[TiffanyGuitar]

As a sort of end to this thread - I sold my Martin 000-28 (it never really fully grabbed me) and bought a red translucent 1995 Gibson ES-335 that is in bound. It was made the same year I got married and technically the Martin was an anniversary present, so it seemed to make sense. I will update everyone when it arrives and I check it out.

[ChrisN]

Originally Posted by TiffanyGuitar

As a sort of end to this thread - I sold my Martin 000-28 (it never really fully grabbed me) and bought a red translucent 1995 Gibson ES-335 that is in bound. It was made the same year I got married and technically the Martin was an anniversary present, so it seemed to make sense. I will update everyone when it arrives and I check it out.

Nice! And guitar buying/selling is all about the technicalities.