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#1
11-25-2020, 05:32 AM
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Help - GAS for Epiphone Riviera
So, I made the mistake of clicking on Anderton's video about the Riviera. Love my 2004 Epi Sheraton (MIK), it is great, albeit it is a hoss - almost 9 pounds. However, I keep getting hung up on the fact that the Riviera is made in China. I also worry some about the quality of the parts. I know the "made in China thing" is a personal issue that the forum can't help me with, but I am interested in thoughts.
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#2
11-25-2020, 06:37 AM
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There are some excellent guitars made in China - Eastman comes quickly to mind...
There are some real dogs made in China - I have an Epiphone Ultra 339 that's been a series of annoying little problems since day one and, but for the fact that the pickups are really that. good. I would've dumped it long ago... I'm old enough to have played '60s Rivieras when they were brand-new - always liked Kalamazoo-era Epiphones in general, and these were some of my favorites... If you've got the urge, take the plunge - send it back if you don't like it... Those Samick-/Peerless-built Korean Epiphones like your '04 Sheraton are some of the best low-midprice guitars ever made, pro quality at step-up prices - to paraphrase a Leo-era Fender ad campaign, don't ever part with yours...
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"Mistaking silence for weakness and contempt for fear is the final, fatal error of a fool" - Sicilian proverb (paraphrased)
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#3
11-25-2020, 07:05 AM
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My brand new Epiphone Inspired by Gibson ES-335 Figured is fantastic. Like many (most) guitars it needed a bit of a set up out of the box but the build quality is very, very good. I have the same hesitation as you when it comes to large factory Chinese made guitars but this one at least gets a passing grade from me.
Like you, the Riviera has my attention and I just may grab one of those as well. If you do get one please let us know what you think. Last edited by 29er; 12-02-2020 at 06:45 PM.
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#4
11-25-2020, 08:31 AM
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I will never part with my Sheraton, it may be heavy, but it is an awesome guitar. Really my favorite electric. About 6 months ago, I had a bone nut made and the frets dressed. The luthier joking told me that he did not want to send it home with me.
One thing is that I can fix most annoying electric guitar problems. I replaced the switch myself recently on the Sheraton which went rather kirfluey. So, if the Riviera needed a different input jack, different pots or a new switch, I can fix those. I wouldn't want to mess with it if it needed different pickups, as that quickly gets to the point where it's not worth it. Or if the neck was bad, it would go straight back. I have also thought about an Eastman T64 instead, even though I know more money and a totally different instrument to the Riviera. But, the China thing gets in my way on that one too. And I go back and forth on the varnish finish on the current ones. I will think on it some more. Good to know your figured 335 came out nice. Enjoy it. Those are beautiful.
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#6
12-02-2020, 03:51 PM
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Quote:
__________________
"Mistaking silence for weakness and contempt for fear is the final, fatal error of a fool" - Sicilian proverb (paraphrased)
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#7
12-02-2020, 08:48 PM
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I briefly owned a MIC Gretsch 5622T - it was nice enough, but my Sheraton is far nicer and seemed to fit "me" better. But, the MIK Gretsch's are probably loads better than the MIC varieties. Still thinking on the Riviera....I get hung up (probably too much) on the MIC thing. I probably won't pull the trigger.
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#8
12-02-2020, 10:47 PM
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Quote:
__________________
"Mistaking silence for weakness and contempt for fear is the final, fatal error of a fool" - Sicilian proverb (paraphrased)
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#9
12-03-2020, 02:30 AM
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The new Made in China Epis, to me, surpass anything that came out of the Peerless factory. Epiphone stepped up their game in the last few years at their Chinese factory. Peerless is now a buzzword to try and get more money on Reverb sales. I've owned two Peerless Epiphone Casinos, and the new Chinese ones feel better across the board.
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#10
12-03-2020, 01:12 PM
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Quote:
nah.. it's not just you I had a few Epi's from Peerless over the years, not bad mind you but not like the MIC ones that you're finding over the last 5 or 6 years. I have a Sheraton Pro II from 2015, it's head and shoulders above the last MIK mid 90s Sheraton I had. vastly superior pickups, and hardware. I had a few others back round the late 90s.. they were all decent, but they didn't last with me.
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#11
12-04-2020, 01:31 AM
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Based on my sample size of one, I’m impressed with the QingDao Epis. I bought a Casino a couple years ago when I was still gigging a lot and didn’t want to schlepp my Vintage 125tdc anymore, and after a few mods it became the guitar I always grabbed when I wanted to do something quick at home. I found it really livened up when I thinned down the poly. If I were buying now I’d get one of the new worn finishes, even though I don’t particularly like the colors, and run with it.
If you have a problem with China, then you can solve easily: $$$$. But the QingDao guitars are good usable workhorses, like Mexican Fenders. I just looked for one with a good, stable neck. Anything else I can fix. Even the frets were pretty good - they just needed a touch-up on some of the high frets.
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#13
12-04-2020, 09:48 AM
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Quote:
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2018 Guild F-512 Sunburst -- 2007 Guild F412 Ice Tea burst 2002 Guild JF30-12 Whiskeyburst -- 2011 Guild F-50R Sunburst 2011 Guild GAD D125-12 NT -- 1972 Epiphone FT-160 12-string 2012 Epiphone Dot CH -- 2010 Epiphone Les Paul Standard trans amber 2013 Yamaha Motif XS7 Cougar's Soundcloud page
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#14
12-04-2020, 10:14 AM
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Quote:
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/ Last edited by stevo58; 12-04-2020 at 10:40 AM.
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#15
12-04-2020, 12:14 PM
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Let's see if I read you right: you want a thinline hollowbody, you are interested in lower than Gibson prices, and you'd strongly prefer not from China. A Korean made Gretsch model didn't do it for you (maybe not thin body?). You'd like lower weight.
Makes me think of Guild Starfires. Used "real ones" from back in the day can still be found for less than a grand. Some of the reissues are made in Asian countries but not China. I'm not sure how they range weight-wise, but even when they are thin bodied, a lot of full width hollowbodies and semi-hollowbodies are not light guitars alas. The doomed in the marketplace Fender DeArmond* line had some thinline Starfire models back around the turn of the century. Nice guitars. Some Guilds come with single-coil pickups which might be a nice change of pace from your Sheraton sound-wise. *A very full line of sort-of Guild reissues that Fender launched in late 1990s. Most made in Korea, a few at the lower end made in Indonesia. Had a vintage vibe before enough of the market was interested in that, and a great number of them were "blown out" at very low prices when Fender pulled the plug in 2001. You still see them at the various used places. I found the single coil models quite flavorful.
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----------------------------------- Creator of The Parlando Project Guitars: 20th Century Seagull S6-12, S6 Folk, Seagull M6; '00 Guild JF30-12, '01 Martin 00-15, '16 Martin 000-17, '07 Parkwood PW510, Epiphone Biscuit resonator, Merlin Dulcimer, and various electric guitars, basses....
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