Epiphone Riviera - the one that will not go away :)

[kapepper]

Its been a while since i posted, but i thought why not do a small "guitar birthday since acquisition"

A 1965 Epiphone riviera - Stoptailed and what i believe is the original case (veryyy mufty)
I bought this guitar exactly seven years ago, and i still love it! best buy ever !
Why is it that with some guitars it is only love for a few weeks-months, while with other guitars you can still look at it after 5-10-20-... years and thinking what an awesome guitar....and this riviera is an awesome guitar. Always sounds good.
Rivieras are a well kept secret, but i see prices are going up since 65 gibsons es 335s are really becoming expensive

It is a player but nothing dramatic beside the stoptail. It came with the tremotome (horrible invention ) and somebody put in SD mini hums in it in the eighties but kept all the original parts in the case (very smart). The neck is still the SD pick up while i put back the original pick up in the bridge. I am already planning the last six years to also put back the original neck pick up, but that hasn't happened yet...






What is your one that will never go away?

[andy]

I have a ‘63 reissue ES-335 that I feel similarly about. I could say the same about the Amp, too!

[sookwinder]

I love 60s Rivieras … did I say that I love them

Not that it matters at all just having a 60s Riviera is a delight but I suspect that your guitar is not a 65 model...most likely 66 or 67 model.
- Cherry was introduced into the Riviera in 66
- the "E" on the guard is a raised plastic thingy first seen post 65 (rather than the mirrored decal)
- the knobs are witch's hat knobs again post 65/66 rather than the older reflector knobs
(assuming that the guard/knobs are original to the instrument)

Can you tell what the guard bracket is like please. Gibson brackets have a single (almost) right angle bend, whereas Epiphone brackets have a two bend bracket. By the way for trainspotting purposes the bracket screw that screws into the guard is non original . It should be a counter sunk screw.

It is in excellent condition …. in fact it is in awesome condition, do you know much about it before you owned it?
What is the nut width? Neck profile?

A couple of years back I removed the tremotone unit from my 67 and fitted a Frequensator tail piece like my 65 Riviera. The tremotone, while looking awesome with all the chrome does very little for the additional weight it adds, especially when compared to what the Fender Strat/JM/Jag/Mustang trem units can do. But given covid and unemployment I fitted the tremotone back to the 67 a few weeks back and was amazed at what level of sustain it gave the instrument

[kapepper]

thanks for all this information!!!

i already have it for seven years and learn more about it by reading your post

[BoringPostcards]

It's beautiful. I have only ever played a few vintage Epiphones, and they were mostly all Coronet and Olympia style solid bodies, with the exception of one f-hole archtop acoustic. Not sure which model, but it was one of the large body ones with elaborate inlays.
I would love to get my hands on a semi-hollow vintage Epi.