Epiphone Riviera Sparkling Burgundy

A great semi-hollow-body guitar. Sound, looks, playability and craftsmanship are all top notch, this Riviera really proves that you don't need to spend Gibson money or even Epiphone IGC money to get a fantastic instrument. It's also very lightweight! A lot lighter than most 335-style guitars with a centre block I've tried over the years.

Sound:

The mini humbuckers are brighter than normal humbuckers, but not considerably thinner. These really take the best qualities of both humbuckers and single coils and leave out the non-desirable qualities. There's plenty of sustain, upper mids and zing in the bridge pickup, and great bell-like tones from the middle position. The neck position is way nicer than on a regular hb-guitar, because of the added treble.

Looks:

The sparkling burgundy finish looks amazing. It's only slightly sparkly, but very classy looking. It's kinda timeless; not too modern but not too vintage either; it's not tied strictly into a specific era.

Playability:

After changing the strings into my preferred gauge (9-46 hybrid) and slightly turning the flathead screws on the bridge to lower the action, it played incredibly smoothly. The neck was smooth and there was not a single sharp fret end.

Functionality:

Adjusting the action was super easy, but changing the strings was not, because there's nothing to hold the frequensator tailpiece in place. Next time I'll secure it with some painter's tape. This is my only complaint about this guitar honestly, and it's a very manageable thing. Tuners, switch and knobs all work perfectly and turn smoothly.

Craftsmanship:

The guitar appears to be built very well. There are no functional issues with craftsmanship, but also no cosmetic issues. Even the inside edges of the f-holes have been painted carefully, which is rare in this price range.

I would highly recommend this guitar to anyone who wants a nice semi-hollow guitar and maybe wants something a bit different than the traditional ES-335. Soundwise, the sounds you get from a Riviera are the sounds you get from an ES-335, just more.

I really love this guitar. Caveat emptor, I ordered it plek’t. And I received an excellent sounding (mini humbuckers are clear and ring out without any mud or ice-pick treble) guitar that has low action, beautifully rounded fret ends and absolutely NO BUZZ or dead frets. This experience has sold me on Thomann’s pleking department to the point that I will not order another guitar from Thomann without having it plek’t by their team. This guitar now feels as good as my Fender Custom Shop Strat or my Fender Johnny Marr Jaguar. My only complaint is that the F-hole painting from the factory is terrible. Half burgundy and half black.

Alors pour moi c'est d'abord à cause d'Oasis que j'ai aimé ce modèle, "noise & confusion"
un son vraiment intéressant, les mini humbucker font bien le job, la position bridge avec un overdrive c'est une tuerie. Le middle position est chaud, incisif assez médium. Le micro neck est rond, chaud et avec une reverb de qualité c'est le top.

côté lutherie, c'est de l'érable > ça claque! modèle léger, bonne prise en main, accès aigu top.

Le bémol pour moi c'est la qualité de l'accastillage (switch, contour micro).

belle guitare, peu de correction de réglage. Un must have.

Seit nunmehr einem Jahr habe ich meine Riviera regelmäßig in Benutzung.
Das Setup der Gitarre viel sperrlich aus, gefiel es doch von Werk aus bereits gut.
Die Verarbeitung ist für den Preis angemessen.
Bundstäbchen sind schön abgerundet, nichts kratzt.
Die Stimmstabilität ist relativ gut.
Nach wenigen Monaten musste ich die Klinkenbuchse wechseln lassen und es hatte sich wohl während des Lackierens ein Haar im Klarlack des Halses eingefunden, welches zu einer Unebenheit führt. Von mir für einige Wochen unentdeckt, ist es nun, wo ich mich doch nicht mehr von der Gitarre trennen mag, Teil ihres Charakters geworden.

Zum Sound: Von Beginn an war ich eher im Fender Lager, bevorzugte den klassischen Tele-Sound. Von den Mini-Humbuckern erwartete ich mir einen Sound zwischen Tele und 335.
Und genau das liefern die Tonabnehmer.
So ergibt sich ein volles Klangprofil mit deutlicher Klarheit die sich schon fast in Single Coil-Gefilde einfindet.
Das macht die Riviera zu einem wunderbaren Allrounder.

Alles in allem bin ich sehr zufrieden mit der Gitarre. Einzig beim Lack sollte scheinbar etwas mehr Aufmerksamkeit in die initiale Inspektion nach Erhalt der Gitarre gesteckt werden.
Ich werde meine "Hairy Cherry" noch viele Jahre mein Eigen nennen.