Guitar of The Week: The Epiphone Riviera. The Riviera was the Epiphone interpretation of the Gibson ES-335. It featured the ES-300 series body shape and the solid maple block running down the body. It differed from the ES-335 in that most incarnations of the Riviera had mini humbuckers and a two piece trapeze tailpiece previously seen on Epiphone archtop acoustics of the 30’s and 40’s. The Mini humbuckers made for a nice midpoint between the full warm tone of full-size humbuckers and single coils with their clear, bell-like tone. Since its release in 1961, the Riviera has been somewhat overshadowed by the more popular Gibson ES-335 and the famous Epiphone Casino, however, it still has found a place in the hands of modern alternative rock guitarists such as Noel Gallagher and Nick Valensi.
...And The Like
The likes and interests of a wannabe musician
The guitar of the day is the Fender Bass V, the first ever five-string bass. The Bass V was introduced following the CBS takeover of Fender in 1965. CBS designed the Bass without consultation from Leo and the Bass reflected CBS’ ineptness in the musical instrument industry. The idea behind the Bass V was to simplify bass playing by adding a high c string and shortening the neck, thus making notes more immediately accessible. The shortened neck required that the body be lengthened to retain the 34in scale length. the resulting instrument was an aesthetic abomination, the body looked deformed and lack the elegance of the striking Jazz Bass. Although constructed of the same high quality of other guitars of the golden age, the Bass V was unpopular and only approximately 1,000 were ever produced.
