Video Review of the Epiphone Riviera P93
Monday, September 7th, 2009 at
10:20 pm
Just uploaded my first YouTube video ever 
It’s a quick overview of the Riviera P93, along with some demos of the three P-90 pickups individually, and my thoughts on possible mods/improvements.
I’ve got some more videos and audio examples, coming soon, so stay tuned…
Tagged with: Epiphone Riviera P93 • Review • Video
Filed under: Guitar
John,
I had to snicker when you said “graphite impregnated nut”!
Guitar looks great, and sounds smooth. Looking forward to hearing some more.
Teflon, man! It’s all about the teflon!!
I just bought a P93 used, put half-round 12′s on it. Sounds real good. Actually, pickup-wise, I like it better than my elitist riviera although the guitar itself can’t compare. For the price, it’s hard to beat. I like the flat response of the pickups and the fact that the bridge pickup is not harsh. It does in a sense, though, sound like an mp3 as compared to an LP. Would pots fix this?
Congrats on the guitar! Yeah the stock pickups were very mellow, but as you say sometimes lack a little clarity.
See my videos on pots for a bunch of comparisons. Depends on how you use your pots. If you leave your tone up full most of the time, doing the no load mod can really brighten up your sound. Also, I found the tapers on the stock Epi pots to be closer to linear than log – so I changed them to a set of CTS pots which have a nicer taper. I also did end up changing the pickups which dramatically changes the sound of the guitar – probably not what you’re looking for.
Hey John, I was wondering what you think of this–a guy wrote this on a Musiciansfriend review:
“I did some research, a guy on youtube had one of these that he was changing everything around trying to get it to brighten up. One thing he noted was that the center pick up is always on no matter what position the toggle is in, unless you turn it off via the volume, when the volume was off there wasn’t any improvement in sound. He further explained that there is a problem with the way it was wired so that it was sucking power whether on or off,causing the dark sounding output. I tried my own simplified test, I cut the center pickup wire taped it up and removed center pickup. WOW what a difference!!! it sounded so bright and beautiful. I left out the middle pickup and covered the hole with a cut piece of black gloss acrylic.”
He’s probably referring to you, right?
Here’s my main question: if I were to ever do that (cut the center pickup wire to experiment), is it easy to just solder back together again?
Thanks,
Darrell
Hi Darrel,
No that wasn’t me, exactly. I did the experiment of wiring a single pickup directly to the output jack to hear how that sounded, and it’s definitely brighter in isolation. See here:
http://www.planetz.com/?p=98
However, I didn’t permanently eliminate the middle pickup. But I did replace all three with new P-90′s. See my overhaul here:
http://www.planetz.com/?p=390
In any case, I do think that removing the middle pickup will have a number of benefits, so I’m planning on changing the middle volume to a push/pull pot to switch off the middle pickup. Stay tuned for that…
-John
Thanks, John–I’ll be very interested in your conclusions about that. Your idea of having the option of switching off the middle pickup gives the best of both worlds, if all works well. Thanks so much for your detailed, informative videos! They are appreciated.
So regarding my prior question, if I do cut the middle pickup wire, (and if I then wonder what in the world was I thinking), is it just a matter of soldering it together again, or would it be more complicated than that?
Thanks again!
Hi, Just got a Riviera Ltd.P93 on sale – nice, I like it, but my other guitars like an EPI SG400 have a brighter treble sound. I’ve noticed you put a lot of work & time into modifying your Riviera P93 – Can you tell me if the Gibson Black Dogear pickups would fit easily, or would I be better off going with a different manufacturer? (The Gibson Dogears are about 70+ each in black on sale at MF), what do you think of their(gibson) sound, & what might it cost to have them installed? Would this make a difference in tone?
Thanks,
Tim
Thanks,
Tim
Hi, I just commented about the price of the Gibson P90 pickups – they were recently on sale in Black only, now it looks like they’re waiting for a new shipment to arrive…updated price $120. Ooops.
Tim
Hey Tim,
Those Gibson P90′s should drop right in. Should be very easy to install yourself if you have some basic tools/skills. You can just unscrew the old pickup. When you remove them, leave a little slack, and cut the wires. Then solder the new pickup wires to the old. Looks like you can find those for about $90 at some other online stores.
I replaced my pickups with Vintage Vibe Guitars P-90′s. You can hear those in my before/after video here:
http://www.planetz.com/?p=390
-John
@12arrow12r Hey, I’m in the same problem actually! I’m wondering have you chosen one yet, if not have you made up your mind? Because I really am unsure
Thanx for a honest review. That sux about that guitar. I was gonna get that guitar too.
@JoshLNeville – casino is a full hollowbody while riviera is semi-hollow like the es-335 and sheraton. You’ll get a slightly more acoustic sound with Casino, but more prone to feedback. Try both.
And who doesn’t like to say “teflon impregnated nuts!”
@johnplanetz thanks very much, i’ve decided on maybe getting an es-335 guitar in cherry one day, as my grandad has a sheraton and I love the sound, although not until i have a fender tele…
But yeah, thanks dude
@ROBandTHEfuzz – fair enough. I love the ES-335 too. But it’s $2000 more for the Gibson name. If you have the skills and interest to work on the guitar, then you may take a $400 guitar and get it very close to the ES-335, and use the savings for something else. And you may learn a lot along the way. If you don’t want to spend the time or energy on it, or if it bothers you that it says Epiphone and not Gibson, well then you’ll just need to save up to pay the big bucks. Personal preference.
@johnplanetz oh yeah that makes sense it doesn’t bother me but i don’t think u under stand what ur paying for in a gibson, ur paying for a guitar that didn’t have just a couple of pieces thrown together by a machine, all the wood is the same type of wood and changing the wood on the guitar is just changing the model of the guitar, and after a while of modifying it its not even the guitar u bought anymore so its more than just the name but i defitnatly wouldn’t want spend that much on a guitar
Is it the same shape as a gibson Es 335? or more like a ES 339?
@PF1964 – it’s the same as es-335, sheraton, dot
Just came home today, with my own “Epiphone Riviera P93 WR” and I’m embarassed to say that I don’t know what the “WR” means. Do you? The set up was pretty dang good, and I didn’t know the pattern of the switch, so thanks for that explaination.
-Nutmegger1957
@nutmegger1957 Wine Red the color
@nutmegger1957 – Wine Red? Congrats on the new guitar! Enjoy.
I own both Gibson 335, an ole one around 1979, And, I got several Epi’s, I usually play more on the Epi’s, I’d say they’re about 90%. the same. I don’t even bother to mod them, Then I’ll use the Gibson. I have the whole gamut of guitars, And, Epi’s and Inbanez. make great copies.
Hi!! Can I install P-94 pickups on my Epiphone Riviera?
@Ichigoxdd1 – a P-94 is a P-90 pickup in a typical humbucker housing- designed as a drop-in P-90 replacement for a humbucker.. So, I can’t see the point in trying to replace these dog-eared P-90′s with humbucker-sized P-90′s.
is there anyway to get like a 6 position pick up switch so i could have the it have the 5 positions of a strat + the all 3 pick ups setting?
@bigjavo36 – you could try the Free-Way 6-position switch at stewmac, or a 6 position rotary switch. See my planetz blog entry on February 4th, 2011 “Ideas for Treble Bleed Problems”.
Its better a Les Paul that sucks XD
Wait, but can you play on this guitar acoustically- without amp. Like a Epiphone Broadway?
@imfromzbs – it’s a semi-hollowbody. Playing without an amp, it’s louder than your typical solidbody, but not nearly as loud as an acoustic guitar, and not quite as loud as a fully hollowbody.
Agreed on the setup! This guitar is AWFULLY set up from the factory. Once I finally got down to it and set it up though, it sounds and plays pretty well, especially for the price. This thing can get bright if you turn the middle pup all the way down, but still not very.
And don’t waste money on getting it set up by a “pro” – you can do it yourself for free with a little research and a couple of simple tools.
All the different pickup replacement options keep running through my head on this one… M-3 guitars has a mosrite-style pickup, and I’m interested in what lace is doing with their alumitone series… most recent one was a dog-ear p90…
do you now if these are still available at guitar center? and how long theyll be available for?
@wedontknowone1 – I still see them at guitarcenter and musiciansfriend. I don’t know how much longer they’ll be available- but after a couple years now, it sure seems like “limited” doesn’t really mean much
They also have a number of other models now, like the ES-345 and ES-355, which have two humbuckers instead of three P-90′s
I spent a lot on getting my 97 riviera to play better. They do have issues.
How does this guitar handle gain?
I just Modded my Les Paul,And now it’s on to my Yamaha sa503 ,Exactually same looking guitar with bigsby, She has 3 p-90′s I hate the sound,I own 14 guitars so I have a Choice in this matter.But Anyhow ,I am going to replace all of these pickups. I will probally put a Seymour Duncan P-90 up there on the neck, and a Humbucker in the middle and maybe a Seymour mini firebird at the bridge.
Changing the pickups is certainly the most effective way to change your sound.
See my video “Epiphone Electronics Overhaul, Before and After Comparisons” for my before/after comparison with my pickup replacements.
I’ve got an Epiphone Dot (china). Do you think I would benefit upgrading to this guitar or do you think I should stick with the dot and upgrade the dot with the money?
I play pop/rock (Oasis, Arctic monkeys).
The dot and the p93 have a very similar body and quality. Unless you really want 3 p90s and a bigsby, I think you’d be better off upgrading your dot than starting over with the p93. You could upgrade your humbuckers, and you could consider adding an aftermarket bigsby if you want.
@johnplanetz Hi! I just bought an Epiphone Riviera Custom Royale and I dont know how to use the knobs and the switch and how to select the P93′s and how to use the tone and stuff…can you help me man? Thanks a lot!
The Riviera Custom P-93 Royale controls should be the same as I demonstrated in this video starting around 0:58
@johnplanetz Ok got it! But which pickup do you suggest me to use to get a very very jazzy sound? Thanks for the swift answer!
Start with the neck pickup, alone. But it’s really a subjective thing. Experiment and find what you like!
I have the same guitar and usually have the middle pick up muted. I usually turn the bass down in my amp and pedal. And I am also looking toward replacing pickups. What pickups where you considering? I love the guitar but I just want a little more diversity out of it.
I used P-90′s from Vintage Vibe Guitars. See my video “Epiphone Electronics Overhaul, Before and After Comparisons”
subbed
you look like todd downing
i wanna have a sound similar to oasis, arctic monkeys, ocean colour scene, etc. would i achieve that with this guitar through a marshall mgfx30?
I haven’t tried that combination, so I can’t really say. But I can assure you that just having the same guitar/amp as the band doesn’t necessarily make you sound like them. Many other things contribute to their sound, including the pedals, the mic’ing, the recording process, not to mention (most importantly) your playing technique.
I’ve heard nothing but good things about these Rivieras. I’m personally going through somewhat of a strat fetish at the moment, but I might take a look at one of these in the foreseeable future.
I have one of the ltd pearl white ones, with the orange binding. Fantastic instrument. I really enjoy pushing it through some meaty, compressed fuzz. It “feels” right for that sound. And clean, very enjoyable.
I’m sorry, but my friend Brian had this exact guitar, and it was a piece of shit.
Epiphones are always hit-and-miss. I was once planning on buying an original Riviera, but went for a Washburn instead because it was much higher quality than the Riviera in the shop.
Always wished that I’d have gotten one of these instead of the Dot, but after this review, I know my Dot is overall better. The Riviera is only slightly more expensive and has WAY more features, but I guess they’ve cut back on the quality too much and lost out on what could have been a good guitar. My Dot, with the stock PUPs and a retrofitted Bigbsby is £360 + the cost of modifications and is more solid than this.
fala pra caralho e nao toca porra nenhuma pra ouvir, toca essa merda com fuzz meu amigo, pra gente sentir a guitarra e para de falar!
Hey man, great work on a well-made, intelligent, cohesive review. Hard to find on YouTube.
I take it, its a bit to clean for rock and/or metal.
I love Epiphone, can’t beat them for the price. I’m looking into getting a 335, but your P93 looks really nice there! Enjoy!
I dont now if I should get this, the dot, or the casino
If you had to chose between the p93 or the ES-335 Dot which one would you recommend
When I bought this guitar, I wanted a semi-hollow ES with bigsby. The P-93 was the only model at the time that had that. In retrospect, the three P-90′s are a bit of a pain, and I should have held out for a guitar with two humbuckers. Epiphone is now making the ES-345 and ES-355 models which are nice, but pricier. If those are too pricey, and the bigsby’s not important to you, I’d probably recommend a dot, if you can find a good one.
Hey, I’m debating between a guitar like this, or one of the MIM Teles. Which one do you think I should go for, i noticed the guitar in the background and I was just wondering what you’d think? I’m only able to spend around $570 at the most.
Those are two very different guitars. Find a place where you can play a tele and a semi-hollowbody side by side, to see what feels right and sounds best to you.
Hi I spotted you said the 3 p-90′s were a pain in your comments, Im looking to get into rockabilly, would this be a decent place to start, Its at the top of my budget for the time being. cheers.
Sure it would be a decent place to start. But you should really find a place to compare P-90′s with humbuckers which are the more common choice for rockabilly (e.g. the Swingster). You may like the P-90′s just fine…
it is annoying todeal with th is guitar on stage i have one and its super quirky with the pickup selector switch
Putting a push/pull on the middle volume-control helps a lot.
but try the line6 jtv 89f semi model in the store for your sel its an awsome guitar for the versatily.
The line 6 is a cool technology guitar, but so completely different from this one, you almost can’t really compare the two.
A lot of guitar for the money; shame it doesn’t have a 5-way selector switch.
this guitar is similar with Gretsch G5422tdc electomatic…good choice john
did you replace the pickups? I have ibanez amf73 semi hollow ans same vox amp. I am thinking of trying p90s with semi hollow. listening to this video i might change my mind on p90s.
Yes, I did replace the pickups. See my video “Epiphone Electronics Overhaul, Before and After Comparisons”: watch?v=fxc6s6tXefE
hey man how that cost i wanted to buy just like your guitar i am having a second thought due to some fake epiphoe i dont what to be a victim of fakes
It’s still US$499. Can often get a good deal from guitar center, musicians friend, etc- and you’ll be confident that it’s not a fake.
thank you sir for the reply but how about the quality of this guitar? does this sound good i am new to this thing chances are i am making a mistake the only the only reason i want this guitar is because recently i am become a oasis fan since no es 355 is around so i decided to go to buy this what are the pros and cons fo this guitar thank you sir for the help
Epiphone quality is ok, a bit hit or miss but generally pretty good. Try it before you buy it (or buy it somewhere you can return it).
and which one is the best amplifier for this guitar it is marshall or fender if any suggestion which one is to get i ma open for sgeetion thank you sir
Very subjective question. Depends what you like, how you’re going to use it – practice amp vs stage use, etc, etc. There are many more amps to choose from than just Fenders and Marshalls.
Thanks for this. Nice review.
can you rate this guitar in scale of of 1 to 10 i am getting this guitar in a few weeks i learning as much as i can
if i will make a choice between es 345 limited edition or p93 riviera which one will i make choose?i am reading your blog and i amn leraning the prons and cons of this guitar
If you’re a diehard oasis fan, you’ll want a red es 345 or 355, two humbuckers. The Riviera with three P-90′s will give you a different tonal palette.
yep i am a die hard oasis fan and ive been learning a few chords just play there songs i think i will for go for es 345 or 355 thank you so much sir for giving me this idea which guitar to buy and i see that you been doing a lot of modification of this guitar how about a guitar amp which one do you think is the most promising amp that will suit the sound of es345
Oasis used Vox amps on the earlier records, as far as I know. I’m a fan of the Vox AC15- but you really need to try some amps to see what you like, personally.
thank you sir for the suggestion i will try it out
thank you sir i am really really new to this guitar thing your videos and suggestion really help me a lot to make the wiser decision thanks again
Hey Johnplanetz !
I’ve been looking into getting a new electric guitar. I don’t know much about the technical side of guitars at all but i know i want an overall smooth and nice sound. Nothing metal ish more clean and maybe some harder sounds but nothing too hard. I was thinking about getting the Epiphone The Dot CH Cherry one but now i’m seeing this one has a pretty sweet sound too. What would you suggest ?
If you can, find a store where you can play them both and get a feel for their sound. The dot with two humbuckers will have a different tonal palette compared to the P93 with three P-90′s. The two-humbucker dot is the more common pickup configuration.
Hey bro ~ appreciate the time spent & info imparted… its very helpful. WORD: work on your audible pauses as they are REALLY distracting (“ah” “um” etc). Public Speaking classes are helpful in this area. With your knowledge/experience, you’d be a powerhouse!
Understood. Those “uh”s are the worst. This was the very first video I made, a few years ago – one-take, unscripted. I like to think I’ve improved since then, over the last 50+ videos.
If you’re interested, see my channel for my recent videos on guitar pedal artwork, etc.
You remind me a lot micheal manring! You have the same way of talking! However thanks for this well made review, now i know that i can go forward into buying this guitar to my brother! Thanks a lot again!
Thanks for the review. I love my Riviera P93 and it sounds good played through a tube amp, such as my Peavey Classic 30. Mine is stock and sounds and plays great!