Epiphone Riviera Royal Tan

When I stumbled upon the news (gearpage) that Epiphone released the Riviera, I immediately I looked online to see where I could purchase it: Thomann already had it in store and a few days later I received it. I had a cherry redEpiphone Riviera (made in Korea) in 2007 (or thereabouts) and I always regretted selling it. I once bought a new Riviera made in China, also at Thomann, in 2012 or so, but immediately returned it: rough frets, rough finish, and it didn’t sound good either. What a disappointment. Not this 2020 MIC Riviera: the royal tan finish is gorgeous, the frets are smooth, it played well out of the box. The mini humbuckers have a great sound: on the bridge clear, with a firm bite, on the neck pickup the guitar sings with a lot of sustain. The neck gives you access to solos below fret 12 (contrary to the Casino). I also love the feel of the hollow body, it’s nice to play sitting on a chair. The neck on the 2020 version is a bit bigger than the MIK one I had, but also feels nice. I did take the guitar to a luthier who needed to check it for me as a screw was missing to keep the pick guard was missing (therefore 3 stars for finish) and the luthier also sanded down the neck so it feels like a satin finish. Lovely guitar and a great looker too. I’m happy I got a 2nd chance to owning a great Riviera.