Epiphone Rivoli

The Epiphone Rivoli was a semi-hollowbody bass designed by Gibson and built by Epiphone in Kalamazoo, Michigan from 1959 until 1970. From 1993 until 1999, the model was reinstalled as a part of the Korean-Japanese Epiphone line.

Origins

After Gibson acquired Epiphone in 1957, Gibson installed an Epiphone production line for archtop instruments in its own factory in Kalamazoo, Michigan, using the stock Gibson acquired due to the takeover, with some models taken directly from Gibson (Casino, Riviera, ...), other models specifically designed for Epiphone (Newport, Crestwood, ...) or that were already designed by Epiphone (Emperor, Sheraton,...). In 1959, the then one-year-old Gibson EB-2 received its Epiphone sibling, the Epiphone Rivoli.^[1]

Design

Being made on the same production line as its sibling the EB-2, the Rivoli closely followed the production of the EB-2. Being only different in aesthetically aspect (a different headstock and sometimes a pickguard made out of tortoise instead of the black plastic that Gibson used), it shared the same body, neck and hardware as the EB-2.

The Rivoli featured an ES-335-style semi-hollow body, made from Laminated maple, a short 30.5-inch scale mahogany neck and one large "Sidewinder" humbucking pickup in the neck position. The electronics consisted of a single volume and tone knob, and a "choke-switch" (from 1959 onwards), which enhanced or /cut the bass frequencies. In 1970, when Gibson decided to move the production of Epiphone to Japan (Matsumoku), the production of Epiphones in the USA halted, marking the end for the Epiphone Rivoli. Its successor was the Epiphone 5120/EA-260, which shared very few similarities to the original Rivoli, had a bolt-on full-scale maple neck, other hardware and a redesigned body.^[2]

Models and variations

The original run, which ran from 1959 to 1970, with a hiatus in 1962 and 1963, featured one model, the single-pickup variant, which remained structurally unchanged from start to finish. Only the hardware changed, with the pickup being changed from a single-coil pickup (1959) to a humbucker (1960–1970), the bridge from a bar-bridge to a two-point bridge with individual saddles in 1968 (the springloaded mute was installed in 1960) and a change from the banjo-tuners to the standard Kluson tuners in 1961. Custom options like a finish different from the stock Cherry, Sunburst or Natural, as well as a second pickup, was available at custom-order.

The Epiphone Rivoli ReIssue, made in Korea and Japan in the 1990s,were only visually identical. The neck was made from maple instead of mahogany, the pickup was differently built, giving it a different sound and the two-point bridge was replaced by a three-point bridge as used by Gibson from the mid-1970s. Black became a factory option for the finish.

The Epiphone Rivoli II was available as well, a Rivoli with two pickups, making it a sibling of the Gibson EB-2D.^[2]

Notable users

Many Rivolis ended up in England, where their fat, hefty sound was well suited for the Merseybeat and British Invasion. Notable users of the Epiphone Rivoli in the 1960s include Chip Hawkes (The Tremeloes), Chas Chandler (The Animals), John Entwistle (The Who), Tony Jackson (The Searchers), Karl Green (Herman's Hermits), Paul Samwell-Smith, Chris Dreja, and Jimmy Page (The Yardbirds), Peter Birrell (Freddie and the Dreamers), and Scott Walker (The Walker Brothers).

More recent users include Adam Clayton (U2), Nick Bearden (Jamestown Revival) and Robert Levon Been (Black Rebel Motorcycle Club).

References