Rivera amps any good?

professor_chaos · #1 05-02-2003, 03:45 PM

A guitar shop in my area has a rivera s120 2 12 amp that I really want to try, the guy on the phone told me its the most versatile tube amp Ill ever play. "Goes from fender to mesa in a push of a button". Built in chorus and reverb and power cut switches. Also comes with a 6 button foot switch for 999.

They also have a 1985 jcm 800 2210 half stack for 1000, but the guy said its really isnt versatile and uses transistors to clip the signal.

There are other amps, but he suggested I try these 2.

bammbamm · #2 05-02-2003, 03:46 PM

Do a search here, there are several Rivera owners on Jemsite, they have all posted reviews of their gear.
Bamm

Gresh · #3 05-02-2003, 04:18 PM

I used to have a Rivera M100 which is the mono version of the S series, minus the chorus. I had a head and not a combo, and played it through a 4x12 cabinet.

Rivera amps are solid kit, I would call this series more Fender to Modded Marshall in tone vice Fender to Mesa. The tone of my M100 was very woody and thick, not brittle at all. Mids are nicely pronounced but it can do the scooped thing as well. All around this is a very versatile amp and the price for the combo is reasonable, although I would try to get him closer to $900.

One word of caution on Rivera...you cannot adequately assess the versatility and complexity of the amp in a short 1 hour trial run...it will take weeks, even months of twiddling to completely understand how all the controls interact given all the push pull configurations and gain stages. Go give it a run and see what you think, but just keep that in the back of your mind.

professor_chaos · #4 05-02-2003, 04:22 PM

When I bought a guitar from the store last time they gave me a week to try it out in my house so i could really get a feel and I think they will let me do that again with this. Also they have a lot effects because they go to guitar shows all the time to buy stuff(they have really nice jems and universes and a acrylic satch guitar, and a 1958 les paul sunburst). Ill ask the guy to throw in a wah pedal and delay if I decide to buy the amp, so that the price is fair.

vaijem777 · #5 05-02-2003, 04:29 PM

Yes. Rivera amps kick a$$ quite soundly. They rule.

I've been using a Suprema 55 combo for smaller blues gigs and a TBR-2SL rackmounted head for larger shows with my other band. They're extremely versatile, well-built and are very reliable.

The clean channels are basically modeled off of a Fender Twin, and the lead channel is more or less a Marshall-type circuit.

I haven't played a Rivera yet that I haven't loved!

darren wilson · #6 05-02-2003, 04:37 PM

I tried out an S120 head a few weeks ago and i'd concur that it definitely goes from Fender to Marshall in tonality. I loved the clean channel, but the gain channel just wasn't to my taste. I had a hard time getting that really dense Mesa-like tone out of it.

professor_chaos · #7 05-02-2003, 04:58 PM

Thanks for the responses I am going to try it a little later, oh the guys at the store also have a mesa mark IIb with Reverb and EQ. Its 100 watts 1x12, but can has a half power switch and the guy said i can use it as a head if i need more volume.

Gresh · #8 05-02-2003, 05:14 PM

To get that dense mesa tone, I just used a pedal on the clean side, sort of like an extra channel...at the time I was using a Morley JD-10, horrible reliability but great tone...too bad. With that approach I got Fender, Marshall and Mesa all in one box.

Mr Orange · #9 05-02-2003, 07:22 PM

I jumped the Rivera wagon, I traded my Marshall 1/4 stack for a Hundred Duo Twelve.

Gresh · #10 05-05-2003, 10:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by professor_chaos

Thanks for the responses I am going to try it a little later, oh the guys at the store also have a mesa mark IIb with Reverb and EQ. Its 100 watts 1x12, but can has a half power switch and the guy said i can use it as a head if i need more volume.

Riveras have the half power switch as well, it is built into the power switch which is a three way rocker switch.

vaijem777 · #11 05-05-2003, 12:06 PM

SOME Riveras have a half-power switch.

The S120 does have the feature, but neither my TBR-2SL nor my Suprema 55 have it. It's a nice feature to have on the higher-wattage amps. The TBR-1SL that I had did have the 3-way rocker power switch, and the half-power mode is about all I ever used. A little more warmth.

**cerealk** · #12 05-05-2003, 12:15 PM

I played Kevan's one at Jemfest USA last year and it was excellent!

wyldbill · #13 05-05-2003, 12:41 PM

It's also worth mentioning that most Riveras have a Pentode/Triode switch in the power sections as well. This'll can be used to knock the power down another notch, but it changes the tone pretty dramatically (which is not necessarily a bad thing). I've got a TBR and an S120 and they're both keepers.

FWIW,
-bill

DLHelfand · #14 05-07-2003, 08:14 PM

If you find a Rivera and can't get "your" tone out of it, contact Paul Rivera and he will help you. It can be as simple as changing a tube. Rivera amps are quite simply the best amps out there and I will always have at least one in my arsenal. Right now I have a Chris Duarte Rivera and every time GAS hits for a new amp, I can't find one that is better. There are other amps out there that I want, but nothing to replace my Rivera. If you find the Rivera that matches your style, you won't need any pedals to aid your tone. Riveras are quite simply the best amp deal in the used market. As far as getting a Rivera to sound like a Mesa, I suppose you could, but why would you want it to? I am not a Mesa fan.

Mr Orange · #15 05-07-2003, 09:01 PM

Yup. That's pretty much what I discovered with Rivera as well. My R100 212 needs new tubes, but it still sounds pretty cool... I can't wait to get some cash together and retube the whole thang, I think it'll be sweet. The amp's definitely a keeper. And it's the first amp I've encountered that doesn't feel like it needs an OD pedal. Oh well, maybe Marshall TSL is another, but the Rivera sounds way better. I've owned Mesas, too, and I'm not looking back.

The only thing I'd think of getting GAS for is Bogner XTC, the Plexi stuff sounds so good to me...

But for basic ****é, Rivera delivers.