1998 Epiphone Riviera Semi-Hollowbody Electric Guitar Ebony w/ Case & Tag, Peerless

Up for sale, a 1998 Epiphone Riviera in excellent condition and in perfect working order, complete with the original hardshell case and hangtag. This Riviera is a rare and discontinued iteration of this model made at the Peerless factory in Korea, highly regarded for its build quality and premium finish work. With a mahogany neck and semi-hollow maple body construction, this guitar has a clear, authoritative natural acoustic sound that translates well through the original pair of mini humbuckers. The overarching sound is both sweet and detailed, with a bridge pickup that has a touch of bite and growl, not overly aggressive yet present, with good midrange character. The neck pickup is inherently fuller, capturing the airy quality of the semi-hollow construction and offering a singing sound that's plenty meaty and a great choice for overdriven lead work. Weighing 8lbs 2oz, this Riviera has been professionally setup here at Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar with fresh 10-46 strings, slinky action, and accurate intonation. The mahogany neck has a modestly chunky C-shaped profile carve with full shoulders at the nut, gaining just a hair more heft as you travel up the fretboard, measuring .860" deep at the 1st fret and .895" at the 12th. The bound rosewood fretboard is a dark cut of this tonewood, inlaid with pearloid parallelograms and featuring original medium jumbo frets which have plenty of meat, showing moderate wear on the crowns of frets 1-2, with wear extending more faintly beneath the plain strings to fret 6. The guitar plays easily up the 24 3/4" scale with a straight neck and responsive, optimally adjusted truss rod. The nut measures 1 9/16" in width, upgraded to a hand-carved piece of bone for optimal note clarity and sustain. The headstock features a set of Kluson-style tuners that turn smoothly and hold pitch well. The electronics function as intended, with the humbucker pair wired to a three-way pickup selector toggle and individual Volume and Tone knobs for each pickup, capped with black reflector cap knobs. The pickup covers have gleaming chrome plating, and the vintage-spec hardware includes an upgraded nickel ABR-1 bridge with nylon saddles and a Frequensator tailpiece. Visible through the F hole, the original orange oval Epiphone label is intact, dating the instrument to 1998. Cosmetic wear on the gloss Ebony finish is limited to two very cleanly touched up mounting holes on top for a Bigsby that has since been removed, and some scuffs and minor marks on the back. The neck profile retains a smooth gloss finish. The original Epiphone-branded black tolex hardshell case is included, along with the original hangtag.