Hi, Rivertone here.
Most of the above is correct.
All my basses and guitars are hand built - not Chinese (apart from some of the hardware)
I have been making instruments for over 45 years, so yes there are quite a few. I played bass in a Free tribute band (doing the Andy Fraser thing ) for most of my career, until a hand injury, and the smoking ban, made it more of a pain than a pleasure. (still miss it though)
I have owned and played ( on stage ) 5 EB3's. 2 EB2d's, '53 EB1, '71 EB1 reissue, Antoria 70's(?) EB1 copy, Les Paul bass, Triumph Bass, some from the dark side (F-word).
Most of the EB3's were ....er....disappointing, one was OK and one was (is) outstanding.(the one I have now)
The EB2d's, one (a black custom believe it or not) was so- so, the other one (sunburst) was awesome, but bit too lively with feedback on stage ( sold it to somebody in Portugal).
Of the EB1's, probably the Antoria was the best, but hey - I was young and foolish- it didn't have the Gibson logo!
The '53 looked the part, played the part, but was somehow dead.
'71 - least said the better .
LP & Triumph - interesting - bit heavy(weight) for me.
Also nearly bought a Melody Maker style '59 EBO - no good not enough frets.
So, having used all this stuff, having a shop full of stuff, I started to make the bass that - for me - had all the features of the best I had played. After making that one, which ( for my requirements ) turned out great, I enjoyed the build so much , I made another, then thought maybe this would be fun, how about a violin bass......and so on.
Some one above thought my instruments were a bit pricey - Ha - works out at less than £2/hour.
Some one above thought we would have problems selling the EB3 copies ....there is only one - there is only me making them!
Anyway, - Thanks for the opportunity to introduce myself, if anyone would like to visit my workshop (maybe do a bit of sanding), come and see me at the Rock Factory I would love to show you round.
John
