Silly impulse purchases (obscure Canadian gear)

[Granny Gremlin]

I've done it now.  There was just no way around it, that 4x12, matching my studio partner's head and 1x15, for C$80 all in.  And all the speakers work. There was no choice really.  Had to be done.  It's been nagging at the back of my head for a month since I ran across it in the junkiest of used gear shops; a gem in a pigsty of mediocre gear in partial working order.  Went back to get it yesterday.

I think we now collectively own the entire Riviera line (a Pepco, aka Pine Electronics, 'stencil' brand - made in Canada).  I certainly can't find any other models when I search online (though there were different versions of the 725 head, some with more knobs; no clear pics so hard to tell what's going on there).  As far as speaker cabs, I have never even heard a whisper of any Riviera other than the 1x15 (which is great, and if you ever see it grab it).  The 725 amp is good too, but so much better after some tinkering (the tone stack was rebuilt on this one).

What I love most about both these cabs is that they were obviously designed for guitar/bass dual use (the 725 has separate guitar and bass inputs) in that they are MUCH larger than other similarly equipped cabs of the era.  The 1x15 is perfect and I wouldn't touch it and also it's not mine (I have seen someone on Talkbass refer to it as a Showman copy, but that's Talkbass for you, where everything has to be compared to the closest Fender model - but I think this is actually larger, certainly a different shape).  Might change out the speakers in the 4x12 because they won't handle the power of my new Sunn 1200s without getting farty (I opened her up and looked in there - 15-20 watt Marslands but nicer/better quality than most Marslands of the 70s - really nice cones and look more solid than the crappier ones Traynor was using by the end of that decade).  Might stick these Marslands in the Hiwatt 4x12 my other bud is trying to sell or give the buyer the option; they do sound good with guitar.  They sounded good with bass too at lower volumes - tried it with some newish solidstate Fender bass amp  in the store (one of the wedge monitor shaped combos)

Replaced the rubber feet on the bottom (completely worn down to more of a rubber washer around a screw with it's head ground down - bit of a pain to get off) and glued down some ripped flaps of tolex.  Gotta find a strap handle for the right side there, and then maybe some castors (side mount for a tilt n roll) cause it's a beast - not that heavy, but large and awkward to carry - it's actually bigger than the Sunn offset style 4x12).

To give an idea re the scale of this beast, it is 30 x 41 x 12" (vs a standard geetar 4x12 which is 30 x 31 x 13). The amp head is tiny.

[Nocturnal]

That 4X12 must weigh a ton!!

[Granny Gremlin]

It's pretty light - mostly air inside and the speakers are stamped frame with smallish magnets.  It's huge tho, but I can one hand it using my thigh and leaning backwards for ballast/cantilever (good thing cause it's currently only got the one handle on the left side).

[godofthunder]

  Really cool ! How could you pas that up?

[Happy Face]

 

[Granny Gremlin]

So now I am trying to figure out what to load this with.  Altec 417/917 are too pricey for me to get 4 of (but the specs look the best out of the candidates I found); the usual JBls (K/D/E) are not really my cup of tea and also too pricey.  Thinking EVs, or less popular/cheaper JBLs (G-135 or MI-15) might be the best I could do on my budget.  Also considerring just replacing these Marslands with the higher power handling alnico mag ones from the 60s that I love (might take me a while to track down 4 of them.... technically I have a spare one already so only need 3, but I like to have spares).

I 'll have to take a trip to my favorite local  recone dude/used speaker shop and see what he has (he usually has a couple of those Marslands and always lots of EVs).

The idea is that I'd want this to work for guitar and bass - anybody ever try  JBL G-135/MI-15 for bass? 

[amptech]

Can´t say if it will work for guitar in your cab, but if you are after something close to alnico sound - a neo speaker might suit you. I now use eminence basslite S2012 neos in my marshall 412TV and celestion BN12-200 neos in my musicman 212. They are both good sounding and take 200W (celestion) and 150W (eminence) each. It was the 412 cab you needed speakers for, right? 

[Granny Gremlin]

Oh I'm not hung up on alnico (aside from the smaller/lighter magnets - when there's 4 of them it makes a big difference). It's just that the alnico era Marslands are great and the later ceramic ones have quality issues (completely unrelated to magnet type, that's just an indicator). Never liked any Eminence I ever tried, though I haven't tried that one.

Yep loading up the 412.

[Granny Gremlin]

Wow, it's taken me more than 120 days to scrape together 4 12" speakers for this thing, but at last I have finished modding my Riviera 4x12.  Idiot me forgot my phone at home when I went to the studio to finish that up, so I got no pics, but it is wonderful.

- Added 2 corner-mount castors to one side of the cab (tilt and roll)
- replaced the carry strap that was missing on one side
- put proper rubber feet on
- lined/stuffed the cab.  Used a new product I haven't tried before - that insulation made from old jeans (love that it is not itchy).  I usually prefer long hair wool, but for a cab this big that would cost too much.
- replaced the drive units with 2x JBL D120F + 2 x EV Force 12 in series/parallel for 8 ohms (all new wiring and jack) .... got a pic of those from the other night:



The EVs are freshly reconed (upgraded to edge-wound voice coils) and the JBLs original.

This monster cab sounds bloody great now and can take all the power my Sunn 1200s is throwing at it.  Alone it is awesome for guitar - it can go noise/shoegaze bright or doom metal dark chug; the rig in general loves FX, though I do find the JBLs make distortion pedals sound trashier than they usually do (had to adjust mine to take the edge off) - loves modulation FX though (the amp generally is an amazing pedal platform).  It pairs very well with my EV-loaded Musicman 115RH for bass, but can stand on it's own in that capacity as well (dual-use goal achieved!).  Might be a tad bright for that; could stand to lose one of the JBLs and replace with something else, but I'll jam with it a few times and see - what sounds a bit bright solod can actually sit very nice in a full band context.

Epic rig pick soon.

[rahock]

I've got a Rivera 2x12 guitar cab that I inherited from my lead guitar player who died a year ago and it sounds incredible. It has 2 Celestions and is a 120 watt 8 ohm cab. The cab design makes for a great, very full low end sound and also delivers the highs as good as anything out there.
They are pretty pricey cabs new but they're good stuff . In my opinion, it's the big full lows that set them apart from just about anything I've heard.
Rick

[Granny Gremlin]

Rivera or Riviera though?     You have no idea how long it took me to keep those straight.

The first is a modern high end American brand; the second is a vintage Canadian budget brand that never used Celestions.  Then again, I don't think I've seen a Rivera with Celestions either (JBLs and Altecs and EVs), but I ain't seen em all.  As far as I have been able to confirm in the last year or so, Riviera only made the 2 cabs - oversize sealed 1x15, and ovcersize slant 4x12.  Marslands in the 4x12 and (apparently; I haven't checked yet) a higher end RSC (Jensen Canada) in the 15.  They made 2 models of amp head, both 6V6 based (the 725 that my buddy has - basic, with seperate Bass and guitar inputs) as well as a deluxe head with single input and trem/reverb.  The heads were marketted under other brands as well.

[Dave W]

Rivera -- the California company -- definitely uses Celestions.

I've only seen one Riviera (Canadian) ever, a guitar cab mated with a Kitty Hawk head. Don't know what was in it.

[rahock]

OOPS .
I was definitely referring to Rivera the California co. Have to read things more carefully. In any event, it's a first class guitar cab .
Rick