Rivera Guitar Amp Heads

Rivera is known for making some budget friendly components and amps that are affordable for most musicians. These amps have a nice versatility to them that gives them an edge over many other manufacturers. This amp features El34 power tubes and an assortment of preamp tubes. This is a two channel amp that has a load of bottom end tone that is more like a Randall amp or even a Mesa Boogie amps. This features a decent clean channel and which Rivera is more know for than a mega high gain amp. UTILIZATION * 120 Watts RMS of luscious EL-34 Tube power * 2 Independent Channels powered by 5 12AX7 Tubes * 3 band passive interactive tone controls on each channel * Most high gain lead channel we have ever offered, sustain for years, packed with thunderous bottom end-totally controllable with our new and patent pending Foundation™ control * Clean Channel with massive headroom and dynamic range * New totally adjustable serial effects loop with hard wire bypass and footswitchable * Rugged Rivera® construction, with military and audiophile grade components, oversize transformers, and most of all, built to last * 3 function footswitch included SOUNDS I have always liked a Rivera amp for the clean tones. They are not quite Fender clean tones but more towards a nice British style clean tone. It has a sweet chimy tone that makes clean tones more fun to play. The nice sparkling clean is nice even with a good overdrive or another effect in front of the amp. The distortion channel is a mega high gain distortion channel. It has a nice big range of distortion with a load of saturation on tap. You can get everything from classic rock all the way up to a modern metal type tone. You can get a good lead tone as well. OVERALL OPINION These amps are no longer being made so the used market is the only way to go. I have no idea what they get for the used price of one of these amps. Rivera has some cool amps ad this one is cool but not a game changer amp of any kind. You can find these tones and this versatile options in a lot of other amps. This is not a amp that is something special but something that will do.

When I think of Rivera amplifiers I do not think of Hyde game I am performance amplifiers. I think of low gain low to mid mild tone gain distortion. They are used to building combination amplifiers but not necessarily high gain amplifier. This is 120 W amplifier with EL 34 power tubes installed. You get to Independent channels powered by five top preamp tubes. This is a very high performance and thundering gain distortion amplifier. There are two channels to Chile from within this amplifier. UTILIZATION Features High gain Powerful, unlimited sustain Massive bottom end Gigantic headroom for rhythm Assignable effects loop Amazing Foundation control Distortion with definition and edge Highs without harshness but with full body Low noise 120W RMS of luscious EL-34 tube power 2 Independent channels powered by 5 12AX7 tubes 3-band passive interactive tone controls on each channel Most high-gain lead channel Rivera has ever offered, sustain for years, packed with thunderous bottom end — totally controllable with patent pending Foundation control Clean c hannel with massive headroom and dynamic range Totally adjustable serial effects loop with hard wire bypass and footswitchable Rugged Rivera construction, with military- and audiophile-grade components, oversized transformers, and most of all, built to last 3-function footswitch included SOUNDS The first channel is more of a clean channel. However it can get very gritty and dirty for classic rock tones. There's a pull notch control knob on the middle control knob and you also had a pool bright switch on the treble control knob, this allows the user to dial in a better tone to match the guitar that is used. The second channel is the hygiene channel. This has a master volume trouble middle and base as well as a gain control knob. You also get a boost can control in the master volley. This amp also has a low gain and high gain inputs for your guitar instrument cable. This amp has a huge bottom end and a great gigantic headroom for bedroom playing. You can also dial in a great sounding leave town from this second channel. OVERALL OPINION At new you can find these amps for right around $2099. That is not a bad price for a very usable to channel high gain amp. This is 120 W power amplifier which will give you more power than you can probably ever used in most band and bedroom playing situations. I would recommend this to anyone who is used Rivera camps and like the tone invoicing of those particular tips. If you need a high gain multiple channel and you already are a fan of Rivera amplifiers and this is probably the amplifier for you. You will need an external speaker cabinet to plug this amplifier into. Whether it be a two speaker or four speaker cabinet the tone of this camp will better fit a British sounding speaker or a nice Alnico speaker.

bought it second hand (5 years old)from a busted recording studio.i figured since it's rivera(top level gear,)there should be at least one in my collection of amps and besides that this thing is(with or without the name)owe-inspiring(tell you later why).paid 600 australian dollars for it(sweeeet)!!! I'm sure that senor Rivera wanted to put the end to all new models of amplifiers anywere.he must've gotten sick of all marketing schemes that were aimed at us(buyers)in order to make us want to buy some more amps so he came up with THE MOTHER OF ALL AMPS so no child anywhere in the world would ever have to go through the anguish of choosing what kind of amp it wanted to play.reason i'm saying this is the fact that this head will do almost anything you can think of(soundwise anyway).Fender,Marshall,Hiwatt,Orange,Vox,Ampeg(?),Boogie(?)...you name a sound and it's in there somewhere.Pentode or triode mode,stereo(true stereo with 2 amps),reverb,couple of sends,variable speaker impedance switches, variable output switch(half the power and more combinations that i just have no time mentioning)...you crank this thing up and it ooozes thick(or thin if that's the way you like it)sounds with sustain 'till tommorrow (clean or dirty).and to think that this is actually tamer of the 2 tbr models.makes you wonder how wild is the high gain model. trust me the heaviest of heavies would have plenty of distortion with this,as rivera puts it,more classic distortion sounds.what the hell does the high gain do? makes you bleed from your ears? it is a disneyland of bloody sounds and combinations but (for most people anyway)this is what brings us to the next section of the review. (read this in shaky voice)the problem with todays youth is that they don't have patience while figuring out stuff.(OK! stop now!)this is one hell of a complicated amp with tons of pots and it can get pretty messy and even though you know the sound is somewhere around the corner it sometimes can elude you for a long time because as soon as you touch one button,then another and another you're gone somewhere away from it and, unless you actually wrote down some of the settings, chances of finding that interesting(or lets say Marshall for example)sound are pretty slim. in other words you actually have to know what is the structure of the sound that you seek(as opposed to turning the preamp to 10 and all the tone pots to 12o'clock and hoping for the best, while adjusting the master).many was the times when i whished that rivera would post some sample combinations on their site(instant stevie or gibbo...you get the jist)and i'm sure i'm not the only one(if i had a dollar for every time somebody told me they thought rivera was overated 'cose they couldn't dial in a good sound on the amp,i'd have at least couple of dollars now). i guess the problem is that we really are used to having 4 buttons to play with and everything else is throwing sonic pearls to swines. our loss, i guess. add+accountant man wins-we will be buying others,more simple ones. this thing is (at least)25 kg heavy and it's built for a rack system(all metal). because of that weight i tend to use it mostly at home but even there i knocked it around the coridors a little and it seemed fine.however you knock any of those pots of and there'll be some bills to pay.not that the parts are rare or anything but being such a complexed amp by the time techie opens it up and dismantels all the layers of it (at the rate of 70 $ an hour)...you figure it out. dispite of all the complexity and weight which are downers in most peoples eyes, once you're familiar with this head(which means that you've spend couple of evenings wheeping into it after you weren't able to get anything good to came out of it and you thought you've spend a respectable amount of money on a valve radio shack experiment)it will open your eyes as to how limited other amps of yours(and quite frankly,you too) are, and that's when you'll start delving propertly into the secret of the sounds. maybe that will take you from the stage of trying to pick as many notes in as short posible time to one where you'll actually start playing with some testicles(webmaster said we were not to use rude language)and i mean that-with guitar in your hands. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I purchased this amp from Makin Music in Chicago while actually looking for a Mesa Boogie Mark IV. I ended up buying it used for $1000 because of its excellent bottom end response, and a nice little feature called the Ninja Boost. The main selling point of this head is its bottom end -- it can't be beat. We're not talking muddy, Korn-style, poorly defined distortion -- it's very clear, tight, "punch you in the face" bass response that you can feel. It reflects the sound of your guitar quite well -- when played with a Music Man Luke, it sounds very reserved and "studio"; with my modded '65 Mustang, it's much more aggressive and biting. The Ninja boost gives your clean channel a Boogie Rhythm 2 quality -- think Izzy Stradlin's tight chopping technique and you'll get the idea. The company recommends using Celestion Vintage 30s, and I agree, although I prefer a 2x12 to a 4x12 with this particular amp. This gives it much more penetration and focus. My main gripes with this unit are with its clean channel and its effects loop. Channel 1 does not have a very impressive tonal quality -- actually, without severe tweaking, it's very flat-sounding. Also, when you click on the Ninja, there is a drastic volume boost, which means you have to adjust the Master volume -- not very convenient in-song. The effects loop sounds fine, and does what it is supposed to do -- but compared to some other heads in this price range, such as the Mark IV, it's a bit basic. I would like to see a footswitchable loop, or perhaps even dual loops. This unit is build solid. The electronics in the back are well protected but easily accessible. The knobs are very smooth and everything on the unit is easy to read. I had a problem with the power section early on, and when I had it repaired, the guy told me that most new amps are like new cars -- you have one or two problems early on, and it will run great for quite a while. I've had it for about two years now and that is proving to be true. The fact of the matter is this -- if you want a killer heavy sound that isn't like everything else out there, buy this amp now! If you're looking for a super-versatile amp that's going to do everything you need, well, maybe try a Boogie or a Marshall TSL. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Rivera Knucklehead 100 Reverb. Powered by 5 12AX7 and 4 EL34 tubes. 3 Channel 100W tube head. The 2nd and 3rd channel share the same eq controls, but they have indipendent gain, boost and channel volume. Focus and Presence controls for the final equalization of the EL-34. All channels, boosts, FX loop and reverbs are midi switchable and programmable with the included Rivera Headmaster Midi pedalboard. Rear panel features include: Series/Parallel Effects Loop with Level and Blend controls, equalized Recording Output, subwoofer Output (for hooking up to Rivera powered Los Lobottom Sub 1 or Sub 2 subwoofers), an Impedance Selector with two speaker jacks, High/Low Power Switch, and a Vintage/Triode switch (allows for 100/50/25/12 Watt Output Power selection) and Midi In/Out/Thru and midi channel selector. UTILIZATION You have a lot of tone options with this head. Boosts, mids scoop, bright pull knobs etc. It is a tricky amp head, you really need to spend some time with it to have an useful sound. SOUNDS I used it with a Gibson SG with Bareknuckle Pickups (Miracle man in the bridge and cold sweat in the neck) and a 2x12 Harley Benton cab. The clean sound is fantastic. One of the best I've ever used in a High Gain Amp. With the Bright Switch it can go from a Fender to a Vox kind of sound. Other than the highs, even the mids and the low controls have a pull switch that basically changes the frequency and curves of the EQ. Channel 2 have a darker, British voicing (Marshall JMP) and Channel 3 is more American sounding (Mesa Dual Rectifier) However I don't find really useful these channels. The standard gain is not too much for modern rock genres. You have to kick in the boost to reach enough distortion. But the added gain makes the amp really muddy and saturated. Channel 3 has an amount of distortion that is absurd. It becomes buzzy really fast. The lows are really too much, I never passed the 10 o clock mark, and the mids are really promiment. The fact that they share the same EQ made it impossible to find a good setting for the 2 channels. OVERALL OPINION Awesome Clean channel and not so good High Gain sounds. Here in Europe the "new" price is way too much. I have seen stores that sell it for 3000 Euro. That's crazy. With that amount of money you can buy a Diezel Herbert, a VH4 or an Hagen and have real indipendent channels (3 and 4 respectively), more tonal options and the same top notch construction quality. Beware of the fact that if you want to sell it, you will lose from 1500 to 2300 euro from the "New" price.