New Rivera..........oh my!

Aaron Cheney

Aaron Cheney

Favorite Chord: C 6/9
I finally did it. I went out last night and got the amp of my dreams: a Rivera Quiana. Oh my....
I've listened to lots of amps, and holy crap... this is a good one.

You could play a tennis racket through this thing and it would sound great!

Had to brag.
Aaron
http://www.aaroncheney.com
 
Hey Aaron.
Haven't seen ya around for a while.
I've heard of those amps, but never tried one.
I guess I need to get out more.
 
Sounds cool, Aaron. Congratulations!

I have a fender Deluxe Reverb II-- from Paul Rivera's tenure as lead designer for Fender. Critics say it's not up to the pedigree of the earlier designs, but I like it quite a bit. It's definitely different though.

I wonder how much his designs have changed in the past 20 years. Can you describe some of the features of the amp?
 
Their schtick is that one channel is a Marshall tone, and one is a Fender tone. (Gee, where have I heard that before?) And as usual, it's not really the case. With Rivera, it's mroe like you have the What a Fender really wants to be Channel, and the Best Marshall you ever heard channel, plus each channel has a built boost for solos, which actually re-voices the tone too. It is absolutely great!
It's got a 12" Celestion Vintage 30, 55 watts output power, a cool Modern/ vintage switch in the back that reduces the output so you can really scream at lower volumes, a knob called "Focus" that kind of dials in your low end. One of the most noticable things about the amp though, is how quiet it is, even at really high gain. It's just super quiet.
It cost me an arm and a leg, but I've never liked an amp better. Thank goodness it wasn't my fretting arm.
Aaron
http://www.aaroncheney.com
 
55 Watts, 1-12 combo? For some reason I just assumed it was a head and cab. Sounds even better now!


I've read the Fender/Marshall things many times as well. The high gain channel on my amp is said to be modeled after one of the older mesa boogies, but I don't think it's in the same league.
Is your Rivera all tube? or does it have a solid state rectifier? Perhaps I should do some of my own research?


Again, congratulations on your purchase. You deserve it, right?
 
Hey! I know the feeling...I went looking for a Quiana, and ended up getting a Chubster 40. Lots of similarities, with slightly less power. I was completely enamored, but after a while, I noticed that when the amp gets hot (maybe after playing for an hour), the clean tones aren't so clean any more. This started really bugging me, and I just got one of those new 2 channel Twins. So far, so good, but let me know what you guys think.
 
I'm just the opposite...

I went in thinking I may get the Chubster. I tried it out for about a half-hour, and decided I just didn't like it as much as I hoped I would. It was just too raw in the mid-range. Then I tried the Quiana. What a difference! The Chubster uses EL34 tubes and they tend to be more midrangey. The Quiana uses 6L6's, and they are so much more smooth and well-rounded.
Aaron
http://www.aaroncheney.com
 
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