Rivolta guitars anyone?

grungebob · July 2020

Blimey.

Right so yes I bought one in the end and I do indeed love it, but it’s not without its quirks.

So I’ve had it over 6 months now so honeymoon period well and truely over.

The good: very light, very resonant , great range of tones and with a wonderful neck profile. Balances perfectly on the strap or lap. No hum from the P90’s even under bags of gain.

The bad: it does feel a bit plasticky, the intonation is limited (that’s a design limitation not a fault of the build) the nut needed some slight work and the tone knobs on a bit wonky and again due to design the actions a tad higher than desired on the treble side.

Mine was an older model and they don’t do this colour anymore so perhaps the wonky knob and meh nut where teething issues On the first runs?

It also had slipping tuners too but Novo guitars sent new some replacements so all’s good.

I’m not sure I’d have been happy with it at £1000+, for that money you can get much better quality guitars but sub £700 I’m ok with it.

Put it this way, it makes me play differently, no scratch that it doesn’t make me/force me that’s wrong......... it allows me to play differently, dynamics are a joy on it. I’m constantly finding new tones just by riding the controls. I’m also enjoying all the gain stages on it. It seems to handle everything.

I love it because it surprises me, I can’t remember the last time a guitar did that.

I would urge anyone to try one but I would recommend trying one before buying so you can evaluate if it’s worth it to you or not.

They are built well no issues there it’s just the all over plastic feel that lets it down some.

I may sand back my neck, as I’m not going to sell it.

tony99 · July 2020

grungebob said:

Blimey.

Right so yes I bought one in the end and I do indeed love it, but it’s not without its quirks.

So I’ve had it over 6 months now so honeymoon period well and truely over.

The good: very light, very resonant , great range of tones and with a wonderful neck profile. Balances perfectly on the strap or lap. No hum from the P90’s even under bags of gain.

The bad: it does feel a bit plasticky, the intonation is limited (that’s a design limitation not a fault of the build) the nut needed some slight work and the tone knobs on a bit wonky and again due to design the actions a tad higher than desired on the treble side.

Mine was an older model and they don’t do this colour anymore so perhaps the wonky knob and meh nut where teething issues On the first runs?
It also had slipping tuners too but Novo guitars sent new some replacements so all’s good.

I’m not sure I’d have been happy with it at £1000+, for that money you can get much better quality guitars but sub £700 I’m ok with it.

Put it this way, it makes me play differently, no scratch that it doesn’t make me/force me that’s wrong......... it allows me to play differently, dynamics are a joy on it. I’m constantly finding new tones just by riding the controls. I’m also enjoying all the gain stages on it. It seems to handle everything.

I love it because it surprises me, I can’t remember the last time a guitar did that.

I would urge anyone to try one but I would recommend trying one before buying so you can evaluate if it’s worth it to you or not.

They are built well no issues there it’s just the all over plastic feel that lets it down some.
I may sand back my neck, as I’m not going to sell it.

thanks for the report bob, sounds like I need to make further investigations

xchrisv · July 2020

The baritone is extremely versatile and cool as hell. We did this with it a few weeks ago: https://youtu.be/UXxk42uI-_8

chrisj1602 · July 2020

I was really close to buying a Combinata XVII recently but I got a Strat instead as I thought the Strat would be more of keeper. I still want to get the Rivolta at some point, the look and sound great.

Loobs · July 2020

chrisv said:

The baritone is extremely versatile and cool as hell. We did this with it a few weeks ago: https://youtu.be/UXxk42uI-_8

Super! What's it tuned to? A?

xchrisv · July 2020

Loobs said:

chrisv said:

The baritone is extremely versatile and cool as hell. We did this with it a few weeks ago: https://youtu.be/UXxk42uI-_8

Super! What's it tuned to? A?

B-B

Loobs · July 2020

Cheers - sounds fantastic!

Hattigol · July 2020

@chrisv Great video. Which edition was it reviewed in?

xchrisv · July 2020

Hattigol said:

@chrisv Great video. Which edition was it reviewed in?

Thanks! The current one. Or you can read it here: https://guitar.com/review/the-big-review-rivolta-mondata-baritone-vii/

Hattigol · July 2020

Aaaah cheers. Got it but not read it yet - saving it for the weekend. Thanks @chrisv ;

grungebob · July 2020

Threads useless without pictures right?

duotone · July 2020

When I put a thread up on here recently looking for a H/H guitar the Rivolta brand was mentioned. Really liked the look of them via my online hunting. Will have to try one when I get to a shop in the future. They definitely look different & I think that’s part of the charm. I agree about the scratchplates, they do look a little bit FischerPrice.

earwighoney · July 2020

grungebob said:

Blimey.

Right so yes I bought one in the end and I do indeed love it, but it’s not without its quirks.

So I’ve had it over 6 months now so honeymoon period well and truely over.

A fine review, I'd rather see one which includes all aspects good and bad as from my experiences all guitars will have a few quirks here and there and I'd rather buy a guitar after seeing such a review than one that would say it was perfect.

Longjonlebon · August 2023

So I picked one up second hand for £625 recently.

I’m super happy with it in all respects, except the plastic feel on the neck.

Setup was really easy and no work needed, just adjusting to preference. The body looks great, with nice woods on show (although you can notice some slightly cheaper workmanships on the bindings than with a USA Gibson for example).The chambered weight is lovely, pickups sound amazing, neck access is a revelation. All around well built and sounds awesome. I like LP specials and jazzmasters and this seems to fit right in the middle, with some nice Rickenbacker references too…

…but the plastic chunky neck! It’s actually fine to play and super comfortable, but it just makes it all feel a bit cheaper…which is terrible as it’s so well designed and built in all other respects. Seriously, so many nice little design touches in terms of angles and guitar geometry.

Has anyone sanded back their neck already?

keep the rivolta love alive ❤️

TheMarlin · August 2023

I’ve had the Mondata, and also own the Mondata Baritone. Excellent quality.

Basher · August 2023

Longjonlebon said:

So I picked one up second hand for £625 recently.

I’m super happy with it in all respects, except the plastic feel on the neck.

(Snipped)

…but the plastic chunky neck! It’s actually fine to play and super comfortable, but it just makes it all feel a bit cheaper…which is terrible as it’s so well designed and built in all other respects. Seriously, so many nice little design touches in terms of angles and guitar geometry.

Has anyone sanded back their neck already?

keep the rivolta love alive ❤️

Do you have to go that far? I got nice results on a Squier I had by just rubbing the neck with one of those plastic scouring pads. It gives a Matt finish but you can polish it back up to a gloss if desired.

Have never tried a Rivolta but there was a three pickup Mondata for sale on here a year or two ago that I was very tempted by. The pink/burgundy metallic finish looked wonderful and I liked the quirky, Firebirdy look and mad, 1950s vibe.

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Rivolta guitars anyone?

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