https//cdn.britannica.com/08/199508-050-E7C99370/Animals-Hilton-Valentine-John-Steel-Eric-Burdon.jpg Whenever I watch old TV footage of 1960s rock bands the bassist often has a Gibson EB2 or an Epiphone Rivoli bass (semi-acoustic 335 shape but four-string bass, sometimes with a single pickup, sometimes with 2). They were almost as common as Fender Precision’s back then.
Try and find one now - they have completely disappeared, rare as rocking-horse sh*t.
If I search on eBay there are very few, and mostly (oddly) in Japan.
What’s going on? They were always my favourite bass. Does nobody want them?
Comments
Exactly this.
https://www.andybaxterbass.com/collections/gibson-basses
They sounded great, but they have the same problem as 335s for me... too big, and the neck is too far to the left - just unnecessarily awkward to play. I like basses with the bridge close to the end of the body. Unfortunately the body shape doesn't lend itself to a more deeply-set neck, unless you want no top-fret access.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
I had lessons on a Harmony and liked The Monkees' bass tone etc, so it's a shame there's less choice for a semi acoustic.
Peerless made the Epiphone Rivoli in the 90s and there's a lot of love for the Jack Cassidy Model, but I went for their custom offering, for the 5 piece neck, bridge and additional pickup...
https://i.imgur.com/Wr3x9xP.jpg
I've seen some nice Gretsch stuff that's recent and then you can go Hofner, but (re the latter) I prefer a bit more note definition.
Contact George.