Rivera M100

[FSU_Seminoles]

anybody has playing experience with those ? I heard the clips on Rivera's web site and I thought it sounded a bit like a Mark head ...

any opinions on this amp ? ... I know there is HC but I'd like to know if any of you has playing experience with this amp

[markD]

Re: Rivera M100

i have one (and an s-120 which is a 120 watt stereo version) and it is the only amp i will play. i recently sold a modded JCM 800 2204 and a Mesa Mark IV because i found i was NEVER using them.

to my ears the M100 is NOTHING like a mark series boogie. the rivera has a better clean and a more versatile gain channel. it has 15 knobs on the front panel and 7 of them are pull pots for EQ changes. it has a veriable send-return EFX loop which can be used as an extra footswitchable gain boost. it has another boost channel called slavemaster (i use it as a mute switch on stage) that can be used as a third channel and/or another efx loop.

the clean channel is perfect. it can be crystal clean or gritty depending on how you adjust the EQ and gain/boost knobs.

the lead channel is where most people are unhappy. i LOVE it. it isn't overly midrange heavy like a boogie mark amp, and it isn't as bright and cutting as say a Marshall...close, but not dead on. it's in between the boogie and the marshall. i can have my gain on 10 and play an open Cm/add9 chord and here all the notes ring out. it will sustain notes fine - i used to use a pedal but back off the gain, now i don't use a pedal and dime the gain.

the power section has a full/half power switch and a pentode/triode switch. depending on the combination you can have power between 18 watts and 100 watts output. i personally use the triode/full power which does about 38 watts. it gives me the type of "sag" i like when playing lead.

this amp will not do a modern rectifier-type sound. it is VERY rooted in 70's-80's hard rock/metal sounds. think scorpions on "savage amusement", think skid row on "slave to the grind", think saigon kick.

i LOVE my M100. guitars come and go. the ONLY consistent piece of gear that i use is that head. it has been my main and basically ONLY live amp since 1991. it is indestructible!!!!

hope this helps.

[FSU_Seminoles]

Re: Rivera M100

do you have sound clips ?

[markD]

Re: Rivera M100

here's a couple of mp.3's of songs by my band. all the guitars were recorded with my M100 and a rivera 1x12 cab with an EVM 12L speaker. with the exception of the wah pedal in the second half of the lead on the first song it's a guitar plugged straight into the front of the amp. the lead on the second song is a guitar plugged into a chorus and reverb pedal into a rivera R55.

http://onlinerock.com/musicians/eigh...sic_page.shtml

it isn't the greatest quality, but it gets the job done.