Epi Rivoli with USA pickup. HELP!!!

[brucie286]

I've got a 1990's Epi Rivoli which has just had a 1960's USA EBO pickup put in it.

The reason for doing this was to get an overall better tone and more output, but now i've got a really loud bass mush/mess of a noise.

Its output is alot higher which i wanted, but i have to roll all the bass frequencies virtually off on the amp and boost the treble end to get anything barely useable. Only thing with this is that it now has a horrible tinny buzz. Also if i use a drive pedal some of the notes (paticuarlly A string, 12th fret) are so distorted it doesn't ring properly and sound terible.

Now what can I do? Is it down to rubbish original wiring/pots/jacks? All i want is a woody 1960's psycheldelic tone that people have told me with the pickup swap i should be able to achieve.

Anyway, enough waffle, any help out there?!?!?!?!

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='brucie286' post='610378' date='Sep 27 2009, 10:00 PM']I've got a 1990's Epi Rivoli which has just had a 1960's USA EBO pickup put in it.

The reason for doing this was to get an overall better tone and more output, but now i've got a really loud bass mush/mess of a noise.

Its output is alot higher which i wanted, but i have to roll all the bass frequencies virtually off on the amp and boost the treble end to get anything barely useable. Only thing with this is that it now has a horrible tinny buzz. Also if i use a drive pedal some of the notes (paticuarlly A string, 12th fret) are so distorted it doesn't ring properly and sound terible.

Now what can I do? Is it down to rubbish original wiring/pots/jacks? All i want is a woody 1960's psycheldelic tone that people have told me with the pickup swap i should be able to achieve.

Anyway, enough waffle, any help out there?!?!?!?![/quote]
I'm not an expert on this (so someone may be along in a minute to correct me) but I think the 1960s Epiphone Rivoli had a so-called 'baritone switch' which cut the bass frequencies from the mudbucker pickup but then, with the right EQ, you got the sound of, for example, Paul Samwell-Smith in the Yardbirds or Chas Chandler in the Animals.

I'm guessing a 1990s Rivoli does not have the so-called baritone circuit fitted. That might be a factor in your problem.

[EssentialTension]

Also, a good place to ask about this would be [url="http://bassoutpost.com/index.php"]The Last Bass Outpost[/url] forum which has a lot of Gibson/Epiphone players who will definitely know about this.

[BigRedX]

[url="http://www.gibson.com/Files/schematics/EB2.PDF"]Here's[/url] the Gibson EB2 wiring diagram. The important bit is in the middle around the push switch and the 15 Henry choke which will give you the right bass cut. According to [url="http://www.gibson.com/Files/schematics/Rivoli%20wiring.pdf"]this diagram[/url] the Rivoli should have it too although no values are given for the choke in the second diagram. Does your bass have the push switch as well as the volume and tone controls? If not you may find it a problem as the choke appears to be a custom component for Gibson Basses, although if you know what you're doing and can find more detailed specs it might be possible to wind your own.

[henry norton]

There's a huge difference between the Epi EB pickup and the original Gibson ones in my experience. The Gibsons are allot bassier and less defined. Difficult to say what to do but you could sell the Gibson pickup and replace it with a DIMarzio Model 1 which will give you the output you want but with more definition. You'll also have some change left over to get the pots looked at.