REVERB LISTING TITLE

1964 Epiphone Rivoli Bass EB-232 Cherry - Kalamazoo - UK Pattern, No Mute - British Invasion

DESCRIPTION:

1964 EPIPHONE RIVOLI BASS - MODEL EB-232 - SERIAL 161565 - TRANSLUCENT CHERRY

From the Richard Davis Collection at the International Guitar Museum, Durham, North Carolina. Registered with the International Musical Instrument Registry (IMIR), Luxembourg. Sold with IMIR provenance documentation and an IGM Certificate of Authenticity.

"If you want to hear the British Invasion from the bottom up, you listen to a Rivoli. Chas Chandler opened 'We Gotta Get Out of This Place' and 'It's My Life' with one of these, and the Yardbirds, the Who and the Small Faces all played them. This one is a 1964, the year the British beat groups brought the model back to life, and it has stayed in remarkable shape for sixty years." - Museum founder and curator Rich Davis

THE BASS OF THE BRITISH INVASION

If one bass stands for the British Invasion in the public imagination, it is Paul McCartney's Hofner. The Rivoli's claim rests on breadth instead: more of the era's British groups shared this bass than any other single model, and it was behind some of the decade's best-known bass lines.

Chas Chandler of the Animals was the Rivoli's most prominent player. Vintage Guitar reports that he used his Rivoli to record the intros to two of the Animals' most important records:

- "We Gotta Get Out of This Place" (1965). Built on Chandler's bass lead, it reached No. 2 in the UK (kept off the top only by the Beatles' "Help!") and No. 13 in the US. It became the anthem of American servicemen in Vietnam, was ranked No. 233 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2011.

- "It's My Life" (1965). Propelled by Chandler's bass riff, it reached No. 7 in the UK and No. 23 in the US.

Chandler was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the Animals in 1994. He went on to discover Jimi Hendrix and launch the Jimi Hendrix Experience.

Other British players of the 1960s documented with the Rivoli include:

- Paul Samwell-Smith, Jimmy Page and Chris Dreja (The Yardbirds)

- John Entwistle (The High Numbers / The Who, c. 1964-66)

- Ronnie Lane (Small Faces)

- Tony Jackson (The Searchers)

- Karl Green (Herman's Hermits)

- Les Chadwick (Gerry & the Pacemakers)

- Chip Hawkes (The Tremeloes)

- Peter Birrell (Freddie and the Dreamers)

- Scott Walker (The Walker Brothers)

Please note: these associations belong to the Rivoli model and its era. This instrument is not represented as having been owned or played by any of the musicians named.

WHY A 1964 IS SPECIAL

The Rivoli was introduced in 1959 as the Kalamazoo twin of the Gibson EB-2. Production paused after 1961, and much of the unsold stock went to England. British beat-group bassists created the demand that brought the model back in 1963-64. Specialist dealers report that 1963-64 production went almost entirely to Rosetti, the UK distributor, and the Rivoli did not appear on Epiphone's US price lists until 1965. 1964 is also the last year of the wider, fuller neck; Epiphone narrowed the nut in 1965.

NO STRING MUTE: In 1960 Epiphone began fitting its basses with a built-in spring-loaded string mute, and later Rivolis have one. The 1963-64 export basses, known as the "UK pattern," shipped without it. This bass has no mute, consistent with that early specification. (Many later Rivolis had their mutes removed by owners, which is a modification.)

CHERRY FINISH: The original f-hole label reads "STYLE EB232C - EPIPHONE Rivoli." The "C" is Kalamazoo's code for a cherry finish. Published histories put cherry as a regular Rivoli option from about 1966, and most 1964 Rivolis are sunburst, making a cherry 1964 an uncommon example.

SERIAL NUMBER AND DATING

Serial 161565 is impressed on the back of the headstock. In the Gibson/Epiphone 1961-1970 serial table it falls in the range 152990-174222, which is assigned to 1964 only.

SPECIFICATIONS

- Maker: Epiphone (Gibson, Inc.), Kalamazoo, Michigan

- Model: Rivoli bass, Style EB-232 (EBV-232)

- Year: 1964

- Serial: 161565

- Body: Thinline semi-hollow double cutaway with center block, about 16" wide and 1-3/4" deep

- Woods: Laminated maple top, back and sides; bound top and back

- Neck: Mahogany, glued in; wide early profile, nut just over 1-11/16"

- Fingerboard: Rosewood, 20 frets, pearloid dot markers

- Scale: 30-1/2" (short scale)

- Pickup: One large Gibson-made neck humbucker (the classic "mudbucker")

- Controls: Volume, tone, push-button bass/baritone switch

- Bridge: Combination bar bridge/tailpiece

- Tuners: Two-per-side Kluson right-angle bass tuners with cloverleaf buttons

- Pickguard: Tortoiseshell

- Hand rest: Chrome hand rest between pickup and bridge

- String mute: None (UK-pattern specification)

- Finish: Translucent cherry

- Case: VICTORIA Hardshell case with gold plush lining

CONDITION

The cherry finish keeps a deep gloss on top, back and sides, and the cream binding has aged to a warm yellow. There are fine scratches and light play wear on the back, typical of a working instrument. No cracks or structural repairs are visible. Please review all photos carefully, and feel free to ask questions or request additional pictures.