It's with tears in my eye that I'm selling my first vintage guitar: an original Epiphone E360TD "Riviera", made in 1965 in Kalamazoo, USA, alongside its twin sister, the Gibson ES-335.

An instrument with an extraordinary and very stable lutherie, the only modification it underwent at the time was the change of the machine heads for Grovers which hold their role – and the tuning – perfectly.

The neck is a "slim taper D" which became standard on Gibson/Epiphone that year: tapered, narrow but not too thin either, disconcertingly easy to play. Alas, I enjoyed it for more than 10 years but I still have big hands 🙃

The pickups are the original mini humbuckers which, together with the Frequensator tailpiece, are what set it apart from its Gibson counterpart. And they sound... it's a real treat. Clear and defined, dynamic. They will be too thin for big sound, but you can play angry rock without any problem. Moreover these microphones will then be used by Gibson on the Les Paul deluxe and adapted for the Firebird. Ask Pete Townsend and Neil Young… or watch PhilX go crazy on one 😅

When buying it, I compared it to an ES-335 of the same year, and I (fortunately) much preferred it.

The nitro cherry finish has a great checking and turns a bit brown in places 🤩

A few details:

– The sticker placed on the pickguard, instead of the € logo which, as it often happens, is easily removable (it was only a label placed on a CD packaging film).

– The pickups have become a bit microphonic, but well they’re 58 years old… and I didn't want to risk modifying them as it never bothered me while playing.

– The original bridge is provided, but with time and pressure from the strings it has sagged a little, so I mounted a tonepros bridge which must be 6 or 7 years old.

– the original case is in excellent condition.

– purchased from Woodstore in Paris in January 2013, invoice available.

This guitar has visibly become very rare since the prices of vintage 335s have gone crazy, and this model has rightly escaped its "sleeper" status.