Rivera Clubster 45 112 Combo

Very versatile 2 ch with switching with great Reverb! Nice petal switch came with it as well. I like the 112 config but I changed out to a TONE TUBBY 12" Ceramic speaker whitch was a HUGE improvement. I use this amp both at home and live applications and the feature set of it has never let me down; from fat jazz to pop/rock or rockabilly it seems to deliver nicely. It's not as versatile as my Mesa Trem-0-verb but, I would not expect that as it was half the price.

I play many styles and have been happy with the amp though each one especially after changing the 112 to the TONE TUBBY ceramic. For both single and dual coil guitars this amp really has some great sounds that are easy to dail in. I also, like some other users have some rattles on the low freq's that I'm trying to get rid of which is not easy. This is the onl;y aspect of the amp that I'm not thrilled. I'm giving it an 8 because of the rattles otherwise, the sounds score an 11. If I can get rid of those - wow! what a great all around (even studio) it would be.

Have not had long but, seems to be reliable as expected from Rivera.

3 year warranty which is awesome - I'm calling them today to find out where the rattles are.

I've been playing 20 years with some great and not so great tones but, I would buy this amp again as I really love the tone and sounds it can make. I hate the rattles but, I'm planning on getting rid of them ASAP. One other amp that I love is the Fender Blues Jr. Limited, if you can't or don't want to spend this much on the Rivera, I would suggest trying the Fender.

2005 model , 2 channel amp with and effects loop and ability to drive a external speaker cabinet. One 12 " Celestion Seventy 80 speaker. Two EL-34 output tubes and two 12AX7 preamp tubes. Rugged cabinet. Each channel has tone and push pull gain controls. This amp also has reverb and presence controls. Amazingly lightweight for a 45 watt amp.

I am using a 1975 Les Paul with Seymor Duncan 59 neck and JB neckpickups. I also have a 2004 Fender standard with custom shop 54 reissue pickups. Both guitars sound awesome with this amp. I have played rock for most of my career and this amp's lead channel absolutly nails the classic rock sound. The clean channel is very versatile and is vey good for everything from smooth jazz to chikin pickin country. The other amps I have are Marshall 50 Watt JCM Lead combo and Marshall 100 W chorus valvestste. I will sell both of these now because I don't need them. The revera is very lightweight and sounds better to me.

Too early to tell. It is very rugged looking.

Don't know.

This a great amp that will do great solo or with a full band. I forgot to say this thing is loud! I really shopped around for everything from fender reissue amps and Marshall combos and liked this one best. I looked at solid state modeling amps and didn't care for them. I am really a plug it in and play guy. This amp is very simple and sounds great.

1x12" Celestion G55 (I think). Seems like a unique speaker in that it sounds great clean or dirty. At my last several gigs (since I got the amp) people have been complimenting me a lot on my sound. This annoys me a lot since I've used a lot of gear I thought was good in the past and maybe I sounded terrible all these years. But, I guess that means the Rivera is really an amazing amp...and not just to my ears alone. Anyway, it has channel switching. I use the clean sound a lot (for jazz) and it sounds great. Excellent bottom and clean, warm, organic highs. I use the distortion channel sometimes for rock stuff and it really does sound excellent. Very high quality amp. The reputation is there for a reason.

I mostly use this amp with guitars with humbuckers in them. As I said above, I use the clean for jazz and the dirty channel for rock. It is so flexible that I could see using it for any style, blues, country, jazz, even metal. I used to enjoy playing metal in the '80s and still whip out the distortion sometimes and, this amp gets a GREAT classic metal sound. None of that thin-sounding transistor radio sounding whine that other amps get. Just meat, and more meat. Very musically voiced eq. It is a quiet amp. Quieter than any Fender I've used and quieter (definitely) than my solid state amps.

I've only had this amp for about six months, but I've bounced it around in cabs in NYC and used it on a lot of gigs and have had no problems whatsoever. It just fires up and always gives me the meaty sound I want. No mush, just organic-sounding meaty tone. Impressive.

I did call Rivera once to ask them a question about the documentation and they did get back to me within a day or two and were very nice. I appreciated that a lot. I've heard from other people they were good with customer service. Kind of an old-school vibe with this amp in terms of workmanship and attitude towards the product. It's cool to see that.

I've been playing for 23 years now. I've owned nearly every brand of amp over the years (except for a few lesser known good amps) and the Rivera is a "new classic" for sure. Just 'cos it's not old doesn't mean it doesn't deserve to be in the same category as the classics. I'm a vintage snob, so it pains me to actually say that, but it's true. If it were lost or stolen I'd get another Rivera. I'd probably get the Clubster 45 again because it has huge huge tone and can be carried by one person. Other tube amps of this style weigh a ton and sound like mud; the Rivera sounds excellent and can actually be lifted with one arm!

This is a follow-up to the review below, about two weeks later - very different impression now.

Yes, but . . .

OK - here's the thing - I had the amp three weeks, and it developed a chim-ey rattle in the chassis on low notes in particular, which at first I mistook for tube microphonics - not too impressive for a brand new high-end amp. I could understand this if the amp was cranked to 8, but this was happening at around 2. I brought it back to the store where they offered a replacement for a fresh one out of the box, & Lo & behold the same problem with the second unit, despite the manager then pulling all the tubes out in the store & replacing them in both units to see what happened, to no avail. Not only that, one of the LEDs in the second unit was burnt-out. I had previously tried the smaller Clubster 25 as noted below and it had a fried reverb - so what am I to conclude - I tried 3 of these amps and 3for3 were defective in some way. This was a huge disappointment as I loved the tone otherwise, but you can't record much with an amp that rattles, so I got my money back & bought a Classic 50 instead, which may not have quite the killer tones the Rivera had, but at least it works as it should.

This is a new model, and Rivera's first 'entry level' offerings. They're pricey, but worth every dime. I play mostly classic rock, with no effects other than an FD2.

I'm using an LP '60 Classic, a USA Tele & a USA Texas Special Fat Strat, all of which sound amazing through this thing. I got rid of my '65 Twin reissue because I was so blown away by this amp. The only thing I've heard that beats it is just about anything by Dr.Z, which comes in at 2-3 times the price. The Distortion channel is so versatile the only pedals I really need to use with this are the Footswitch (supplied) and a Boss TU-2. I'm now only using my FD2 to drive a much smaller & lighter practice amp I toss into the car to use for casual jams. I originally was attracted by the light weight (38 lbs), but I loved it so much I've ordered a 1X12 Cab to make it into a mini half-stack to use for gigs etc.

With the LP Classic I found it a little noisy in the hi-gain input, so I plug the LP into the Low Gain input with no problem. The Strat & Tele are fine in either.

I also have a Rickenbacker 370-12 string, and the clean cyhannel seems ideally voiced for the Rick - unlike my old Twin.

I would never use a tube amp at a gig without a back-up & for that I have a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, which I expect would never be used. Rivera seems to have an excellent reputation, but I've only had it for a month, so it's really too soon to say. Built like a tank, though.I have had zero problems or issues of any kind with this one, BUT this was the second one I tried out before buying however - I brought home the smaller Clubster 25 a couple of days before buying this one, and found it had a fried Reverb unit, so I brought it back. The other disappointment with the 25 was the lack of a standby switch, and the fact that although both the 45 and 25 are advertised as having 'Rivera Vintage Gold' speakers, in the 45 it's a 12 inch Celestion and in the 25 it's a 10-inch Eminence. So,for the extra power, the better speaker and a standby feature, for $200. more the 45 was a no-brainer. I'll rate it at 8 because although I understand that shit happens, a unit with a fried reverb right out of the box should not have made it out the factory door.

Called Rivera to enquire about what Cabs might be best suited & their pricing (recommended the C-112). The phone was answered by Paul Rivera personally - very impressive & very helpful. Riveras have only recently started to be available in Ottawa, Canada & in small numbers so local dealers don't have a lot of experience with them yet.

I've been playing for about 40 years, and if this were ever stolen, I'd track down the thief, ball his chick, and fry his ass by making him play my old Hofner through an un-grounded Marshall Plexi while standing barefoot in a puddle of Piss.