Rivera R100

The amp is extremely versatile. The clean channel can do anything from very Venturesesque surf to jazz clean, you can set it up to break up very nicely at low volumes, you set it up to be clean at EXTREMELY loud volumes, etc. The distortion channel can go from basically an alternate clean to Mastodon style distortion. The amp is simple enough to be able to very quickly dial in great tones, but has enough features that you can really personalize and adjust the tone to your own taste. I play in a couple of space rock bands, one being sort of like Depeche Mode with guitars, the other being much more riffy, ala Failure. This amp really delivers what I need it to. The basic features have been covered here, but I'll point out the ones that I think make this amp exceptional.

First, the handles on the side make it much, much easier to carry this amp around. It's heavy, but not unreasonable for its size, and the handles make it much, much easier to lug around. I used to have a Boogie Mark IV, and it weighed roughly the same as this. Sad thing was, it was so small that it made it seem much worse. Also, no one could help you with it. Not a problem with this amp.

Next, the effects loop. I love that you're actually able to set input and output volumes. This has a couple of cool advantages: If the already ridiculous amount of gain isn't enough for you, you can feed even more gain from the preamp into the power amp. It compresses too much for my taste when you do this (only at extreme gain settings), but it's a nifty feature. Also, you can turn the return volume down, allowing you to get more use out of your master volumes on your channels. While not really a power soak as many people claim, it does allow you to more finely tune your volume settings. A side benefit is that through careful setting of the send and return volumes, I've been able to nearly eliminate hum and hiss even on completely cranked gain settings, and still have plenty of volume. And believe me, this amp can get LOUD, LOUD, LOUD!!!!!!!!!

The footswitchable gain boost is great, especially on the gain channel. The Ninja boost would be great, except that you can't set how much gain, and it adds a ridiculous amount of volume to the signal. I don't know how anyone would be able to use the Ninja boost in a song unless you're just going to leave it on all the time and set it from there. It would be nice if reverb was footswitchable, but that's just nit picking. The reverb sounds incredible, and can be left on pretty much all the time. The bright switch on the clean channel is perfect for darker guitars, and doesn't sound ice pickey.

Other than that, I can't find fault with the amp. It really has a ton of features without going overboard. It's the perfect balance of versatility and personality.

Rivera's thing is to combine Marshall distortion with Fender clean. A lot of companies make this claim, but Rivera is unique in that they accomplish it. I use a variety of guitars with this. A PRS Custom 22, A Hamer Goldtop P-90, a Hamer Artist, a Fender Jazzmaster, Gibson SG Jr, and various strats. This amp allows the personalities of each of these guitars to come through beautifully. It also works great with pedals, though I've found it to be finicky when it comes to distortion pedals. I have a Barber Direct Drive, a Menatone KOB, an original Rat, and a Seymour Duncan Tweak Fuzz. The Rat and the Seymour sound great, but it definitely doesn't like the Barber or the Menatone. I don't know if it's an impedance issue or what. It doesn't matter, the only time I use those distortions is when I'm using a smaller combo such as my Ampeg Superjet.

This doesn't bother me at all, though, because the amp distortion is absolutely incredible. I've looked for years for an amp or amp/pedal combo that would get me this kind of distortion. A very, very high gain amp that would allow tight chord voicings to come through, with minimal intermodulation distortion, that would be able to do metal levels of gain with awesome mids. Tall order, huh? It has great clarity and chimeyness without harshness, it has very pleasant mids (this is where guitar cuts through, thus the highs and mids are the most important to me) and minimal intermodulation distortion. For those of you unfamiliar with that, it is the nasty overtone that you hear whenever you're playing anything other than an octave or a perfect fifth in unison. It's basically the difference and the sum of the frequencies you're playing, and when out of control it's horrendous. I'm so thankful this amp has very little of that, especially for the amounts of gain on tap. The only bummer about this amp is that it is lacking in bottom end. The reverb also feeds back when dimed, but seriously, it is well beyond surf territory at 7.

The clean channel just couldn't be better for me, it really sounds like a Fender amp, and the reverb can surf with the best of 'em. The mid knob pulls out (labeled notch) and is supposed to sound like tweed area Fenders. I don't know how accurate it is, since I've never owned a tweed era Fender, but I'll say this, I can get a great modern Fender clean, a 60s era Blackface clean (I have Blackface amps to compare it to) and I can nail, and I mean nail that Spaghetti Western tone with the right settings. If you're getting the impression that I love this amp, you're right. I've owned a lot of other amps, but this is the first one I've owned that has stopped me from looking for another gigging amp.

Rivera build quality is incredible. I experienced this first hand as an employee at a Rivera dealer. I wouldn't hesitate to gig without a backup. That said, it is a tube amp, so it won't be without its maintenance. I purchased it used, and it needed all new tubes. Funny thing is, it still sounded incredible, but just microphonic and noisy. A $150 tube job and it's as good as new.

Never dealt with them on this amp specifically, but I have had a good amount of contact with Paul and Paul Jr having worked at a dealership. They're great guys, and they're totally accessible if you need them. To be honest, I can't really think of any repair or support issues that I've needed to contact them for, but they're great about answering questions and very friendly, and my belief is that if you're asking them to back up their product, they will. They take a tremendous amount of pride in their products, and though I don't necessarily like everything that they make, it is excellent quality, and worth consideration.

I've owned THD, Fender, Ampeg, Boogie, Gibson, Carvin and Peavey. I have experience with Orange, Bogner, Carr, Victoria, and a ton of other boutique amps. Rivera deserves its place among the best of them. It is PCB and not Point to point, the merits of which I won't debate here, but it's PCB done right. The amount of features, construction quality, and price compared to other manufacturers really make them a company you should check out if you're looking at a high end amplifier. Honestly, I was pretty happy with my THD Flexi when I saw one of these used in my local shop and thought, "why not?" I tried it, and had to get it. I don't know that this amp will necessarily appeal to everyone, but for me, it's a perfect fit.

2004 Rivera R100-212 with stock features. Other people have covered those. I will note that those handles on the side are good because of the weight of the 2 speakers.

Clean channel is sort of like a rounder blackface sound, the dirt channel is a nice flavor of dirt which is suggestive of British. Neither is really a copy so much as the Rivera take on those style of sounds. The R-100 212 covers a lot of sounds. It likes pedals. The effects loop can be used as an additional stage or for attenuation. I have a lot of amps, and this is a very very good one. As always, Rivera has a family of amps similar to this one, but the R-100 212 is the one with that big clean channel. The distortion is mostly smooth and controllable - this is not a metal machine (try Bogner Uberschall or Rivera Knucklehead II for that). The amp has no hum or noise that I've come across even at decent gain.

Haven't had it long, but it's a Rivera. I have other Rivera amps. They are as reliable as any tube amp I know of even in the face of road and gig punishment.

Rivera are good people and they stand by there stuff in my experience.

I've been around a long time now. I have a bunch of gear. I would replace this if stolen or lost. I really like this amp. I compared it to the Fender Vibroverb reissue, which was a good amp too. But not as good as this amp.

Extremely versatile...everything necessary for screaming high gain metal to clean jazz. The R100-212 (or Hundred Duo Twelve for folks who don't like numerical nomenclature) is an all tube (4 EL34s & 5 12AX7s) 2x12 combo. It has two channels, separate EQ controls for each, reverb, etc. and is loaded with Celestions. I was turned on to the fact that each channel has it's own boost channel, giving you essentially a four channel amplifier, all footswitchable. To me, this equates to tons of tone options.

My rig consists of a stock Fender Strat and a Gibson LP Standard w/ SD 59's. On occasion, I'll also run my Charvel 625C acoustic/electric through it. About the only effect I use anymore is a POD, although a wah has found it's way into the chain every once in a while. Primarily, though, my guitar is going direct into the high gain input. I play everything from metal to blues to fusion, and this amp is definitely not a one trick pony. I am amazed at the tone every time I power up this bad boy. I was after a 2x12 combo from 50-100 watts, and my choices were narrowed down to the Rivera, a Mesa Nomad, and a Soldano Decatone. Due to my eclectic playing styles, versatility was the name of the game, and the Rivera shone where the others couldn't. Even while the Soldano boasts 3 channels, I must say that my excitement level was a little bit above mediocre. The Rivera, on the other hand, necessitated me having to pick my jaw up off the floor. I can't say too much about my love for this combo!

Rivera has proven to produce quality, dependable equipment, and the R100-212 is no different. Gig wise, I've made it a habit to carry a spare amp no matter what my main rig is, just out of past experiences. Tubes are extremely easy to replace. But, with any tube amplifier, extra care must be given. I bought mine used, which I've learned directly correlates to the condition of the tubes. It's as if people start selling their gear when it starts sounding bad and forget that tubes are a major part of how the amp sounds. This was no different. A couple of my preamp tubes were bad, and after replacing them (I actually replaced all of them), it sounded better than I could possibly imagine.

As indicated above, I had bad preamp tubes (a horrific squeal when the presence was turned up), and shortly after buying the amp, I contacted Paul Rivera by email to request his assistance in troubleshooting and also to get general information on the particulars of the amp. I received his reply in less than 20 minutes and he was extremely helpful in answering all of my questions. Additionally, he followed up with me later in the week to make sure all was well. That is service I have never experienced with ANYTHING or ANYONE! He WILL get my business again! With the versatility of this amp and the level of service Paul gives, I would be hard pressed to ever play another brand of amp again.

I have been playing for close to 16 years and have played through numerous rigs, both tube & solid state...Marshalls, Fenders, Peaveys, rack stuff, etc., and my gigs have consisted of everything from small arenas to churches. The Hundred Duo Twelve fits the needs for both the above and everything in between. This will probably be the last amplifier I ever own.

1999 made, bought in April 2000 new. The amp is an amazingly underrated powerhouse. The clean channel alone has the ability to change voicings from an old surf style tone to a more modern Twin sound. For the money, you can not find an amp that will cover as much ground - and it is loud, loud, LOUD. My friend who has played many Fender amps loves this R100 - the various clean tones are truly the top of the heap. And unlike a Twin's lame overdrive, this sucker's overdrive and drive boost channels will blow you away! Not that you would want to, but you can set up a truly amazing clean sound rich with reverb, and set the drive for Metal - real cool to have such extreme opoosites at your fingertips. You can not do better for the money from any of the other boutique amp builders. For the best rundown of the buttons and knobs, go to the Rivera website: http://www.rivera.com/

I wanted an amp that was BETTER than a Twin, and much, much more versatile. This is it ... the best 2X12 on the market. If you love rich clean sounds but like to flat out blast your leads, this amp will do it without stomp boxes. And there is enough clean headroom for even larger venues.

When I received this amp I thought it was too noisy - some of my effects made buzz-saw sounds through the clean and gain channel at moderately high volumes. See below for resolution... but I have not owned this amp long enough to have any opinion other than it is built very well and uses Celestion Vintage 30s (my personal favorites). These speakers sound GREAT for rock and can handle a lot of abuse. That particular feature alone should indicate that this is a serious gig amp and not a bedroom sitter.

After commmunicating with Paul Rivera Jr. & Sr., I sent the amp to them. They checked it out, and said that the noise was normal for this type of high gain amp. I asked if they could quiet it down a bit, and they changed the tubes from EL34s to 6L6s and rebiased for free! Pretty damn good, because now this amp sounds even more amazing, and it is quieter than all my other 100 or 65 watt amps. That was a great idea and a great thing to do, and I must say that the clean channel has even more headroom now - little was lost of the high gain. Great people there - E-mailed me constantly, and called to check up on things.

I have been playing guitar for 27 years, and owned or still own Marshall, Fender, Dr. Z, Johnson, Egnator, VHT, Top Hat, Bogner and Rivera amps. I learned to play on a BandMaster head, and never lost my love of those old clean tones. If you HAVE to have rich clean tones that can be shaped into several distinct voicings, and yet occasionally want to blast some hard rock crunch or screaming metal licks, look no further. For this purpose nothing comes close to this amp. For a hand built amp this is very affordable and reasonably priced. I might add that the side handle inserts make this the easiest 2x12 to carry on the market - it also has a top handle in case you like lugging it the old fashioned way.

All my guitar player friends love my tone (and I tell them its all in the fingers!) but its not. I have owned every kind of amp(Marshall, Bogner, Boogie, Fender...). I think the Rivera is the most versatile of them all. I've been playing for 21 years and I know tone. Rivera never disappointed me.

I've been using Rivera amps (and paid top dollar) before I got my semi-endorsement AND it was still worth it! I use it constantly in the studio and for live gigs and it has never failed. Well that's not true, unless I don't change my tubes. Okay, so what happens when it does goes down?(only one time)-I call Rivera and they are more then happy to help me any way they can. Paul and Paul Jr. are always there to assist you and help you with your problem ASAP. To sum it up, great tone, great reliabilty and super service. P.S. Paul Jr. call me.

This amp is loaded with ways to tweak your tone and get it at whatever voulume you need.

I purchased this amp new.I had played a friends and liked the tone. I didn't try this one out at the store, I assumed with their reputation the amps were consistent. Once I got it home,I realized amp had problems and the dealer suggested I call Paul Jr. Weeks later , Paul sends me one power tube. That didn't solve the problem so I bought NOS preamp tubes to no avail. I still had lots of noise and horrible tone. More calls and their tech says I need all new power tubes and gave them to me for $55.They arrived 3 weeks later. This didn't fix the amp even though I was assured by the expert it would.Eventually I took the amp back to the store and told him I didn't want it back until it was fixed.The local tech correctly diagnosed that among bad tubes and sockets, the circuit boards were bad. 6 weeks later Rivera said they want the amp sent back so they can properly diagnose and fix the amp and that I would have it back in a week to 10 days after they recieved it. Two months later they sent the amp back. Since this new gourmet amp had cost me almost $100 and had never worked, I told the dealer I wanted nothing to do with the amp and had him sell it for me on consingment. 3 months later I got a check for $850. This process took almost 1 1/2 years. I lost $600 for my investment ( including all the tubes I bought) and this much time. I play for a living and this was a major inconvenience and dissapointment.

From the beginning I had nothing but problems.

I feel that I waited in good faith for them to fix the problem and it took too much time and money. I feel I was given the runaround instead of a timely and proper solution to my problem. Bear in mind this was a new amp.

I have been playing for 30 years. I play a variety of styles and needed a versatile, workhorse of an amp. The amp and company fell short of the mark. It turned out the amp was defective from the factory and was a lemon. I feel that this must have been the exception rather than the rule, otherwise, they would be out of business. That said, I am still disappointed in the company and the product. "Let The Buyer Beware"

100 watts RMS, 5 12AX7 preamp tubes and 4 EL-34 output tubes (all Svetlana). Two 12" Celestion G12T-85 speakers in an open-back combo configuration. Two switchable channels; Channel 1 is set up for a classic British-type distortion sound and Channel 2 is set up for clean Twin Reverb-type tones. Channel 1 has gain, bass, mid, treble and master volume; channel 2 has the same with a pull-out bright function on the treble pot and a "notch" function on the mid to assign the crossover over point between 550hz and 250 hz. This allows for a "blackface" or "silverface" sound. Both channels share reverb and presence controls. Footswitch allows for channel switching, a volume boost for channel 1 and a "Ninja" boost for channel 2 to allow for an overdriven Fender sound. It has an effects loop which I never use, so I can't elaborate on it. Has high gain and low gain inputs. My only two wishes would be an overall master volume so that I would only have to turn one knob instead of two during a gig if I need a volume adjustment and a three-channel configuration. However, this amp has enough going for it to overlook those desires.

I don't like giving numerical ratings for products because tone is very subjective and therefore what works for one person won't necessarily work for another. Having said that, I think this amp is dollar for dollar one of the best values on the market. My current setup is a 1998 American Standard Strat w/Custom Shop Vintage '54 pickups and a 1999 ash bodied American Standard Tele. I use a Digitech RP2000 effects processor. My music runs the gamut from country to Deep Purple/Led Zeppelin, which really makes this amp a perfect fit for me.

Prior to trying this amp, I looked at the Mesa Nomad 55, Rectoverb, a used Mark IV, Marshall Triple Lead combo, Johnson Millenium, and the Line 6 AX2 and I will say that I prefered this amp better. What this amp has over the others is an ambiance in its tone; the sound just projects better, whereas the Marshall had a kind of "speaker in the box" sound (and I will say that the 2000 series is an improvement over the JCM 900 series). The tones are very warm amd there is an abundance of clarity, even at full drive. And it is loud; I played a gig at about "2" and it is plenty loud. My band mates said this was the cleanest sounding amp I've ever owned (I've owned Laney, Marshall
and most recently a Mesa DC-3). Our bass player only uses vintage Fender amps and he was raving about this amp, so Rivera really did a great job on it.

Channel 1 is classic British throughout, more '70's in tone and drive. The salesman tried some Blackmore riffs through an American Std. Strat and it was as close to Blackmore (Machine Head era)as I'd heard from any amp I could afford (keep in mind that Ritchie's Marshalls were far from stock). Channel two is good enough for jazz work or even country (BTW, Vince Gill uses this amp). And the notch function really works. You almost have two diffderent Fenders in one amp. And this amp is as CLEAN as a Twin; in fact, I thought it was slightly tighter in sound. Imagine a Twin w/EL-34's in it and you've got the picture.

The one thing this amp does much better than most amps is that it really lets the character of your guitar shine through. The higher your pickup output, the more distortion you get. I'm not a Les Paul fan, but I played my Friend's LP Classic through this and I was duly impressed. My wife can tell a huge difference between my Tele and Strat. And Fenders through the clean channel really SING!!! The tone controls really work; fiddling with these really changes the character of the amp. Even changing from high to lo gain inputs alters the flavor, so you really have a lot of possibilities if you have the time to experiment.

The on thing this amp does not do is go to the really high gain areas. So if you're a real gainiac, you might wnat to put an overdrive pedal on this one. This will be more noticeable if you use single coil pickups. But the distortion you get is warm, rich and CLEAR. If you screw up a lead, everyone will know it. No hiding behind gobs of distortion. In my opinion and needs, it's just enough distortion.

This amp is sturdy!!! It's point-to point wired and all the components are top notch. Rivera goes through great pains to select its tubes. It weighs 80 lbs and is SOLID (good thing it comes with casters). I think the tolex is a little weak; I've already nicked it with just regular travel, so please invest in a good cover.

The only problem I had with it so far was a bad tube, but Rivera sent a replacement right away. Other than that, I'd just keep some spare tubes and go ahead and gig without a backup.

Rivera is one fantastic company to deal with!!!! Prior to buying the amp, I e-mailed the company with some questions and Paul Rivera responded promptly. When the tube went out four days before a New Year's Eve gig, I e-mailed them again asking about buying a replacement. Despite the fact that tubes are not covered under the warranty, Paul Junior CALLED me within hours of my e-mail (I'm in Maryland and they're in California, so I had to wait fot them to open). He only needed a batch number from the bad tube and then sent a replacement FREE via UPS Blue. We then talked for about 20 minutes over amp design and my comparisons to other amps. I've always gotten good responses from them. The big companies should take heed of what Paul and his son do for their customers.

I've been playing for about 15 year on and off, that last two in a classic rock/country band. I think that I've met my match. I was convinced I wanted a three-channel head/closed back cabinet set-up with Electo-Voice speakers because of my Mesa experience, but this amp changed my mind. The sound quality overshadowed everything else. I would definitely buy another one if it was lost/stolen/destroyed. I got a wonderful deal on it, but I'd pay full price if I had to (or scour the classifieds for a good used one).
If you like the old Marshall sound, give this one a try. And if you're like me and want the flexibilty of great classic distortion and a sweet clean channel, then look no further. It's really like having a Twin and a Marshall onstage, I can't emphasize that point enough.

I bought this amp in 1998 new. It has 2 channels but with the boost controls you can really say 4!!channel switching is clean, quiet.

I play a Fender Strat with EMG's pick-ups, no noise at volumes around 6, but at level 9 you got power with a little tube noise.Channel 1 can create just about any rock, crunch,grundge sound you want. The reverb is super and with the prescence control you can tailor the edge.Channel 2 is so sweet and clean, with great sustain. Let's talk about power! IT's GOT IT!!!

I would go any where in the world without a back up with this amp.

I needed a tube replaced called them up and was shipped to me next day great support.

I have been playing for 29 years, If this amp was stolen I would buy it again. I love everything about it, I have no dislikes.compared to mesa boogie, saldona, marshall this amp is in a world of it's own.