Subway Guitars Fatdawg Riviera

This is a near-copy of a Gibson ES-335 or an Epi Riviera. Built (to my order) in September 1999 by the guys at Subway Guitars (www.fatdawg.com). It has two humbuckers (bridge and neck positions, two volume and two tone controls and a 3-way switch. The neck is apparently a 3-piece maple neck with a rosewood fingerboard, Dunlop frets (22 real nice ones), and set-neck construction. The body, of laminated maple top and bottom, is bound top and bottom in white, as is the fingerboard. It uses Grover tuners, a tune-o-matic bridge and a Schaller hard tail. The finish is multi-coat poly-urethane - a couple of minor flaws near the neck set. Fatdawg provided a beautiful, custom-made hard case for an additional $105 (+$15 shipping). It looks very close to an ES-335 or a Heritage 535.

This guitar plays great, and I mean great. The action is quick and very slick, the sound has a very BBKing hollow bluesness on the bridge pickup. You can mix in a tone of warmth and sustain off the neck pickup if you want. At the highest end (through a Tech 21 amp) I get a little squeal but that's easily tuned out. I've played any number of other ES-335's and copies and this is as good as anything, including most ES-335's. Heritage's 535 might be better.

Fatdawg (Subway's owner) set this guitar up and did a great job. My only complaint was a little buzz when I got it. The neck feels very slick (easy to do those Knopfler slides and hammer-offs) and the frets were perfectly crowned and polished. There were a couple of slight flaws in the finish but these are visible only if you get close. There are no gaps in the binding and none in the peghead overlay.

Everything looks like it will last but I've only played it in rehearsal. The strap buttons are going to be replaced with Schaller strap locks but that's just me.

There was a slight buzz in the top 1-2 frets - I called the techs at Subway and they walked me through the neck adjustment while we were on the phone. Fatdawg is a bit of a character (Kind of abrupt but very willing to do what's needed to make you happy with your guitar) but he offers a 2-week tryout guarantee. That's hard to beat in the mail-order business.

I've been playing (mostly acoustic) for twenty five years. My other electric is a Fender Nashville Tele which I lover for its ease and brightness. However, if I lost either or both of those, I would definitely call Subway to replace the Riviera and probably even try out their Telecaster copy. At $400, you can't touch anything even close to the Fatdawg Riviera for less than $1000 new.