Picked up a Rivera TBR-1SL, looking for direction

A

aknsenko

New member
Recently snagged a Rivera TBR-1SL after years of watching them very rarely pop up and sell quickly, and never having the money. I'm a huge fan of the tone Jason Bieler had on the first few Saigon Kick records, and I also heard the guys from Skid Row started using them after playing with SK.

After my fiancee's dad visits I'm taking the thing in to get a checkup and probably some tubes replaced. It's got some really flubby bottom end, and it's a hair noisier than it seems it should be. Maybe the noisiness is just from it being such a monster, and I'm planning on getting a noise gate to run with it, but either way, it's not sounding so great with my setup. My main guitar is a pro RRMG with, you got it, EMGs. I've never been a big fan of them, but the guitar was a steal, and I haven't decided what pickups to swap in yet. It sounds like garbage as is, but my project flying v with a Duncan (model unknown) in the bridge sounds considerably better, if a little flat on the gain. Probably the tubes, and the fact that I haven't been able to crank the thing since I got it anyways.

Biggest questions for you Rivera guys, or anyone who has input, is where should I go with:

Amp settings
Pickups
Pedals
Rack effects
Etc.

I plan on getting an RR24 at some point and running an as-yet-to-be-determined pickup and the MM-04 gain boost Alexi Laiho uses in his guitars. I love the super tight sound and ripping harmonics he gets, and I love the smooth, thick crunch and singing leads Jason Bieler had, and I'm looking for something in that vicinity. Not looking to be a clone of either sound, but to start with those as inspirations. I'm also leaning towards a Suhr Riot Reloaded pedal, heard they're killer, especially useful in my mind with its various voicings paired with the EQ slope controls on the TBR. I know Reb Beach uses one with pretty much whatever amp he rents on the road with Winger, and he sounds amazing.

I play everything from 80s rock and metal (think Saigon Kick, Skid Row, Megadeth, Winger, W.A.S.P., Dirty Looks), to heavier metal, mostly melodic (Children Of Bodom, Symphony X, Carcass, Bolt Thrower, Asphyx, you name it), and often dip into more classic, blues-rooted rock,
(Alice Cooper, Aerosmith, AC/DC, Gn'R, Hollywood Vampires, Sammy Hagar, etc.). I know nothing is gonna be a one-size-fits-all fix, but I have a Les Paul, Flying V, RR, and an 80s Kramer (in serious need of love and repair) to work with, and suggestions for whatever you guys all like is much appreciated.

Anyways, bring on the advice, recommendations, anecdotes of questionable relevance, contact info for Jason Bieler or Reb Beach haha, whatever you guys have got for me! This is my first tube amp, and I want to take this thing to all the wonderful places I've heard it can go, and beyond!

Thanks!
 
I actually owned one of Jason Bieler's SLs after hearing he had one on ebay that didn't sell, so I contacted him and did the deal. I ended up selling it to my old drummer, who still has it afaik. I did gig with it a few years back, I remember it came with all Siemens EL34s and chinese 9th gen pre tubes, according to Jason they were all original. It was reasonably tight but dropping the gain a touch and boosting with an SD1 it was better, nice and tight. You can run either 6550s or EL34s in it from what I remember. I have to take a look at the controls to try and remember how I set it up, the slope and notch were important and I set them a certain way. I remember not using the pickup boost by the input, designed for guitars that had low output pups. One more cool thing about it is that Paul Rivera signed the chassis "to Jason from Paul Rivera" in solder lol....
 
I should add that I ran it with about the same gain as a JCM 800 2203 and then hit it with an SD1. That was the best combination for me as when I ran the gain higher on the amp it got a little noisy and uncontrollable even with a noise gate. I have a Decimator pedal. Keep the low end down, it had a ton available and what might seem too little at a low volume will fill out more at a higher volume.

Btw welcome to RT!
 
Thank, man, I was actually hoping you'd pop in on this one! I've seen a few of your posts and comments before, and you're one of the few guys who seem to love Riveras, so you're probably better help than anyone else I've found haha. Super jealous you had Jason's TBR, that's so rad!

I was using power amp B for a bit after not having luck with A at first, but I ran into most of the issues there. Switched back to A and hit a sweet spot. Anyone who says this amp cant do metal is deranged, cranking the P comp with EMGs got me a super saturated tone that was still really tight! Too much for what I want though, I do like the drier sound Alexi gets with the gain boost and keeping the gain lower on the amp. But I definitely need the noise gate to tighten things up, and probably address the shielding issue with the EMGs, I end up getting radio stations coming through, which really kills the drop haha. And yeah, I figured out that I don't need much low end at all, its already loaded. Heard that it doesn't really get good until the master is around 3.5 or 4, maybe it was one of your posts haha. I'll try to crank it once I pick up my Hughes & Kettner TM212 cab next month. Found a flawless used one for $400, and I've been aching for a Grandmeister 40 for ever to go with it. Would've bought one if I hadn't found the Rivera.

Anyways, what do you like for pickups with the TBR? I don't care much for most actives, and there's no point with an active boost. Leaning towards Bareknuckles, cold sweats or miracle mans in the RR, rebel yells in the flying V. Mostly a bridge pup only player, neck pickups are very hit or miss with me. George Lynch uses them a lot, but I heard a rumor somewhere he had a TBR on I think Sacred Groove, so not all his judgement is in question haha. Maybe I've got some crossed wires, but that album had some awesome tone, and some of his best writing in my opinion. I'm sure the TBR could get in the ballpark with the time invested. Also, what cabs and speakers does the Rivera like?
 
aknsenko":2m2q2z97 said:
Thank, man, I was actually hoping you'd pop in on this one! I've seen a few of your posts and comments before, and you're one of the few guys who seem to love Riveras, so you're probably better help than anyone else I've found haha. Super jealous you had Jason's TBR, that's so rad!

I was using power amp B for a bit after not having luck with A at first, but I ran into most of the issues there. Switched back to A and hit a sweet spot. Anyone who says this amp cant do metal is deranged, cranking the P comp with EMGs got me a super saturated tone that was still really tight! Too much for what I want though, I do like the drier sound Alexi gets with the gain boost and keeping the gain lower on the amp. But I definitely need the noise gate to tighten things up, and probably address the shielding issue with the EMGs, I end up getting radio stations coming through, which really kills the drop haha. And yeah, I figured out that I don't need much low end at all, its already loaded. Heard that it doesn't really get good until the master is around 3.5 or 4, maybe it was one of your posts haha. I'll try to crank it once I pick up my Hughes & Kettner TM212 cab next month. Found a flawless used one for $400, and I've been aching for a Grandmeister 40 for ever to go with it. Would've bought one if I hadn't found the Rivera.

Anyways, what do you like for pickups with the TBR? I don't care much for most actives, and there's no point with an active boost. Leaning towards Bareknuckles, cold sweats or miracle mans in the RR, rebel yells in the flying V. Mostly a bridge pup only player, neck pickups are very hit or miss with me. George Lynch uses them a lot, but I heard a rumor somewhere he had a TBR on I think Sacred Groove, so not all his judgement is in question haha. Maybe I've got some crossed wires, but that album had some awesome tone, and some of his best writing in my opinion. I'm sure the TBR could get in the ballpark with the time invested. Also, what cabs and speakers does the Rivera like?
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I believe Jason used V30s from our email conversations, and a DS 1 to boost. I used V30s or a G12 65 Marshall cab, and I've never used actives with any of my guitars..but I'm not going for a metal tone. Usually a Duncan Custom, they are med output passive pup at about 14k. Good tight low end without any mid spike..but good mids. I did have a Rivera 4x12 with V30s and it was as good as any Bogner or Mesa V30 cab.
 
The Hughes & Kettner cab has V30s, which is pretty much what everyone with a sound I like has in their cabs. With a metal tone, really what I want isn't your typical overload of gain. I really dig the SK guitar sound, and it's honestly what Dime's tone should've been. Biggest thing for me is smooth leads, sharp harmonics, and a clear, articulate sound that isnt muddy. A lot of metal tones sound very overproduced compared to the best guitar sounds, which were of course analog recording and passive pickups. Megadeth, Stone, Dio, Maiden, Scorpions all had killer tones for metal that easily work for 80s rock. That's more the realm I like, even with heavy music. It's all in the playing and presentation.
 
Jason used a Duncan Custom in the bridge of his super strats a Duncan Distortion neck for most of the SK material. At least that's what he told me in the late 90s when I talked to him after a show.
 
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