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NUAD: Rivera Pubster 25 1x10 Combo


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Yeah, I've got the fever, the fever to have an amplifier that uses every type of major power tube, and the one that I don't have is a 6V6. I saw a Rivera Pubster 25 pop up locally a few weeks ago, but I was kinda 'meh' about it, because I hadn't actually researched it. Well, I did, and then I decided it was worth getting, especially at the price.

It's a really simple amp setup, single channel with a "boost" mode, which is pretty much like a 2 channel amp with a shared EQ. It has master volume controls for both the regular and boost mode, reverb and also a presence control.  The volume for the standard mode also effects the "boost" mode, so you can get some interesting sounds with both the regular and boost mode.  It's got a standard T/R/S/ footswitch jack for the boost and reverb, though I rarely see these for sale with the FS-20 Rivera footswitch, which does actually have LEDs. Aftermarket ones are about 40-50 bucks. I have a bunch of carvin FS-22 switches around though, so I'll probably use those, as the amp also has LEDS on the faceplate indicating the mode it is in.

Sound is surprisingly good. The amplifier came with an Eminence Legend 10 inch speaker, though I don't know what exact model it is. Haven't gotten a chance to get inside yet.  Amp is solidly built. It does however only have 2 preamp tubes, one for the EQ/Dirt/Preamp and one for the Phase inverter. The reverb is solid state driven, which I know some people are down on, but it's a real spring unit, and sounds good.  It came with Groove Tubes GT-6V6-C tubes, which are a Chinese design made only for Groove Tubes. Currently there's a Sovtek LPS in V1, and a JJ ECC83S in V2, which should change shortly.

It's a bit dusty, so I'll post some pictures when I get it cleaned up. Also the speaker cable is some bad splice job onto the original jack. no idea why anyone would do that. It'll be replaced shortly. Until then here's a stand in picture:

pubster25.jpg

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22 minutes ago, Dave Scepter said:

Congrats!.. 6V6's rock!.. loved them in my Rivera era Super Champ

I have heard people say that the Pubster 25 is pretty much an updated Rivera-era Super Champ. 1x10 with reverb and modes for more gain. Can't wait to bring this one up to top condition. It looks to be a 2008 model from the writing on the chassis, so hopefully the foam on the chassis hasn't turned to goo already.  It really is a solidly built amp, just like my R55-12.

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1 hour ago, BubbaVO said:

Some like solid state.  Others are into digital.  You, amigo, are definitely a glass man.

Yeah, definitely.  At least for guitar amps. For bass, I'm all solid state.  That massive clean headroom, and my Tech 21 sansamp programmable thinks it's a tube preamp.

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Very sweet. 

Was looking into Rivera’s amps years ago because of buddy’s dad owned a killer store down in St. Louis suburbs and they carried a decent line. He had me play through a chubster, clubster and there was one they made special for a guy, called it the “jimster”

i never pulled the trigger on one for some unknown reason. I should look them up again because every one that I tried sounded absolutely killer, especially thru their extension cabs...

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2 hours ago, Travis said:

Very sweet. 

Was looking into Rivera’s amps years ago because of buddy’s dad owned a killer store down in St. Louis suburbs and they carried a decent line. He had me play through a chubster, clubster and there was one they made special for a guy, called it the “jimster”

i never pulled the trigger on one for some unknown reason. I should look them up again because every one that I tried sounded absolutely killer, especially thru their extension cabs...

The Los Lobottom guitar cab/subs are pretty legendary. They also made some insane rack mounted amps back in the 80s and 90s.

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1 hour ago, gtrdaddy said:

Congrats on a great amp! Big Rivera fan here!  I played a Pubster fifteen years ago or so. Always wanted another one. 

One of their amps that I’m also very fond of is the Venus series. Check those out too!

The venus series does look quite awesome. It'll be something to consider in the future maybe, but for now I think I'm going to work on improving/tweaking my current amp fleet, and then culling some. Like that danged marshall.

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23 hours ago, Travis said:

Very sweet. 

Was looking into Rivera’s amps years ago because of buddy’s dad owned a killer store down in St. Louis suburbs and they carried a decent line. He had me play through a chubster, clubster and there was one they made special for a guy, called it the “jimster”

i never pulled the trigger on one for some unknown reason. I should look them up again because every one that I tried sounded absolutely killer, especially thru their extension cabs...

Played the daylights out of the Jimster, had an unforeseen emergency and never got it, despite Mike's oh-so-friendly hard sell.  Consoled myself with an R-55-12 later on.

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2 hours ago, Jakeboy said:

6v6s have a sweet grind to them.

They definitely are nice. I'm trying to decide if I want to keep the output tubes it came with, or go for some of the new Tung-Sol reissues.  Like with the EL84, the new production tubes have a lot more coming out for the "big" tubes than the little ones.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Finally got a chance to pull the rubber gasket off the magnet to see what Legend model it is. As expected, it's a model 1058, which most people say is a good speaker, so for now, it stays in. If I feel the amp doesn't sound good, I may look into replacing it, but so far, it sounds GOOD.

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