Rivolta have managed to produce an incredibly well-made, killer looking, resonant and soulful guitar at a very reasonable price point.
Why We Love This
Dennis Fano, the lauded guitar designer/builder known for his Novo Guitars and Fano Guitars brands, has always wanted to make his guitars accessible to as many players as possible. In 2015 Dennis launched his import line of guitars, Rivolta, which exists under his lauded Novo Guitars. Every Rivolta gets inspected, setup, and shipped from the Novo factory/headquarters in Nashville, TN.
The Combinata 12-string looks, sounds, and plays like a guitar that's easily three times as expensive. Visually, it conjures up Rickenbacker-meets-LP Special vibes, but plugged in, it's XTC, Byrds, Petty....classic 12-string jangle (adding a compressor pedal to the mix is a must! Sounds amazing!).
Played clean or overdriven - especially through a Class A amp - this guitar simply sounds fantastic. There's a great, very useable range in the volume and tone controls, allowing you to roll back either to control the amount of breakup you want from your amp. The P90s deliver great midrange bite, but also sound less pinched in the mid and more open with a sweeter top-end than most. They really cover clean and driven tones with ease.
Body
Hardware
Neck
Other