PRODUCT REVIEW
Riggio Custom Guitars: Sierra Model by Bruce Adolph
OK, time for full disclosure. I am a big fan of Riggio Custom Guitars. I have known Joe for many years now. He is a friend and also has written for my magazines over the years. I am the happy owner of Serial #5 of Joe’s custom built guitars; a strat style very similar to the Sierra model that we are reviewing today. I tell everyone about mine because I like it that much. But I can’t let the fact that I have one of his well-crafted guitars be the reason that prevents me from letting you know about them… that wouldn’t be fair to you or to Joe. You see, Joe, as a luthier, is what I would call a “purist” in the best sense of the word. He studies vintage instruments. He knows the history of Fenders, Gibsons, Gretschs and others. When it comes to Fenders he probably has the equivalent
of a PhD. He has researched the making of them down to what Fender really used for their clay fret markers. He is the most knowledgeable guy I know on Strats and Teles. Most guitar reviewers may have the instrument they are test-driving for a week or two and then they send it back. I have had the luxury of playing my Sierra electric guitar for almost 2 years now… that will hopefully give you a sense of where I am coming from. I have talked with Joe directly about his custom guitars and build ethic. I was an early adopter, so I “get’ this guitar.
with this color from Fender in the 60’s and Joe has put a little bit of yellowing on the clear coat on this to match the amount of aging on the guitar. It warms it up and bit and takes some of the brightness off.
But don’t just take my word for it. I have shown Riggio Custom Guitars to three different pro players I know. Two of them bought them on the spot, and the third is having one sent to him now. I placed a Sierra in the hands of our friend and legendary guitarist Phil Keaggy to play for a set while he was visiting in Seattle and he said, “This feels like it has been broken in and played for 40 years. It is a very well made guitar.” We Americans aren’t the only ones catching on to Joe’s work. In Japan the asking price of a Riggio is twice what it is here in the US, and they are selling at a good clip. In fact, more than 50% of Joe’s guitars ship to Japan.
The neck profile is shaped after Joe’s own 1963 strat, so it is a really full feeling 60’s “C” shape that is very typical of a batch of guitars that came out in 1963. You will find this neck on various guitars that trickled out between ‘63 and ‘65. If you get lucky you find that one that has this sweet fullness to it.
So let’s look at what a Riggio Sierra model is made of. When you first plug it in you hear these big, single coil strat-style round notes and a full tone. Why? First, the body and neck are made of very select tone woods. This guitar sports Joe’s own pickups: the “Heavenly ‘57” set (he also offers the “Original ‘63” set – both hand wound by Carlson Guitar Audio to Joe’s specifications, for the “Riggio” brand). The 57’s are a little more towards the scooped mids side of tone (the 63’s are fuller in the mids). The scoop really delivers a strong strat type sound. The neck pickup is clear and gorgeous; the middle pickup is real chirpy. Joe wires his guitars with no tone control on the middle pickup so the middle pickup will ring through a touch brighter, and in turn the tone control is directed towards the bridge pickup, which takes away some of that unwanted brightness (you won’t get that “ice-picky” harsh high end that a bridge pickup can give you). This is a 5-position switch. The middle pickup is reverse wound so your 2 and 4 positions will be hum canceling. The finish is a Lake Placid blue vintage Fender color, which originally was a 1958 Cadillac car color. A lot of guitars came
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The fingerboard is a very choice piece of Madagascar rosewood (Joe has a supply of this in stock as we speak, which will last him for several guitars to come). The neck is made from straight grain maple with a “hand worn” finish and a nitro vintage gloss that Joe paints himself. The fretwork feels pro right off the bat.
The Sierra has a Gotoh steel block bridge (not the less expensive alloy version) so you get more sustain and resonance. Being a custom guitar to match the player’s own personal style, Riggio can set up the tremolo arm to respond how you prefer. This product review Sierra has 10 gauge strings, so three springs loaded in the back will you give you that “floating sweet spot” with your whammy bar. Joe uses a standard bone nut and Gotoh made Kluson replica tuners (in his opinion they are still the best ones). The headstock is what Riggio calls the “R” proprietary headstock shape. It has a reverse bull nose rout in the shape of an “R” and it can be painted any color (you can match it to your guitar’s body color if you like). It has a concave bevel, and our review guitar had black paint to offset its unique shape. I find it pretty cool that the headstock looks like an “R” for Riggio. You will be able to pick out this shape on stage anywhere… it is striking. Each Riggio comes with a very vintage looking hardshell rectangular case, made in the USA. Standard Price: $2475. Keep in mind, as a custom guitar you can augment everything in the design process. You work with Joe personally to figure out the weight of the body, which tonewoods for you want for the body and neck/fretboard, what size frets, which pick-ups, neck shape… you name it. Going through this process helps you learn more about yourself as a player, and when the guitar is delivered you get a much better match to your own playing style and ascetics. www.riggiocustomguitars.com