Maggie - that was in the days before Epiphone was a cheap alternative to Gibson. They all came out of the same factory in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The Epiphone had it's day in the early/mid 60's. Looking back at old photos from the time you can see bands like the Animals, Wayne Fontana and The Mindbenders, Gerry and The Pacemakers, etc, etc, etc, all used Epiphone Rivoli's.

I like a harder Fender sound, and now own a 1979 Precision bass, which replaced my original Precision bought in 1970. I wish I still had that one, but the truss rod snapped - dont know why. Nowadays of course you'd just get a replacement neck, but a snapped truss rod in those days was almost like a race horse having a broken leg. I swapped it for a Gibson Thunderbird - Spirit of '76, but never came to terms with the weight of the guitar and the fact that it was neck-heavy. I then dealt that in for my present bass. I use roundwound, Rotosound Swing Bass, or Elites.

I know who ended up with the Epiphone. He died about ten years ago - I sometimes wonder if the family still have it - it was a lovely guitar - neck was a bit "chunky" though in comparison to the Fender.

Best wishes - Bob