Riverhead Unicorn bass

[lemmywinks]

 

11 hours ago, Ralf1e said:

They are out there. My Steven Hart built 5 ff headless. He even makes some limited stock to keep busy. This was one he had in stock when I came across him.

 

 I like that!

 

 

 

The coolest small bodied headless is still the Status Streamline though

[Ralf1e]

12 hours ago, lemmywinks said:

 

 

 I like that!

 

 

 

The coolest small bodied headless is still the Status Streamline though

Oohh pur pur pur

[msb]

A Unicorn popped up here on kijiji a couple of years ago , I was going to get it , then decided not to get it , then decided to go for it , and it was gone. I mentioned that I missed it to a friend , and he told me he just got it home. 
Several weeks later something else came up for him and I wound up with the Unicorn. Funny how things go around.
I quite like it. 
And just because things always go around again. About a year later I spotted a Riverhead Jupiter on kijiji , immediately called my buddy , and he grabbed it.

So here’s the Unicorn , it’s the model with the bridge humbucker. The model is RUB 1095 .The bass in not heavy , is well balanced , and despite the Black Beauties on it , sounds pretty good. The neck feels like home. Plays like a dream.

I quite like it. 
I wish I had the original leather bag for it. They are très funky. It does fit perfectly in a LP guitar case.

[cyberduntz]

 

On 09/03/2015 at 16:30, Bassassin said:

[quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1425912716' post='2712100']
Needless to say I have terrible GAS for one now.
[/quote]

Me an' all. I tried one of these in the Bass Centre in Wapping (for those with long memories) in 1980-something. Had GAS for one ever since. A pink one, specifically.

Jon.

Last year I I found a Riverhead Jupiter locally and fell in love with it right away so naturally I've kept a eye out for another. 2 weeks ago a Riverhead Unicorn came up for sale locally and I jumped on meeting the owner to buy it... to my surprise it was not Pearl White like my Jupiter or like it looked in the add... Pearl pink!! My jaw dropped! THE UNICORN of Unicorns! I found one! It was like a lottery win! This bass is amazing! I love it even more than my Jupiter... now to find a Riverhead Phantom to complete my 1st gen Riverhead collection.

Edited December 9, 2023 by cyberduntz
Adding photos

[msb]

Lightning , twice , same spot. 
 

That’s quite the pair.

[Happy Jack]

That's a lovely looking thing.

 

Does it play even remotely as well as it looks?

 

[crazycloud]

I love the look of these, and am a small bodied headless fan, way back from when I bought my (Newburgh) XL2 new. Never had the chance to try one though.

[Stub Mandrel]

The first part of this medley is called 'The River Head' for a reason only bass players will understand.

 

 

[cyberduntz]

On 09/12/2023 at 07:56, Happy Jack said:

That's a lovely looking thing.

 

Does it play even remotely as well as it looks?

 

Better! ... It took me a couple of days to really "make friends" with her and figure out how she likes to be slapped and tickled and I had a bit of a time getting used to no headstock as my peripheral vision would trick me into playing around the 4th fret thinking I was going to the first but after a couple days of putting trust in my muscle memory it's no longer a issue. Funny 2 more Unicorns have come up for sale on Facebook MP. About a 3 hour drive one way from me and I'm actually considering going for them now. 🤔 😆 🤣 😂 one black all original passive and one that's been refinished wood grain stained active version. Package deal... I'm considering buying them and defretting one.

[cyberduntz]

On 09/12/2023 at 07:50, msb said:

Lightning , twice , same spot. 
 

That’s quite the pair.

Now looking for that third lightning strike of a Riverhead Phantom to compete the 1st gen Riverhead collection. It's a real shame the plant burned down and they lost all their original stock. These first Gens were when "Kie" first left Fujigen and was really putting out supurb quality workmanship trying to get the offshore Spector contract. Between Kramer buying Spector and moving the offshore work to the Czech Republic after Riverhead had put a ton of $, time and work into getting that Japanese contract,  the plant fire and the recession in the 80's... the cards were just stacked against them and they folded... it's a real shame as they had some real in house innovation with these. 

[Bassassin]

20 hours ago, cyberduntz said:

Now looking for that third lightning strike of a Riverhead Phantom to compete the 1st gen Riverhead collection. It's a real shame the plant burned down and they lost all their original stock. These first Gens were when "Kie" first left Fujigen and was really putting out supurb quality workmanship trying to get the offshore Spector contract. Between Kramer buying Spector and moving the offshore work to the Czech Republic after Riverhead had put a ton of $, time and work into getting that Japanese contract,  the plant fire and the recession in the 80's... the cards were just stacked against them and they folded... it's a real shame as they had some real in house innovation with these. 

 

I did manage to pick one up a couple of years ago - it's a bit more black than I'd prefer, but has been refinished at some point - so maybe it's pink under the paint!

 

 

I'm a bit of an MIJ guitars nerd so I'm interested in your source for info about Riverhead guitars - as I understand it, Riverhead was a sub-brand of Headway/Deviser, (still a going concern) & only exported briefly, making them rare outside of Japan. Like a lot of MIJ instruments it's unclear if the brand owner was a manufacturer, or if they were (like many) outsourced to a large-scale, mostly OEM manufacturer like Chushin Gakki or Kasuga Gakki.

 

I'm always a bit sceptical when I read things like 'the factory burned down' as a reason for scarcity. I've heard this sort of thing a number of times - apparently Matsumoku shut because it burned down (it didn't, it was closed by its owners, Singer Sewing Machines); and Maya apparently had its factory destroyed in the Hanshin Earthquake - except Maya was only ever a brand, owned by Rokkomann & made by Chushin Gakki & Yamaki before production moved to Korea. A lot of these fanciful stories turn up in Ebay sales pitches, & I'm inclined to think that's where a lot of the mythology surrounding 70s & 80s MIJ guitars originates! That said, all of this stuff can be massively complex & contradictory (I feel I know less now than I did 25 or so years ago, when I first got seriously interested!) so any new sources of verified info is always good.

 

Anyway, I think if you're going for the Full Set, you'll also want an RSB900, Riverhead's bog-standard Steinberger copy:

 

 

And their none-more-80s RMB. Although if one comes up, you'll be fighting me for it!

 

[cyberduntz]

I've done some serious digging and like you said the info is pretty sketchy at best but I've pieced together from many sources what makes the most sense chronologicaly. From what I've put together "Kei" trained at the Fujigen plant in the 70's and left to start his own brand of guitars "Headway" in the early 80's. After 3 years and some success he decided to expand to basses (Riverhead) and released the Jupiter, Unicorn and Phantom line of basses. To my knowledge I only know of 2 pro players that used them Dave Pegg of Jethro Tull (Unicorn) and I'm not sure of his name but the bass player from 80's Canadian band Glass Tiger (Jupiter) were I first fell in love with that bass. Upon the release apparently by all accounts is when the first plant fire happened and they lost all their stock. A new plant was built and they invested heavily in Steinberg copys and Spector copys to try and get the offshore Asian market of either of these. It's well documented that Kramer bought Spector and kyboshed any Asian builds by moving production to the Czech Republic. Headway/Riverhead didn't have the capital $ left to get through the ressetion in the 80's and had no choice but to close. Most if the Luthiers then went to Baucus Guitars and a second plant fire "happened" this one seems a little more sketchy weather it actually happened. Many years later "Kei" moved to the Philippines and resurrected the name brand but not at all the same products. .. the RSB900 and RMB that you've mentioned were actually both from the second generation/plant not the first gen. I've found some Riverhead catalogs online and a bit of adverts that clearly only show the Unicorn, Jupiter and Phantom no RSB 900 or RMB or Riverhead Spector witch leads me to believe that they were in fact second gens. Here is a advert with Dave pegg... only the Unicorn, Jupiter and Phantoms are there. 

[Stub Mandrel]

Now I want a Unicorn even more.