c.1985 Riverhead Jupiter RJG-900
I bought this one in March 2012 because my other one was so good but at that time I hadn't managed to get the tremolo working on it. I sold it to a local guy in January 2014 for a lot less money than I paid for it. Problem with Riverheads is that no one knows the name, which makes them hard to sell.
I have seen the Jupiter and Phantom model catalogue from 1985 and this model appears in it. It has a maple body and neck with a rosewood fingerboard, jumbo frets and 22.5" scale.
The catalogue also lists a higher level model RJG-1300 that "has an arched top and an active electronic tone circuit to boost treble and bass frequencies". The body shape is the same and in fact it looks just like my one, although my one has a decidedly flat top and the 1300 model seems to have 2 small toggle switches just above the volume controls. All other specs are the same for the 900 model. The available colours were "jet black", "metallic grey" (actually looked more like brown), "pearl white" (that's my one) and "marron" (although it's hard to read - probably says "maroon").
The catalogue does not mention anything about push/pull coil tap switches but mine does have them for both pickups, which makes this a very versatile guitar. There is also a video demo on YouTube, which seems to be the same model as mine and that one also has push/pull coil tap switches. It seems odd that the catalogue doesn't mention this feature. The pots look as though they have been there for quite a while, although that doesn't necessarily mean they are original.
The pickups have been replaced by Seymour Duncan George Lynch Screamin' Demon pickups. The Seymour Duncan web site describes them as "Moderate output, P.A.F.-style with added 'growl.' Great for classic rock, jazz-rock fusion, heavy rock and aggressive instrumental rock".
Strangely, there does not seem to be a serial number on this guitar, not even in the pickup cavities.
More about the history of Riverhead guitars on my other page.
