Mid '80s Riverhead Unicorn RUB-1090 Bass Guitar
These were made in the mid '80s, inspired by the very expensive carbon fibre Steinberger bass. They were made by a Japanese company called Headway, which was generally known for its acoustic guitars.
An advantage of the Riverhead is that it can take normal strings so you don't need to go to the extra expense of the double ball end strings.
This one was bought in Sydney Australia in early 2009. It seemed like a bargain but it soon became apparent that it needed a fret replacement so it wasn't the bargain that I originally thought it was.
When that fret job was done later in 2009 they told me that the fingerboard appeared to be mahogany, which is highly unusual. The repair guy told me that after removing the frets they were sanding down the fretboard, which "...went a lovely pink colour", so they had to stain it again to make it look like a normal rosewood or ebony board. Oddly enough the June 1984 catalogue specifies rosewood and so does this web site, so I can't explain the repair guy's comments.
According to the catalogue there were 3 models, all of which are listed as having an alder body, maple 3 piece neck with 24 fret rosewood fingerboards. They came in 6 colours - graphite black, pearl white, pearl pink, silver, metallic red or metallic blue. The prices below are in US dollars.
- Model RUB-1090 Standard model had 2 single coil pickups (mine is one of those). Price in 1984 was $795.
- Model RUB-1095 Deluxe had a humbucker at the bridge and a single coil.The humbucker is a lot wider than the single coil. It also had a switch near the volume and tone knobs and in up position the bridge pickup is single coil, in down position it is a humbucker. Price in 1984 was $850.
- Model RUB-1100 Custom had 2 single coil pickups and the extra switch near the volume and tone knobs, but also had 4 band EQ. Price in 1984 was $950.
There was also a guitar with the same shape, model RUG-2090 that sold for $795 in 1984. That catalogue says it was only available in black or silver, but I have seen a metallic blue one advertised on ebay in 2011 and the logo was intact so it was most likely the original colour. Maybe different colours became available later?
More about the history of Riverhead guitars on my other page.
Ad from Guitar Player magazine, April 1985
My one has obviously seen a lot of action and is not in the best physical condition, and the logo is barely legible, but I love the sound of this thing, the intonation is great, and it feels great to play.
1984 catalogue cover
