ZilchWoolham Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 (edited) Last Tuesday, while doing my usual internet rounds, I happened upon a bass I've had on my watchlist for quite some time. There wasn't a whole lot of information supplied by the seller and only one quite muddy picture, but the price was reasonable, so I thought it best to pounce on it. Well, today I picked up a package: [attachment=247928:2017-06-26 14.47.52.jpg] It was very well packed. It wasn't empty either! [attachment=247929:2017-06-26 14.52.09.jpg] A nice leather gigbag. Looks a bit small. What could we find inside? [attachment=247937:2017-06-26 14.54.52.jpg] [attachment=247930:2017-06-26 14.58.31.jpg] Strung by a leftie! Will have to flip these around. Luckily, the body is symmetrical. [attachment=247931:2017-06-26 14.59.17.jpg] It's a [b]Riverhead Unicorn![/b] And it's a bit manky. [attachment=247932:2017-06-26 14.59.37.jpg][attachment=247934:2017-06-26 14.59.42.jpg] I popped off the (very dead) strings and the bridge and gave it a bit of a cleanup. Not everything came off. Lord knows what this is. Glittery nail polish? [attachment=247935:2017-06-26 17.20.01.jpg] I popped the strings back on, in the right order, but I haven't flipped the nut around yet, which I really should do as the E string is currently hovering about a foot over the first fret. Any tips as to how I can achieve this? Hair dryer and a lot of wiggling? Anyway, here it is in its current state. [attachment=247936:2017-06-26 18.49.10.jpg] I'll be posting some more impressions shortly, but I can say already that I'm quite pleased, especially considering the price. And, hey, if it's good enough for Dave Pegg, it's certainly good enough for me! Oh, and that price, by the way, was a princely £100! Edited June 27, 2017 by ZilchWoolham Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZilchWoolham Posted June 26, 2017 Author Share Posted June 26, 2017 Oh dear, the pictures are a bit wonky. Might be better to use an external host. More to come! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 Price was reasonable?!! Understatement of the year. Lucky man. I saw one in action and fell in love - sounded and looked amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ped Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 That... is cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 [quote name='ZilchWoolham' timestamp='1498498576' post='3325048'] Oh, and that price, by the way, was a princely £100! [/quote] Oh, no way. Jaw on the floor... Had one of these on my watch list for about 32 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZilchWoolham Posted June 27, 2017 Author Share Posted June 27, 2017 Some further impressions: The neck is very rounded, a nice and quite chunky C profile I'd say; 40mm across the nut. It's [i]especially[/i] comfortable towards the upper frets. The width at the 12:th fret is 53mm, which is rather standard, but it feels much narrower than my Ibanez SR of the same width, which I assume is because of the chunkier profile of the Riverhead. It's more to wrap your hand around, which, even though I don't have very big hands, suits me perfectly as I almost always play with my thumb over or by the fretboard edge as opposed to planted firmly on the back of the neck. There is one downside to it, ergonomically, and it's very expected. There is quite a reach towards the first fret, but with a body style like this, it's practically unavoidable. Luckily, there is no neck dive, and I think that's quite expected too... It's also silly light. I had a Steinberger Synapse a few years back, and that managed to weigh quite a bit despite its small body. The Riverhead, on the other hand, practically floats, which I, being a man of a less than imposing physique, find very very appealing. I haven't had the chance to try it out through a nice, proper amp yet, and I haven't put on a new set of strings either, but from my limited experience with it I can say that it sounds, well, big. It has two passive single coils, and for passive singles they sound pretty damn monstrous. The controls (volume/volume/tone) are very responsive, too. With both pickups turned up fully, you get a fairly scooped sound, much like you'd get with a Jazz (which of course has a very similar setup). Rolling off one pickup, even slightly, alters the sound rather drastically, so just by mixing the two pickups there is actually a lot of EQing to be done. Rolling off the tone yields a very smooth, sweet tone that still manages not to explode your eardrums with mud. It's been a while since I've had a passive bass, and I must say it feels very good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
planer Posted June 27, 2017 Share Posted June 27, 2017 That is very cool indeed, what a steal! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grahambythesea Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 I remember seeing Ashey Huhcings in the Albion Band using one of these. Funny how 2 bass players renowned for being folkies used such modernist instruments! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philw Posted June 29, 2017 Share Posted June 29, 2017 [quote name='Grahambythesea' timestamp='1498611759' post='3325903'] I remember seeing Ashey Huhcings in the Albion Band using one of these. Funny how 2 bass players renowned for being folkies used such modernist instruments! [/quote] Funny, I was having the exact same memory of seeing Ashley H using a Riverhead as I scrolled down the thread. Think it was the Putney Half Moon I saw the Albions - would have been mid 80s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prowla Posted June 29, 2017 Share Posted June 29, 2017 Nice bass! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted June 29, 2017 Share Posted June 29, 2017 Been there, done that. They are very nice. I bought it with money left over from my 2nd year university grant. Sorry kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prowla Posted June 29, 2017 Share Posted June 29, 2017 [quote name='owen' timestamp='1498772708' post='3327023'] Been there, done that. They are very nice. I bought it with money left over from my 2nd year university grant. Sorry kids. [/quote] I bought a Fender Strat with my 1st year Uni grant :-). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaypup Posted June 30, 2017 Share Posted June 30, 2017 Very nice! I used to own the actual Dave Pegg one btw, in my youthful foolishness I swapped it for an acoustic guitar😩 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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