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Post by Steelpriest on Oct 5, 2004 7:23:43 GMT -5
Well I had to resist the other guitar I found on Ebay, but I could not resist this one. An Aria ProII PRS Copy with set neck... take a look! Anyone of you has experience with Aria ProII guitars? By the way, the serial number starts with S9404XXXX, very equal to Epiphone serial numbers... may it be possible that those guitars are as well manufactured by Samick? It read the guitar was made in Japan though. It looks lovely, the descriptions given sounded promising (set neck, etc.) and the seller´s Ebay profile was 100% positive after hundreds of transactions. He also sold an JCM 800 head and fitting cabinets. I am waiting in anticipation! ;D  |
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Post by mandough on Oct 5, 2004 8:45:36 GMT -5
Congratulations on such a find!! I think you're gonna like this one a lot.
I started my voyage into the realm of strings with the bass, and the first good one I had was an Aria Pro ll I got from my uncle. It was a Hummingbird model if I'm not mistaken, but then again, that was 20 years ago.
It had a solid mahogany body(trans red) with a set neck, and string-through-body tail. I thought it was fine in the build quality department, but the guitar bug bit me, and I've since forsaken the bass to those who truely love it.
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Post by JoMan on Oct 5, 2004 12:11:28 GMT -5
there are a number of companies that use similar serial numbers.... my garrison acoustic is basically the same kind of code.
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Doug
Full Member
Posts: 31
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Post by Doug on Oct 7, 2004 15:25:59 GMT -5
Beautiful guitar!
Any specifics on pickups or hardware on the guitar? And how does it sound?
I remember seeing Aria Pros around alot in the 1980's. Neal Schon from Journey used a heavily modified Aria for awhile.
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Post by Steelpriest on Oct 7, 2004 16:22:01 GMT -5
Beautiful guitar! Any specifics on pickups or hardware on the guitar? And how does it sound? I am waiting for it, I got it on Ebay... hopefully it´ll arrive on saturday. There were no further specifications given. As far as I knowledge Aria used to use DiMarzio OEM version pickups alot, I hope it are DiMarzios... ;D The vibrato looks like a Wilkinson if I see this right, but the guitar is seemingly stock. I´ll keep you updated.  |
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Post by ZacAttack on Oct 7, 2004 16:47:27 GMT -5
She is quite the looker. I bet she plays as well as she looks too.
Way to go Steel.
Zac
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Post by samicksg on Oct 9, 2004 20:26:05 GMT -5
Gotta be one of the nicest copies Ive ever seen!!! I want it!!!!!!
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Post by Steelpriest on Oct 9, 2004 23:00:43 GMT -5
Gotta be one of the nicest copies Ive ever seen!!! I want it!!!!!! YIKES!  Hands off!  Hehehe... |
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Post by samicksg on Oct 11, 2004 9:24:16 GMT -5
LOL ;D
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Post by Steelpriest on Oct 14, 2004 1:51:55 GMT -5
Oh my god! She was finally delivered today! What a sweet guitar. She has some minor dents and scratches, seemingly she has not been an object of decoration in her former life! I wish you guys could pick her up... she´s really inspirating. The fretboard is flat and wide, the action is lovely and the overall feel is so damn good, I´d like to take her to our rehearsal room and plug her in right now.  Unfortunately I have things to do before. But guys, I will keep you updated... It seems I got a new main guitar... oh boy oh boy! ;D *leaps into the air* |
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Post by Jimboe on Oct 14, 2004 14:10:12 GMT -5
Nice axe! We`ll need a full review after you`ve taken her on a complete shakedown run.
Jim
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Post by Steelpriest on Oct 14, 2004 15:08:01 GMT -5
Okay! I discovered the guitar needs a minor fret job to match my vision of a perfect action. The binding and the fretboard inlays are beautyful and very well made. I took out a pickup and found out they are not OEM versions of aftermarket pickups. Seemingly they are Aria´s own and did not convince very much. I prefer more output and stronger mids, but I already have a "Schaller Hot Stuff" (DiMarzio X2N lookalike) handy and I think this one will suit my desires. I inspected the pickup cavity and also opened the electronic´s flap on the back... Well, the guitar is made of mahogany with a thin flamed maple veneer on the top. By the grain of the neck wood as far as i can see it under the laquer finish, I would say the neck is made of maple. A classic combination! The tuners are very well and carry the Aria Logo. The vibrato is set in a way that allows only to bend down notes, I´ll leave it this way. The pots and the toggle are in good shape and work without any noise. All in all the guitar makes a very good and quality impression. It´s quite heavy, unexpectedly. The accoustic tone is quite loud with lots of bass and brilliance. All in all it was a good buy. Only the pickups are a small bummer and can´t compete with the overall quality of the guitar, but maybe it´s only a matter of taste.  I´ll keep you updated.  What I almost forgot: I contacted the seller again and asked when he bought this guitar. He replied he bought it second hand in almost new condition in 1995, so it is likely it was built in ´93 or ´94. If you ask me, it is from 1994 according to the serial number. This would make sense. |
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Post by noeljob on Oct 14, 2004 18:47:04 GMT -5
back in the 80's i had a aria pro stray cat. the same body style as that sweet axe you've got there. i bought it for $40 us. it had a seymour duncan full shred. the one with allen bolt posts, i think they discontinued that pup. boy that was one hot pick up.i like the transparet finish on yours. transparent finishes, thats my favorite.
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Post by Steelpriest on Oct 15, 2004 6:49:49 GMT -5
Here I have a photograph of the beautyful inlays... the picture doesn´t do it right, but my digital camera is crappy...  |
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Post by Steelpriest on Oct 15, 2004 19:21:31 GMT -5
Later today I installed a different humbucker in the bridge position. A "Schaller Hot Stuff"... very hot, indeed... now the guitar sounds like I wanted it to sound. A small bummer though, the pickup is somewhat microphonic...  I guess we talked about wax potting pickups somewhere here on the forum, anyone of you has experience with it? I did it before but the results were not really satisfiying, a pal did it once and nearly burnt down his mom´s kitchen, lol... the pot on the oven caught fire! ;D So any advice somebody? Every help is highly appreciated. I like the pickup´s sound and I´d like to keep it in that guitar. |
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Hands off! 
Unfortunately I have things to do before. But guys, I will keep you updated... It seems I got a new main guitar... oh boy oh boy! ;D *leaps into the air*
What I almost forgot: I contacted the seller again and asked when he bought this guitar. He replied he bought it second hand in almost new condition in 1995, so it is likely it was built in ´93 or ´94. If you ask me, it is from 1994 according to the serial number. This would make sense. 
I guess we talked about wax potting pickups somewhere here on the forum, anyone of you has experience with it? I did it before but the results were not really satisfiying, a pal did it once and nearly burnt down his mom´s kitchen, lol... the pot on the oven caught fire! ;D So any advice somebody? Every help is highly appreciated. I like the pickup´s sound and I´d like to keep it in that guitar.