Help Identify 1980 Aria Pro II ?

[jimijames]

Hello everyone, Im hoping to get some help indentifying this Aria Pro II. I have been through all the catalogs i could find on the internet and I've been checking ebay sales with no luck.I believe its a 1980 judging by the serial number (06800x) , fret edge binding, pancake body 4 layer binding, I think its mahogany. Knobs may not be original, someone before me had swapped out the original pickups for Lindy Fralin unbuckers and I think they changed the knobs as well, push/pull pots. Well if anyone has any ideas please respond, thank you.
-Bob-

[auriemma]

The serial number on the neck plate doesn't tell the date of manufacture. That is probably more like a mid to late 70s Aria, made by Matsumoku, based on the LP Custom.

Cousin to my 77 Bradley. Note the double arrowhead inlay and shape of the headstock.


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[jimijames]

aha, very interesting, yours is beautiful, i love it. Thanks for your reply, I do think they could be cousins for sure. I'm thinking your right on the '77 year give or take. How did you find out yours was made in 1977? I wrote an email yesterday to Aria guitars Japan asking if they had any idea as to what model I had here and did get a response back earlier today:
Dear Bob,
Thank you for inquiry, and being an Aria player.
We guess the production year of the guitar would be
early 80's, from its headstock shape and logo.
We started to use our "Aria Pro II" logo from late 70's.
Attached herewith is the excerpt of our 1979 catalog.
The specifications of your guitar are close to LC-500
although headstock, trussrod cover etc are in different shape.
(Pick guard would have been taken off )
We wish we could identify the model much more precisely.
Thank you again for staying with us,

Best Regards,
Taku Kawauchi
International Sales Division
Arai&Co.,Inc.(Aria Guitars)
12-2, Kandacho, Chikusaku, Nagoya, Japan 464-0077

[jimijames]

Hey joe, just curious - what kind of tuners are on your guitar? Mine are "Ping", never heard of those.
-Bob-

[auriemma]

Thanks. Yours is sweet. Love the tea burst. How do I know its a 77? Because thats when I got it. I'm the original owner. My previous guitar died during a school Christmas concert that year (electrical failure). My dad traded it in for the Bradley the next day. It cost $400 plus trade-in 1977... thats around $1500 today. Remember, the Japanese were experts at copying every detail back then (hence the term Lawsuit Era). It's a very solid guitar even by today's standards.

I've heard of Pings, they may be originals but I'm not sure.

My tuners are Schallers. I replaced the slipping originals back when I was 16... around 1980. Since that pic was taken I have replaced a few parts: the toggle switch (failed - Gibson replacement), bridge and tail piece (corroded - replaced with Gotoh), and knobs (to Gibson Speeds).

[selkentvintageaxeman]

Ping were the standard good-qaulity machine heads used on things like aria Pro II's and Ibanez back in the late 70's.

I bought a very similar guitar to yours NEW, back in about 79.

It also had the set neck and it really WAS the most beautiful guitar.

Mine was a cherry sunburst.

I still miss it every day.

It sat within a high-quality pink fur-lined hard case.

When I bought it at a guitar fair there was a Gibson Les Paul lying on the sellers table right next to it, so I could compare the two.

Hand-on-heart the Aria was a better guitar.

Played beter, sounded better, was better made, and looked a million dollars.

Matsumoku (Japan) really DID make some superb guitars back then.

Shame about that fire.

[jimijames]

Thanks Axeman. Yeah I've been playing a few Gibson LPs at the local music store here and still find my Aria feeling a lot nicer to me, it never goes out of tune and i really love the neck being thinner than any other LP i've tried. I could get $600.00 for it but I'm afraid that if I did that I'd regret it later. Is that such a good price that one should accept, or is it crazy?

[auriemma]

I wouldn't do it. Like axeman said, you will regret it later. I spent years looking for an LP better than my Bradley. You would think that would be a simple task. It wasn't. I finally got a nice Fender Strat, and my Bradley was stored away for well over a decade. Years later (as I got older and wiser), I pulled her out and had checked out and properly set up. I told the luthier, change what you need to make this a proper Les Paul. A week later, he hands it back to me, new saddle and tail piece only (old ones corroded). He said there is nothing he would change, it is a proper Les paul... sound.. tone... feel... all of it. Since then I have bought another LP. A Gibson LP Studio Smartwood. Better? No. Different? Yes. A very nice LP for sure. Funny part is, I still play my Bradley more.

IMHO... Keep it, treasure it, play it. If you want a Gibson LP, get one. Not because you want to replace your Aria, but because you want another Les Paul.

[jimijames]

[auriemma]

[jimijames]

Joe, now that sounds like a perfect plan, to hear what I like and go from there. Thanks very much Joe, you've been a great help.
-Peace-

[VintAxe]

I have a pretty decent collection of Aria Pro II literature going back to 1975 and I have never seen the double arrowhead inlay in any of their literature. The inlays are either the Gibson split diamond or nothing.

Curious

[jimijames]

[VintAxe]

Hey Bob.

My early 80's Aria Pro II catalogs arrived and all the LP copies have either the split diamond inlay or no inlay.

However, I did find the double arrowhead inlay on a 1978 Japanese built Cortley. You can check it out here: