Any Vintage Aria Pro II Fans?

[DDcat]

I picked up a Japanese market Aria Pro II Les paul knock-off awhile back and was wondering if there are any other fans out there.

Mine's from 1980 and is sort of a bastard copy of late 70's Gibson. It has a small headstock and long neck tenon with a pancake body and 3 piece maple neck (thin profile like late 70's LPs) It also has fret-edge binding.

It was a little shrill with the stock Dimarzio in the bridge so I stuck in a Duncan Antiquity and it really sings. All in all I'm pretty impressed for the price.

[Eddie]

Nice find!

[taypeng]

Hey DDcat, my first guitar, given to me by a friend, was an Aria pro II cardinal series. Something like an SG-copy. It was pretty cool. Ash-body, two humbuckers with two coil-tap switches. the tone was nothing to shout about but overall they make a pretty good guitar

[PAF MAN]

yes, i have 5 of them. mahagony bodies, maple top, 3 piece maple necks. the gold top is stock (not to crazy about the p-90's though). the tobacco had original dimarzios that were pretty blah, so i changed them to dimarzios (paf-neck and sd-bridge). cherry is stock with aria's t-tops that sound fantastic but microphonic. the ebony has the same pu's as the the tobacco and i have another tobacco on the other wall.

[DDcat]

Wow a wall of them! I guess that makes you a fan. That cherry burst looks nice. Is that a LS600?

I figure mine to be a LS600 from the fret edge binding and the 2 screw rod cover but I'm not sure. Do you know the difference between a 600 and a 700?

Anyhow, nice wall of Aria Pro II's

[lp59aholicDon]

Originally Posted by DDcat

I picked up a Japanese market Aria Pro II Les paul knock-off awhile back and was wondering if there are any other fans out there.

Mine's from 1980 and is sort of a bastard copy of late 70's Gibson. It has a small headstock and long neck tenon with a pancake body and 3 piece maple neck (thin profile like late 70's LPs) It also has fret-edge binding.

It was a little shrill with the stock Dimarzio in the bridge so I stuck in a Duncan Antiquity and it really sings. All in all I'm pretty impressed for the price.

:: PERK:: Did somebody Say LONG Neck Tenon ? Hmmmmm Bears Investingating then for me ! Thanks for the heads up, I have seen them and some were really nice, yours appear to be great examples
any pickup cavity shots?

[M.T. Pockets]

I've owned a couple of Arias Pro IIs.
I bought a LP copy off the bay (early model without a serial number) and before I got it someone sent me an offer $150 higher than I paid for it.
Nice guitar, but that kind of thing just don't happen everyday.
Had to send it on.

[PAF MAN]

Originally Posted by DDcat

Wow a wall of them! I guess that makes you a fan. That cherry burst looks nice. Is that a LS600?

I figure mine to be a LS600 from the fret edge binding and the 2 screw rod cover but I'm not sure. Do you know the difference between a 600 and a 700?

Anyhow, nice wall of Aria Pro II's

thanks DD!
the fret binding is a give away that yours probably is a ls-600, but all ls-700's i have seen have the machine tuners. is it a chambered body (i doubt it is with the fret binding)? i have never seen a chambered ls 600/700. many of the 1980 ls-600/700's came with unpotted dimarzios (slightly hotter than paf's), aria pro11 machine tuners, 2 screw truss rod cover and fret binding. most of the ls-600 had a 3 piece maple neck while most of the 700's had a 3 piece mahagony neck. i have yet to see one ls-600/700 without a long tenon. i believe all 600/700's were solid mahagony body/maple top. let's see a pic of the neck pocket!

a ls-700(?) 59 replica auction just ended today. i missed out on that one.

my cherry is a 1980 ls-500, the tobacco is a ls-600, the ebony is a "leopard" model (not too easy to find) which i believe is a ls-450 chambered, the other tobacco is a ls-500 chambered, and the gt is a ls-500.

[DDcat]

My AP II is not chambered. Neck is maple body is mahogany. I kind of figured it a L600.

Thanks for the info!

[Nugget]

I had a really early Tabacco burst which had had a broken headstock. Although the repair smacked of the amateur, it held tune really well and it was one of my favourite guitars of all time. Wish I still had it.

[loaded six string]

Neal Schon was a aria pro II endorsee back in the day

[eddie007]

here is mine ive not a clue how old it is as it has NO marking at all. ive read up and aparantly they started putting serial numbers on them in the 70s so dose the fact mine has none at all mean its from b4 said period??P3010221.JPG

P3010219.JPG

[Axeman16]

[/QUOTE]

this isnt a true long tenon. this is: http://www.cosmikdebris.co.uk/pics/longtennon.jpg

[lexluthier]

I've been looking for an old PE-R80 for a long time, but every one I've found has had issues.

[BananAlan]

Hey Loaded:
Do you have any other pictures of Neals Custom Aria's? Neal and I are looking for pictures of the neck joint specifically. The Sunburst one and the Gold one. Thanks!
You can email me directly at alan.rosen@bananasmusic.com

Originally Posted by loaded six string

Neal Schon was a aria pro II endorsee back in the day

[fisheric]

or you could post it here so everyone could enjoy it.

[tanayut]

YES I AMMMMMMMM !!!!!
BUT....can u help me..?
tell me the model & details of this guitar...
i dont know what model is this guitar...

[UITA]

Never seen one of those before are you 100% sure it's an Aria? That Diamond looks well of. Does it look like it's been re sprayed?

[tanayut]

i´m just member , sorry I´m post 3 times. No I´m not sure its Aria, but have logo and sound very good, possible they have some special model you think? and the man who sell have bill too , at the bill they write "made in usa" .

[UITA]

Sounds a bit suspect "made in USA". I'm guessing it's a bolt on? Looks unusual, never seen that headstock on an Aria LP. I'll do some research.

[Platypus]

Originally Posted by tanayut

i´m just member , sorry I´m post 3 times. No I´m not sure its Aria, but have logo and sound very good, possible they have some special model you think? and the man who sell have bill too , at the bill they write "made in usa" .

Definitely not made in USA. Probably Chinese or Korean. Not a Matsumoku made Aria.

[mojotop]

ARIA pro II LS-600 P , a rare Les Paul-model from 1980, made in Japan:



The specs are: Mahogany Pancake-body
2-pc Maple-top
3-pc Maple-neck, medium C-profile
Ebony fretboard
Fret-edge-binding
wide binding in cutaway
Kluson-style double-ring tuners
Aria P-90 PUs

Non-original: Duesenberg ABR-1 -style bridge, nickel, slightly aged
Faber alu-tailpiece, nickel, slightly aged
Reflector-head vol. & tone -knobs, golden, slightly aged

Usually the LS-600 P -model has a 3-pc top, the ebony fretboard is also rare. I think this is a prototype or transition-model. Can´t find any infos after researching in the usual forums (tokaiforum, matsumoku-forum and on). I´d like to know more ´bout this great guitar. If you know something about the japanese P-90s -model from 1980, please leave the infos here or write a personal e-mail.

THANX for your interests!

!! MIJ-GUITARS RULE !!

[Platypus]

Originally Posted by mojotop

ARIA pro II LS-600 P , a rare Les Paul-model from 1980, made in Japan:



The specs are: Mahogany Pancake-body
2-pc Maple-top
3-pc Maple-neck, medium C-profile
Ebony fretboard
Fret-edge-binding
wide binding in cutaway
Kluson-style double-ring tuners
Aria P-90 PUs

Non-original: Duesenberg ABR-1 -style bridge, nickel, slightly aged
Faber alu-tailpiece, nickel, slightly aged
Reflector-head vol. & tone -knobs, golden, slightly aged

Usually the LS-600 P -model has a 3-pc top, the ebony fretboard is also rare. I think this is a prototype or transition-model. Can´t find any infos after researching in the usual forums (tokaiforum, matsumoku-forum and on). I´d like to know more ´bout this great guitar. If you know something about the japanese P-90s -model from 1980, please leave the infos here or write a personal e-mail.

THANX for your interests!

!! MIJ-GUITARS RULE !!

Heres a couple of pics of my LS. I don't know whether it is a 600, 700, or 800 though because I can't find detailed specs for the different models.

[mojotop]

Great looking Geeetarrr!

LS-400 - LS-600-types do have 3-pc tops, LS-700s came with 2-pc tops. Your LP-model should have a serial-# on the back of the headstock, starting with a 0-xxx. Than its an 1980-model. The Pickups are DiMarzios (not shure with your bridge-PU). From the LS-700s up they´ve been equipped with 'Super Distortions'.

SHOW SOME MORE ARIA PRO II - LES PAULS !!! (what´s up, Oli?)

[Aria]

Originally Posted by mojotop

Great looking Geeetarrr!


SHOW SOME MORE ARIA PRO II - LES PAULS !!! (what´s up, Oli?)

Yes Sir !

Both from 1980, LS-600P

[Aria]

a 1977 LP-650

[Aria]

a 1977 or 1978 LS-600 (sadly sold today)

[Aria]

A 1977 LP-650

[Aria]

a 1980 800VD

[Aria]

a 1980 LP-600