I had to have it. Cool & rare V.

[zeegler]

Check this out. Even though I am supposed to be thinning my herd, I had to have this, and with free shipping, you cant go wrong. This is without a doubt the coolest Aria Pro V I have ever seen. I'd like to know why we never got set neck Arias up here in North America. It seems that there were MUCH cooler guitars produced for the Japan/South Pacific market than the ones we got. Looks like it's in fantastic shape too.




Here's the auction - more pics.

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...B:EOIBSA:CA:11

[VitaminG]

$350 with free shipping?! And no duty to Australia!! Damnit!

congrats, zeegs. That's pretty cool.

The guy has some other cool axes too. That ash Tele makes me feel funny....

[Snoogans]

Looking at the pickups and hardware there, would I be right in assuming that these were built by the same folks as Fernandes?

[markD]

damn, that is a cool V. congrats. it looks very streamlined...almost futuristic!!! i like it!!

[zeegler]

Looking at the pickups and hardware there, would I be right in assuming that these were built by the same folks as Fernandes?

I'm not sure. Arias were made by Matsumoku up until the late 80s. I'm not sure what year this one is, but judging by the Act II trem, and those rail pickups, I'm pretty sure it's a Matsumoku guitar. Did Fernandes use that same stuff?

[quakana]

What a deal...very nice. Why does it have strap pegs at the end of each fin?

[jackson1]

What a deal...very nice. Why does it have strap pegs at the end of each fin?

Protection i guess.

[toejam]

Cool. That looks like an old Washburn trem on there.

[jackson1]

[DonP]

Cool axe. Zeegler, is the neck profile on that the same as bolt-on Pro II's?

[sonicsamurai]

wow - that is in such good condition - i love the glossy finish!!

[jgcable]

Thats a cool guitar and I bet its a great player. I had several Aria's and the good ones were very good.
Aria was extremely popular back in the very late 70's and early 80's to around 1985 if I recall.

[zeegler]

Protection i guess.

Absolutely correct. It's just like how early BC Rich Biches had the little rubber feet. Aria always put two strap buttons on the ends, so that you can stand the guitar on the tips without damaging them. I'll be installing a Schaller strap lock button in the correct location.

[zeegler]

Cool axe. Zeegler, is the neck profile on that the same as bolt-on Pro II's?

I guess I'll find out soon.

[zeegler]

Thats a cool guitar and I bet its a great player. I had several Aria's and the good ones were very good.
Aria was extremely popular back in the very late 70's and early 80's to around 1985 if I recall.

Yeah, the Matsumoku factory closed up around 87 or 88 I believe, and from that point on production moved to Korea as far as I know, with super cheapo parts, plywood bodies in a lot of cases, and the Aria name went to shit. I've missed out on a lot of auctions for super minty 80s Arias, often with very cool graphics (black and yellow tiger stripes etc) simply because I have an aversion to bolt-on guitars. Then this one came along.