Members jvanginkel Posted January 6, 2017 Members Share Posted January 6, 2017 I bought this guitar and the guy said it was made in Japan but there were no markings. I have played it for a couple years and finally found some handwritten markings inside the neck pickup cavity and the back cavity. Any idea on what this might be? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members badpenguin Posted January 6, 2017 Members Share Posted January 6, 2017 "Possibly" Japanese. Most likely Korean but I could be wrong. Any markings on the pots? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jvanginkel Posted January 6, 2017 Author Members Share Posted January 6, 2017 Thanks for the quick response. The pots are Alpha pots with their value written on them, I didn't see anything else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members onelife Posted January 6, 2017 Members Share Posted January 6, 2017 The back looks a bit like an Aria Pro II ... as does the headstock... . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jvanginkel Posted January 6, 2017 Author Members Share Posted January 6, 2017 Oh yeah. That's the closest thing I've seen to the neck joint on my guitar. Cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members onelife Posted January 6, 2017 Members Share Posted January 6, 2017 Aria (Pro II) guitars were built in Japan until 1988 when they switched production to Korea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1001gear Posted January 6, 2017 Members Share Posted January 6, 2017 Nuther variation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted January 6, 2017 Moderators Share Posted January 6, 2017 Yeah, their 'heel-less neck joint'...the headstock shape is also consistent with some models. Odd though that there is no logo at all. Aria also made and distributed guitars for Greco in the 70s...maybe this is a 'generic' from that era?Is there a serial number? Are the tuners original, and are they 'generic' as well?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members badpenguin Posted January 6, 2017 Members Share Posted January 6, 2017 Leaning towards a early 90's "house brand" made by Aria. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jvanginkel Posted January 6, 2017 Author Members Share Posted January 6, 2017 What does "house brand" mean? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members badpenguin Posted January 6, 2017 Members Share Posted January 6, 2017 A house brand is simply a guitar that has no name on the headstock. A store could custom order a bunch of decals and paste them on the headstock. The same guitar can be labeled Aria, Bruno, Epiphone, Ventura, Toledo, Orlando, same guitar, different headstock badges or decals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jvanginkel Posted January 6, 2017 Author Members Share Posted January 6, 2017 Got it. That makes sense. I knew they made other branded guitars, but wondered who would have them make a "no brand" guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members badpenguin Posted January 6, 2017 Members Share Posted January 6, 2017 Most of the Japanese companies did it in the 60's and 70's. Ibanez was famous for doing it, even having unbranded guitars in the 73 catalog. http://s93105080.onlinehome.us/Ibanez-Catalogs/file.php_n=1973-3&p=&y=1973.htmlKorea did it a lot, and some Chinese companies do it, and will make you your own "Bob" guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members soundcreation Posted January 7, 2017 Members Share Posted January 7, 2017 I think you guys have it pretty good. Some sort of Matsumoku made special order for a shop or distributor with PE and Les Paul copy features. As for MIJ or MIK....that's a bit tougher. Could go either way. I'll go out on a limb and say MIJ. If you look at the early PE models they have the same truss rod cover, and similar headstock shape. http://www.matsumoku.org/models/ariaproii/catalogs/77_pe_a/77_pe_a_pg2.jpg.html plus it does have that late 70's early 80's look to it. You kind of get used to it when you see them enough. You may never get a 100% answer on it though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jvanginkel Posted January 7, 2017 Author Members Share Posted January 7, 2017 Thanks for all the help. I think its Japanese! I took out the Neck tone pot to clean it off and look more closely for code stamps and I found nothing, then I realized, I've never checked the 3 way switch and Bingo! It says JA in a diamond (I assume means MIJ), It has the number 6 on it and then Japanese characters that I don't know how to decipher. I also found B-2 underneath the saddle and some markings I can't figure out under the Pickup cover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jvanginkel Posted January 7, 2017 Author Members Share Posted January 7, 2017 I think you got it right. I found some Japanese stamping on the 3 way switch. Those catalog pics are great too. Mine seems most like the PE115. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted January 7, 2017 Moderators Share Posted January 7, 2017 nice catalogue shot...look at all those 'lawsuit' models!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted January 7, 2017 Moderators Share Posted January 7, 2017 the characters on the pick-up look like Korean, not Japanese. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members demonstro1 Posted January 7, 2017 Members Share Posted January 7, 2017 That's Hangul- or Korean - on the pickups. Chances are very good that the guitar was made in the ROK, not Japan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jvanginkel Posted January 7, 2017 Author Members Share Posted January 7, 2017 Interesting. I wonder if the symbol written in the cavities is Hangul as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members soundcreation Posted January 8, 2017 Members Share Posted January 8, 2017 Yeah after seeing that I'd have to change my opinion. Probably Korean. Interesting guitar! As onelife mentioned, Aria shifted to Korea in the late 80's. So it could be the same idea....store or distributor order through Aria or the Korean factory. Or an actual Korean Aria that's simply had the decals removed for some reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 6down1togo Posted January 9, 2017 Members Share Posted January 9, 2017 Looks a lot like this Jay Turser. Same neck join, headstock and truss cover. Looking closely at your pics, the finish on the upper 2/3 of the headstock is different from the area around the truss cover. Looks like the seller sprayed partway down with black lacquer to obscure the logo. I'll bet if you wiped the headstock with lacquer thinner it would say Jay Turser underneath. http://www.ebay.com/itm/L-P-JAY-TURS...AAAOSwX~dWltVw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members soundcreation Posted January 10, 2017 Members Share Posted January 10, 2017 Looks a lot like this Jay Turser. Same neck join, headstock and truss cover. Looking closely at your pics, the finish on the upper 2/3 of the headstock is different from the area around the truss cover. Looks like the seller sprayed partway down with black lacquer to obscure the logo. I'll bet if you wiped the headstock with lacquer thinner it would say Jay Turser underneath. http://www.ebay.com/itm/L-P-JAY-TURS...AAAOSwX~dWltVw Wow....this gets even more interesting. Turser probably went to the exact same factory that Aria used back in the day. The factory showed them some sample models they could build for them....lol I wonder if Turser even knows their ripping off Aria's design...haha.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 6down1togo Posted January 10, 2017 Members Share Posted January 10, 2017 Wow....this gets even more interesting. Turser probably went to the exact same factory that Aria used back in the day. The factory showed them some sample models they could build for them....lol I wonder if Turser even knows their ripping off Aria's design...haha.... Yeah, the Aria brand and Jay Turser brand obviously came from the same factory. If you look closely at current Dean (Evo) and Michael Kelly (Patriot) Les Paul styles, they have the same neck join on a more stylized, modern body shape. Michael Kelly Patriot: Dean EVO: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted January 10, 2017 Moderators Share Posted January 10, 2017 Yup, not any of the three Japanese alphabets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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