Members atimoc Posted June 6, 2005 Members Share Posted June 6, 2005 On my seemingly neverending quest for a 24-fret HSS guitar with a Wilkinson trem I stumbled upon this: http://www.music123.com/Aria-MAC60-i101898.music?t=4 Body: Maple Bridge/Tremolo: A Bill Lawrence Humbucker pick-up at the Bridge Controls: 1 x volume and 1 x tone control, 5 position pickup selector switch, and a coil tap switch Fingerboard:Rosewood Frets: 24 Neck Joint: Bolt-on Neck Material: Maple Pickups: Two SC-101N Duncan Designed Single Coil pickups Scale: 25 1/2" Tailpiece: Wilkinson VS-50K tremolo Anyone tried these? $400 doesn't seem bad for a guitar with a Wilkinson and those pickups. Once again I'd like to know how's the heel, upper fret access and overall quality and feel. Experiences of different MAC-models and other Arias are also welcome, as I've never even tried one. Apparently they're made in China. I'm getting a bit frustrated since I can't seem to find a decent guitar with the specs that I need. There's always the Warmoth route, but that's going to cost and arm and leg after duties and taxes. This Aria is something that I could order duty-free from somewhere here in Europe. Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members atimoc Posted June 7, 2005 Author Members Share Posted June 7, 2005 Anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TheDarxide Posted June 7, 2005 Members Share Posted June 7, 2005 My only long term experience with Aria's is a mid 90's P Bass, and that thing is solid as a rock, it's been thoroughly gigged and abused and it still goes. I've been impressed with their semi-hollows as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Supernovaa Posted June 7, 2005 Members Share Posted June 7, 2005 I recently bought an Aria TA-50 which is essentially a 335 knockoff. Cost me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Maiden_Fan No1. Posted June 7, 2005 Members Share Posted June 7, 2005 don't throw money on that piece of {censored}.... My friend bought it 1 year ago, paid for it 330 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Buck62 Posted June 8, 2005 Members Share Posted June 8, 2005 Let's see here... You got one guy who owns an Aria and says it's great... and shows a pic. You got another guy who has "a buddy who owned one" and says Aria is crap. I have a 1971 Aria Model 1932 SG (Gibson SG knockoff) that's absolutely stellar. I love my Aria, it's just as great as any Gibson SG I've ever played in my 30 years of playing. About 6 weeks ago I ordered an Aria TA-60 (a brand new ES-335 copy) and it arrived with a pickup selector switch that didn't function properly, so I returned the guitar for a refund. I thought for sure it was a quality control problem on Aria's part. But after talking with the guys who work on my guitars a week or so later, they told me that guitars should *always* be shipped with the little plastic knob/tip off of the pickup selector switch. The reason for that is because the extra height causes more pressure on the switch, thus causing the switch to stop working in one of the 3 positions, which is *exactly* what happened to the guitar I got! It came out of the box with the platic tip on the switch, and the switch was in the bridge position.. which is the position that didn't work. Other than that, the guitar was really nice! Great neck, frets, fit and finish, etc. There was absolutely no "fret buzz" or any other problems at all with the guitar... it played great. So, except for the person who packed the guitar the wrong way, I thought the Aria TA-60 was a very nice guitar for the money. Hope this helped! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members frankencat Posted June 8, 2005 Members Share Posted June 8, 2005 I have a '75 Aria Jazz bass that is the best bass Jazz bass I have ever played. Every bass player that plays it wants to buy it from me. I bought it in the early 80's as a beater for my studio and will never sell it. The old LP and Strat copies are great as well. Don't know about nowadays but they made some absolutely fantastic copies back in the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pondo sinatra Posted June 8, 2005 Members Share Posted June 8, 2005 I understand that Arias can be pretty brilliant. I've played really good ones. They are amazing. However, My first electric was an Aria pro II LP knock off and it was the biggest piece of {censored} I've seen. It's up there with an estaban. It had a 3 bolt neck that had to constantly be tightened and the neck eventually warped pretty bad. Normally a truss rod adjustment would fix it but on this guitar the truss rod wasn't placed in properly and the hex key wouldn't fit in. I could have carved a bit of wood out but It would have broken through the back of the neck. Anyway, {censored}ty purchase. I was young. And I scraped together enough dough to buy an epiphone LP jr. six months later and it was four times the guitar that the aria was and I still play it today. I gave the Aria to my 9 year old cousin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members seifukusha Posted June 8, 2005 Members Share Posted June 8, 2005 i have an aria strat from the 80's, matsumoku. i actually bought it to resell but it plays really well and has a beautiful neck. pups for good, but not great, but they work well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jjpistols Posted June 8, 2005 Members Share Posted June 8, 2005 Originally posted by Buck62 Let's see here... You got one guy who owns an Aria and says it's great... and shows a pic. You got another guy who has "a buddy who owned one" and says Aria is crap. Well in all fairness, if I thought it was a piece of crap, I sure wouldn't own it. I can't tell you anything about the new Arias, but will say that cheap Asian guitars are better than they've ever been, and Aria has put out some damn nice cheap Asian guitars over the years, so you are probably okay. If you order it online, make sure you know what your return/exchange options are before you hit "pay." And certainly ask if anyone knows anything about the dealer. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Maiden_Fan No1. Posted June 8, 2005 Members Share Posted June 8, 2005 Let's see here... You got one guy who owns an Aria and says it's great... and shows a pic. You got another guy who has "a buddy who owned one" and says Aria is crap. I have a 1971 Aria Model 1932 SG (Gibson SG knockoff) that's absolutely stellar. I love my Aria, it's just as great as any Gibson SG I've ever played in my 30 years of playing. what do you want to say with that? that I am stupid mother{censored}er who came here to tell this guy that aria is {censored}....... I played it million times, because that "buddy" is in a band with me, and I am playing with him almost 2 years now.... Sure that I am not only one who have that opinion about Mac series, almost every my friend that played it have the same opinion..... You are probably right about your arias, but I didn't said anything about arias in general just about Mac series.....did you played/saw any Mac series aria (or those made after 1971) There are sure many guitars on the market that are much better than that aria, not to mention in that price range (400$). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JoeBoy Posted June 8, 2005 Members Share Posted June 8, 2005 I have a mid 80s Aria Pro II TSB 400 bass that I bought at Guitar Resurection in Austin back then. It is the most versitile bass I have ever played. Its medium scale and Thor Sound pickups are a great combo. Its a staple in my studio. Well made too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Buck62 Posted June 8, 2005 Members Share Posted June 8, 2005 Originally posted by Maiden_Fan No1. what do you want to say with that? that I am stupid mother{censored}er who came here to tell this guy that aria is {censored}....... Nope, just that everyone has different experiences with any particular brand of guitar, or any other product, for that matter. That's why I continued on and posted my differing experiences with Aria... one good, one not so good. I'm sorry you read more into it than what was intended. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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