I can speak about guitars from the 80's. I have a 1985 RS Knight Warrior; bought it used in '87 for $125. Two years later I bought a Fender Strat, and put the Aria away...until last year. I began playing it again because the neck agrees with my hand (pain from middle age, lol). I never thought it was on par with my Fender, however, the neck is top notch! And just a tad narrower than Fender. At 35 years old, everything still works! It stayed in tune sitting in the case for years. I feel the pickups are, well, subdued. Not good or bad necessarily, just...subdued (compared to others). But I recently recorded a couple songs with it, and I think the sound quality is just fine. I have a link below if you want to hear what it sounds like. I played all the guitar parts (and Bass) with the Aria, through a Peavey Vypyr amp. I would buy another.
Alex Ray - Better Times (rumble.com)
Hope this helps.