Fionn Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 (edited) I've got a 1981 Aria SB-900. It feels and sounds lovely, and to the eye it's a thing of beauty ... walnut stained ash, rosewood fingerboard, maple and walnut neck-thru-body. Braw! But (now that we have food and shelter sorted and we can afford to indulge in the pedantic) ... What the heck were Aria thinking when they slapped the hardware together on these basses?!! It's a mess of pottage, a total stramash!!! ... Black knobs switches, and pickups, brass bridge and nut, chrome tuners, and aluminium strap buttons! Others of you may like this particular feature of these basses. It's a bonnie bass, to be sure, but I'm thinking that a bit more attention to detail would have made it look [i]exeptional[/i]. Matching iron mongery and knobs ... and bigger tuners. The tuner-lugs look too small for the headstock ... only my humble opinion, of course. Anyone else had thoughts about this? I can't decide whether to modify of leave as standard. Hmmmmmmmm? O choin! [attachment=113488:IMG_0025.jpg] Edited July 18, 2012 by Fionn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 Looks like a fairly standard colour scheme for a late 70s/early 80s instrument. Brass for the bridge and nut was a common feature. The only thing that surprises me is that the rest of the metal hardware isn't gold-plated; it's a fairly high-end instrument of that time and the Japanese have a thing for gold hardware on expensive basses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fionn Posted July 18, 2012 Author Share Posted July 18, 2012 Aye, it's all as original and as standard. Odd, eh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 maybe back then folk weren't such bass tarts and, you know, just played the things? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fionn Posted July 18, 2012 Author Share Posted July 18, 2012 (edited) [quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1342638780' post='1738544'] maybe back then folk weren't such bass tarts and, you know, just played the things? [/quote] Aye, and they survived on potatoes and water, and lived in caves, and observed only the elder catechism. Edited July 18, 2012 by Fionn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qlank Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 Always like these. Looked nice, sounded great. A bit uncomfortable for me to play though (big). I'd leave it as it is. Real tidy bass. There were quite a few being played in the Swansea area in the '80's- fitted in with quite a few different musical styles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noelk27 Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 (edited) My first SB ... Edited July 18, 2012 by noelk27 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musky Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 [quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1342638052' post='1738531'] Looks like a fairly standard colour scheme for a late 70s/early 80s instrument. Brass for the bridge and nut was a common feature. The only thing that surprises me is that the rest of the metal hardware isn't gold-plated; it's a fairly high-end instrument of that time and the Japanese have a thing for gold hardware on expensive basses. [/quote] I've got to agree about the tuners being chrome plated, though if it were mine I wouldn't be bothered as I'm not a fan of gold plating anyway. The black knobs and pickups are fine and match the darker grain. I'd definitely leave it as it is, though swapping the tuners for gold gotohs would work - as long as they're the same type. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fionn Posted July 18, 2012 Author Share Posted July 18, 2012 [quote name='noelk27' timestamp='1342639557' post='1738564'] My first SB ... [/quote] Gorgeous! Is this an SB-900? I know that there were two different control configurations with the 900's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noelk27 Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 [quote name='Fionn' timestamp='1342640168' post='1738581']Gorgeous! Is this an SB-900? I know that there were two different control configurations with the 900's.[/quote] In fact there were three different layouts. This is a '79, bought in April '80 from McCormack's Music, Glasgow, complete with it's APII branded rectangular, fitted, red-lined hardcase. (Although when I asked if there was a hardcase I didn't expect that they try to charge me for it!) At one time I owned this, an '80 (which was identical), and another '79 finished in natural (sometimes referred to as light oak - as opposed to the more readily recognisable golden oak). Sold the '80. The other '79 is fitted with Alembic AXY pickups and A/E-1 circuit, as one of the original pickups died. But this one - my first one - sounds the same as the day I first played it in the little sound booths at the back of McCormack's store. Yours is the second version of the 900 (identical to the R80 - except that yours is the 45/16 "A" version, the "R" version being 40/18), so you have stacked volume and tone controls, whereas I have two volume controls and a master tone control. The position and mini toggle switches have the same purpose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fionn Posted July 18, 2012 Author Share Posted July 18, 2012 Thanks for the knowledge. It's good to have some background info about ye olde 900. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gub Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 Had an aria pro 2 sb 1000 only sold it as too heavy for me , don't change yours it's lovely as is ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 I have one of the cherry red SB900s that I've had from new. The black knobs got knackered years ago and I replaced them with some brass ones, but other than that, it's still as it was - complete with chrome plated machine heads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noelk27 Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 (edited) [quote name='Fionn' timestamp='1342647402' post='1738827']Thanks for the knowledge. It's good to have some background info about ye olde 900.[/quote] If you want to see what an SB looks like with gold hardware, take a look at a standard R150 (these had gold effect bridges, tuners, truss rod cover, and jack sockets), or black hardware, a 1000JT (these had black bridges, tuners, and truss rod cover). Edited July 19, 2012 by noelk27 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RhysP Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 [quote name='Fionn' timestamp='1342637148' post='1738505'] What the heck were Aria thinking when they slapped the hardware together on these basses?!! It's a mess of pottage, a total stramash!!! ... Black knobs switches, and pickups, brass bridge and nut, chrome tuners, and aluminium strap buttons![/quote] Plenty of guitars & basses with that kind of mixed hardware in the late 70's & the early/mid 80's, including Jaydee. Mine had a brass bridge & string anchors, chrome schaller machines, brass & wooden knobs, bone nut. Looking back I wonder why I ever loved Jaydees so much - I think they're unbelievebly ugly now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyfisher Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Aren't aesthetics always questionable? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 [quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1342681369' post='1739043'] Aren't aesthetics always questionable? [/quote] Exactly! Personally I find the visible neck through body far more aesthetically unpleasing than the fact the machine heads don't match the bridge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbyrne Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I'd swap the strap buttons for brass (or gold strap locks) & be happy with it. G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fionn Posted July 19, 2012 Author Share Posted July 19, 2012 (edited) [quote name='noelk27' timestamp='1342656418' post='1738971'] ... or black hardware, a 1000JT (these had black bridges, tuners, and truss rod cover). [/quote] Now[i] that's[/i] what I'm talking about. Absolutely perfect!!!!! Thanks for the heads up. (picture here, if anyone is interested... [url="http://www.ariaguitars.com/jp/02prod/0102eb/sb1000jt.html"]http://www.ariaguita...b/sb1000jt.html[/url] ) The 1000JT is fitted with a Gotoh J510-B4 bridge, and Gotoh GB-70 machine heads. I might go for those as it would be an entirely reversable mod ... assuming the bridge slots in fine. I'll look into that. Edited July 19, 2012 by Fionn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musky Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 The bridge won't be a simple replacement - the SB's had recessed bridges and the Gotoh is a standard surface mounted one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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