Aria Pro II Dating and Valuing

[yorisphillipsovich]

Hallo Chaps and Chappets

Newbie here, so thanks for the welcome, glad to be part of such a broad community.

Recently bought an Aria Pro 2 bass from my boss for £150. Looks like a copy of a Les Paul bass (will add photos). Its Korean made. Serial number is: S99110697.
Funny thing is I can't find it in any of Aria's old catalogues. Just wondering what year people think this was built, and its modern day worth.

Cheers all
Y

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[ZilchWoolham]

Welcome! (I might not be the best to welcome you, though, as I'm new too!)

I don't know too much about the Korean models, but it's definitely from the 90's, or possibly newer. Since enthusiasts usually focus on the Japanese models, they are more well documented around the internet. Hopefully someone else here might be more knowledgeable than me about this particular model. Anyhow, it's not going to be worth a whole lot. If you like it you should certainly keep it, as I don't think you'll be making a profit if you sell it.

Edited November 15, 2016 by ZilchWoolham

[Grangur]

Welcome both.

Jon (Bassassin) will be along later and your questions will be answered with confidence. Nice bass and bargain price I would imagine.

[yorisphillipsovich]

Thanks for the rapid replies guys. Aye the boss is retiring early and wanted to pass it on.

[TrevorR]

One of these sold a while back... http://basschat.co.uk/topic/264792-price-drop-aria-spirit-pe-les-paul-bass-l110-ono-sold/

The body shape is based on the longstanding Aria Les Paul variant, the PE series. Looks really cool.

[geoffbyrne]

I've always wanted a date with an Aria!

OK I'll get my coat.......

G.

[Skybone]

Looks like a relatively recent PE to me. Less than 10 years old I think.

[Bassassin]

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1479249247' post='3175135']
Jon (Bassassin) will be along later and your questions will be answered with confidence.
[/quote]

Thanks for the endorsement but I'm afraid I'm no authority on MIK Arias! I can speculate a bit, though.

I'd hazard a guess that the S99 suffix on the serial points to Samick factory, 1999. The date would be about right for an MIK Aria, and I've seen the same prefix on Samick-built Ibanezes.

Having owned a few later Arias I can confirm they are good-quality instruments and great value for money. And that's the downside, certainly as far as valuations are concerned, because for some reason they don't sell for much - I'd think £150 is about what I d expect this bass to sell for.

Very nice bass, I've always had a bit of GAS for its Matsumoku forerunner, the PB-1500.

Edited November 16, 2016 by Bassassin

[Mykesbass]

[quote name='Bassassin' timestamp='1479328154' post='3175745']

Having owned a few later Arias I can confirm they are good-quality instruments and great value for money. And that's the downside, certainly as far as valuations are concerned, because for some reason they don't sell for much - I'd think £150 is about what I d expect this bass to sell for.

[/quote]

Very much this. Aria suffer with being very unfashionable (barring one line of 80's models), and as so there are two prices - what they are worth, and what they fetch, with the latter being significantly lower than the former Enjoy a very well made, low cost bass, just don't expect much if you want to move it on.

Oh, and welcome to the forum.

[DarkHeart]

Must admit it took me ages to sell the blue one and I took a bit of a hit, theyre a relly nice bass though so if you just want something to play then it will certainly do the job in hand.

[yorisphillipsovich]

Thanks guys! I've no plans for selling, it'll be a fun one for a few light mods methinks. +Geoffbyrne, your tables' booked for 7.00

[geoffbyrne]

Ta!!!

G.