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Aria Basses - fallen from grace??


TheGreek

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I think it was during the nineties when the brand was possibly ‘cheapened’ by the lower end models.

I borrowed (and ultimately purchased) a black ZZB off a mate in the early nineties.  It looked terribly out of place with me playing anything from U2 to Eddie Cochran, but the build quality and power from the pickups was amazing compared to the various P bass copies and Epiphone Power Bass I’d previously owned (Epi was a catalogue purchase I think).

A good few years later I was in the position to buy a used SB series but I was gutted when I came to try it, as I couldn’t get on with the parallel neck dimensions.  

Anyhoo, fast forward to last month and after many years of still lusting after an Aria (brought on by watching endless episodes of Top of the Pops 2), I finally got my hands on a 1981 SB-R80, (the R basses being an SB but with more conventional next dimensions).  It plays great, is beautifully crafted and is as solid as a rock.

With regards to when did Aria fall from grace, I think it’s down to the expanse of the range available and where that range is positioned.  The SB range was quality.  I think any brand that has a range that spans entry level all the way through to top end has a risk of losing its ‘clout’.  I’ve recently tried several top end Ibanez basses and they’re great, but they don’t hold their value.  I think this is down to the fact that sometimes people can’t or won’t distinguish between the budget and the higher end models.

Ultimately it’s still down to how good the products are. Were entry level Aria basses in the eighties far superior in terms of build quality and materials used to their more recent cousins?  Probably.  But weren’t everyone else’s too?  All I know is that they made some great basses and there are no doubt some great basses within the range today.

 

Cue gratuitous Aria pic 😉

 

 

B3B25F55-F135-44D8-B406-B8624BABD83D.jpeg

Edited by Deedee
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On 29/01/2018 at 19:13, Bigwan said:

Still love my Aria MAB20/5 that I spent most of my formative years playing. Recently dabbled on it a bit and it's sounding better to me now than it ever did! 

Have to agree with BRX (doesn't happen often!), there are Arias and there are Arias... 

I’ve just rediscovered my MAB20/5. It’s really rather good !

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Just to revisit this, there has to be some direct correlation between manufacturers and headstock shapes.

I figure that there's a ton of old Jazz and Precision copies that are reasonably faithful to the originals they're based on.  Whenever the headstock design changes to something a little less Fender, we probably feel that as it's less faithful, it must be awful.

Thing is, while there's a slew of terrible instruments on the market now, hiding behind Aria headstock logos, these are probably still a country mile better than the stuff I had when I was starting out with 30 years ago.

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In the 80s Japanese basses got a lot of love from famous bass players. Sting and Phil lynott played Ibanez, Paul Mccartney played a Yamaha and John Taylor played an Aria.

 

I do't know if they were endorsed or were given freebies? Maybe it was because Fender were putting out inferior instruments at the time?

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I'd suggest the Aria downturn was a combination of two reasons - primarily the closure of Matsumoku (1987) and the movement of production of most Arias to Korea, which started a year or so earlier. There was an undoubted big drop in quality.

Secondly the change in musical fashion away from the late 70s/early 80s trend for upfront, showy bassists - with ostentatious stripy basses to match - towards pointy shred guitars, Superstrats & poodle hair-metal. Ibanez had pretty much cornered the Superstrat market and bassists were relegated to a much more background role & generally more utilitarian instruments. In an era of streamlined designs & primary colours, Aria's Alembic Hippy Sandwich-inspired designs started to look very dated very fast, and the brand never had quite the profile with guitarists that they did with bassists.

I might be talking rubbish here.

 

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I own an Aria SB1000 which I bought in 1986. Its a 1979 bat-ear model. The quality of this bass is at least the equal of any bass I've ever played (bear in mind I also own a Wal....) and it will be the last bass I ever part with. It's a wonderful instrument.

 

I hate to agree with you bassasin, but I think maybe you are talking rubbish lol. Look at the things Ibanez and others were selling bassists in the late 80s, and the colours.....

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2 hours ago, neilp said:

I hate to agree with you bassasin, but I think maybe you are talking rubbish lol. Look at the things Ibanez and others were selling bassists in the late 80s, and the colours.....

That's my point - Ibanez were selling slick, lightweight SoundGears in metallic pink & blue to kids who wanted to be in Def Leppard. And Aria had dropped out of the game, pretty much.

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They made some great basses , always fancied one , had couple of their guitars electric, think they were Thor pro , custom body absolutely brilliant, sorry they was dark days before I took up bass 🤔

Edited by kevvo66
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17 hours ago, drlargepants said:

I’ve wanted an SB1000 since as long as I can remember. I’ve never played one mind or actually seen one in the flesh. 

Excalibur !

Do you live anywhere near the East Midlands? If you can make it to the next bass bash I'll happily bring mine along and let you have a blast 

 

Edited by Norris
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I've owned three Aria basses in the past. An SB1000, fabulous playability and sound but ridiculously heavy, and two Aria pro11 6 string basses.

I regret moving on the SB simply as it would've been worth 5 times more now.

I regret moving on the two 6ers because they have both been the most comfortable 6 string basses I've ever owned and played. In addition, with a quick knob twiddle, sounded no worse than any of the Status and Spector  6ers I've owned.

No idea about the modern stuff though.

 

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I had an Aria SB-700 when I played NWOBHM with No Quarter and Pop in a band with Feeder's Grant Nicholas. I loved that bass. Fortunately, when I 'moved' it on, it was to my kid brother who still has it so I do not fall into the trap of nostalgia. I play it occasionally and am confident that I didn't know what I was talking about, that it was actually a piece of crap and I was right to ditch it for my Wal Custom Fretless. xD

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I love the Wal too, but the Aria was my first "proper" instrument, and I think had a major influence on my playing and my sound. It's been with me since 1984, I couldn't imagine not having it...

The Wal doesn't have the emotional attachment, as wonderful as it is...

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I've still got my old Aria Black & Gold I - in fact I played it at a gig recently :) The Aria was the first bass I bought with my own money way back in '83 when I was a mere 15 years old. IIRC it cost the princely sum of £230!

_J4A6377.jpg

Edited by matski
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4 minutes ago, matski said:

I've still got my old Aria Black & Gold I - in fact I played it at a gig recently :) The Aria was the first bass I bought with my own money way back in '83 when I was a mere 15 years old. IIRC it cost the princely sum of £230!

 

I couldn't find a black one when I was looking in the mid 80s, but got a Pearl White one for £80 + a battered Aria Pro II Cardinal Deluxe (cost me £60) and a £15 Rocktek flanger. 

The SB Elite had all kinds of stuff done to it and currently looks like this:

26931477874_9da0d3e548_c.jpg 

I plan to have it refinished black, once I've sorted the decals and I have the money. 

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  • 1 month later...

So my white one, up there ^^, can stay as it is. 

As today I traded my Musicman Stingray, that wasn’t being used much, for this (that I didn’t even see was on here, Hi Dave!).

7D364963-751F-4C6C-8EC7-4B5BB150CD63.thumb.jpeg.f0b155e32f339204be576f6dbd672e6e.jpeg

I’ve been after one for decades. Just never managed to nab one until today!

I’m beside myself with joy, just looking at it gives me a huge smile!!

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This thread has got me interested in digging a bit more into the quality Aria basses ... here's the SB series in all its glory from Matsumoko's website: http://www.matsumoku.org/models/ariaproii/bass/sb/sb.html

My Aria Pro II with a P/J set up (actually my missus' - but it was the one we had around the house and what I learnt on!) was one of the entry level ones I'm assuming(?), so I've yet to try out one of the higher end models.

Anyway as we're reminiscing, here's one from the archives...

Aria Pro (Sara's).JPG

Edited by Al Krow
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3 hours ago, bartelby said:

So my white one, up there ^^, can stay as it is. 

As today I traded my Musicman Stingray, that wasn’t being used much, for this (that I didn’t even see was on here, Hi Dave!).

7D364963-751F-4C6C-8EC7-4B5BB150CD63.thumb.jpeg.f0b155e32f339204be576f6dbd672e6e.jpeg

I’ve been after one for decades. Just never managed to nab one until today!

I’m beside myself with joy, just looking at it gives me a huge smile!!

Oh man, that’s lovley. 

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