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SOLD ! - 1982 Aria Pro-II SB-1000 Fretless - Rarity !
£1599
Dursley


nationofzeros
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SOLD : my 1982 Aria Pro-II SB-1000 'Super Bass'  - fretless

In the late 70s / early 80s, the Japanese Matsumoku factory had progressed from picture-perfect copies to their own immaculately engineered and very creative original designs, and king of the basses was the Aria SB 'Super Bass' range, headlined by the top of the pile SB-1000.

Matsumoku / Aria had clearly been contemplating the pathway laid down by Alembic, and countered with their own 'boutique' offering, the SB-1000. With a double octave 34" scale 5-ply maple / walnut neck, all-brass hardware and a Canadian Ash body, the SB-1000 certainly looked the part, but backed this up with its double coil MB-1 pickup feeding the proprietary 18V 'BB' active, noise - defeating circuitry, including a 6 - way filter enabling a surprisingly wide range of 80s tones, from deep reggae through to burbling & popping mids and snappy tops. All to the liking of John Taylor, Jack Bruce and Cliff Burton, to name 3 celebrity users.

To this confection, this vanishingly rare fretless version adds a warm, menacing growl.

This bass, which is a second generation 'bookend headstock' model,  is in extremely good, all-original condition. The electronics all work, the 6-way filter provides the requisite 6 different tones,  and the natty front face LED featured in these bookend versions blinks away in classic 80s sci-fi style once the bass is plugged in.

With its railroad - straight, C-section neck, it is simple to set a very low, super-speedy action & wallow in all the 'mwaah' that results. There are a few minor dings around the body sides and a couple of contusions in the lacquer on the neck (see photos),  but these barely dint the majestically thick and luscious clearcoat that Aria saw fit to lavish on these 1000 series models.

In the day, the SB-1000s were renowned for the dense and vibrant wood grain finishes that Aria coaxed from its timber, all different. I'm biased, but if you find a more attractive one than this, please let me know !

Non OEM quality hardcase included (see pix) - price is exclusive of shipping costs.

Happy to answer any questions, not happy to sell this beauty, but I need the space...

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Edited by nationofzeros
Bass has sold - thanks
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Very nice. I’m a huge fan of Aria basses of this era.

I’m not entirely sure any of the SBs were fretless when they left the factory though, although I’m sure other more learned members on here will correct me if that’s not the case.

GLWTS

EDIT - Turns out it must be the SB-R series I was thinking of as the SB1000 was indeed available as factory fretless.  My bad and apologies for derailing the thread. 🤐

Edited by Deedee
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17 hours ago, Deedee said:

Very nice. I’m a huge fan of Aria basses of this era.

I’m not entirely sure any of the SBs were fretless when they left the factory though, although I’m sure other more learned members on here will correct me if that’s not the case.

GLWTS

It’s a de fret - you can tell because the side dot markers in the wrong position for a Fretless 

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3 hours ago, bassatnight said:

I have owned both a factory fretless SB900 and an SB1000 so can vouch for fretless models.

Well everyday’s a school day. I stand corrected*

(*enter Alan Partridge punchline here). 

EDIT - As stated above, the SB1000 was indeed available as factory fretless so apologies for causing an unnecessary stinky poo storm.  I'm just off to self- flagellate...... ☹️

 

Edited by Deedee
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3 hours ago, gareth said:

It’s a de fret - you can tell because the side dot markers in the wrong position for a Fretless 

Not necessarily. Other fretless basses I have owned have dots between the frets (eg Fender factory standard Precision fretless) and here's another Aria SB1000 fretless with dots in the exact same position

https://www.richtonemusic.co.uk/product/aria-pro-ii-sb-1000-fretless-bass-w-case-2nd-hand-yaria101922/

 

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1 hour ago, Clarky said:

Not necessarily. Other fretless basses I have owned have dots between the frets (eg Fender factory standard Precision fretless) and here's another Aria SB1000 fretless with dots in the exact same position

https://www.richtonemusic.co.uk/product/aria-pro-ii-sb-1000-fretless-bass-w-case-2nd-hand-yaria101922/

 

 

16 minutes ago, johnDeereJack said:

No, they're not. It's pretty standard, not to say perfectly acceptable, for a lined fretless to have the side dots between the fret markers.

Yep

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3 minutes ago, gareth said:

I’ve got a Tony Franklin, a late 80’s stingray and two 70’s fender necks all unlined Fretless and all with side dots on the note positions 

Hi Gareth, those are a very nice set of basses. I once had a fretless 70s Precision & it sounded killer. But Aria chose to do it differently, in their wisdom - you have a PM. All the best, Chris

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Yep, the side dots on my Pedulla Pentabuzz are in exactly the same positions as they are on my fretted basses and that’s definitely not a de-fret!

1 hour ago, johnDeereJack said:

No, they're not. It's pretty standard, not to say perfectly acceptable, for a lined fretless to have the side dots between the fret markers.

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55 minutes ago, nationofzeros said:

Hi Gareth, those are a very nice set of basses. I once had a fretless 70s Precision & it sounded killer. But Aria chose to do it differently, in their wisdom - you have a PM. All the best, Chris

Thanks Chris and it’s interesting to note Arias policy

Its a great bass and I wish you GLWS

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  • nationofzeros changed the title to SOLD ! - 1982 Aria Pro-II SB-1000 Fretless - Rarity !
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