Aria Guitars - A Classic Brand at the Perfect Price!

[@OliverAmberg]

I remember when I worked in a music store in 1982. Aria was everywhere. The 3 PU Les Paul looks great.

[@CarloRegadasGuitar]

Hey Oli, fancy seeing you here! Hope you're well brother. Carlo 🎸👍🏼

[@OliverAmberg]

@@CarloRegadasGuitar Hi Carlo! Hope you are doing well! Cheers - Oly

[@iaincobain3594]

I have a Nashville in Ruby red, it's a stunning guitar the neck is a joy to play on.

[@hippiebiker3399]

I have several Aria Pro ii models from the late 70’s to mid 80’s. They are superb instruments that will be part of my permanent collection forever. I gig with them regularly.

[@rsjrmy]

I listen to a lot of videos representing different brands of guitars, this has to be the top of the list for great guitar tone on a single instrument. I cannot express just how much I enjoyed listening to all those different tones. I am not sure what they were playing through but I was wowed right off the bat by all of year guitarz. Way to go “Aria”❤️👍🏼

[@Eywadude]

Agreed. I was impressed by the tones too. Regardless of price. The tones of the LP-style guitars in particular really spoke to me. The T-style tones were very good too, and the middle pickup on that S-style guitar is probably the best sounding middle Strat pickup I have heard in a very long time. I'm really impressed with these tones coming from such affordable instruments. Aria did their homework with these. I hope they get the recognition and admiration they deserve. It seems they did a good job with their entire lineup.

[@JustPlayingBass]

The 80s Matsumoku built Arias are fabulous. My '85 SB1000 bass is a fantastic instrument. Looks and plays like a dream and built like a tank. Don't be afraid to consider these guitars, you won't be disappointed.

[@ianmerricks4818]

True, and the Westones. I found a mint Uncle Mats designed, Japan made Westone 6 for £65 in a charity shop about 3 years ago.

[@JMC2829]

First guitar was an Aria STG (Strat copy). Cost no more than £100, outrageously good guitar for the money in 2008 and still holds up. Built like a tank.

[@Turbo-D]

i have a very old japan made aria les paul copy and got several offers for > 1000€ for it! aria was right on paar with tokai back then, but shortly after they became worthless and just disappeared , nice to see a comeback here! cheers 🎸👌

[@vitaliy_kozubenko]

Aria was my first electric guitar in 2004. A copy of the Stratocaster, so many good memories, beautiful guitars❤

[@twoeagles19]

My Sister has an old Aria with the Body cut out into this crazy looking shape but that thing still plays very well. ThX 4 posting ! Glad to see them building again.

[@ericwilliamson9869]

I have the 1996 335 version that I got in high school. I absolutely love it still to this day. Still one of my go-to guitars.

[@victormorving7265]

The tones that Pete plays from 1:13 to 1:25 was god sent... amazing. beautiful guitars aswell. mega fedt hehe

[@rodrigo.algarte]

I have an Aria STG series for almost 30 years. My first guitar, btw. And still rocks.

[@Dorachagi1]

I've been playing a '77 Aria PE-145 for the last 30 years, until last week it's been my only electric. Unlike a lot of their designs it's a completely original one, double-cut symmetrical body with a bound body and carved top, all mahogany, with a gorgeous vine inlay going up the neck. An AMAZING instrument and super rare, I've never seen another one in person and only ever been able to find a couple on the internet.

[@RyanMcQuen]

Whoa, I think I saw one of these at a jam tonight!

[@pilgrim3387]

I'll give you 50€ for it.

[@billmcloughlin2306]

Thank you for this walk down memory lane. My first electric guitar in 1983 was an Aria Pro II Cardinal series, brown with two natural stripes, dual humbucker ... sorry I ever sold it. Lots of great memories!!

[@paulstubbs4487]

My first electric guitar was an Aria Pro II Custom I bought S/H around 1986. It was a double cut, three aside headstock in trans blue double H/B pups and I remember loving it. Sold it in a pawn shop for £60 to buy my wife a Christmas present around 1988. Never seen another like it and always wish I could find it again. 😢

[@markeldridge6026]

Some of the best intro jamming you two have done.

[@GenXtra65]

I recently acquired a 1971 Aria 335 copy. It has a bolt-on neck but it stays in tune. The wood must have been good quality back in the day, because the notes really sing, even unplugged. I’ve played new semi hollows of various brands and nothing compares to this one. Probably have to get a custom shop model to come close. Y’all out there looking for “holy grail tone” I recommend you look at older instruments of all brands by picking them up and playing them. I paid under $500 for this one. There are some real bargains out there! Shop with your fingers and ears not your eyes!

[@ryanteacher8134]

My very first guitar was an Aria which my dad found smashed to pieces in a bin. He glued it back together and it still played well lol

[@williambain2646]

PE is an absolute Les Paul killer. I’ve been playing one for years, can’t be beat !!!!!!

[@tastegreenbean2183]

Pete with that Strat sounded incredible. I’ll never make one sound like that but looking to pick one up anyway.

[@glenproctor1999]

My first quality guitar was an Aria Strat copy pre-legal battle! Superb guitar. Good to see them still going.

[@_caseyjames]

Sound as good as any guitar ever demo'd on the channel.

[@denmar355]

I remember playing an Aria LP type in about 1977. They were pretty good for what was available.

[@shanethackeray1988]

Good to see Aria still building great guitars. My first semi hollow body was an Aria Diamond 335 back in 1970. Then I bought a Law Suit era LP gold top in 1978. Currently I own a Barney Kessel ( Trini Lopez ) 1964 model and the Aria 60 th anniversary ES 335 in Quilted Maple. Aria is a great alternative to the “ traditional “ builders with great pricing and quality control.

[@edley312]

I have a late '70' Herb Ellis jazz guitar that was based on the Gibson L-5. Awesome in every way. Can't imagine what could've been done to make its quality any higher. Pickups are some of the sweetest humbuckers I've played.

[@EdwoodCA]

That neck joint and the belly cut look SOOO good on the single-cut. And that burst finish on the back, and neck. Sweet!

[@CarloRegadasGuitar]

There were a lot more mid price range, Japanese companies back in the 80s, that made some excellent quality guitars. Aria / Aria Pro II, Tokai, Washburn etc were very popular back in the 80s. I remember being a teenager in the 80s and really gassing after the blue burst Aria Pro II ZZ Deluxe that Adrian Smith had. Good to see them back.

[@JunkfoodZombieGuns]

Man, Adrian Smith could make anything sound amazing.

[@JJames666male]

Are you thinking of the Ibanez Destroyer? Or did he really also have an aria Pro II ZZ? That's news to me :O

[@CarloRegadasGuitar]

@@JJames666male Hello mate, now that you mention it, I believe you are correct. I used to walk past a music, here in Liverpool, on the way to bus stop, on the way home from school. This was in 1986 and the ZZ Deluxe was in the window. I'm 49 in a few days and I think my memory is mixed up. I think I probably thought it would be cool to own it because it reminded me of Adrian's Destroyer. I seem to remember them using Lag guitars at some point, or has my memory failed me again haha? Remember Yngwie's brief fling with Aria Pro II, back in his Alcatrazz days? That was a strange one.

[@gprguitar9076]

I bought one of the Aria Pro Fullerton 2 Strats Blue flame top during lockdown and it soon became my Favourite guitar even over my fender strat, Its just a dream to play and i highly recommend these to anyone..

[@PhreddCrintt]

GREAT guitars! I STILL have my original Korean Aria Pro II 'Magna' Series, 4-string, active/passive bass. Been gigging it for over 30yrs now.

[@stephenC71]

The Jam matched Pete’s shirt very 80s Miami vice jam vibes . I had a Pearl les paul junior copy as my first electric guitar reminds me of the aria

[@TheAdventChronicles]

I played one of the T types at a local guitar shop and having the middle pickup on a push pull switch feels great as a player. It makes a lot of sense and if I ever get to have a custom Fender I'd have that on it. Being able to get a strat-esque inbetween sound, then push the knob down and go back to a standard tele setup makes you wonder why Fender don't do it more often.

[@84homey]

Back in my teenage years in the 80s I had a black Aria Pro II HSS super strat with a locking trem and I absolutely loved it!

[@84homey]

I also had a candy apple red Hondo explorer and I loved that too!

[@84homey]

...and a natural wood Kimbara strat, which in fact was my very first guitar. And there you have it = my first three guitars were all from Japan. My fourth guitar was a step up - a Gordon Smith Gypsy II. very nice!

[@drumz4life64]

About time you guys started to showcase Aria Guitars. I have The Nashville in the same color you're showcasing. Love that guitar. Still trying to find my way around the tones. Awsome quality.

[@pkflash2004]

If you're interested, it's worth Googling Aria Pro II RSX70 just to look at the images of how well made these guitars were in the 80's, built at the Matsumoko factory in Japan. I bought one which I preferred to a Gibson SG Standard in 1981. The Aria was £360 and the SG was £350. The Aria was leagues above in terms of construction and innovation. It had 2 humbuckers which had split coils and phase inversion. It also had a Boost circuit built in. It had a through neck construction, brass nut and a lovely transparent red finish with beautiful wood grain. Unfortunately it was stolen in a house burglary in the early 90's. I would love to have that back! Really like the look of the look of the Ace LP here. Great tonal varaitions.

[@virtualscouser]

I remember the Aria's in the 80s were synonymous with Kahler trems, George Lynch plays one on the Dokken video "Into the Fire". Glad to see them still going strong with good guitars.

[@philwelch8918]

I've still got my 79 aria pro II custom, 3 pickup green burst LP copy, it still plays great

[@majorhippo2772]

I like that headstock... Its like a spear that I can through at my neighbour for noise complaints against me.

[@majorhippo2772]

@tommysno1 No No No... Through! Cause when I "throw" it... It will go through them, see?

[@leonardgould6657]

Ha!, Ha!, Ha! - You are a Beast!, mate!, - in Canada 🇨🇦 😍 we're far more humane- I used my Tomahawk on the last complaining neighbour! Now I get nothing but "encores!"

[@abouc]

Saw Aria in the title and got excited for some new basses. Never even crossed my mind that they also make guitars.

[@christianboddum8783]

You need to look in to the PE-R80 with classic power pickups, MIJ, pricey yes, but there are buyers I'm convinced!!

[@MrDrewseph]

The aria pro II ones with the colourful pseudo flame tops, the superstrat and tele ones, are legit as hell Big necks and a nice feel

[@javi617mm2]

My first electric guitar was an Aria, and the second one was also an Aria... Still got the second one, got it spray painted yellow and locked the tremolo with some wood. Nice for 0.11 strings. A pro guitarist friend of mine loves my Aria, besides having a Fender strat, tele, les paul, fernandes strat, etc... Lovely guitar for everyone the Aria stg

[@BazCBazC]

My first decent electric was an Aria PE1000GC. The Gerry Cott (Boomtown rats) signature model in metallic peacock blue, coil tap and phase switch. Brilliant guitar!

[@chrisdrake447]

The Aria PE series were iconic at the time. I remember lusting heavily after their highest spec instrument in c.‘79/80 the Gerry Cott (Boomtown Rats) PE1000GC signature in metallic blue. All the bells and whistles in terms of switching ... think I’d better go lie down for a minute or two ...

[@DannyO-j4q]

I have an '82 Aria Pro II Cardinal Series, CS-400, very nice Matsumoku made. I also have an Aria TA-62 full hollow 335ish guitar, Samick made. Both great. The new ones look great!

[@JR-lx8nn]

Ha! I still own an Aria Pro II bass - pristine just as when I purchased it around 1984, I think. Plays great and looks superb. Love it. JR

[@paullord196]

My 1st guitar I learned to play was a dark blue Aria pro 2.I miss that guitar but the neck snapped and i didn't know i could replace it.I was a young teen at the time

[@iaint1873]

Bought an ex-display Aria Jet as a project guitar last year. It's really nicely made. A spec oddball - trem, bolt on, 24.75" scale, HS pickups, spokewheel truss rod adjustment - but I really like it. Just doesn't look like a strat/tele so it won't be a huge seller.

[@terrylydecker6107]

The captains practicing has been really been paying off... each intro he sounds more comfortable. More unique. Nice guitars

[@RichardSheehan]

Had an Aria Stagecaster way back, which was a nice guitar. Great to see that they're still going. Look and sound good too.

[@admiralvint]

Still rocking a mid 90s Aria Pro II Fullerton. Superb instrument

[@bignikoli]

My first electric was an aria stg strat, I still have it but it now has a lil 59 in the bridge and a black metal pic guard

[@joesalyers]

I bought my first Aria guitar in 1995 and I still use one as my main stage guitar today, I personally like their Mac line of guitars they are perfect for an all around cover band guitar. But their is something to be said about the price to performance of these guitars its such a better value than the big names.

[@davidforman6191]

Guy I know had a pro 2 semi acoustic back in early 80s. Great sounding guitar. Was well envious at the time

[@stevebeaton5439]

Blimey, Lee's touch is getting really good

[@MichaelAlso]

my first electric was an Aria Pro II in white w/ rosewood neck..still have it today!

[@MarkHarrop]

I still have my Aria Pro II Magna which I bought in the 80's. Still play it too.

[@ckortjester]

Two of my favorite guitars are my stepdads '80 Cardinal Series CS-350 and an '82 Thor Sound TS-300. Traded a Mexican Tele for the Aria + cash, then made it a workshop guitar. I may have to get one of the new ones to keep the spirit alive!

[@joncurle5407]

hehehe I still have my old Japanese Aria Pro II Knight Warrior. Sold a bunch of the PE's back in the 90s when I was in the trade. They were always a lovely guitar.

[@imacmadman22]

I owned an Aria LP copy (Japanese) back in the early 1980's and it wasn't a bad guitar, I now own an Aria PE-480 and I love it. It's a singlecut with a maple neck and rosewood fingerboard and a pair of series/parallel switches and a 3-way pickup selector. I would absolutely buy another Aria guitar.

[@JeffSeale]

My first guitar was a mid-80s Aria ProII RS strat knock off. Still have it.

[@arthurtwosheds1627]

Still using my early 80's Matsumoku factory made Pro II Knight Warrior and it kicks Les Pauls bottom for tone and it's half the weight

[@ricksadeck]

I had a Tele Bass, SG, and Les Paul back in the 70s. I thought they were great!

[@REKlaus]

I worked in a music store in Nashville Tennessee in the mid '70s and we sold the original, pre-lawsuit, Arias. Great guitars for the price. I had an original Aria fretless Jazz bass clone of the Fender jazz bass. Did a little setup and put Fender tape wound strings on it and sold several just by letting some of the road musicians use it at a local club gig for a night, they sold themselves by sound and play-ablity. Wish I still had it, traded it straight across for a Richenbacker 4001 bass.

[@budgetguitarherogeartv4143]

Still got my Aria excel series from 1989. I was a bit disappointed to find out some years later that the body was plywood . However still one of the best necks on any of my guitars. 24:55

[@vansongs]

An Aria was my first electric guitar. Got it when I was 20, 1975. Was a hollowbody I bought used. Wasn't the es-330, but don't remember what it was. Traded it for a BSA 30.06 rifle.

[@Natalia-jn8ul]

They have an interesting unique style and the sound is actually surprisingly good.

[@xHowler]

Nice vid! Can you do a shootout of these (especially interested in the 3pickup LP shape) against Gibson's and other LPs? Maybe a blindfold challenge

[@BillWolfe]

I remember Aria from back in the day! These look great!

[@sonicaids]

love the ace frehley vibe of the 3 pickup one

[@mikec6733]

Remove the middle pickup, and install a smoke producer, then you're really rocking like Ace 😊

[@randyhase1475]

I have the AriaPro II. I enjoy playing it as much as a guitar that’s 10 times the price

[@StratsRUs]

Andertons is great and you should also highlight your phone staff who have been brilliant every time.Thanks

[@stevem-h3562]

I learned to play on Arias and cut at least one album with an Aria Magna bass in the 1990s. Good kit.

[@ultantierney8562]

Still have my first guitar Aria ST400. I bought it new in 1982 .

[@JesseLeeKing]

Great video i miss my aria guitar such an underrated brand and I didn't even know that they was still around like this... Making all those cool affordable guitars but also got some higher end stuff.

[@zoeherriot]

When Perry Bamonte first joined The Cure he was using Aria guitars - you can see one in the Never Enough film clip. He sold most of them a few years back via auction. All left handers too.

[@raymondvaughan6262]

Remember aria guitars every where years ago never tried one but sound great for the money strat looks nice hope they play nice 👍

[@allanroff202]

I just ordered the Aria 714 mk2 in ruby red. I hope it's a good one

[@Razorman75]

I own an Aria PE-480. An awesome looking and sounding guitar

[@davechipling169]

My first Aria was a P Bass purchased in 1976 it was a great bass the second one was in the 80s and that was a sb 600 I think excellent quality .

[@BrianSGuitars]

OMG...the headstock on the singlecuts! Just kill me now! The Tom Anderson Super Strat copy is pretty sweet!

[@fergusbrown3199]

I have a 1984 Matsumoko built ProII rs Knight Warrior 'axe' in original condition, the neck is unbelievable but I think the pickups and pots need work, its not as loud as you'd think with an ssh configuration. Very easy to play though. weighs a ton on the strap...

[@arthurrodriguesassis2802]

at 16:07, sounds like i'm gonna find another you by john mayer

[@moviesuae]

Great to see! My first "real" bass was lawsuit era Aria Jazz Bass in natural in the 1970s. Fantastic bass that unfortunately was stolen in the early 80s. Still keep my eyes open to find one like it to this day... rare find..

[@cgtt22]

My first electric guitar was Aria Mac series, HSS double cut w/ carved top. Still the best.

[@TheOligoclonalBand]

I have an old Aria Pro II bass. Aria was everywhere back in the day. The T and S style here look a bit like FGN.

[@Sancho_Retablez]

I got a 615 Nashville and it's incredible what you got for the price.

[@ruthlesscalculus6613]

Do you know anything about AW-20RS?

[@neighborhooddentist2121]

Just got my hands on a 1995 Aria pro II USA made. No serial number and looks to be a hybrid between an RL-50 and RL-60. All original with lace pickups, wilkinson USA trem bridge, sperzel locking tuners. Looks to be some sort of prototype?

[@larsfocken3456]

The Ace Frehley has LP Custom style inlays. There is also a Peter Frampton model. Thank you!

[@gazfunk]

I used to have a Pro II bass. I wish I still had it. It was a thing of beauty.

[@weilim10]

Cliff Burton switched from his Rickenbacker to an Aria Pro II. Nuff said.

[@christianboddum8783]

Smart to keep the Tele 3-way switch, that will appeal to traditionalists, and then have the pull option. Many Nasville style guitars have the middle pickup option at the price of loosing the bridge/neck combination.

[@edhornby4885]

That 3 pickup Les Paul uses the same wiring pattern as Peter Framptons black custom, he says the bonus is that you can blend in the amount of middle you want

[@Eywadude]

I have to say, the pickups on all of these guitars sound really good. The T-style guitar has nice bite in the bridge position and has a really clanky quality in the middle position (bride and neck pickups), which I look for in a Tele-style guitar, but isn't always easy to find. The middle pickup of that S-style guitar is probably the best sounding Strat-style middle pickup I have heard in a long time too. The pickups in the LP-style guitars are surprisingly burly and syrupy sounding with nice attack, and they just have a certain quality about them that is really hard to find in budget guitars. I'm really quite impressed with the clean humbucker tones in particular, and the character of the pickups still punches through with overdrive and distortion. The wiring on the 3-pickup LP-model is really unique, useful and intuitive, and I could see getting a ton of really great, fat overdriven tones out of it. I watched several other demo videos of these Aria models and all of these qualities were evident in all of them. Quite impressive IMO. I have to admit, before this video, I never would have thought about buying an Aria (not a modern one anyway), but I could honestly see buying the PE-590STD (the 2-pickup LP), as well as a PE-350PF (a 3-pickup "Black Beauty" LP-styled guitar not featured here), and perhaps one of the Aria T-style guitars too. There's just something about their tones that really speak to me. Go figure! Well done, Aria!

[@claudevieaul1465]

Aria instruments were, and still are, massively underrated. I couldn't afford them (Aria Pro-II as they were known then) back in the early 80s, but I definitely bought a bunch over the years - mostly from the fabled Matsumoku plant in Japan, including 3 models PE (all absolute Gibbo LP killers), a gorgeous and VERY rare ST-1512 twin-neck, and my personal favourite: the Urchin series: these are phenomenal players and especially the set-neck U70 and through-neck U100 are simply sublime and totally unique - no counterfeit of any kind... Well OK, I'm a fanboy ;) but they're still offering a ridiculous amount of value for their price. I did own a Chinese Aria, and it worked and played absolutely fine - it's now sold. The Japanese ones I'll never sell, simply too good & versatile :) And I would definitely be interested in a current model too! - they're just not very widely available here in the Netherlands, and import from the UK has become an expensive nightmare (Thanks Brexit-voters...)

[@AragornCF]

The Ibanez counterpart to the Aria PE was called the Performer range. The more affordable ones had a bolt-on neck, while the more expensive ones had a set neck. They initially came as 2-PU models only, but later on Ibanez offered a 3-PU version as well, wired the same way as on a 3-PU Les Paul - i.e. "Rhythm" = neck only, middle position = middle and bridge, "Treble" = bridge only, with the middle and bridge pickups both connected to the bridge volume and tone controls. By the way, the pickup wiring and controls on the 3-PU PE are the same as on the Gibson Peter Frampton Les Paul, and you can have the middle pickup on its own by muting the other two pickups with their dedicated volume control. 😉

[@KyleBevis-u7j]

I’m a big fan of Aria, so I’m a bit biased, but these are just gorgeous!!

[@akwamarsunzal]

The strat-esque with the white pick guard looks neat aside from the white pick guard lol Too stark a difference!

[@onlyguitars]

Cort is a great option too as a cheaper option. Just got a G290 FAT II and damn been loving it. And I have high end PRS and CS guitars. Just wanted a good solid superstrat to scratch my Superstrat itch that comes onces in a while and I think it suprassed my expectations. Just a joy to play. Still would love to try the Aria

[@RobinBassett]

Model numbers for Nashville & Orange County dialling codes. Very subtle.

[@taurektaurek6213]

Great video! Could you do a video about good affordable lefthand guitars sometimes? It's great to see that Aria makes some, but otherwise leftys are quite rare, it seems..

[@Phatzo1000]

I've still got my Aria Pro II superstrat from the late 80s