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N(S)BD!


Bassassin
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Got my first-ever Aria Pro SB series bass!






Traded a '71 (mostly) MIJ Jazz copy bitsa for this yesterday. The J was a great bass (built almost entirely from parts sourced from BC members) but I already have an old MIJ Jazz copy as my main gigging bass, so this one just didn't get played.

So - what I have now is a very roadworn & somewhat modded 1983 SB Black 'n' Gold I - or SB-Elite I, depending on where you live. This is pretty damn cool if you're a bit of a metalhead, as it's "The Cliff Burton Bass".

This has been played a lot, and at some point has had a Bart J pup fitted. It has knocks, dents & chips all over, and a fairly big bit of lacquer worn off the back. Frets are OK but will benefit from a crown & polish, neck is a bit bowed but not too bad - hoping the truss rod will tweak that out but I admit I've not tried yet.

Having recently moved house, I don't yet have a useable area set up for this sort of work, so this one will have to wait until I do before it gets a proper going-over. Not sure yet whether to remove the Bart & return it to standard - it's currently wired with 2 volumes but I'm pondering whether I should stick a couple of stack pots on it & see what it sounds like with both pups & functioning tone control.

Anyway, for now I'm most highly pleased with this, I've wanted an Aria SB since I was about 18. So it's about time!

Jon.

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Oh, it definitely has character! :lol: Should look a bit better once it's had a good hose down, but not looking forward to getting the bridge screws out, there's not a great deal left of them!

More Black 'n' Rust than Black 'n' Gold at the moment.

J.

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I love the elite series. I had a pearl white double pickup model that I foolishly sold because my band at the time didn't like it. What's the output of the J pickup like compared to the original?

Edited by cocco
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[quote name='mr pablo' timestamp='1422614694' post='2674576']
Good wee find there J! Have you finished that old Ibanez blazer project you got from me? Was musing about getting another :)
[/quote]

I'm embarrassed to admit I haven't finished it! I cleaned up all the hardware & neck, didn't need fret dressing so I just polished them. Started to sand the body a bit & got a lovely effect where the black stain had sunk into some parts of the grain & not others, almost like a sort of zebrawood effect - so I decided I'd sand it like that & lacquer it. And it's still waiting to get lacquered... :blush: Good news is that where I've moved to, we have a bunch of old sheds out the back & one's been earmarked as a spray booth.

[quote name='cocco' timestamp='1422610914' post='2674523']
I love the elite series. I had a pearl white double pickup model that I foolishly sold because my band at the time didn't like it. What's the output of the J pickup like compared to the original?
[/quote]

TBH the J's pretty weedy when it's compared to the original in series mode & on full chat, so as it's set up (or not) at the moment the J's not doing a great deal when the two are run together. However with the positioning that close to the bridge it's never going to sound full-bodied, that & the fact it's about 1cm further away from the strings than the original.

I'll see if it's possible to set it up and/or wire it for more balanced output, if not it can go. I should be able to fill & finish the routing reasonably well if I decide to bin it, plus a nice vintage Barolini in the spares box would be a bonus, anyway, and would doubtless end up in some future Frankenbass!

J.

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