Bloodaxe

[quote name='Dee' post='486570' date='May 13 2009, 06:30 AM']Bloodaxe, how much does Aaron charge for a replacement SB pickup? Great job, btw. Looking forward to seeing the finished bass.[/quote] Greetage, When I got mine about 18 months back he was charging £75 each delivered. That may well have changed by now of course. Best to ask him.... find the WD Music website & e-mail them with a query for him - WD seem to have dibs on the man. I'm ***not*** 100% certain that they're a true replica as they seem to be a bit bass-heavy compared to my other 4-wire Aria Humbuckers. I've a suspicion that he may well supply a stock KA 'bucker in an Aria-shaped box. They're still good though. Pete.

Just a quick update.... IT'S FINISHED!! (well as finished as it's going to get for a while). I'm currently trawling it around my local jam sessions & getting used to it. It's a bit of a learning curve as you soon realise just how approximate your fingering is when you're so used to frets, but it's fast taking over from my SB-900 as number one favourite. Final photos & a couple of soundclips (before with the EMGs and after with the Armstrongs) to follow. Also a huge thank you to the guys at The Gallery who have shot the fingerboard in to a truly scary level of trueness at a very reasonable price (£60). Pete.

[quote name='Randy_Marsh' post='424460' date='Mar 3 2009, 08:01 PM']Does any on the forum have any knowledge of Aria's I have an Aria Pro II SB1000 lined fretless, i was just wondering whether any could tell me how early the model is what kind of price it could fetch? Not really looking to sell, but it would be nice to know[/quote] Greetings, Dating is usually fairly easy - the first digit indicates the year. Frinstance my SB-1000 & SB-900 both start with a 0, making them 1980, my TSB-400 (1050066) is 1981 etc. The other giveaway is the headstock - If it has straight (but not parallel) sides and a rather fancy scroll on the end its an early one (1979-1981), if the sides have a flare & the end is rather plainer (often called "open book") then it'll be post a date sometime in '81. Values vary a lot. All I can suggest is to keep an eye on Eb*y & see what the market is prepared to pay. Extra points for originality, colour (Padauk or trans-red is quite desirable), fancy wood grain and an original hard case (especially one branded "Aria Pro II Advanced Electrics or Aria Pro II Super Bass). Lose points for missing bits (I don't think they made a fretless...). Purely from a personal point, If one fetched up that ticked all the above boxes I'd go up to about £650. Photos? Pete.

[quote name='josh3184' post='417799' date='Feb 23 2009, 08:19 PM']ah right, it was spelt camden "tahn" on my tube map, probs why I got confused Thanks for the help![/quote] Come out of Camden Town tube, walk left round the corner (which should land you outside the other entrance of the tube station), cross the road & turn left again (Camden Road I think). Walk up the hill, you should pass Sainsbury's on your left (if it's on your right, do a left/right at the next cross-roads). Keep walking until you get to the big railway bridge, cross the road & turn right into Royal College St. The Gallery is about 150-200 yards down - just after the canal. Hopefully the above will make more sense on the ground! Take their phone number just in case - I have had to ring 'em up to get in before now. Pete.

Only just found this thread... Belated condolences Nick, I lost my dad a good few years ago now of the same cause, so I can empathise. If any such event does occur, I'll be there to inflict an Aria or two for sure - I'm certain my "chauffeur" won't need his arm twisted either! All the Best, Pete.

[quote name='stewblack' post='302516' date='Oct 8 2008, 08:34 PM']You will find a lot of support here mate! I bought my Aria pro2 back in '83 and although battered and now with a new pick up it is still the one I'd save from the fire. Beautiful instruments.[/quote] Motion Seconded! My current pet SB-900 is an absolute dream. Always wanted one & now that I have, I wonder how I evre got along without it. Pete.

C**kBadgers! Looks like I missed a belter. sigh. Apologies for an absence of vintage Aria-ness, but events conspired against me in the end. The Department of Work & Pensions in Belfast are currently at the very bottom of my Christmas card list. I'm thinking of entering that last sentence for Understatement of the Year. Here's to the next one (wherever & whenever) by which time I hope normal service will have resumed. Pete.

Hurrah! The cheque's in the Bank so I'll be along to annoy y'all. Update list: 01. Silverfoxnik: Roscoe Beck V, Wal Pro2e, BC Rich Eagle, plus I'll be bringing my DBX MC 6 Compressor and probably a small rig including my SWR Triad 02. Hamster: Stingray, Line6 Lowdown 110 & pedal board 03. OBBM: a couple of basses and perhaps the Orangtino if anyone is interested. 04. NowVertical: GB Rumour 5, KSD 60's Proto-J 5, Mongrel 62 Fender P (now fretless with a J added), Acoustic Image Contra II 05. Happy Jack: a selection of vintage Hofners & a Verithin bass or two 06. Zach: spector rebop 07. Ped: with my usual babies (pair of Vigier Passions as I am sure you are sick of by now) 08. s_u_y: Fender Precision '74, my EBS MicroBass II DI and if my custom portable poweramp being made by Alien (Andy) is finished, I'll bring that too! 09. nig: SB-8 Chapman Stick 10. G-77: usual collection of Graphite maybe the Wal 11. Coasterbass: Lefty MM Stingray IV, Lefty Warwick Thumb V, Lefty Fender Jazz American Deluxe, Lefty Fender Jazz Hotrodded, Ampeg SVP-Pro, Eden WP100 Preamp and Schroeder 1210R 12. johnnylager: KSD 704 Proto-J with EBS inside, EBS MultiComp, Russian BassBalls, SansAmp ParaDriver, Aural Xciter, J-Lo fuzz 13. Gamble: Ampeg SVP Pro pre-amp with Harma and Philips valves, Samson S1 compressor, QSC power amp, SWR Goliath Snr 6X10 14. Merton: Status Retroactive, Groove 5 and Groove 4 fretless 15. Higgie: Lakland DJ4 & DJ5, Musicman Stingray 3EQ, Original Mutron III, Akai Deep Impact, Akai Headrush, Demeter Compulator, Digitech WH-1 Whammy, Custom Modded Big Muff, Way Huge Aqua Puss clone, EA iAmp 600 16. Alexclaber: will bring some of my new cabs with me! 17. phil_the_bassist: Hartke stack (HA5500& VX215+VX410) and my MM SR5 3eq 18. Mikey D: Ibanez GWB35 19. clauster: Omni15 (probable) and Omni10 (possible) 20. WalMan: Wal Pro1/Custom conversion, G&L L2500 (4+1 style), Markbass CMD121H combo, Possibly the BOD xT Pro & FSB, Marshall Superbass 100 head 21. peted: BFM Omni 10, Hartke 3500, Aphex Bass Xciter, Line6 Lowdown Studio, Warwick Thumb BO 4, custom butchered Japanese Squire Precision 22. onehappybunny: Fender Mustang (1976), DeArmond Jet Star, Warwick Katana, Mark Bass Jeff Berlin Combo, DHA1-EQ 23. andyonbass: a couple of ACG's 24. sixshooter: bringing a number of interesting basses and an interesting amp! 25. Nick Thomas: CS Jazz, L2500, and Eggle 26. Barneyg42: Jaydee Roadie Fretless 27. craigonbass: custom 100 Watt Harry Joyce (Hiwatt) head 28. stingrayfan: G&L Tribute L2000, Yamaha BB614, Stingray 4 w/Status neck, Trace Elliot 715 300w combo, Aphex Punch Factory pedal. 29. Old Horse Murphy (if free): Shuker P5 and maybe a 2008 Fender P Bass 30. Dougal: GW #23, Carvin XB75P, F-Bass Studio 31. Kraken: his kit 32. Kiwi: Smith 5, Trace V8, GB Shuttle 6, EBS Neo212 cab, (maybe Smith 5 fretless, 2 other basses by request from other members) 33. urb: a Sei 34. Bloodaxe: - Aria TSB-400 with Kahler Trem, Aria SB-900 & probably a small trolley with an Epifani UL-110 & an Ashdown Superfly Pete

[quote name='thepurpleblob' post='284838' date='Sep 16 2008, 10:58 AM']I'm going to suggest something is wrong with your neck.[/quote] Greets, Generally, the older Aria necks are *very* stable as they're a sandwich of three pieces of quarter-sawn maple with the centre piece reversed. If yours has the 2 + 2 tuners on the headstock you should be able to see the stripe up the middle of the neck. I'd recommend having the frets re-crowned & levelled followed by a setup. About a year ago I took my 1981-built Aria TSB-400 ([topic="21920"]Third one down[/topic]) into the Bass Gallery in London as the first three frets were showing signs of significant wear. £75 later (excluding strings) they'd tweaked the rod, levelled the frets, & set the action so low that I had to raise it a tad to suit my style. It felt like a new bass. As soon as I've got another spare £75 my SB-900 will be going in - it's nice now, but I expect they'll make it bloody fantastic. Pete.

[quote name='silverfoxnik' post='285540' date='Sep 17 2008, 08:01 AM']Hope you can make it as it'd be really good to see you there Pete! Nik[/quote] Wotcha 'Nik I do like a Bash - yet to go to a duff one, always a great mix of thouroughly decent people & quality gear. At the moment, however, it's looking a bit grim TBH, as there seems to be a glitch in my er... "government sponsorship" which could leave me stuffed for a week or two. *** If *** by some miracle the DWP sort it out, I'll be down. Has there been any thought from us Londonistas about a huge meet-up at Waterloo? I'd suggest 09:45 to 10:00 under the big clock on the concourse. Thoughts? Pete.

The older Arias may fit... Both the Cardinal (CSB) Series and the Tri-Sound/Thor Sound (TSB) Series have a 32" scale, 22 frets & a fairly close (but not too close) string spacing The bonus is that they're not particularly sought after so they can often be had fairly cheaply. Pete.

Greets, As it stands at the moment, I'll be deciding on the day if I can make it - a tad strapped for cash at the moment. If the bank balance smiles on me, I'll be along & bringing a couple of old Arias and (probably) the 1 x 10/superfly micro rig. Here's hoping... Pete.

'noon. I'm surprised no-one's punted the alternative yet.... Meths. Seriously - hoy down to the local DIY shop, pick up about a litre or so of methylated spirits, pour into a larger bottle (e.g a 2-litre fizzy pop bottle), thread your strings in though the top, screw the top back on & leave 'em to soak for a couple of days. Fish them out, let dry for about 5 minutes & pop them back on. I've been rotating two sets of Hartke-el-cheapo-Ebay-special-3-for-20-quid strings since New Year on my SB-900 & they're still going strong. Pete.

'noon All... Hope to be able to slouch along, finances permitting. If so I'll be brining a couple of old Arias (maybe the SB-1000F if it's finished), the Ashdown Superfly & my bijou Epifani UL-110 cab. Pete.

A bit of a repost this. It was originally on one of BC's previous incarnations, but I must have overlooked it when we moved. First up, a 1983 RSB Special-1 S/N 3080865 This has had an unkind life up to now, being resident in a school music room & then some chap's attic until about 3 weeks ago when I picked it up off the Bay for £50. I need to order a new MB-IV from Aaron Armstrong to fill the hole, but this is growing on me as a players' instrument - acoustically it's a tone monster. BayBuy No. 2 - 1984 RSB Deluxe-5 S/N 4050094... Completely stock apart from fitting a TremNut, was tuned high-C, but I've decided to experiment with a low B. Fast & comfortable now that I've discovered Warwick Yellow Label strings. I've changed the string retainers for some neater roller ones. And now for something completely similar... TSB-400 No. 1050066 The Business end... As you can see, she's had a few mods over our 25-year affair, some of which haven't worked out (mainly experimentations with home-grown actives, hence the extra holes). The Kahler is a mod that always raises consternated eybrows (esp. from guit*rists) until people try it out. I wouldn't be without it. The other mod is to the bridge pickup where I've added an extra set of pole pieces for a tad more bite. The original bobbin was already moulded for these, so fitting was a fairly simple affair. Last years' main catch was a 1980 "Batwing" SB-900. Had it for a year now & it's fast becoming my number one favourite: Off-camera are an SB-1000 (S/N 049140) that's being subjected to a fretless conversion, there's a Build Diary thread that covers this (SB-1000F), and a rather lairy ZZB Custom explorer which I aven't got around to photographing properly yet. Pete.

[quote name='ped' post='222371' date='Jun 19 2008, 06:25 PM']Blimey, what an excellent job. How did you get the new fret lines planed back to flush with the board? I would imagine planing them would have to be done when they are a little lower seated than shown in the pic, or is it safe to attack them at that height? Cheers ped[/quote] Perfectly safe if you use a low-angled block plane with a razor sharp blade set to give a waffer thin cut, & remember to stop when there's about 0.5 mm left sticking up. Then it's a quick blow over with a sanding block (a bit of 240 grit wet & dry stuck to a piece of 2 x 1 works well). Pete.

Greetings, things have progressed a bit... Here it is masked up & ready for spraying: and after two cans of black car paint & about 5 cans of clearcoat: At this point I realised that the bridge needed to be recessed a bit more to allow for a very slinky action to achieve maximum Mwaaahh, so to avoid ripping up the finish I first stuck a sheet of low-tack airbrush masking film over the area, cut a hole in it where the bridge has to go & screwed the bridge in place temporarily: The bridge was then penned in with timber held in place with double sided-tape to create a quick 'n' dirty router template: A bit of routing later & the bridge now sits a lot lower (possibly a bit too much tbh): At this point I decided to put it all back together to make it easier to transport home & finish off: Next steps? Let the finish harden, flat it back with 1500 then 2000 grit wet & dry, polish it up, recreate the preamp circuit board, get around to following up a lead for the headstock decals, put it all back together, wire it up, plug it in & then start learning to play it. Don't hold your breath for the next update. Pete

'noon.... Admittedly never heard of your influences, but if you'll stretch to Sabbath/Motorhead/Purple/Zep etc. & the prospect of a whammy bar intrigues, feel free. Pete.

[quote name='nick' post='163995' date='Mar 26 2008, 07:19 PM']Cheers Pete. Here's the Ebay link - It only got one bid! [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220214521491&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOIBSA:GB:1123"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...:EOIBSA:GB:1123[/url][/quote] Fifty sovs?! Bargaintastic. The dreadful pfotos seem to show a rather tasty piece of kit made of real wood. Look forward to seeing some proper piccies. Pete.

[quote name='nick' post='163838' date='Mar 26 2008, 03:28 PM']Hello All, Just bagged a 80's Aria Pro2 Lazer off Ebay, quite cheap. Took a bit of a gamble, as there was no photo, but described as being in good condition, with exception being a broken active switch - which I can fix. Does anyone please know anything about this bass, very little on Web Many thanks[/quote] 'noon, Welcome to the JapCrap Firewood Club! (Life President: Bassassin) try here: [url="http://www.matsumoku.org/temp_pages/nikki_cats/86/whole_enchilada_inside.jpg"]http://www.matsumoku.org/temp_pages/nikki_...lada_inside.jpg[/url] for some info. I've a suspicion that there are two types & the specs differ considerably depending on the year (you can tell what year it was made from the first digit of the serial number - 6xxxxxx = 1986). I got a lefty passive Laser Heritage for a mate of mine last year & can tell you the following... 34" scale, 22 fret quarter sawn laminated 3-piece maple neck (so it's built like a tank). Hefty die-cast alloy bridge (1.5mm allen screws for adjustment ) that's unlike anything that isn't an Aria, so I hope it's all there. 1 "soapbucker" & 1 single coil pickup with the usual 3-way either/both switch, one vol & tone. The body wood is indeterminate at this point in their history, but is likely to be Basswood or similar - the whole bass has a good heft about it without feeling as though it's cast from granite. Sound? couldn't tell as I've yet to hear this one in anger & the p/ups have been replaced with Seymour Duncans for some reason - but in original condition it should have a nice warm middly neck with a bit of bite from the bridge. Good call - photo's & soundclips please (but then I'm a tad biased) Pete.

[quote name='allighatt0r' post='163790' date='Mar 26 2008, 02:42 PM']Tonight I'm going to my first ever Jam Night at a (fairly) local pub, with my brother (also a bassist) and my dad (not a musician at all). I was wondering what to expect, should i announce myself when i get there? Should i take my own bass. Am i going to get hostile looks from the locals? I'm not scared, i'm just apprehensive, I'm not sure what the style will be, if it's jazz i will be a total fish out of water, same if it turns into something metal (although, i guess i could try and blag my way through The Trooper.) I searched and found [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=1493"]this topic[/url] but i decided to start a new one as thats so old. So... Any interesting experiences to share? What are the main un-written rules? [/quote] 'noon, Probably best to take your own bass, as there's no telling what might be available. Also best to ask the "house" bassist (assuming that's the setup) if it's o.k. to tweak amp settings - otherwise you'll just have to put up with it. I've not long since started doing the same thing (at The Forest Hill Hotel in London SE23 on Tuesdays), & suspect that they're all going to be different. My local one is rather cliquey (sp?), & warrants a fair bit of learning to get to know their take on their favourites. If you're happy to slog out Mustang Sally & Johnny B Goode all night you'll love it. I've gone for it as a relatively painless way of getting used to playing in front of an audience & a means of meeting local musos which could lead on to something else. Enjoy & don't forget to let us know how it went. Pete.

'noon all... Confirmated equipment list: Ashdown Superfly Epifani UL110 1x 10" 1980 Aria SB 900 1981 Aria TSB 400 (the battered one with the Kahler trem) Sadly the SB 1000 Frankenfretless is nowhere near ready, although I hope to have a few photos of it in its new shiny paint, so that means I'll have to subject you'll all have to suffer an outbreak of outrageous splattery pointiness. Shame, that. Hoping to be along around 11 ish & looking forward to it all as ever. Pete.

'ning all, I'll do my damnedest to get there (finances permitting - I'm "actively seeking work" at the moment) & will probably fetch up with the same stuff that went to Guildford... Aria TSB-400 with Kahler Trem (I'll take the rapid string release feature off!) Aria SB-900 (or hopefully the SB-1000 Frankenfretless if, and only if, I can finish it in time) Ashdown Superfly Epifani UL-110 A small trolley. Here's hoping, Pete.

Greetings, I think 19mm is pretty standard, so you should have a wide choice. Ditto the same for pickups - there's more than one choice for an active P/J setup. I've noticed that the tuners fitted post 1982 ish are prone to wear - the best set on any of mine are the [i]very[/i] HappyShopper tuners fitted to my TSB-400: 25 trouble-free years & counting. Pete.