hamfist Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 (edited) SOLD subject to final payment. A pretty unusual one here. I picked this up, really knowing nothing about these because, as you will find, there is virtually nothing out there on the www on these basses. From what I can gather the M-series were made in Korea in the late 90's, and are almost as well thought of as their Japanese-made basses. There are a fair few of the 6 string guitar versions out there, and they seem very well thought of. I can only find evidence of 2 M-series basses though. A sparkly gold one in the States with active pre-amp and 2 x soapbar pickup layout, which was sold on TB a while back, and this one in the UK. My guess is that each one was effectively a custom shop one-off. What is clear is that it has been made out of quality materials. Anyway, this is a passive bass with 2 precision pickups. Tone and volume knob for each, plus a pickup selector toggle. The neck pickup is in the classic Fender P position. Body is probably ash or alder. Certainly not basswood or Agathis as it is not light enough for that. It's not a "heavy" bass really, just not light enough to be one of the lighter, cheaper tonewoods out there. Finish is blue sparkle and is a very good quality. In fact the bass is in exceptional condition for a 15 year old bass with a couple of very minor dinks and some virtually imperceptible swirling. No tarnishing on the hardware. The neck is very similar to a Yamaha BB in feel, so sort of inbetween a J and P. Has a 40mm nut width. Plays very nicely indeed. Currently set up with a low-medium action to cope with my Gorilla-like right hand playing style, but does go significantly lower for those with a less apelike touch. And set up with 105-45 roundwounds. Currently set up in good compromise way to be able to play it tuned in E std down to C# std, or anywhere inbetween. Intonation is perfect. There are no dead spots that I can perceive. Very satisfying to play in fact. OK, what does it sound like ? Well it's pure Fender P on the neck pickup. And a good Fender P at that. These Aria pickups are great. I tried a Dimarzio Model P and a Fender Original P pickup in the neck slot and I put the Aria one straight back in. It has a lovely woody lower mid-oriented tone. Plenty of depth too, without being woolly or muffled at all. Fits in awesomely in a mix unlike some P's, which can sound a bit "hollow" IME. Both pickups mixed is very similar to a PJ blended, but with much more guts. Bridge pickup is, again, similar to a bridge J pickup, but with more authority. And I have just discovered that down-tuned to C# standard tuning with both pickups blended equally, this bass is an absolute monster for "that" downtuned modern tone with a bit of overdrive. It slays both my other basses for that sound. Unfortunately, I'm now just a bit too old to get away with playing that type of stuff in front of an audience. For a soundclip of this bass with clips in E std and C# std tunings go to .... [url="http://soundcloud.com/alanbridges/aria-m-series-bass-guitar-demo"]http://soundcloud.co...ass-guitar-demo[/url] I am selling this only as I already have a PJ bass that I love, and fits me like a glove, and this is too similar. I limit myself to 2 basses (well my wife does actually !), so I would like something to contrast. I am so sorely tempted to keep this bass but it may literally be deciding between the bass and the wife ! Price of £149 if you collect from the Southampton area. Price of £165 would include P&P within mainland UK. I could also do shipping to an EU country for a total of £175. The bass will be double boxed with substantial padding and protection. I currently have some rather cool white stripes on it. These are simply white insulating tape and will peel straight off. I do rather like it stripey though. Here's a couple of pics.... [url="http://www.ephotobay.com/share/aria-b-body-front-stripes.html"][/url] [url="http://www.ephotobay.com/share/aria-b-headstock-front.html"][/url] [url="http://www.ephotobay.com/share/aria-b-neck-rear.html"][/url] [url="http://www.ephotobay.com/share/aria-b-neck-front.html"][/url] [url="http://www.ephotobay.com/share/aria-b-full-stripes.html"][/url] [url="http://www.ephotobay.com/share/aria-b-frets-close-up.html"][/url] [url="http://www.ephotobay.com/share/aria-b-bridge-close-up.html"][/url] [url="http://www.ephotobay.com/share/aria-body-rear.html"][/url] [url="http://www.ephotobay.com/share/aria-neck-joint-rear.html"][/url] [url="http://www.ephotobay.com/share/aria-headstock-rear.html"][/url] [url="http://www.ephotobay.com/share/aria-full-b.html"][/url] [url="http://www.ephotobay.com/share/aria-body-front-b.html"][/url] Edited August 18, 2013 by hamfist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alyctes Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 That looks very nice indeed. Also, I tried your link, and it wants me to log in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamfist Posted August 2, 2013 Author Share Posted August 2, 2013 [quote name='alyctes' timestamp='1375398651' post='2160879'] That looks very nice indeed. Also, I tried your link, and it wants me to log in. [/quote] Sorry alyctes. Pics now added to OP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamfist Posted August 4, 2013 Author Share Posted August 4, 2013 bump. Had some interest but still available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamfist Posted August 6, 2013 Author Share Posted August 6, 2013 bump Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamfist Posted August 7, 2013 Author Share Posted August 7, 2013 Right, lets try a small price drop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamfist Posted August 9, 2013 Author Share Posted August 9, 2013 (edited) added soundclips -type bump. why am I selling this ? I must be mad. It sounds great ! Edited August 9, 2013 by hamfist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamfist Posted August 11, 2013 Author Share Posted August 11, 2013 cool bass bump Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverfoxnik Posted August 11, 2013 Share Posted August 11, 2013 [quote name='hamfist' timestamp='1376205019' post='2170702'] cool bass bump [/quote] Very nice sounding bass IMO.. I have an 80s BC Rich Eagle with the same p/up configuration and it sounds great! GLWTS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle psychosis Posted August 11, 2013 Share Posted August 11, 2013 Oh man. Oh man oh man. Can I interest you in my second born child (I've grown attached to #1...)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamfist Posted August 11, 2013 Author Share Posted August 11, 2013 [quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1376213669' post='2170765'] Oh man. Oh man oh man. Can I interest you in my second born child (I've grown attached to #1...)? [/quote] boy or girl ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle psychosis Posted August 11, 2013 Share Posted August 11, 2013 [quote name='hamfist' timestamp='1376221847' post='2170874'] boy or girl ? [/quote] I'll let you know once the process begins! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamfist Posted August 11, 2013 Author Share Posted August 11, 2013 [quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1376223853' post='2170910'] I'll let you know once the process begins! [/quote] I'll bear the offer in mind if the bass is still available at that point ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamfist Posted August 13, 2013 Author Share Posted August 13, 2013 and up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alyctes Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 Times must really be hard... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamfist Posted August 15, 2013 Author Share Posted August 15, 2013 [quote name='alyctes' timestamp='1376425369' post='2173901'] Times must really be hard... [/quote] They are. It's a slow market. Patience is the key ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevvo66 Posted August 18, 2013 Share Posted August 18, 2013 hiya mate im intrested in this bad boy get back to me asap cheers kevvo66 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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