Aria FEB anyone? (Review and photos)

[Quilly]

Anyone ever try one of these ? They look like seriously good value for money 

Edited August 7, 2020 by Quilly

[Dankology]

I played one briefly while sounding out fretless options a couple of years ago.  It made me look (even more) like a midget.

It did not sound significantly nicer than the Crafter that I ultimately picked up - for a similar price secondhand to what the FEB was new.

[Quilly]

I’m not sure full scale acoustic basses are such a good idea. I have a fender full Scale bass and it’s just too long when the bridge is in the middle of the body . 

[Quilly]

I’ve ordered an updated model of the bass , they appear to have moved the bridge back a bit making it less gangly looking . Expecting delivery tomorrow , will review for you folks 😀

Edited August 6, 2020 by Quilly

[Matt P]

I've played quite a few aria guitars and basses of various eras and prices and they've all been very nicely made and sounded good, I've got 3 arias in my collection at the moment and I wouldn't want to sell any of them. 

I'd expect this one to be pretty good for the money, they always seem great value. 

 

Matt 

[Quilly]

Really pleasantly surprised, great bass for less than £300. My only observations were  a fairly roughy finished ‘binding’ (I think it’s just a different coloured wood tbh) tuning keys a little flimsy and frail . Other than that a great sounding and playing bass. They’ve positioned the bridge further back which makes the 34” scale a lot more playable than some other full scale acoustics .nice low action, Preamp and pickup are decent , features a basic tuner . A good buy. MusicStreet are excellent and item was delivered to Ireland in 3 days.

 

 

Edited August 7, 2020 by Quilly

[3below]

Really like the look of these, just can't justify buying another bass

[Quilly]

1 hour ago, 3below said:

Really like the look of these, just can't justify buying another bass

I think this the second generation, made in Japan which I was surprised by . A great buy...

correction , Made in China of course 

Edited August 7, 2020 by Quilly

[Quilly]

Less blurry photos !

Edited August 7, 2020 by Quilly

[Woodinblack]

I am kind of interested in these at the moment - are they as massive as they look and after a few months playing it, how did it go?

[Woodwind]

Absolutely love the look of this!

Edited January 9, 2021 by Woodwind
typos

[Cato]

Really nice looking instrument.

I've never really fancied an acoustic bass but this has got me reconsidering.

[Quilly]

Yeah I’ve had mine a few months now:

likes: plays lovely with tape wounds. the stock strings, while OK seem a little more suited to a fretted bass. With tapes you can get something approaching an upright bass in tone. It looks gorgeous and is well balanced for a full scale acoustic bass . Battery lasts a long time and controls feel good.

cons: piezo pickup isn’t great and sound isn’t well balanced (boomy and missing a lot of midrange) I can definitely feel the different sections of the neck under the paintwork, i.e. not well sanded before the final paint job. The tuning heads aren’t great at all and you don’t get smooth upward or downward tuning , seems notchy, could be the nut. 

to sum up; it’s an inexpensive bass and With just a few little upgrades it could be great. I think if I was a looking for an acoustic fretless to do some serious gigging I’d have paid £300 more . But it suits my purposes .

Edited January 11, 2021 by Quilly

[Woodinblack]

1 hour ago, Quilly said:

.to sum up; it’s an inexpensive bass and With just a few little upgrades it could be great. I think if I was a looking for an acoustic fretless to do some serious gigging I’d have paid £300 more . But it suits my purposes 

That sounds like the sort of thing I was hoping for. I would not expect huge quality at that price. But couldn't justify more on something I don't use much

[Quilly]

2 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

That sounds like the sort of thing I was hoping for. I would not expect huge quality at that price. But couldn't justify more on something I don't use much

Exactly, I wouldn’t be proficient enough on fretless to justify anything more expensive tbh.