Would this be sacrilege?

[4000]

Aaron should be able to build something that fits. 

[MM Stingray 62]

If you’re never plan on selling the bass then make it the bass that makes you happy. But if you think you might sell it at some point in time I would leave it alone.

[4000]

I’ve sold several basses that I expected never to sell. There is only one that I really never would sell, but that’s because everything about it is perfect. 

I tend to think that if you’re needing to mod then there’s a danger that you may never get it right and you’ll end up selling in the end. 

Edited December 31, 2020 by 4000

[uk_lefty]

On 29/12/2020 at 20:14, tomthebass said:

Popped an aguilar obp2 into my passive Aria as it's a gorgeous playing and looking bass but lacks a bit of punch. Sounding crisper now but still looking for some more punch. Would this be sacrilege, an irreversible mod to an early 80s classic? (I'd be looking at a pair of 4" ceramic soapbars to match the original pickup routing, just popped these 3.5" EMGs on top to get a sense of the look).

There's a lot of demand for unmolested Aria SBs at the moment, I wouldn't do any routing to that bass if I were you. 

[uk_lefty]

On 29/12/2020 at 21:48, 4000 said:

Why don’t you send the pickup to someone like Aaron Armstrong and get him to rewind it to a different spec.........or simply replace the bass with something you like better. 

They make a direct replacement for £100, and do a souped up replacement too in the same casing. I've got the direct replacement in my SB Elite 1 with a Kiogon loom giving me a third switching option and it does sound very, very 80s pop. 

[Maude]

Stick one if these in there and wire it through a three way switch to give single coil and a humbucker in series and parallel. 

Warman make absolutely fantastic pickups for very little money, and this should have plenty of power for less than twenty quid. 

https://www.warmanguitars.co.uk/product/jazzbar-bass-humbucker-13-31k-8-56-h-4-wire-overwound/

[AndyTravis]

Aria Pro II 1979 Longscale (24 Frets) Bass Guitar + Original Case

[Bassassin]

27 minutes ago, AndyTravis said:

Aria Pro II 1979 Longscale (24 Frets) Bass Guitar + Original Case

Potential bargain project there. Although this (SB600 bolt neck, I think) will have the traditional Aria SB wide nut/narrow bridge, near-parallel neck, so won't play anything like the OP's Elite/SB-R.

[AndyTravis]

1 minute ago, Bassassin said:

Potential bargain project there. Although this (SB600 bolt neck, I think) will have the traditional Aria SB wide nut/narrow bridge, near-parallel neck, so won't play anything like the OP's Elite/SB-R.

Was more an example that there are project grade SB’s out there. Didn’t look into the specifics 👍🏼

[Krysbass]

I put Bartolini pickups and electronics into my 1984 WestoneThunder III, but only did this because I had no intention of selling the bass having owned it from new plus the fact that even if I did sell it; it was worth disappointingly little, even in mint, original condition.  So I decided to give the bass a new lease of life without massively altering the appearance.

The Aria bass on the other hand is arguably more sought after and unless the definite intention is to keep it forever; I'd also support the view that it's best not to modify it in any way that can't be reversed.