razze06 Posted October 5, 2009 Posted October 5, 2009 (edited) [url="http://edinburgh.gumtree.com/edinburgh/86/46661386.html"]on gumtree[/url] These were probably cheap to start with, but maybe someone is looking for an old sg-shaped bass... Not mine, i hasten to add... Edited October 5, 2009 by razze06 Quote
Musky Posted October 5, 2009 Posted October 5, 2009 Hmmm... Stuff with bent coat hanger wire for a string retainer and little plastic sliders for pickup selection usually go in my 'just don't' category. Never tried one of these though, so maybe it's a diamond on the rough. Quote
skankdelvar Posted October 5, 2009 Posted October 5, 2009 A diamond, indeed. Six bolt neck - 20% better than an MM. Quote
Bassassin Posted October 5, 2009 Posted October 5, 2009 He's been trying to shift this for a while - it's quite interesting but much more than I'd pay for something I'd never play. Arbiter sourced a lot of stuff through Aria/Matsumoku and this one probably is too - there's a guitar version in an early 70s Aria catalogue: [url="http://www.matsumoku.org/models/aria/catalogs/75_aria/75_aria_catalog_pg1.jpg.html"]http://www.matsumoku.org/models/aria/catal...og_pg1.jpg.html[/url] The eagle-eyed geeks amongst us may have recognised these as copies of Gibson's Kalamazoo range of budget instruments from the mid-60s. The guitar's pretty accurate but the bass should have a single mudbucker & handrest, like an EB-0. There are also 2 of these on Ebay, which have been failing to sell for a while: [url="http://shop.ebay.co.uk/?_from=R40&_trksid=p3907.m38.l1313&_nkw=arbiter+bass&_sacat=See-All-Categories"]http://shop.ebay.co.uk/?_from=R40&_trk...-All-Categories[/url] If he dropped the price to £50 I might think about it. But probably not. Jon. Quote
Musky Posted October 5, 2009 Posted October 5, 2009 You reckon that might be a Mat then Jon? I saw the six bolt neck and thought Moridaira. Quote
Bassassin Posted October 5, 2009 Posted October 5, 2009 [quote name='Musky' post='618107' date='Oct 5 2009, 11:31 PM']You reckon that might be a Mat then Jon? I saw the six bolt neck and thought Moridaira.[/quote] Well, that's why I said Aria/Matsumoku. It's unlikely all Arias were Matsumoku-made, particularly the earlier ones like this. Also it seems Aria, or Shiro Arai Co, acted as a sort of middleman reseller for Mat & possibly other factories. If you look at the older Greco catalogues you'll see credits for Fujigen and Aria at the back - at the time their guitars came from Mat & Fujigen. I've seen the 6-bolt plate on an Aria Jazz copy - in fact it's right here: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=31614&hl=aria+jazz"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=...mp;hl=aria+jazz[/url] Just goes to show, in the world of JapCrap, nothing is quite what it seems. Trouble is, we don't ever know exactly what it [u]is[/u]! J. Quote
NancyJohnson Posted October 6, 2009 Posted October 6, 2009 This is the exact model as my first bass, thirty-odd years ago, except mine was in white. My dad paid £35.00 for it...c.1976/77. P Quote
Musky Posted October 7, 2009 Posted October 7, 2009 (edited) [quote name='Bassassin' post='618143' date='Oct 6 2009, 12:40 AM']Well, that's why I said Aria/Matsumoku. It's unlikely all Arias were Matsumoku-made, particularly the earlier ones like this. Also it seems Aria, or Shiro Arai Co, acted as a sort of middleman reseller for Mat & possibly other factories. If you look at the older Greco catalogues you'll see credits for Fujigen and Aria at the back - at the time their guitars came from Mat & Fujigen. I've seen the 6-bolt plate on an Aria Jazz copy - in fact it's right here: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=31614&hl=aria+jazz"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=...mp;hl=aria+jazz[/url] Just goes to show, in the world of JapCrap, nothing is quite what it seems. Trouble is, we don't ever know exactly what it [u]is[/u]! J.[/quote] Now there's a weird thing - 6 bolt Arias. And from '77, when I thought Mat were exclusively producing for them. Or does that mean Mat were knocking out some basses with 6 bolt necks... I think I need a lie down. They don't like making IDing these things any easier do they. Edited October 7, 2009 by Musky Quote
evilLordJuju Posted October 7, 2009 Posted October 7, 2009 (edited) It's a nice colour, whatever else you want to say about it Edited October 7, 2009 by evilLordJuju Quote
Bassassin Posted October 7, 2009 Posted October 7, 2009 [quote name='evilLordJuju' post='619723' date='Oct 7 2009, 04:35 PM']It's a nice colour, whatever else you want to say about it [/quote] Looks a bit rattle-can though, wouldn't you say? J. Quote
Bassassin Posted October 7, 2009 Posted October 7, 2009 [quote name='Musky' post='619360' date='Oct 7 2009, 10:09 AM']Now there's a weird thing - 6 bolt Arias. And from '77, when I thought Mat were exclusively producing for them. Or does that mean Mat were knocking out some basses with 6 bolt necks... I think I need a lie down. They don't like making IDing these things any easier do they. [/quote] I'd think they were probably from somewhere else - Matsumoku was probably pretty busy around 1977 so probably Arai contracted a different factory (or more likely, bought & badged-up their standard J-copies) to meet demand. Same thing Tokai did with Kasuga, which is why Ebay History now tells us anything with a Kasuga badge was "from the Tokai factory". J. Quote
Bassassin Posted October 10, 2009 Posted October 10, 2009 [quote name='Musky' post='619360' date='Oct 7 2009, 10:09 AM']Now there's a weird thing - 6 bolt Arias. And from '77, when I thought Mat were exclusively producing for them. Or does that mean Mat were knocking out some basses with 6 bolt necks... I think I need a lie down. They don't like making IDing these things any easier do they. [/quote] Here's an interesting thing, taking the Aria-but-not-Matsumoku idea a bit further, and of course dragging the thread even more off topic! Careful with this, I have to warn you, it's a g*it*r: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170392904930"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=170392904930[/url] It's a old & pretty Les Paul copy with an original mid 70s Aria logo. It's also a Kasuga. OK, there's a possibility it's a bitsa with some Kasuga parts, but I don't think so. The big giveaways are the tuners, which are actually Kasuga logo'd. It also has a distinctive shaped truss rod cover which matches the ones used by Kasuga, and a plain MIJ-stamped neckplate, which we don't tend to find on Uncle Mats. There's a precedent for this too. Kasuga did use their own branded tuners (made by Gotoh) on other off-brand instruments - these appear on the Canadian "Northern" brand, which Kasuga built. Anyway, as you were. J. Quote
Musky Posted October 10, 2009 Posted October 10, 2009 [quote name='Bassassin' post='622553' date='Oct 10 2009, 05:43 PM']Here's an interesting thing, taking the Aria-but-not-Matsumoku idea a bit further, and of course dragging the thread even more off topic! Careful with this, I have to warn you, it's a g*it*r: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170392904930"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=170392904930[/url] It's a old & pretty Les Paul copy with an original mid 70s Aria logo. It's also a Kasuga. OK, there's a possibility it's a bitsa with some Kasuga parts, but I don't think so. The big giveaways are the tuners, which are actually Kasuga logo'd. It also has a distinctive shaped truss rod cover which matches the ones used by Kasuga, and a plain MIJ-stamped neckplate, which we don't tend to find on Uncle Mats. There's a precedent for this too. Kasuga did use their own branded tuners (made by Gotoh) on other off-brand instruments - these appear on the Canadian "Northern" brand, which Kasuga built. Anyway, as you were. J.[/quote] And there was me thinking that it was safe to call any '75 to '87 Aria a Mat. That's a lovely looking guitar, regardless of who made it. Quote
Bassassin Posted October 10, 2009 Posted October 10, 2009 [quote name='Musky' post='622593' date='Oct 10 2009, 06:56 PM']And there was me thinking that it was safe to call any '75 to '87 Aria a Mat. That's a lovely looking guitar, regardless of who made it.[/quote] It is, isn't it? I've actually got horrible, insistent GAS pains for a 70s LP copy with a maple board & black blocks. The alarming thing is that the guy who's selling the bass which kicked off this thread is selling just such a guitar too - and he's about 20 miles down the road from me. So far, the fact it's a Hondo and he wants £85 have successfully held me back... :ph34r: [url="http://edinburgh.gumtree.com/edinburgh/62/46698562.html"]http://edinburgh.gumtree.com/edinburgh/62/46698562.html[/url] At least this one's not a Mat. Probably. J. Quote
tauzero Posted October 12, 2009 Posted October 12, 2009 [quote name='Musky' post='622593' date='Oct 10 2009, 06:56 PM']And there was me thinking that it was safe to call any '75 to '87 Aria a Mat. That's a lovely looking guitar, regardless of who made it.[/quote] I had a Kasuga LP copy (bolt-on like that one but sunburst) and it was lovely. Can't remember why I sold it now. Quote
noelk27 Posted October 29, 2010 Posted October 29, 2010 [quote name='Bassassin' post='618143' date='Oct 6 2009, 12:40 AM']I've seen the 6-bolt plate on an Aria Jazz copy - in fact it's right here: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=31614&hl=aria+jazz"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=...mp;hl=aria+jazz[/url] Just goes to show, in the world of JapCrap, nothing is quite what it seems. Trouble is, we don't ever know exactly what it [u]is[/u]![/quote] I viewed that Jazz copy, Jon. There was no label or other marking on it to suggest it was Aria. Also, the pickups didn't look like the Maxon type I'd have expected to see on an Aria copy. Quote
Bassassin Posted October 29, 2010 Posted October 29, 2010 [quote name='noelk27' post='1004667' date='Oct 29 2010, 02:18 AM']I viewed that Jazz copy, Jon. There was no label or other marking on it to suggest it was Aria. Also, the pickups didn't look like the Maxon type I'd have expected to see on an Aria copy.[/quote] No headstock logo? If so I'd go with your assessment that there's no reason to think it's an Aria, after all. What do you make of the Aria-branded Kasuga LP? Obviously the Ebay link's long gone but I kept some of the pics: [attachment=62492:Image4.jpg][attachment=62493:Image5.jpg] [attachment=62494:Image7.jpg][attachment=62495:Image8.jpg] Jon. Quote
noelk27 Posted October 30, 2010 Posted October 30, 2010 [quote name='Bassassin' post='1005060' date='Oct 29 2010, 12:36 PM']No headstock logo? If so I'd go with your assessment that there's no reason to think it's an Aria, after all. What do you make of the Aria-branded Kasuga LP?[/quote] There's a certain similarity between the headstock on this Kasuga and Shiro CS models. Am I right in thinking that Kasuga was also based in Nagoya, the same as Matsuoka? Quote
Bassassin Posted October 30, 2010 Posted October 30, 2010 [quote name='noelk27' post='1005983' date='Oct 30 2010, 02:08 AM']There's a certain similarity between the headstock on this Kasuga and Shiro CS models. Am I right in thinking that Kasuga was also based in Nagoya, the same as Matsuoka?[/quote] Off the back of a Kasuga catalogue: [quote]Kasuga Musical Instruments Mfg. Co. Ltd 3-8 Amatsuka-cho, Nishi-ku, Nagoya, Japan (052 )531-6267[/quote] J. Quote
noelk27 Posted October 30, 2010 Posted October 30, 2010 (edited) Which means Kasuga were based in Nishi-ku and Matsuoka in Nakagawa-ku, both wards in the west of Nagoya-shi (the city of Nagoya). Edited October 30, 2010 by noelk27 Quote
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