Aria SB Black & Gold I

[matski]

One for all you Aria buffs out there - here are some piccies of my trusty old Aria BnG I.

I bought this bass brand new back in '83 from a store in Croydon whose name eludes me now. This was my first gigging bass, so consequently has a few surface dings and a smattering of buckle rash.

Originally the spec was single Aria pup, volume pot and tone pot, and coil tap switch.

However once I bought myself a pre-EB StingRay, every time I came back to the Aria I felt the tone was lacking a little 'something' and had the Bass Centre in Wapping add the Bartolini pup and matching active circuitry. This was back in '88 or '89.

The result: MONSTROUS SOUND! Seriously, when the bass is in active mode it is LOUD! It has a great sound spectrum: the Bart gives it a very 'zingy' sound with plenty of growl - but not exactly StingRayish - the stock pup has a much more rounded tone. Basically, this bass will cut through any mix, shake the house down and have loud guitarists run screaming for their mothers...

The controls are fairly basic: one push/pull volume knob for active on/off, and one double-stacked knob for bass and treble adjustment. The two switches are for coil tap (works for both pups) and 3-position pickup selector.

All the other hardware is original.

Enjoy!

[cocco]

Ooooh that is pretty sexy. I have recently acquired a white n gold SB Elite II which i am currently loving. I'm taking it this used to be a single pick-up?

[matski]

[quote name='cocco' post='666147' date='Nov 26 2009, 01:31 PM']Ooooh that is pretty sexy. I have recently acquired a white n gold SB Elite II which i am currently loving. I'm taking it this used to be a single pick-up?[/quote]


Yep.

[mikhay77]

I have an sb700,swapped the std p'up with a 5 string emg hz,fits in great,just got an active circuit and moved the jack to the underside,and now seeing yours I think Im gonna install a bridge pick up then it should sound the dogs,dont know wot pup to go for.Maybe a bart then?

[cetera]

I LIKE that!! Nice modding!

[matski]

[quote name='mikhay77' post='666943' date='Nov 27 2009, 01:14 AM']I have an sb700,swapped the std p'up with a 5 string emg hz,fits in great,just got an active circuit and moved the jack to the underside,and now seeing yours I think Im gonna install a bridge pick up then it should sound the dogs,dont know wot pup to go for.Maybe a bart then?[/quote]


If I'm totally honest, choosing the Bartolini goodies wasn't really a conscious effort on my part - I just wanted a MM style humbucker fitted - the bloke in the shop was the one who told me that the Bart pup and circuitry were the way to go.

They were probably all that was available 'back in the day'.

However hound's testicles were certainly the result.