how to date my aria pro 2?

[chrisd24]

just wondered if anyone out there could help me date and origin my aria pro 2....at has "aria pro 2 xrb series electronics" on the headstock, on the neck plate it says "aria pro 2 accurate bolt on system and the serial number "7101346"

i have tried the net but info seems pretty slim, if anyone could help i would really appreciate it.

many thanks in advance

Chris.

Edited February 15, 2010 by chrisd24

[budget bassist]

A bottle of wine and a box of chocolates

Sorry, i'll get my coat!

[karlthebassist]

Id say wack some pictures up on here and someone is bound to have a fair idea if the exact date cant be obtained.

[The Burpster]

Bugger - beat me to it again!

[paul h]

[quote name='budget bassist' post='746239' date='Feb 15 2010, 06:32 PM']A bottle of wine and a box of chocolates

Sorry, i'll get my coat![/quote]
I managed to resist that particular temptation...but only just!

[chrisd24]

[quote name='budget bassist' post='746239' date='Feb 15 2010, 06:32 PM']A bottle of wine and a box of chocolates

Sorry, i'll get my coat![/quote]

hehe, just got that....she's not really my type though ^_^

[quote name='karlthebassist' post='746243' date='Feb 15 2010, 06:33 PM']Id say wack some pictures up on here and someone is bound to have a fair idea if the exact date cant be obtained.[/quote]

makes sense, thanks karl will put some pics up shortly.

[noelk27]

Six digit serial numbers date from the 70s, covering '71 through '80. Seven digit serial numbers date from the 80s, covering the period '81 through '90. The first digit gives the year. Yours is a seven digit, starting 7, making it a 1987.

There weren't many models in the XRB series, but what ones were manufactured appeared between '87 and '89. To the best of my knowledge these were manufactured in Japan, although Aria did move a large portion of its production to Korean at this time, '87 onwards.

Edited February 15, 2010 by noelk27

[chrisd24]

many thanks Noel, you seem to be a bit of an expert in this department?....or just able to use Google far more efficiently than me?!

[noelk27]

I don't know much, but when it comes to Aria and strings I've got no need to resort to Google.

[Bassassin]

I think I'm right in thinking if the neck plate doesn't read Made In Japan, then it's Korean. Matsumoku stopped building Aria Pro (or anything else) in 1987, and I would expect that economic conditions would have meant that only the higher-end Arias would have continued being Japanese-made.

Apropos of nothing, early Matsumoku serials, eg on the "Steel Adjustable Neck" plates, appear to be random & not dateable. Early (pre 75-ish) set & through-neck instruments appear not to have serial numbers at all.

Jon.

[noelk27]

[quote name='Bassassin' post='746345' date='Feb 15 2010, 07:25 PM']Apropos of nothing, early Matsumoku serials, eg on the "Steel Adjustable Neck" plates, appear to be random & not dateable.[/quote]

Yea, if there is a key to the code for deciphering 70s and 80s APII serial numbers then it has been lost to the mists of time. (Although I could have tried to say that in less prosaic terms!)

[Bloodaxe]

[url="http://www.ariaguitars.com/int/00int_main/archives_ebass02.html"]The Aria Archive pages[/url] [i]imply[/i] that these are Korean. There's also a poor quality [url="http://www.ariausa.com/Archive/cp_arianp_1987_12.html"]1987 Catalogue Scan[/url] here.

As Jon rightly states, 1987 marks the end of the Matsumoku plant - although precisely [i]when[/i] it actually closed seems to be rather elusive (it was ownedby Singer & they were having financial difficulties.) Exactly what got made where in this transitional year is open to debate.

I used to own a Korean-built Magna Series 5 string & it shared several design features with your XRB - notably the "conventional" pickups, "bent tin" bridge & the small dot markers. I don't see any string trees, does your headstock have a backwards slant as well? Also, is the neck painted or clear coated?

The nearest thing to the XRB in the [url="http://www.matsumoku.org/temp_pages/nikki_cats/86/whole_enchilada_inside.jpg"]1986 Catalogue[/url] are the RSB/Straycat models which have a very different flavour - pointy horns, soapbar pickups, die cast bridges, larger dot markers etc. - all of which shout Matsumoku.

My money's on yours being a 1987 Korean-built example.

Pete

[chrisd24]

[quote name='Bloodaxe' post='746452' date='Feb 15 2010, 08:20 PM'][url="http://www.ariaguitars.com/int/00int_main/archives_ebass02.html"]The Aria Archive pages[/url] [i]imply[/i] that these are Korean. There's also a poor quality [url="http://www.ariausa.com/Archive/cp_arianp_1987_12.html"]1987 Catalogue Scan[/url] here.

As Jon rightly states, 1987 marks the end of the Matsumoku plant - although precisely [i]when[/i] it actually closed seems to be rather elusive (it was ownedby Singer & they were having financial difficulties.) Exactly what got made where in this transitional year is open to debate.

I used to own a Korean-built Magna Series 5 string & it shared several design features with your XRB - notably the "conventional" pickups, "bent tin" bridge & the small dot markers. I don't see any string trees, does your headstock have a backwards slant as well? Also, is the neck painted or clear coated?

The nearest thing to the XRB in the [url="http://www.matsumoku.org/temp_pages/nikki_cats/86/whole_enchilada_inside.jpg"]1986 Catalogue[/url] are the RSB/Straycat models which have a very different flavour - pointy horns, soapbar pickups, die cast bridges, larger dot markers etc. - all of which shout Matsumoku.

My money's on yours being a 1987 Korean-built example.

Pete[/quote]

thanks pete some really good info there

well its certainly lacking the "made in japan" stamp on the scratchplate,no string trees, the neck does slant back, and the neck is painted in the same finish as the body....by the sounds of it Kim Jong-il may have played a part in its construction

[waldemar]

Ahh!

Lovely bass. I have something that is near identical, but rather than XRB it has (had...) SLB2A Electronics (how and why can I still remember that?!) - switchgear is the same as yours. Mine's more of a slab body and the truss-rod adjustment's under a triangular-ish cover at the headstock end of the neck.

Oh, and mine's currently in pieces and the body's down to bare ply. I had it de-fretted years ago (as an experiment, you understand, but it played very nicely) and am just waiting for the opportunity to put it all back together. One day. One day.

I bought mine new as a first bass when I was 15, so I guess we're looking at 88/89. Doesn't it fly?

Thanks for the pics! Hehe.

[chrisd24]

No problem waldemar, i must admit i quite like the sound of it (bar the odd crackle) but im not so keen on the look of it, i have owned it for about 2 years after a guy i was working with at the the time overheard that i played bass and wanted to shift it, i just brought it for a change with no idea what it was worth on a whim!

with that in mind (and the fact that it mainly sits in its case doing nothing) i was thinking of putting it up for sale, what would be a fair price for something like this?...seems a shame for it to sit around and not be played, and im sure someone out there is a fan of these (apart from yourself of course)

[waldemar]

I think I paid around £180 for mine back then. I wouldn't know where to start putting a price on one now, though... It won't be all that much, but they do play well and their sound is reasonably versatile - seen in the context of today's entry level market, that probably won't mean all that much... That nice understated retro-metal look might go a couple of quid in your favour at the right time and in the right place.

I'd never let mine go seeing as it's my first, sentimentality aside I'd probably take £80.

[Bloodaxe]

[quote name='chrisd24' post='746609' date='Feb 15 2010, 10:20 PM']...with that in mind (and the fact that it mainly sits in its case doing nothing) i was thinking of putting it up for sale, what would be a fair price for something like this?...seems a shame for it to sit around and not be played, and im sure someone out there is a fan of these (apart from yourself of course) [/quote]

There's a passive one on the 'bay at the moment... [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vintage-1980s-Aria-Pro-II-Bass-Guitar-gig-bag_W0QQitemZ220552949102QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item3359faed6e"]XRB 2[/url] currently at £51 with a day & a bit to go. It'll give you a guide as to what the market might stand.

The later ones (Magnas etc) don't generally go for a lot tbh, I'd be surprised if this did over a ton.

Pete.

[chrisd24]

Thanks pete

that ones probably in a bit better nick than mine..... think i will just ask what i paid for it....nothing lost/gained etc.....and mines active/passive...is that a factory fit or has mine been modded?

[waldemar]

>and mines active/passive...is that a factory fit or has mine been modded?

Factory. Same configuration as mine.

[noelk27]

[quote name='Bloodaxe' post='746452' date='Feb 15 2010, 08:20 PM']My money's on yours being a 1987 Korean-built example.[/quote]

I'm not so sure about that. The information I've always had was that Aria didn't start production in Korea until '88. I don't have definitive information that production continued in Japan before '88, but it seems a fair assumption to make in the circumstances.

[quote name='waldemar' post='746586' date='Feb 15 2010, 10:03 PM']I have something that is near identical, but rather than XRB it has (had...) SLB2A Electronics (how and why can I still remember that?!) - switchgear is the same as yours. ... I bought mine new as a first bass when I was 15, so I guess we're looking at 88/89. Doesn't it fly?[/quote]

If your memory isn't playing tricks on you, and yours was the active model (SLB2A) as opposed to the passive model (SLB2), then you're looking at a date post '90, as that was the year the active model was introduced. Any time after '88 if it was the passive model.

FYI, the SLB series was manufactured in Korea.

[chrisd24]

[quote name='noelk27' post='746665' date='Feb 15 2010, 11:03 PM']I'm not so sure about that. The information I've always had was that Aria didn't start production in Korea until '88. I don't have definitive information that production continued in Japan before '88, but it seems a fair assumption to make in the circumstances.



If your memory isn't playing tricks on you, and yours was the active model (SLB2A) as opposed to the passive model (SLB2), then you're looking at a date post '90, as that was the year the active model was introduced. Any time after '88 if it was the passive model.

FYI, the SLB series was manufactured in Korea.[/quote]

So if mine has a 7 digit serial number starting with a 7 (denoting 87) but is also active then its post 90?

[noelk27]

[quote name='chrisd24' post='746670' date='Feb 15 2010, 11:10 PM']So if mine has a 7 digit serial number starting with a 7 (denoting 87) but is also active then its post 90?[/quote]

No. The SLB2A was introduced in '90. The SLB series was introduced in '88, and phased out in '92. Yours is an XRB, and the XRB series was introduced in '87, and phased out in '89.

[chrisd24]

ah i see...sorry my bad, the acronyms all merged into a sea of letters!

[noelk27]

[quote name='chrisd24' post='746695' date='Feb 15 2010, 11:31 PM']ah i see...sorry my bad, the acronyms all merged into a sea of letters![/quote]

Oh, believe me, I know the sensation. As you learn more about Aria you'll see that models came and went from the catalogue with stunning regularity. It's not unusual for an Aria model to last just one year, and a series to last as few as two years. It's a situation that becomes even more confused and confusing with those models that don't have proper names, unlike Super Balanced (SB) or Thor Sound (TSB), instead just random letters, like XRB or CAT.

Edited February 15, 2010 by noelk27

[waldemar]

>If your memory isn't playing tricks on you, and yours was the active model (SLB2A) as opposed to the passive model (SLB2), then you're looking at a date post '90, as that was the year the active model was introduced.

Deffo have the SLB2A - it's entirely plausible that there was a bit of a gap between starting to play and actually buying the kit, like you say, memory's a bit hazy... Thanks for the correction!