Aria AW 30 Acoustic

I'm not sure what year.
20 fret.
Solid spruce top I believe.
Acoustic/electric.
Sides are mahogany as well as neck and head.
Rosewood finger board with snowflake inlays.
Dreadnought body style.

I play a lot of spanish, country. It's great for this style.
I use it through a Peavey mixer and computer.
It has a very rich sound which I credit to being played a lot for many years.
It has a excellent range within the acoustic realm. Very versatile.
I have a hard time finding dislikes, but like any instrument, it isn't perfect.

I bought the guitar second hand. When I got it, it's action was great and still is. Though the frets and top need attention. I'm quite concerned as to where to take it for repair.
Very well made, solid in looks and function. It's hard to find glaring flaws with it although I'm sure a trained luthier could.

I've played this guitar for about 8 years. Lots of live playing.
The finish isn't super tough, but durable. The hardware is trouble-free.
It's very dependable, but I always take a backup or 2. You'd have to be taking a real chance otherwise. Although it is my first choice.

I have never dealt with the maufacturer and I'm scared to let just any one work on it.

I've been playing for 37 years and currently guitar-wise I have an acoutic Takamine as well. I've owned a lot of guitars and gear over the years. This was probably the best purchase I've ever made for an instrument. If it were lost or stolen I'd definately buy it again. I love the sound and action and it's pure playability. In comparison to other guitars I've played and owned, this guitar, from the beginning begs to be played.

This is an Aria AW-30. I'm not sure when it was made (Aria doesn't have info on older guitars) but my best guess is the late 70's or early to mid 80's. If anyone has info, let me know!

The guitar is a very nice copy of an early 40's Martin Dreadnought - it has absolutely gorgous woods - dark Spruce top, mahogany back sides & neck, ebony fingerboard and bridge. The headstock logo is "Aria Dreadnought" in gold script, it has "snowflake" inlays, gold aria tuners (very Grover-like), and a pyramid neck/headstock set. The rosette and body inlays are intricately done with wood - all in all a premium instrument.

This guitar sounds amazing - you can play delicately or really dig in and thrash it and it responds perfectly. I play a variety of stuff on it (it's been my main acoustic for about 5 years now)and it's really great.

I have recorded a number of times with this guitar in professional 2" tape/Neve/Studer situations and it tracks nicely. The only criticism I have, if it is one, is that it sounds so damn pretty that it can be too sweet for some hard rock situations. Bummer!

The Aria AW-30 has very low action, great if you wanna try and do the Al DiMeola acoustic shred thing but still firm enough for heavy strumming as well.

When I bought the guitar, it had two parallel cracks on the back by the neck to body joint that had been repaired. They are still quite visible, and you can still feel the cracks, but they don't affect the actual sound or playability of the guitar. I also put a nasty 3" crack in the lower side bout at a gig that ran with the grain of the wood, but was able to repair that for $50 and without affecting the sound.

The construction of this guitar really is about the best I've seen in ANY Japanese acoustic, and is probably nicer than the basic Martins coming out now (standard D-28, etc) and really does hold its own with the top of the line stuff also.

I've had this since 1995, and it's held up great (being dropped notwithstanding!)

I won't give a rating because it would drag the score down unfairly on the guitar, but Aria really sucks when it comes to getting information on older instruments.

I have been playing for 21 years now, and own a number of nice guitars (1985 Les Paul Custom, 1990 SG 1961 reissue, 1972 Strat, 1976 Ibanez V, 1969 P-Bass, 1957 ES-225 TD, Alvarez-Yairi AC-70 classical, Am Std Strat) My stage rig is a JCM-800 50 Watt with an early 70's slant cab and a reissue 70's straight cab A/B'd with a 1968 Fender Twin. I use a JTM-30 for home and small gigs, and play bass through my brother's 1965/6 SB-12 Portaflex or his early '70's SVT. I also have a little old Supro on my desk, and an ancient '50's Gretsch amp w/original Jensen that doesn't work at the moment.

The Aria is a fabulous guitar, and I would be hard pressed to find something as nice for less than $2000. If I find another of these (which I have NEVER seen in a whole bunch of guitar hunting) I would happily pay twice as much as I originally did ($400)to get it.

No exaggeration, this really is the nicest Martin clone I've seen. I consider it to be one of my best finds, and would be heartbroken if it were lost, stolen, or destroyed.