Product: Aria AW-20CE
Price Paid: USD 125.00
Submitted
05/11/2007
at
10:51am
by
marsd
Features
:
8
This cutaway body styled guitar comes with a spruce top, whitewood(?) back and sides, hardwood neck, and a rosewood fretboard and bridge; all in a high-gloss finish. Electronically, it comes with a PZP-1 Piezo pup and an X-TN 4-band EQ with auto tuner. For the price, I really couldn't ask for more, however.
Sound
:
8
The sound is not nearly as full or as rich as I had hoped; but I'm sure the less-than-top-notch woods used have much to do with this. That said, the sound is decent. Unplugged, there is acceptable depth on the low end, but it gets a little tinny on the high end. Perhaps I just haven't found the right strings for this guitar; I'm still experimenting.
Though I don't have much occaision to play plugged in, I can say that all electronics work and the 4-band EQ improves the overall sound of the guitar immensely. Again for the price, it's as much or more than can be expected.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
4
The strings it came with were completely useless (the B and high E strings were already rusted upon arrival). The low E and A strings buzzed pretty badly, but adjusting the truss rod seems to have resolved that. Overall, the action is pretty good.
On the finish of the instrument, there were a few flaws such as specks of stain on the fretboard binding and a wood flaw in the top just above the bridge, but nothing that seems to actually affect the playability or sound.
As for the fit of the guitar, there were a couple of issues. First, the tuners were really loose (these were tightened and I haven't had further issue to this point). The thing that concerns me, however, is the very poorly drilled bridge. When I first received the guitar and began to tune it, the low E bridge pin pulled out constantly. I had to put a slight bend in the end of the string before reinserting into the bridge. Though perhaps not necessary, I replaced the low-quality bridge pins when I changed strings and had similar problems with a few of the other strings (pulling out) and found the holes in the bridge to have been drilled at inconsistent angles. By bending the ends of the strings, the pins have been holding, but I'm still a bit concerned.
Reliability/Durability
:
5
I haven't had this guitar very long and don't play live (yet). Also, I don't play very hard -- mostly just sit around and play easy -- so I don't tend to be hard on my guitars to strat with. For my purposes, it will probably hold up well enough. I have to say, however, that the issue with the bridge pins give me cause for concern. I can't say that I would be comfortable in front of a crowd with this instrument.
Customer Support
:
8
No direct experience with them, but the owner's mannual that came with the guitar is pretty comprehensive, well written, and understanable.
Overall Rating
:
8
I have been playing badly for about a year. I also own an Ibanez RG and a Samick TR2. My only amp is a small Marshall practice box. I also used to have an Ibanez PJ5 accoustic which I recently parted with.
Given limited resources to support this relatively new hobby of mine, I was just looking for a cheap A/E to play for an accaisional change of pace. I was seriously considering a similarly equipped unit from Rogue. I chose this one because of Aria's reasonably consistent quality ratings in reviews of other models, and fact that I got this brand new unit for $125 on eBay. For that price, I can still afford to be wrong.
If something were to happen to it, I would probably give the Rogue a try. I just haven't developed an attachment to this guitar like I have with the others I've owned. But all-in-all, if you can find one of these at the price point I found it at, it is probably well worth considering.
