Aria SB-1000

This bass was made between 1977-1984, this one was probably around 1981 in Japan. I don't know if this bass was made at the famous Matsumoko factory or not. It has 24 frets and 4 strings. It's a solid ash body with a 5-piece through the body neck of maple and walnut strips. It only has 1 pickup, originally a MB-1 dual coil that I replaced with an EMG (both were active 18v systems). The old pickup was not as loud as it should have been. It came with a phase switch and 5-position tone switch and a volume and tone control. The phase switch turns the 5-position tone switch on and off. I added an inline battery cut-off switch to leave it plugged in without running down the battery. Since I replaced the pickup, I disconnected the phase switch and 5-position tone control. I refinished the bass with a golden oak on the wings and the rest a natural. I wanted it to look as original as possible. I replaced the tuners because they were poor, with chrome Grovers of the same style. The body style is similar to a Precision. The double cutaway allows easy access high up the neck. The bridge and nut are brass. The bridge especially is heavy and rugged, with an easy hook feature not requiring the strings to be drawn through holes. The neck is 1.75" at the nut, the way I like it and is easy to hold and is rosewood. The original head was maple and walnut, but had been broken in half, so I fabricated a head to cover it made of oak, and cut it to look original.

I play through a Carvin 1000watt with 2 cabinets of 1-15" and 4-10" speakers, through a church PA system with subwoofers. I only use half the amp volume and 1/4 the bass volume. It sounds good. I have not used it in a studio. Some string noise can be heard at times when sliding my fingers.

I got the bass used. It had not been treated well. I think some kid had it who didn't know what he was doing. The neck is straight and I lowered the action on the saddles all the way down. It plays very easily. I replaced the pickup and raised it up as far as I could without the strings ever hitting it when I played it, per EMG recommendation. For a bass that's 25 years old, the frets are in good shape. I sanded out all scratches when I refinished it.

The original tuners are history as well as the pickup. I have read other reviews about this bass and others have not liked the pickup either. Replacing it is money well spent, as this is a very good bass and has lasted 25 year with no end in sight.

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I've been playing guitar almost 30 years and bass and piano off and on. I have an Ibanez GAX70 electric, Ibanez Stagestar 4 string bass, Yamaha classical guitar, Roland keyboard, and Hondo 12-string acoustic guitar. I was told by a friend with an Ibanez Musician bass not to get rid of this bass "It's old school!" I like the way it looks, I like basses where you can see the wood grain and it plays and sounds good. I like the simple hardware.