Aria SB-404 & SB-404/5

Additional is to be said that the pickups are called "dubble-coil".
It seems to me, that the controls are not as given on the manufacter's website. I hear a volume, a pickup-blend, a bass and a treble control.
I work with it like this as well.

I must say that the Sound is unbelievable for this category of price.
The two pickups and the active ttone-control give you a great variety in your Sound. You can have it deep, warm and smooth but you can also do crispy, funky slaplines.
I do not seem to need great sound adjustment on my amp, just play almost linear. Live i prefer to play the bass direct into a di-box. It makes the sound itself. I am really wishless.
Unfortunately my bass has some hi frequent noise, when i dont touch the strings. Althoug it sounds like a ground-problem it is not the fact. A technician said that this might be the sound of the "cheap" hi-boost electronics. Maybe i can fix it later.

Overall it looks very nice. Even the closer look of the finish and the hardware is fine.
The Bass is very heavy. The reason is the usage of ovangkol. Hard, good sounding, but relatively cheap wood. Have to have the right figure to use this bass live often. :-)
My pickups needed some adjustment and i think i'm not yet through with it. If you do it, use a good screwdriver, the screws seemed to me to be really mellow...

Both of my strap button screws slipped out. It took about 4 attempts to fix the one on the cutaway. The wood seems also to be a bit mellow.
One of the mechanics is already broken. The screw nut was to mellow...
I hope that this was all for now.
After all i trust him on gigs after i tightened both of the strap buttons.

Never used it.

I played this bass for about 3 years now and i can say that i know it.
I allso can say, that i love it. Sounds great, has a real, real long sustain. For this price i could not expect any better bass. Definately worth buying it although it is not so easy to get it (here in germany).

I picked up this bass from a local dealer in a trade. This one is the four string flavor, but it's also available in a fiver both neck thru. I'm not sure where or when this bass was made, but my best guess would be early 2000's somewhere in Indonesia. This bass is rock solid, both in the way it's made and the way it feels. This bass is not for wimps....it has a nice walnut like finish but it is on the heavy side.

I play mostly Classic Rock stuff, through an SWR Redhead. I can get most any sound I like with a few tweaks. I'm thinking this bass might be better suited to the studio than the stage...did I mention it's HEAVY

AS I said I picked this up in a trade so I can't speak to the factory set up. Mine was set up well when I got it. The only thing that needed some improvement was some of the fretwork needed some polishing to remove a few rough spots

I think this bass could survive a nuclear blast. the finish is matte and seems very durable. I replaced the strap buttons with strap locks as I always do, but they seemed pretty secure. Few adjustments seem to be required. It's dependable enough to gig without a back up if your shoulder can stand it....did I mention it's HEAVY

Never dealt with them

I've been playing for almost 40 years both guitar and bass. My current gear consists of a 4003 Ric, a Spector fretless, an Epi Thunderbird, and a yamaha RBX (tuned piccolo) If this bass were lost or stolen I'd replace it with something else, but only due to the weight

Manufactured 2008 in China, like everything else in the freakin' world.
4 and 5 string (404 & 404/5), fretted
Neck through body
Active Electronics
34" Scale
Body / Neck: Ovankol / Rosewood
Controls: Volume x 1, Tone x 1, PU Selector Switch x 1, Coil Tap Switch x 1
Arrived in box from factory without cases.

I have both the 4 and 5 string. They are fairly heavy, especially the 5. Once they were set up (see below), they both have great resonance and tone for funk styles like their Japanese predecessors. They are very quiet, and can make a great variety of sounds. You almost can't beat them at the <$500 price.

My basses came from the factory in boxes without cases. They were completely unplayable, even after tuning. The necks on both had to be adjusted. Several screws dropped out of the pickups, though they were easily reinstalled. It was quite comical to see a small sticker showing a garbage can with a line through it, above the 'Made in China' sticker on the back of the headstock, like 'don't forget to recycle this bass when you throw it away' (you stupid americans).
After the necks were setup they were pretty nice to play, though the frets could definitely use being milled. Again, for >$500, its pretty close to the Arias of old.

Both basses seem very durable, and since their finishes are not deep, they seem to resist surface scratching. All of the metal used appears to be pretty thick and solid. I just got them, so I couldn't tell you how they'll last if you gig with them.

I haven't had to deal with them. If you do, you probably better speak Japanese. Or Chinese. Or both.

I've been playing for over 30 yrs. I own some Vintage 80's Aria II SB series, and these are comparable to them, more so if you spend another $400 or so on getting them set up and frets milled. But, like any Chinese copy, not quite what the Japanese models were. Especially in finish.