Aria Pro II CT-Series

Mine is an all black gloss 1989 Model with 22 frets and dot pearl inlays.
Its quite a heavy beast. I'm not sure of the wood.
5 way selector, 1 volume, 1 tone control.
Two single coils and a humbucker at the bridge with a coil tap operated by a push/pull mechanism on the tone control.
Pickups are original passive Aria models.
Maple neck with rosewood fingerboard.
Strat shaped with slightly larger horns.
Looks a lot like an Ibanez or a Jackson though Aria had their own headstock shape which is actually quite cool.
Tremelo is a moder style two point pivot system.
Tuners are non locking Aria stamped also in black.
Fairly thin neck though not quite as thin as your averqage Ibanez with medium frets.

I guess it was originally intended as a thrash machine but now its nearly 20 years old it has more of a vintage tone it.
I had orginally planned to replace the pickups but frankly they sound excellent the way they are. I was most pleasantly surprised.

I used it through a Hughes and Kettner Tube Factor into a MArshal Valvestate and it sounds like a Pro guitar.
It has a full rich sound even when clean and there are a wide variety of sounds to be had from it by experimenting with toggle switch and coil tap. You can get good start-like tones or raging humbucker throb.

Action is just right. No buzzing perfect intonation.
Pickups are fully adjustable and you can get a much heavier sound by raising them.
No flaws at all.

Built to last. Thick layer of paint and solid finish all round.
This thing is 19 years old and has been extensively used and looks almost like new.
I have dropped it and only the floor got damaged!

Good quality hardware (better than that of current models).

Solid, dependable guitar.

Like I say 19 years no problems whatsoever.

I really only bought this because it was so damn cheap and planned to sell it on but it really is a cracker.

I would definitely buy another if it were stolen.

Theese were make in Korea between 1988 and 1989, I have been told that they were the first production model to be built away from the Matsumoku factory in Japan and were intended to replace the CS Club series.

Mine is a 1989 model (there is a date stamp on the heel of the neck). 22 Frets, Solid basswood "super" strat body - mine is in a metalic blue but they also came in metalic red and black (I think)

S/S/H configured, but the humbucker is coil tapped, by pulling up the tone pot you get another single. 1vol and 1tone with a 5 way selector

The pickups are passives from the Matsumoku plant in Japan.

Strat Style tremelo bridge, the tuners look cheap but they stay in tune.

The neck is excellent, My main guitar is an Ibanez JS1000 and I have to say the the Neck on the Aria is just as good as the Ibanez

I play it through a Marshall AVT100X with a bit of chorus and reverb.

The humbucker is really really good - it screams just like a 1980's rock guitar should - just add big hair and some spandex and your done.

The single coils are ok - the centre one is nice and has that strat ring to it, the neck single coil is a bit wooley for my ears

The neck as I said earlier is excellent as good as a thousand pound Ibanez. On the flip side the paint job leaves a bit to be desired, the paint seems to have gone brittle with its age, if you catch the body hard enough to crack the finish the paint will flake off.

Did I mention the neck !

this thing is 17 years old, it has dents all over the body - it's had a hard life and its still a great guitar. Its quite a light thing but under the paint there is one hard nosed guitar just aching to have some power chords blasted out of it.

erm ...

Been playing over 20 years and over that time I've had quite a collection, mostly I play the Ibanez JS1000 but I also own a Peavey EVH, a MIM Strat & Tele and a Westone Thunder (dont laugh its cool really)

What do I love about it ? ... I love its sparkley metalic finish, the neck,and the fact that you dont see many around.

If it were stolen or lost I would buy another in a flash (but as they are getting really rare that could be harder said than done)

They really dont make em like this anymore, well not for #150 anyway, It's definatly not a High quality guitar, but it is the best #150 I've ever spent - if you do see one for sale, buy it you wont regret it.