Aria Pro II FS-3

Mine is an all black FS aria pro II, 22 jumbo frets, Japan made. Its similar to a strat in all aspects. Body is made of heavy processed wood, not real wood though. The neck is covered with paint, so cant tell if its maple or mahogany, but they way it sounds, its mahogany. Fret board is made of ebony, that the bonus! Frets are well shaped but not fret ends are loose.

Well, like ive said, its has a sound of its own, similar to a strat but more fuller and thicker. It doesnt give you that twangy sound we like though. Remove all the pickups and replaced them with 2 locally made pickups and one from my old fender strat. My aria goes through > dunlop crybaby (chrome) > MXR flanger > MXR Dist + > Arion Tube mania (great sounding pedal!) > lazer phaser > ibanez soundtank digital delay and finally to a custom 1000 roto guitar amp. This guitar rocks well, but cant swing. It has an scalloped neck, high action, reason for its thick sound. I tried lowering the strings but got string buzz instead. You cant play fast with this thing. You really have to had strong fingers to play this one. Ovbiously, it got some neck problems.

Like ive said, you have to set your string high to avoid string buzz. Ive tried adjusting the truss rod, but to no avail. The paint is very durable. Its body is made of some manufactured wood. It could be contributive to its distinct tone, (not much harmonics). Real wood would have been better.

Ive tried gigging with this axe for 2 years, until i got my samick strat type. Ovbiously, you cannot last a night with this without giving you some problems (e.g. detunes a lot, so heavy!!!).

havent deal with arai company ltd. Yes thats the company, but the brand is aria.

It sound better than most guitars. But, like what the other respondent said, korean made guitars are now better than japanese made. BECAUSE KOREAN MADE GUITARS ARE MADE BY SAMICK.
Final word, if you buy a guitar and its made in korea, buy samick, they manufacture generic guitars (e.g. fender, gibson, washburn, etc..)

Bog standard korean strat copy. Usual thing.The neck is unusually thick, and this takes bit of getting used to, but once you do, its fine.I bought mine for ten quid at a boot sale (swap meet). I cleaned it up, straightened the neck, dropped the action, and hey presto!....its not half bad!

This is not a patch on my jagmaster for classic rock tones, but it does have a voice all of its own.I find its good for chicken-pickin, bluesy, "bocca...bocca" stuff!..I like it...its a humble thing, but it stays in tune very well, and I like the fact that it doesnt pretend to be what its not.

Considering its about ten years old now, its held up pretty good. The neck needed staightening, so a small twist on the truss rod fixed that. I cleaned her up, and all of the electrics were getting a bit crackly, but this has gone with more use. A lot of old pots and electrical connections just get tired and crackly because of non-use.

Im not saying it would last a world tour, but then Axl Rose hasnt been answering my calls!...its ok...I think the Korean guitars of the 90's will last longer than the Japanese guitars of the 70's and 80's.Their less fragile and made more with the intention of hard use in mind....as a "Tool".

HA HA!

Ive been playing 30 years. Classic Blues rock/hard rock.This wouldnt be a first choice guitar but it DEFINITELY has something to offer. It pretty solid and has some unique tones to it. My only gripe is the thickness of the neck, but thats purely a personal thing. Im really fond of my ten quid guitar!...If you see one cheap..under#100...buy it.

The Aria Pro II FS-3S is part of Aria's budget line of guitars. Originally, Aria is a japanese company but this model, much like all other "budget" models thereafter, was made in Korea. Unlike what was said in a previous user review, this guitar is from 1990-1991. I got mine as my first electric back in 1996, but I bought it new.

It's a strat look-a-like with three single-coils, a 5-way selector, volume control and two tone knobs. I have no idea what material it's made of but it's the heaviest thing I ever tried. Of course, I only noticed that later after trying other guitars.

As for accessories, none. Well, you get the box it came in.

I'm very versatile in my playing. I don't like to stick to the same old sound and I like to experiment so, yes, I had fun experimenting with my Aria. If you manage to sound like a pro with this, you'll sound like a pro with anything! Seriously, though, the sound is not that bad. As someone once said, "there are no bad guitars these days. Back in the seventies you really had to hunt for a good axe". Sure, there are better guitars out there, definitely, but their price tag will be equally impressive. It's a great begginer's guitar or for someone who just wants to play with his friends and family for the fun of it. Stay clear only if you want something more professional.

For the record, I used it extensively with a Marshall VS100R and VS30R combos, sometimes with a Boss GT-5 plugged in between. It might sound terrible if you try it with anything with less punch.

The guitar was fine when I bought but, then again, I was a newbie. Since then I messed up with so often I really can't tell if it sounds the same anymore.

I'm very careful with my gear and nothing has ever broken in my hands before but, just recently, I noticed that one of the tone knobs is useless and the 5-way selector only works properly in the upper position (closest to the strings) as all other positions either provide no sound or they have static.

Well, it has been used for 6 years so I suppose it's time for it's eternal rest. I still keep it for nostalgia.

Well, considering the way I handle my equipment, it has lasted flawlessly (until recently, read above). I never used it live. This was basically my practicing guitar.

Other than what I pointed out in the previous section, the guitar is flawless. The finish still shines like new, there's basically no noticeable wear in the frets and... heck, it plays. Strap buttons are solid as ever and there's no oxidation or anything of that sort.

I'm planning on retiring it now and my review is basically a tribute to my old Aria. Still, if I was in a tight spot and needed a guitar bad, I know I could pull it out, tune it and work myself with it perfectly.

Had a 1-year warranty if I recall. Never used it though.

If for nothing else, I really got to appreciate what I want from a guitar after playing with this little tank for years. If it were lost or stolen, I'd get something else only because I only keep this for emotional value. Another one like would NOT be the same nor do I want one.

Bottom-line, if you had one of this, don't diss it. It played a part in your life as musician like any other gear, but if you find one of these used somewhere pass the opportunity. After a decade since it was first made, you can bet there's much better material out there, cheap or otherwise. Keep playing.

It's made in Japan, I think in the middle of '80s. The guitar's body looks like a strat, but in a lower quality. The neck is comfortable.
I've got little problems with the "Jack In", and the volume control.

Suddenly the pickups are very noisy. The distorted sound of this guitar is enough only for punk music. The clean sound with reverb is not bad. I use it with a Zoom 1010, and a handmade amp.

The woods are in poor quality. The hardware is oxidizing fast.

This guitar is ideal for greens.

There's not much versatillity in this thing. It was built around 1988 to my best guess, Its a fender strat copy with a 5-way switch 1 volume and 2 tone controls. the single coil pickups sound better the closer you have them to the strings though.

Once again its a strat copy so the single coils don't have as much output as I'd like. The sound to noise ratio is terrible, I don't think this thing is shielded. I can however use a boss turbo overdrive and my Laney AOR-50 to get some pretty good crunch tones out of it, which is good for punk, but the overall tone of it is less than admirable.

The action was pretty crappy, so naturally I had to do some work on that, the pickups were set too far from the strings, and the output jack has a tendancy to come loose from the monting plate about once a month. The thing is as heavy as a cinder block, and the neck can be uncomfortable during long sessions.

I had to replace the strap buttons on it the screws only went about aquarter inch into the body, the mounting holes are starting to split now. Its pretty chipped up but hey its 10 years old. My friend uses this as his backup guitar when he plays live, that seems to be about the ideal job for this.

Never had to deal with the company, I usually fix everything myself.

Like I said its 10 years old and its held up pretty good, I probably wouldn't buy another one though because I really dislike the strat tone, and I have to work hard to keep this one from sounding that empty. Its a good guitar for starters and kids who don't know any better like me when I got it.