Aria Pro II Les Paul Copy

1997 Matsumoku-built "Lawsuit-era" Les Paul copy. Open book headstock, dual humbuckers, tobacco sunburst. Looks like a Les Paul. Nearest I can figure (from looking at the brochures on (http://www.matsumoku.org/models/ariaproii/copies/ls/ls.html) this is a model LS-450. I bought this on eBay for $300. I put another $275 in upgrades.

I play mostly blue, some classic rock. The stock pickups were nice, but microphonic in when over-driven. THe electronics were abysmal, though. I put Seymour-Duncan 59's in the neck & bridge. I replaced the pots with real Gibsons, the caps with Sprague orange-drops (tweek!), the jack and pickup switch with Switchcraft. The result? Outstanding! I love this guitar! I believe the sound to be brighter than a Gibson, probably due to the 5-piece maple neck. I have played this next to the real deal (LP Standard) and my son's SG. I prefer this one to both of them.

Beautiful! The wood is top-notch. Nice non-figured maple cap, 2-layer mahogony body, 5-piece maple neck, rosewood fret board. Medium frets (with fret binding). The fretwork is on par with Gibson's. The binding is great abd has aged nicely. The body is chambered, so it's lighter than the Gibson (this one weighs a tad over 8 lbs.) I didn't care for the tuners, so I upgrade to genuine Kluson Deluxe (vintage style, with snot-green keys) The pickguard was missing, so I put a vintage Gibson LP guard on (pickup spacing was a little different, so I had to dremel a little...not too much). This guitar is a keeper. The action is incredible. No buzz.

You could beat a man to death with this guitar and gig right after. This is a well built guitar. I would never say as good or better than a Gibson, but this thing makes it really hard to justify the price difference. It's way better than any Epiphone I have played. Definitely as good as any Lawsuit-era guitar out there.

C'mon...it's 30 years old.

If you get a chance to grab one of these Lawsuit-era guitars, go for it. Do your homework, though. There is a lot of crap claims on ebay about Lawsuits. If it doesn't have a Gibson style headstock, it's not a "Lawsuit." The lawsuit was not about Japanese guitar makers making better copies of originals..it was about Norlon (Gibson's parent company of the time) warning Ibanez to stop making export guitars with the open-book style headstock. (They did not sue, them.) Ibanez stopped, other Japanese manufacturers of this era followed suit, to avoid being sued. They are not all great. Some were bolt-on necks. The Aria Pro II, Greco, Burney, Ibanez & Tokai's of this era are worth a look. You will be amazed of the quality.

Tobacco sunburst finish 1997 or 1978 model Aria Pro II Les Paul. $350 ebay. Binding on front and back of body, neck and headstock. Set neck. Carved-top Les Paul body. Tune-o-matic bridge, Grover style tuners, 60's slim taper style neck, standard frets. Made in Japan. Well-constructed. Mahogany body, 2-piece bookmatched maple top. Neck looks like maple (finished in Tobacco burst to match the body - but grain resembles my Telecaster more so than fine straight-grained mahogany). 2 volume and 2 tone controls - standard LP setup. Two humbuckers. Pickup switch labeled "Epiphone"...and appears to be original. I'm scoring it high for nice wood and perfectly set neck.

Suits my styles nicely - I'm all over the road (blues, alt, ambient noise, power pop....). I own a couple Teles (Fender Thinline and Schecter PT HH)and a Yamaha AEX 502 (semi hollow w/P-90s). Playing through a Fender Cyber Twin, an old Fender Concert, an old early 60's Traynor...etc. I've looked around for a nice warm snazzy Les Paul and figured I'd eventually settle for an Epiphone because the Gibsons are just out of range and the lawsuit guitars were up there...then I found this one. Sweet. Anticipated changing pickups for Duncans, but these really sound pretty good for now. Bridge pickup is really warm but has a nice high end detail as well. Bridge pickup has cool gronky midrange and excellent harmonics when cranked and it sounds really good for picking on pop tunes turned down 1/2. Much brighter than the Epiphones I tried - better string definition. [That's why I anticipated I'd need replacement pups - base on trying Epiphones and comments from lots of LP copy users....wait and see]. The maple(?) neck might influence that tone as well.

It's hard to get much twang or screech out of it, but that's not what I bought it for...so if this is going to be your only guitar...then eventually you might want want split coils (or a second twangier guitar). The output probably isn't high enough for real headbangers. Then again - if you are a real headbanger, you probable aren't looking for a creamy smooth sounding tobacco sunburst LP anyway, are you? I love the action. It is quite easy and forgiving compared to the telecasters. And it growls.

I can't say much about the set up - that was almost 30 years ago. The construction is very good. The bindings, teh bridge, everything is top notch. The fret markers and the markings on the headstock are quite plain compared to the early 1980s Aria Les Paul Custom copies (which are gorgeous). The guitar is essentially copying a Les Paul Custom, but these earliest copies don't have the fancy diamond shaped fret marker and headstock decorations (copying the Gibsons). The fret markers on this one are simple rectangles. No complaints - they are quite elegant.

There is a little oxidation on the hardware and the finish (looks like a very thin lacquer to me, rather than poly) has aged with some hairline cracking and yellowing. So it looks pretty classic.

This guitar is sturdy. It feels solid, and it weighs over 9 lbs. (I've taken to calling it "the pig" which is a high compliment). Everything is solid and dependable (I did rewire the pickup switch). I would never play any gig without a backup, but if I did, I guess I'd trust this one as much as any of my others. I'll definitely gig plenty with this guitar.

I'm impressed that you can still lookup information on these things on their website. It would be pretty funny to call customer service about now, 30 years later, wouldn't it? Maybe I'll try it and see.

Based on the wiring and the hardware setup, it is easy for me to service.

I've been playing guitar for about 25 years, "sort of seriously" for about 5. (Been a drummer for about 35 years.) I've got 4 other electrics and a couple acoustics, a 12 string...most of my guitars are medium to low price point but high quality instruments. I'd love to go out and buy a new Gibson Les Paul, but there's just no way I could afford it. I can't in good conscience say it is just as good as a Gibson...because I really don't know. New Gibsons are so expensive it scares me to hold them in the shop. And they play and sound awesome.

This is a really nice reasonable alternative that plays nice, sounds good, looks sharp, and costs $350. And it has aged into its own unique character, which doesn't have a proce but adds value in my book. It has a really nice tobacco sunburst - I love the aging finish.

If something happens to it, I'll try to find another one.

Also - thanks so much to all of the others who posted on these Aria Les Pauls. Your reviews influenced my decision to take a leap and buy this guitar sight-unseen. It was excellent advice and it was a good decision.

This is an outstanding guitar for the price.

Aria Pro II is not to be confused with aria cr!p, its a 70/80's spin off of aria that dealt with some pretty high end stuff from what this guitar shows. Think it went out of business :(

I picked this guitar up for $140AUD on ebay (117USD), And its f*#%ing awesome! Ok to start off with the condition i got it in> dead strings, distasteful sticker down the fret board about cats and cars that has been cut into pieces so it was stuck in between frets, somehow they had got a transfer of a topless lady on a rose(think fake tattoo stuck on guitar) to stick to the guitar, and two of the knobs had been GLUED, and not even glued well (idiots!) with a big drip coming down onto the beautiful finish and being stuck there. I destickered it, removed the tattoo, re strung it, and cracked the glue on the knobs so they would turn. Only thing i dont like about it is the head stock shape, (aria's own, not traditional les pauls which honestly i dont like that much, but at least its original?)



* Finish: Traditional red/yellow sunburst over beautiful flamed maple top.
* Body style: LP style
* Bridge style: Tune-O-Matic
* Tuners: Gotoh
* Neck/Scale: Fairly thin 22 fret neck, I would say just right MOP block inlays, medium frets
* Which controls are given: 2 Volume, 2 Tone, 3 way switch
* Pickup configuration? H-H
* Make and model of pickups? Stock neck, some form of original seymour duncan bridge (never taken it out to check model name sorry)

Awesome! It doesnt squeal like a metal guitar, not suited for that, good blues clean sound depending on pickup combination being used, crank up the distortion for rock n roll! Greeat tone! Good sustain, will equal any real LP :) 9/10, as 10 is for that magical guitar that probably doesnt exist.

Great neck, thinner than real lespaul, probably comparable to your thin strat neck, but not as thin as ibanez/jackson etc. I set it all up myself, set the action low, no fret buzz. Guitar is on the HEAVY side- solid mahogany/maple does that. Guitar seems to have been well made out of the factory, AWESOME FINISH and 3 ply binding makes it that little bit extra special! Again if only for the headstock shape it would be better than a les paul.

Unbreakable. Gold finish on bridge/tuners a little thin, probably should have used brass polish on it :P
Never gig without a backup.

N/A Dont think they exist anymore.

Im 18, been playin since i was 10, have a variety of guitars/amps/fx. Daion bass, magnum strat copy, jackson 22fret, ibanez grx10, prs copy, takamine g series electric acoustic, schecter blackjack PT. Big Korg pedal, lots of crap SS amps, college student with no money so saving for a tube head

I would buy again, and pay more!

A true japanese Les Paul Custom copy. The usual Les Paul controls: two humkbuckers, 2 tones, 2 volumes, stop tail and tune-o-matic bridge and a 3-way toggle switch; 22 frets, large MOP (Mother-Of Pearl) block inlays. The top should be maple and the body is definitely mahogany. It's quite heavy.I fell in love the moment I saw it at an old record shop. It has a tobacco finish, arched top body front, multy ply binding all over the body, the fretboard and headstock. It reads 'Aria Pro II' with MOP inlaid as well as a figure inlay work (two matched triangles). It came with the original tune-o-matic bridge, but it was in so bad shape that I replaced it for a Gottoh. The tuners were sealed metal keystone ones and they work perfect! The stock humbuckers were Gibson 'T' humbuckers, probably rewound and definitely not the originals. I replaced the bridge pickup for a SeymourDuncan JB 'coz the stock one broke down (and sounded thin to my taste).The set neck is a 3-piece mahogany. So smooth... way better than the 2002 Gibson SG special I played that year in Wisconsin. I bought it without a case and I carried it out in a cloth. The serial number is 088005 so I think it was built around 1977-1980. When I bought it, it had black pickup mounting rings as well as a black pickguard, black jack plate and a black toggle washer (the legend 'treble7rhythm' was gone due to use). I replaced them with all cream parts andit improved the looks of it. The main problem was that the fretboard was separated from the neck. You could pass a knife trough it which didn't altered the sound at all. The frest were so worn out that I replaced it. I had it professionally repaired by a luthier for about $200 USD and it is now in perfect shape. I give it a 9 because of the original conditions it was when I bought it.

I LOVE the sound of this guitar! It perfectly suits my music style which is Blues/Hard Rock/heavy metal. Killer sharp sound in the bridge position, and it improved with the Duncan installed. It's a very warm, rich sound, plenty of bassy tones and a lifetime sustain in the neck position that I can't get with my other guitars which sound thin and childish compared with the Aria Pro II. With both pickups selected it delivers plenty of 'twangy' sounds that are perfect for rhythm runs. It is really quiet. I run it trough a Dunlop Wah, a Boss MT2 (Metal Zone), a Boss ME-6 multieffects. Everything goes to a Marshall Lead 12.

This is the sad part...As I said before, when I bought 3 years ago (9/05/03) the neck was in very bad condition (you could run a knife between the neck and the fretboard). The frets, although well finished, were all worn out. However, the finish was great although there were some chips and craks hereand there. I had to reset the pickups at taste. The nut was ok...until it felldown when I put fresh strings. But the guitar was not noisy at all!

Absolutely reliable! I've used it for live gigs and for recording and it has never let me down! The hardware is solid as a rock! After a cleaning the finish just shown as new and I think it will last other 30 years! I replaced the strap buttons for a Dunlop locking set 'coz the stock ones were ugly. I think they were not originals. Totrally dependable. I've been playing gigs without any backup so far and it has never let me down!

I bought it used, so It had neither of them.

I've been playing electric guitar for 6 years and this is the bestsounding guitar I own. I have other 2 guitars: an inexpensive strat copy which sounds all strat and an Ibanez RG which is too noisy compared with the Aria. Neither of them can duplicate the enormous sustain the Aria Pro II can deliver.I wish I had found it before! If it were stolen or lost I would change my mind and start playing other instrument. I wouldn't bear it! What I love the most of it is the warm, balanced sound it has. No guitar I 've played sounds like this one. If Ihad toget rid of my gear, with the chance of keeping one piece of equipment this would be my choice. It is pretty heavy, after rehershal or gigs my back aches, but I don't mind.It is worth the effort!

Normal LP features with black transparant arch-top and cream-white edging, neck is slightly narrower than Gibson (which is fine: i have small hands), headstock has two minor damages on the edges, frets are slightly worn, for the rest it's flawless. Don't know brand of pick-ups, maybe DiMarzio, probably stock. Glued neck, fake MOP inlays in neck, real MOP diamond and brandname on headstock. black pick-guard. black aria tone- and volume-knobs (they dont look as cool as the Gibson custom-knobs)

It's my first electric. I wanted an LP-style guitar, but not too expensive. The store-owner let me play this one next to epiphones and PaulReedSmiths, and this one sounded the best by far. It already sounds rich and full like any decent Gibson or other classic humbucker-equipped guitar. It sounds even better when played through a graphic equalizer. And I've only just begun; if I would change the pick-ups and purchase a better amp (current model: Hiwatt Maxwatt 40) this could become a master-rig.

The action is nice anywhere on the neck. The frets are slightly worn flat though, they might need some work.

If the H-bomb drops tommorow, I would hide behind this thing and probably survive.

Wouldn't know where to find them if I needed them, which I dont.

Concerning my LesPauls, this will be it; no other guitars needed. Maybe I'll get a strat-style someday for some of the more clean and crisp sounds, but that will be years ahead. In the meantime this guitar is all I could desire. The only thing I might change are the pickups and the tone- and volumeknobs. For the rest, awesome guitar.

Absolutely standard LP setup.
Mahogany I think
BUilt in neck (which in 1978 was fairly revolutionary.

This was my first really decent guitar bought with hard earned money from a summer job.
I sold it a few years ago (why!??!!?)
I'm not really a LP player - more of a strat-man but all I will say is that in my opinion it was better than new Gibson LPs.

Really good player.
I owned this man and boy for 20 years and action never altered a bit. Excellent finish. Action really low.

Was still going strong when I sold it.
Pots getting a bit noisy, but 20 years old so forgivable.

Never needed it.

Playing for 30 years. I have had several Strats (1 US - good, 1 US average, 1 Mex - rubbish), A Godin LGX (excellent), Yamaha Pacifica 812 (surprisingly good).
Should never have sold it. As I said earlier, when I had the money, I went to look at new Gibsons, and my old Aria was better.
Probably wouldn't advise anyone to buy a new Aria, but on internet auctions, 70's Arias are worth buying. It's like a land rover, not as sophisticated as the new 4x4,s but gets the job done without any song and dance.

1980 Les Paul standard copy. All the usual features, with a 3 piece tobacco sunburst top (actually looks REALLY cool and unusual compared to the usual flame tops). Dimarzio cream open humbucker style pickups, which I am beginning to suspect were stock. It's a Les Paul copy that would keep any Gibson rep awake at night. I've checked out what LP standards from that year looked like and this is such a clone in every respect, even the ridge near the neck at the back, dimensions are perfect, the colouring and types of wood used are identical too.

Sounds like a Gibson Les Paul, no joke - no one would tell you it wasn't. Bright, ballsy, and rich when playing chords, a real tonal vaierty between pickup settings, no noise at all, again this sounds like a 'real' Les Paul should. Even though I'm not a fan of Dimarzio pickups, I have no reason to change them as they're superb,

The most well built copy I've seen, and I own 6 other LP copies as well as plenty of other guitars. Finished so beautifully, you almost wonder why they bothered making it so well when they weren;t selling it at Gibson prices!!!

I can depend on it and you'd have to pry it from my cold dead fingers to have a go ;-) it's one of the most solid guitars I#ve held.

No idea. But its unfair to expect customer support 26 years after it was produced.

OK I took a chance on eBay and am delighted. This is by and far the best Les Paul I have ever played. Don't believe me? Try one yourself. Unless the previous owner used it as a baseball bat, it should be a great instrument that you'll never want to sell. I would always try and test out gear first but I got this for a total of #200 (inc shipping from Japan) and would buy any other that came on sale for this price. I might not pay over #300 for one, but thats just because I'm poor and it would still be a bargain at that price. This gets 10 across the board as these are such a well kept secret they deserve all the praise for making such well observed, lovingly crafted instruments. I guess this is why they don't come up for sale very often, the price you will get for it isn't worth it for the quality of the axe.

1978 Aria Pro 2 non-export Les Paul Custom Copy, 22 frets, Japanese made. Beautiful handcarved curly maple 1/2" top over 2 piece pancaked mahogany body. Deep set neck, 3 piece maple with center piece reversed for extra strength. Old-style early seventies cherry burst finish (nitro-lacquer) that looks killer. Standard les paul features 2 vol-2 tone, 3 way toggle, tune-o-matic bridge with stop piece. Grover scalloped tuners all hardware chrome. Dimarzio super distortion pickups standard. Medium to large frets, beautiful real MOP block inlays, multi ply binding on front, back, neck and headstock. MOP logo and split diamond with Custom logo on truss rod cover. Also ebony fretboard with frets under binding. I believe this is an LC-1000 model. A beautiful guitar all around

Great tone and sustain, as good as any Gibson, harmonics come easy on the neck. Played through a Peavey XXX sounds killer. Maple neck is punchy and fat, sounds sweet on the neck position pickup. Can crunch with best in the bridge position, very nice ring that sustains on the high notes.

A couple of posts on a PE Aria Pro mentioned the necks on Arias are actually bolted in the pickup cavity not legitimately set in. That's rubbish, the neck is set and glued all the way through the body joint. It doesn't make a bit of sense for Aria to go through the trouble of shaping a long set-style neck tenon and body/neck joint to only slap one screw and a little bit of glue in the neck joint and call it good, it kind of defeats the cost-man hour/profit ratio don't you think. What's that do, save .50 cents a guitar on glue costs, the neck is already deep set into the body? They made bolt-on/bolt-ons and yes real set necks. The screw these experts talk about at the end of the neck tenon is a case of above and beyond/over-building. My 1978 non export LPCC is probably one of the best built guitars I've ever seen, todays hand-made boutique snob-guitars can even barely beat them on a good day; what big artist ever played a billion dollar PRS on their first big song/album. Artists played what they could get their hands-on for a reasonable price, ie an Aria Pro. Even the inlays are so precisely routed that their is no evidence of even the slightest bit of filler, this on a mass-produced guitar. The wood used by Aria was top-notch mahogany, maple kept in the log till cutting/carving on all their guitars that were Japanese built; these Gibson & Fender copies are damn good guitars. Aria kiln dried their guitar wood themselves; all this for a superior product that costs chicken feed compared to Gibson or Fender. I'm not buying into the big names because of their titles, Gibson and Fender are way overrated and ridiculously priced guitars; sure the 50's & 60's series Gibson's are the ultimate and the Fenders but not the stuff they sell today. The quality of tone wood is way down, there's hardly any old growth lumber anywhere from all the overharvesting. Dollar for dollar this guitar would cost $1800-$2000 if it had a Gibson name on it.

She's pushing 30 years old and still solid and tight as a drum, the lacquer is aged to perfection, strap buttons still hold tight. Dependable all day and night. Would gig without a back-up but a second only makes sense; i don't fish without a back-up rod so wouldn't want to gig without a second guitar know what I mean.

Never dealt with them before. I'd bet they would have the deer in the head-lights look if you asked them about one of these old 70's jobs though.

Been playing off and on for 20 years, in addition to this 1978 Aria Pro II Les Paul CC I have a 1989 Charvel 750XL, 1980 Pearl Les Paul CC, 1985 Hondo Formula 1 H784KT set-neck explorer copy with Dimarzios, and a 2001 Mexican fat strat with dimarzio evolution and cruiser in the neck. Peavey XXX, morley wah, miscellaneous effects pedals.

best i can tell it's a late 70's model. "ARIA PRO II" is in cursive pearl inlay across the headstock. it has (i think) a mahogany body with a woody cherry/mahogany woodgrain finish. the binding and pickguard are cream colored. pearloid trapezoid inlays grace the neck. it is BEAUTIFUL!!!! two exposed humbuckers (probably not original...they don't match) with the usual L.P. layout.

in a word.....REMARKABLE. snarly, clean, twangy, ballsy, mellow...it is quite a chameleon. perhaps it is the pickups. i think it is the WOOD.

i've played Les Pauls before and never cared for them. i prefer the necks and playability of "old" Fenders. THIS guitar has a neck that a "vintage strat" player could love. it is thin and feels VERY comfortable. the guitar has some weight. never has a guitar felt "so balanced" when hanging from a strap around my neck (AGAIN...keep in mind i am a vintage Strat fanatic).

hell,...it's 25+ years old!!!....and STILL solid!! you betcha!!

????????????? are they still alive??

what a great guitar!! the wood is pure..the construction is solid..the craftsmanship is obvious. go ahead and spend your life savings on a 30 year old Gibson...see if i care. there are folks "in the know" that appreciate the work of the Japanese craftsmen of the 70's-80's era. i own a guitar that is as solid and as well made as ANY "thousand(s)-dollarish" guitar of that era.......and i paid ALOT less for it. to each his/her own...but i am delightfully suprised. i HIGHLY recommend the "OLD" (late 70's/early 80's) Aria Pro II "LP" assimilations. good luck.

Mine's approx 1975 vintage - bought second-hand in 1980 (best #200 I've ever spent).
Features are all well set out elsewhere.

Pickups are now sounding a bit muddy (but still produce some awesome tones when pushed and the amp is adjusted).
SEE BELOW PLEASE!!!!!

Tobacco sunburst - stood up well over the years, a few blemishes now but that just adds to the charm.
Nice low action possible, with no buzz. Lovely neck to play on.
Controls are now knackered - they work but need replacing. Not too bad for a 30 year old, though.

It's never let me down seriously, but I always carry a back-up (Gordon Smith Graduate).

Never had any contact

Superb guitar - a Les Paul in everything but headstock adornment.

QUESTION - CAN ANYONE ADVISE ON PICKUP REPLACEMENT? I INTEND TO PUT DUNCAN JB's ON - ANY OTHER IDEAS????

THANKS, FOLKS.