Aria Pro II PE 1500 Masterpiece

This guitar is the Aria flagship from many respects,and was manufactured at Matsumoku in Japan back in 1980.
Guitar is made from maple and of basic lespaul design,only with an Aria touch to it.Google for pics.
Design is very subtle and well thought through.
Like a lespaul on steroids if you wish.
Guitar is a beutiful example of that less is more from a design point of view many times.

From an electronics point of view the guitar is about as basic as it gets and carries one pup switch and one knob for tone and one knob for volume.That??s it.
KISS if there ever was,but the thing is that the guitar doesn??t need anymore.
The oumpfh on this one went into the total package.
The woodworks not only look to be carved by an expert lutheir,it sounds like it too-and then some.
Effort was NOT put into bulding a guitar that takes an engineer to operate on stage

Pickup config is humbucker/humbucker and both pickups are DiMarzios OEM.The "old",good DMs to that.

Neck is spalted maple as well,and the whole deal is dressed in what Aria at the time dubbed "violin finish-as a tribute to Stradivarius".
The setneck of the masterpiece has to be the most beutiful setneck job in existance.Neck profile is very japanese 80s i??d say.
Similar to a Gibson 60s.
Setneck though is a downright marvel,and it looks to the letter like the neck grew out of the body.
Fretboard is out of brazilian jakaranda btw.Option was ebenholtz.


Bridge is a PE model exclusive which floats on pins of tune-o-matic style.
Whole bridge is very very thought through and works very solidly.
Adjustable in every way needed.

Tuners are Arias own of at the time Grover design.
Adjustment is at the stem of them via a special "C" key.
Tuners as well as rest of the guitar is absolutely top notch as far as quality.
In fact,entire guitar almost strikes you as alive from many respects when putting it to work.

I??m kind of mixed as to setting a grade for "features" as the features of the PE1500 masterpiece...KISS,but do so taking into respect the original intent and design of the guitar.

Keep it simple stupid,and as all functions and hardparts are executed the way they are they leave absolutely nothing to be desired.
None the less the guitar is very "bare" from the perspective of features from a tech POW.

This masterpiece is a true 80s salute.
However sans the otherwise typical brass saddles and nut of many other era builds-which in turn would make the sound of it brighter yet in tone.
As many of you know the sound out of the old DiMarzio Superdistortions are kind of scooped to say the least,and add to that the guitar is made out of maple.
Guitar is extremely solid,and the thing is that the boys at Matsumoku made some kind of black magic come to work here.
As you play it you appreciate that every fibre of it goes to work.
Having owned many many guitars over the last 30yrs i have NEVER experienced anything of the likes.
Acoustic sound of it is however very subtle,and it is as you hook it up and dial in that the magic hits you like a ton of bricks.
I tend to make rather good use of the onboard pots of any guitar,and as you back off without any effect or similar in the pipeline the guitar is about as clear as any world class instrument should be.
Dial the knob and it turns to an instant overtone machine.
Every little bit helps IMO,and the boys at Matsumoku really flexed their muscles with this one.
As a mastepiece it is correctly dubbed.

At the time i??ve put the OEM DMs to the side and am currently evaluating a set of SDs in it.
Regular SH-4 and SH-2(Jeff Beck and Jazz)
Guitar responds heavily to these as well,and my current opinion is that it brings out more of the guitars wood TBH.
As to if the SDs will stay....jury??s still out on that one.

Factory action....no idea of this PE1500,but bought both a PE800 and PE1000 new back in the break around 80 and both of those were setup the way a high quality guitar should be.
Hence why i almost 30yrs later looked this one up.

This particular PE1500 has been rocked quite a bit during its service life which has shipped it to the letter around the world.
Been to asia on tour,europe on tour asf asf.

This being a PE1500...factory flaws though.
Fugedaboutit. We??re talking Matsumoku at its finest here.
It wouldn??t have passed out the door of Matsumoku if it had any.

Will it withstand live playing?
Uh...it HAS.
For 29yrs.
Around the world to the letter.
End of story.
It??s built to take throwing it off a moving bus doing 65mph!
A lespaul is downright fragile in comparsion.

It is one of those guitars that would leave you like a duck in water ONLY if you shot a string onstage,and as i see it that would be THE only reason to bring a backup.
A PE1500 simply does not malfunction.
Period.

Matsumoku is since long defunct.
They went out of business back in 1987,and as far as i??m concerned it is a damn shame.
The japanese at the time built world class instruments with pride bar none.No matter if we??re talking Matsumoku,Fuji,Chuchin,Yamaki et al.
If i compare it to any of my Gibson lespauls.Gretsches aso here at the house...well..it is different from any POW,but the thing is that as far as build quality it puts the Gibsons et al from the time to downright shame.

None the less,it IS an almost 30yr old guitar and there IS no customer support for axes like this bar the independant artisans of wood should repairs ever be needed.
Like stated tho,it??s built so hardcore that i can not foresee a deal where repairs would ever be needed.

Own other Matsumokus as well,and for instance i have never run into pots or similar that has needed replacing.
This for 30yr old guitars which has seen REAL service use.

I??ve played for the odd 30yrs or so.
Currently own all in all about 20 other electrics of which most are either high end jap or domestic guitars like Gibsons,Gretsch asf.
Use mostly high end valve amps and cabs.

If this guitar was stolen or lost i??d go berzerk!!
Stolen,i??d hunt whoever stole it down with a vengance!
There??s VERY few of them around,and it inded IS a masterpiece.
Built by some of the worlds most demanding luthiers in my opinion.
I can think of ONE drawback this axe has and that??s its weight.
It??s about the thickness of a strat,but carries the weight of a lespaul-and then some.
Just shy of 5kg.
Strong back and shoulders are recomended!

I??m content with owning one as i see no reason for more than one.
My advice if you ever run into one is-friggin buy it so fast that there will be a cloud of dust as you leave having paid the man.
Even if it after 30yrs need a refret or whatever.

Quality like this in a new guitar...we??d be talking PURE custom shop high end works at massive amounts of money.