Aria Pro II PE-1000

My PE1000 Masterpiece is a first year production model, 1977, and it was Aria's first try at an original body style. It was made at the Matsomoku plant in Japan, which was known for both very high quality guitars, to lower end ones. It is a solid body, arched top, one piece, hand carved maple body, with two Protomatic I humbucker pups, and simple controls, 1 volume, 1 tone, and 1 pup selector switch. The neck is also a one piece maple, with a jacaranda fingerboard. The scale is 24 3/4, with a somewhat slim taper, and a flat board. The finish is a very attractive violin finish, the only color available on the Masterpiece, and was meant (according to Aria) to tell player's, that this was a high end instrument, like a Stradivarious violin. The body shape is a single cut-away, similar to a Les Paul, but abit more curvacious, and the back is nicely contoured for more comfort. I think they nailed it here, a beautiful design!

I really like the sound of this guitar. Being an all maple body, with a maple neck, I find it to be brighter than a Les Paul, and and actually alittle clearer. The bridge pup, can do a nice bright surf tone when clean, somewhat more similar to a Rickenbacker sound than a Gibson, and it provides a nice bite when pushing up the gain, with good harmonics. I think it's very good for classic and Southern rock, and a greasy blues style. The neck pup when clean provides a nice jazz tone, with a great soft bass response and nice definition. I really like it for a clean blues tone. It gives a decent liquid-like Santana tone when the gain is pushed up, not to muddy, and pretty defined. Overall, it provides a brighter, clearer, but somewhat thinner sound, than a Les Paul, which was the guitar the PE1000 was meant to compete with, but it's still a pleasing tone in it's own distinct Japanese like way. It gives a nice crunch, like a good double humbucker guitar should. I think it could handle all humbucker style music and sounds very well, and I wouldn't think twice about playing a gig with this instrument.

This is one of the few Aria ProII's that does not have coil tap, or phase switching, but in this case, I don't miss it. This was meant to be the Les Paul "killer", so it's sound is a basic, solid, straight driving humbucker. No half tries at the Fender sound here.

It's obvious from the first glance of this guitar that it is built very well. This was Japanese guitar building at it's best, and I believe the quality was better than anything Gibson was doing at the time. Alot of effort went into building this guitar, and it became the flagship model of the Aria line, and this guitar is still built by the company today, almost 30 years later.

I can't talk alot about the original set-up, but right now, I have the action set very low, with no buzz. The bridge and tuners are original and still work well. The hardware has held-up very well, with little tarnish or fading, and the electronics all work as advertised, however my tone switch is abit loose(easily fixable).

The violin finish, with a beautiful, somewhat ornate matching headstock, is flawless and gorgeous, and has held-up remarkably well after 30 years. It looks very rich.

The heel-ess smooth contoured neck connection to the body is just beautiful, and one of the best heel-ess designs I've seen. It's held-up very well.

Again, this guitar is solid, well built, and weighs about as much as an Abrams tank! I think it weighs more than a Les Paul, if you can believe that! But I find it to be well balanced, and more comfortable to play than a Les Paul. I think it is a very dependable guitar, and I would have no problems using this guitar on stage, however, I'd like to keep this "vintage" guitar in nice shape, so for that reason I probably wouldn't use it live. But it is handsome, and would look good in any players hands on stage.

The new Aria company, which now manufactures their guitars in S Korea, is different than the old Aria ProII company. While they are friendly, they don't know anything about the older guitar line, and are of little help.

However they did send me some nice stickers for my guitar case!

I have been playing on and off for some 30 years now(yikes, I'm gettin old!), and right now, I also own an Aria ProII CS350, and a Gibson Blueshawk. I really love these older Aria guitars. I like them because they stand out in a crowd of Les Paul/Strat players, and their quality, features, good looks and sound are excellent, especially at the low prices you can find them for. I believe that they are the undiscovered gems in the guitar world right now. If your not into big names, and don't want to plunck down thousands for vintage American guitars, than Aria ProII guitars are a great way to go IMO.

I have played quite a few guitars in my lifetime, and I think this Masterpiece compares very well with the best of them. Very handsome, good features, a solid and distinct sound, and fantastic quality that Japanese manufacturers are known for, add up to the PE 1000 being a keeper.

This guitar was made in Japan around '78. I've always had a sentimental feel towards this guitar because I saw it while I was in high school and I felt in love with it's look. But I didn't have the money then. So when I saw this thing in ebay, I immediately grab it.

This is Aria's first venture into "original" design, before then they were building Les Paul and strat copies, cheap and bad copies.

It is clear that Aria had put a lot of effort into this guitar. The
guitar has a solid carved maple top and, I think, a sikamore body but I'm not quite sure. The body is similar to a Les Paul but slimmer and more "aerodynamic". The back was carved in like a strat to fit the player's body and is an improvement to the LP design. The neck is three piece laminated with rosewood fingerboard and feel like a cross between Fender and Gibson, very nice. Grover lookalike machine heads, OK but not as solid as the real deal. The bridge is what Aria calls a supermatic bridge, it's like a Badass tail piece + bridge design with long throw. It's reasonably solid and quite a good design. The two volumn and tone knobs are chunky and solid with a rosewood veneer top. Very basic. I was amazed to find out that the electronics are so smooth and absolutely no crackle after 22 years. That says something about the high quality of this guitar.

Other features including back plate carved out from one piece of wood- exellent craftmanship, bullet style truss rod. The neck looks like a setin but actually is bolted on and glued in from the neck pickup cavity.Despite the fact that most bolt-on neck will shift over time, there is no crack on the neck joint to show that this neck has moved. So this is a proof on how stable and solid this guitar is. The other reviewer complained about the weight, but I think it's about the same with a Les Paul, but it has a thinner profile, so I think maybe it is denser.

I give it a 9 on this category because of it's disappointing pickups.

The original pickups suck, as on most Japanese guitars. Japanese have this problem with P/U design and their perception on sound. The produced a lot of " hi fi " records that IMHO don't have balls and that rocking sound. A clear and beautiful picture but no soul.

Anyway the original pickups don't rock, really muffle and for solo, it doesn't cut through. After I put in a Duncan Jeff Beck, it brings out the full potential of this guitar. Great playability plus killing sound.

I'm a recording artist and engineer so I spent 99% of my time in studio and that's where I checked it out. Going direct with Pod and Sansamp into my Spirit 328 for PC recording. It has a brighter sound then my Gibson Les Paul Black Beauty. I would say that they have different character, the Aria is more articulated and LP is bolder,not saying which is better. But for playability, I'd give the Aria a higher score.

In terms of finish and action, I'd give this guitar a 10. Japanese have been famous their attention to details and to be honest, this guitar looks like 2 years old while it's been out there for 23! The finish is absolutely flawless.

I have never liked Japanese guitar. I have never liked Aria in particular, but I guess everything has an exception and this Aria is a gem.

I have a Gibson LP black beauty, a Gibson LP deluxe, Hamer Daytoner, Gibson Firebird, Custom made telecaster and some acoustic guitars, and before that I've owned and sold/ traded in a lot of guiatrs. I've been playing for 20 years, I have a band and I do a lot of arrangement and recording. Now I put away all my guitars and this is the one that I put on the guitar stand in the studio.

If I lost it ( hell I don't know how that may happen ), I'd definitely sit around ebay day and night and find myself another one.

Tried to call Aria USA and try to find out something more about this guitar. They responded quick but with no information. So 5 for their quickness and 0 for their ignorance in history.

See above

year 1978ish mase in Japan 22 frets rosewood board maple laminate construction weighs about the same as a truck 1 vol 1 tone 3 way switch for pickup selection no coil tap as the original p/ups were two wire jobs( and to be nice about it not to every ones taste) they are humbuckers covered like gibsons but like is a word not a sound!
body style is very gibson sg one end les paul the other but unique to look at never the less bridge is a fat tuneomatic one piece very original (and ugly) nice big frets feels like a fat necked strat
and thats it ( old one not much to it for a Japanees guitar) oh forgot it has a set neck which is glued and screwed to the body??
from the neck pick up cavatie got to be a 6 for this as it should have better pickups for a guitar which was trying to play with the big boys in its day

sound well mine has a dimazio paf at the bridge and this sound very nice but the original neck pick up is muddy when you look at the wiring on the pick ups you can see very thin cheap looking wires not a good sign and it transfers through to the sound, accoustically the guitar sounds v/nice but i cant see anyone looking for the original p/ups for the sound they want? I could be wrong!but it is a sound not to get over the moon about jazzy perhaps but not quite right ??get on a set of p/ups that you fancy and see what it is like then I recommend dimazio Paf for smooth vintage rock/blues super distortion for metal if your in to that .I think you will enjoy a different sound to most players i have to give a 6 again but only because the original p/ups are not nice ,, dont let this put you off it can be sorted!!and you would be looking at a 9 or 10
REALY HEAVY

I cant honestly say what the set up was like though i can tell you these play realy nice smooth low action fast neck , my bridge has seen better days but still i like it .the finish to look at looks great it now looks like a sunburst gone dirty old stained wood look yellowing binding ,,its old cant complain got to give a 8 here .
VERY HEAVY

this guitar would stand up to anything and it looks as if it has 23yrs old and still going
this is a house guitar for me but i wouldnt not use it live for more than a few tracks.
HEAVY!!!!

sorry

27yrs ish? cant realy remember not playing had lots of stuff still got my old 1965 fender bassman head and an old schaller vol pedal new stomp box and a fender princeton that is it now
i cant say i love this guitar it dose feel nice if some one stole it they wouldnt get to far its too bloody heavy to carry
i had this guitar coz i fancied it no other reason it was cheap as i recall and i thought what the hell i didnt even plug it in when i bought it i thought if it sounds that bad it will look good hanging on the wall ( which it dose 9 times out of 10 as i always go for the strat) I dont think I would buy another but thats me if you like les pauls and facy something cheap but not nasty buy one with the pickups already changed (i think most players would have done this by now anyway)and dont forget.THESE ARE HEAVY..

This model was made in the late 1970s in Japan. This model was meant to compete with high-end Gibsons, and it does a good job of it. Both the top and back are carved, and the 'set' neck is actually bolted on, but you can only tell if you remove the neck pickup. On the outside the heel is very smoothly contoured into the body for great upper-register access, and the bolts aren't visible. The body and neck are laminated maple, with a rosewood fretboard and dot inlays. It has a longer scale length than a Gibson; it probably matches that of a Fender. Two humbucking pickups, three-way switch, one volume and one tone control. A gigantic one-piece Supermatic bridge sits on two mounting studs. Although slightly thinner than a Les Paul, this guitar is actually heavier than the two Les Pauls I own! It has an Antique Violin type of finish that really looks good. It has some interesting touches, like wood inserts on the volume and tone knobs, and a wooden control cavity cover that matches the body contours. Also, all of the controls are slightly countersunk into individual recesses on the body ? I'll bet this is where Paul Reed Smith got the idea from!

Unfortunately, the original pickups were very microphonic and had to be replaced. I put a Seymour Duncan Jazz pickup in the neck position, and a Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates in the bridge position. The all-maple construction gives this guitar a very sharp attack and a very bright tone. The Pearly Gates certainly emphasizes this. This, in addition to the longer scale length, makes it sound very different from a Les Paul (I have two Les Pauls that I compared this to). I've owned four other Arias from the early '80s, some low-end, and some mid-priced, and they all have a distinctive sound quality I can't quite put my finger on. Even with the replacement pickups, that quality is evident. Maybe it's the rock-solid construction, but Aria guitars have a very tight and focused high-midrange sound that really cuts through in a band situation.

For a 20 year old guitar, it's in fairly good shape. The Supermatic Bridge and the exposed truss rod make setup easy. The finish has worn nicely, giving it a really vintage look. The construction quality is superb, and matches my Gibsons in its rock-solid feel.

As reliable as a guitar can get. Obviously built with high quality, I'd feel as comfortable onstage with this guitar as with anything else.

N/A

I love old Arias ? they deliver amazing quality for the money. I have four other electric guitars (two Les Pauls, an Ibanez Artstar hollowbody, and a Yamaha SC-300 Strat type), and this guitar definitely has an identifiable sound of its own. A welcome addition to my collection. If you find an old Aria, try it out ? you'll be surprised at the quality! Email me if you'd like a picture of it.