Aria Pro II RS Inazuma

It's actually an Aria Pro II RS Inazuma-V. I suspect that it was made in early '83 from the serial# 3010262. It has the odd looking blue black sunburst that covers the entire body and neck, which is definitely more green than blue. It comes equipped with Aria ProII brand die cast tuners, a very common thru-the-body bridge tailpiece (seen on almost every strat ripoff), and unique circular string trees. A very powerful single Protomatic-V humbucker sits in the bridge position, which feeds a single volume pot and nothing else (who forgot the tone control?).

Vaguely recognizing the brand name, I purchased this guitar at a local auction for $50. I was a little reluctant to pay that because of the condition that the guitar was in. It had NUMEROUS dents and gashes all over the body and neck, some that even went down to the wood. Not an easy task with paint that thick.

Once fixed up and plugged into my Marshall I instantly realized the potential of my new purchase.

The Protomatic-V humbucker is definitely aimed towards rock, punk & metal styles. It is surprisingly hot for a single humbucker... a little too hot at times. The addition of a tone pot would greatly increase the response of the pickup. If you take off the control cavity plate on the reverse you can see where Aria could have very easily added another control pot. I guess that they needed to save that extra $0.25 a guitar, so the tone control was deemed unnecessary. They did however partially shield the control cavity with foil (rare even on expensive guitars), which does help reduce interference noise that components randomly pick up.

When I got home I stringed it up and fixed the jack plate that was barely hanging on by a wire. I was amazed that even in the condition it was in that it played so smoothly. The action was superb and not a bit of buzzing anywhere on the neck. I've ordered brand new guitars that needed minor adjustments to the neck or the bridge to eliminate buzzing. So I was honestly speechless to have a twenty-some year old clunker of a guitar in my hands that still had excellent play.

It is impossible to know exactly what this guitar has been through, but whatever its previous life was I know it was rough. With dents and gashes that go to the wood I can see how thick the paint really is. This guitar has withstood impacts that would obliterate the finish of other guitars that i own. In a lot of dents I can see where the paint has held up and it's actually the ash wood beneath it that gave in to the impact.

I play my Aria all the time. I take it to gigs, parks, basically anywhere I want to jam and I always seem to get comments on it. I am confident that this guitar would take anything I could throw at it, smile and ask for more.

I do all of my repair/modifications myself, so I've never dealt with customer service.

I've been playing for around 12 years now, mostly rock & metal. I'm also an electrical engineer, so I enjoy tinkering and modifying about everything I can get my hands on. This is one of the only guitars that I've owned that I've not done major modifications to electronically. I have, however, added a tone pot, which was really the only major vice I had with the whole guitar.
This is, after all, an entry level guitar that isn't going to have all the bells and whistles of more expensive models. That being said, Aria definitely built quality guitars that were meant to last.

If anyone had as hard a time finding any actual(factory) info about Aria as I did, here is a web addy with pics from various Aria ProII catalogs of the time. It's the only info I found on the RS Inazuma-V.

www.matsumoku.org/models/ariaproii/ap2_catalogs.html

Got mine in red metalic back in 1982. Played it almost every single day for the next 6 years. Mine had 2 humbuckers with the split coil wich really did wonders for my tone. I never really realized how good this guitar was till I bought a much more expensive guitar after it.

This guitar is great for the price. the neck and fretboard on mine was flawless, very low action. I put some light strings on it and it rocks.

Sound was great, even with the trem, it stayed in tune for days.
The humbuckers were never that great but they did the job.

Paint, neck and fretboard were all of extremely high quality. I never had any buzzing frets or similar problems. Again, like I said, this guitar was a terrific value. I still rock with this thing today !!!!
Overall fit and finish was really good.

Still rocking today although I am going to replace all the electronics and pickups soon.

Never had any problems. The few minor issues I had were solved quickly with a soldering iron and some hand tools.

I ahve been playing for almost 28 years. I bought this guitar as a cheap starter but it turned out to be one hell of a good guitar.

Rock solid feel, fit and finish were great. Guitar is stilll rocking after all these ywears~!!!!!!

Aria Pro II - 4030082 - RS Inazuma V - strat style shape
Metalic Red - Rosewood fretboard - 22 frets
unsure when it was made, found it in a 2nd hand shop and beat the dealer down to $130 from $175.

Liked the feel although it was in a poor condition. Loved the styling with the smooth rounded shoulders as opposed to the Ibanez RG square sides. I figured if it looked that good and was made for the Jap market then it should be worth the $130. Plus anything somebody bothers to put a serial number on can't be all bad.

Took it home, cleaned it up, oiled the fretboard, reset the action and re strung it with 10 - 46's.

Generally don't like twin humbuckers as they never seem to produce a fine/delicate enough sound for me. I suppose I'm a strat fan.

Pleyed it in for a while, used a Zoom pedal with it played with all the switches and worked out where everything was. Definately suited heavy rock/metal more than general playing.

End result, loved it. Loved the way it felt, played and sounded. Thought it had active pickups but it was the rhythm boost I later found out.

THIS GUITAR PRODUCES THE CLEAREST TOP END I HAVE EVER HEARD.

Above the 12th fret guitars {strats etc} usually get a little thin in sound and when you attack them hard they slap a little or a lot in some cases. Not this sucker, it was powerful and sharp and clean. I am really impressed whith this baby and I guess they are out of production now but if you ever see one in a shop snatch it, you will not be dissapointed.

Nitram

made in japan in 1983
22 frets
laminated top
3 way switch with rythum boost 1 volume and 1 tone knob
2 double humbucker type pickups 1 at bridge and 1 at neck (stock) passive electronics
ash body with rosewood fret board on a maple neck
the finish is a matalic greenish grey color
strat body style almost
fender tremelo
aria pro2 tuners non locking
thin neck with medium frets rosewood fretboard

suits grunge music great
ibenez smash box pedal on a pevey bandit 112
extremly full sound
exellent sound variety espesally with the rythum boost
i love the sound it puts out

i bought it used and the action was kind of high so i lowwered it a little and it is perfect now
the picups were perfectly adjusted
no rust nothin wrong perfect codition

this guitar is extremly reliable i have a gig bag with it

i bought it used

this guitar is all worth it i would buy a new one any day

I bought my left handed Inazuma brand new in 1983 at Key note Music in Surrey B.C. It is black with the red lightning bolt finish. Solid ash body, it is a heavy guitar and very solid. Mine was a base model with only one humbucker and a cheap strat style non locking trem, and a single volume contol. I was 13 in 1983 and this was my first real guitar. I paid 300.00 Cnd (with hardshell case) and still have the tags and receipt. Over the years I have added lefty Floyd Rose, Two Fury humbuckers ( a ZP20 in the bridge position and a ZP9 in the neck). The biggest change was in 1989 when I actually broke the neck when the guitar fell durring a club gig. I replaced the neck with a right handed maple Charvel Model 1 neck which improved the overall feel of the guitar considerably.

This guitar sounds absolutly ungodly and I firmly believe it is the solid ash body that makes the guitar. It is very heavy and sounds very loud and full when not plugged into an amp. Very good sustain but not compared to a good Les Paul. The Floyd is something I regret buying and wish I had gone for a solid non whammy bridge instead. Overall this guitar has no resale value as it is really a bunch of stuff thrown together, but to me it is priceless and I know it sounds great.

When new the guitar was finnished in a thick fiberglass laquer which has stood the test of time. The finnish looks great and is still orrigional. There were no shims between the neck and body and the genneral quality was great. It seems that most Japanese guitars from this period (Aria Pro, Vantage, Ibanez) were quite well made and are very underrated today. I've seen similar guitars in pawn shops for as little as 100.00!

I have used this guitar without backup on countless gigs and never had a problem. The stap buttons were not very good so I have always used Schaller strap locks. Aside from the volume pot wearing out every few years this guitar has held up really well.

Never dealt with them

I have been playing guitar 20 years and have used everything from hot rod Soldanos to the little Line6 Spyder I have now. What really matters is that your guitar is set up right for you and that it sounds good. If this guitar were stolen I could never replace it so I would have to find somthing else. I love heavy beefy guitars so I would probably try to find a lefty Les Paul. But for what I paid for this Strat shaped guitar (even back in 1983 this was cheap) this guitar has been a great friend and I always come back to it no matter what else I try. Don't underestimate these old eighties Japanese guitars. They were made with great woods and can usually be found for next to nothing.

A friend gave this abandoned project to me with a hard shell case for free. He had taken it apart 7 or 8 years ago to refinish, set it in the garage and that is where it sat since!! Made in the early 80's, Japan, 21 fret rosewood on maple neck with a lot of radius, solid ash body. It has a 3 way and a coil splitter, tone and volume. Two humbuckers styled after Lawrence L500 blades (they don't sound like L500's! - more on that later). Strat shape, it was all black, now refinished body to natural with all black neck, clone Floyd Rose trem and locking nut with nice Goth knock-off Japanese tuners.

I replaced the neck pickup with a Carvin C22 and I love it now. The Blades I took off were muddy and had no zero definition. Maybe they were old and demagnetized? The Carvins were a very good buy in my opinion . I will buy another one soon for my other guitar. The thing has great sustain and clarity and though not hot they are just right for my little tube amp. I give it a 9 now, 6 before p-up change.
It is actually a pretty nice guitar. The unplugged acoustic sustain is great. The fret finish is pretty impressive. The neck and action are pretty good at least since I set it up when rebuilding it. I have a love/hate relationship with the old Floyd Rose tremelo. I hate the monstrosity hanging on the end of the guitar but I have now been spoiled by the super fine tuning and fact it stays in tune. I never use the tremolo and in general hate them. Has anyone tried the Schaller stop bridge with fine tuners? The controls are all original and work great. Of course I cleaned them before assembling it all.
It seems like a really well made guitar. I do not know what it cost new but I imagine it was $500 guitar what with the solid ash body, nice neck and features.

It is actually a pretty nice guitar. The unplugged acoustic sustain is great. The fret finish is pretty impressive. The neck and action are pretty good at least since I set it up when rebuilding it. I have a love/hate relationship with the old Floyd Rose tremelo. I hate the monstrosity hanging on the end of the guitar but I have now been spoiled by the super fine tuning and fact it stays in tune. I never use the tremolo and in general hate them. Has anyone tried the Schaller stop bridge with fine tuners? The controls are all original and work great. Of course I cleaned them before assembling it all.

It seems like a really well made guitar. I do not know what it cost new but I imagine it was $500 guitar what with the solid ash body, nice neck and features.

N/A

I have been Playing electric 6 months - a shemp and proud of it! I have strummed the acousyic for over 25 years. I play blues and blues rock. I own a Seagull S6, customized Samick LSR25 DOS and use a Crate VC 508 modified a bit (see review). I can only compare it to a Epiphone S-210 (its superior but a lot different guitar) and a Samick/Abilene LSR2DOS (its a lot better guitar thought the Samick, with a pickup change would be pretty good), all low end guitars. This won't help anyone too much since it has been out of production for years. I will say it probably has little resale value. I actually put it in the LA area Recycler for $200 and got zero calls. Thats nuts since I would not sell it for much less and I feel its a world a way from Epi Specials and Squiers. Does anyone else own one out there????