Aria Pro II RS-850

I first became aware of this guitar when I was doing a recording session. I was turned on to it by the owner of the studio who raved about it. At the time,(1981)I had a Les Paul Custom, several Strats, etc. I loved the neck through the body, brass bridge, etc. because of the sustain it gave. It was also obvious upon close inspection you could dial in any tone you needed and the way the guitar was built was pure quality/top to bottom. I immediately bought one and over the years used it on all styles of music and it never let me down. I also appreciated the longer neck (than a strat)24 fret neck (than a stat) because it made playing up high easier.

I've played this guitar over the years with a variety of amps (twins, super reverbs, Legend, Boogie, Roland) and pedals and have never been disappointed. I've played rock, pop, blues, country, new wave, ballads, jazz, you name it. It certainly doesn't have the power of a Les Paul or some of the other guitars with souped up pickups but I'd take this one to the proverbial desert island cause this guitar does have a pre-amp and can cover a lot of ground. I've also owned the same guitar Aria Pro 750 which doesn't have the pre-amp, and the 850 is better.

The action over the years has remained like the day I got it. Low, with no buzzing. I've adjusted the bridge slightly a couple of times and that's pretty much it. Not bad for over 25 years. The quality is absolutely there. I was told that this guitar was built by Matsumoku, who I believe has passed away now, but I was told he was a master guitar builder. Over the years, I've checked out other Aria guitars, as well as other guitars that were made by Matsumoku and for my taste they can't even come close to this one. The test of time is a good criteria to judge. I don't understand why they didn't continue to make this guitar but I suspect it was because they couldn't make enough money for what it cost them to build it.

Man, you probably won't believe it but this guitar except for a couple of minor dings that was my own fault from tons of gigs, looks like new till this day. The clear coat is still excellent, the neck is straight, and even the tuners still haven't given me any reason to replace them.

Never had call to need any.

I don't know what to say other than they're hell to find. They hardly ever appear on ebay, but if you see one- GET IT! You won't be dissappointed. When you consider that a Les Paul Custom from this era is somewhere around 3 grand, this guitar for a few hundred is a super bargain. When you combine the looks (I love the natural wood), sound, and the way the tinyest detail was executed in production, I've never seen another guitar that's even close. I've had a ton of different guitars and have enjoyed them, cause we all know that different guitars have different characteristics and no two are the same, but this is a special guitar.

This guitar was made and I bought it new in 1980 for around #500 (UK); similar in price to a USA Strat or Telecaster at that time. In fact I had just bought a new USA telacaster and did not like it so I traded it in ordered a new aria pro II RS-850 in walnut finish and I have never looked back. The guitar has a thru neck very similar in design to the Aria SB basses of that period. The guitar has two pick ups ,one at the bridge and one at the neck and a noise cancelling pickup in the centre for the active electronics. There is a three position switch to select either the bridge pick up, the neck pick-up or both. Each pick-up has a 3 way switch for changing the tone from each pick-up giving all the tones that you would ever need. There is a tone pot per pick-up and master volume pot. The neck finger board is a very dark rosewood finish with mother of pearl inlay. The neck has 24 frets. The bridge and nut are made of brass. The overall design of the guitar looks more like a strat than a gibson les paul.

I play country and rock music involving backing and solos. I also use a slide. I know a good jazz guitarist who thought that the guitar suited his style. This guitar is an all rounder and I have had many comments on the quality and tone from this guitar from other musicians and audiences. The sound can be rich/full or bright...you decide! The combination of the through neck, the woods used, active electronics gives a wide ranges of quality sounds.

This is a quality instrument made in Japan at the time that the Japanese manufacturers were almost (or were?)surpassing their USA rivals. Instead of ending up in court with a quality Fender or Gibson copy the Japanese made their own originals and this is one of them. Action is great and can be adjusted to suit the player. The pick-ups are fully adjustable. The neck is straight, even after 25 years of regular use. I have only had the frets professionally polished once and the fret wear is relatively minimal for its age.

This guitar has stood the test of time and there only repairs undertaken are a replacement jack socket, a replacement saddle for the A string due to wear and re-soldering the battery wires. Otherwise all the guitar is original. There are a few marks and chips on the guitar but none that aftect the playability and none that can be seen when playing. I had to depend on this guitar when I bought it as I was only in my mid-teens then and blew all my money, so I could not afford a back-up! I have never needed a back up guitar in 25 years! Here's to the next 25!

Never needed any, but I believe it would be difficult to find any.

Great guitar and should last my lifetime. If it were lost or stolen I guess I could not buy the same again even though I would want to! I don't beleive that there are many around with a single owner history but this is and will continue to be!

i recently purchased this guitar from the local pawnshop for $120. at the time i didn't know it had been frankensteined by some tweaker along the line and the electronics were butchered. i did the best i could putting it back together--- it has three single-coil pickups, two tone control pots, one volume, a pickup select switch and two dpdt switches which seem to control tone, although i can't detect much difference when i switch them. but it plays like a dream. i have owned strats and sgs and rickys before and i must say this guitar kicks butt on all of them. the 24-fret fretboard has wonderful action and a neck-thru body design with an anchored brass bridge and brass nut. i looked it up on the internet and near as i can figure it was made sometime between 1979-1985. i have yet to break a string on it, although i play really hard blues and rock on it. i am looking for the schematics to put this guitar back in original condition so if anyone out there has any info please drop me a line. also aria is not real good for tracing serial numbers--any info there? all in all this is a great guitar.

this guitar can be used for any style-- the variety of switch settings make it easy. i use a hondo 35 watt amp lined into my peavey xr400 with an old digitech effects pedal. leads are clear and bright and rythyms are hot and heavy. my only complaint is that it doesn't feedback, although if i could play a little louder i'm sure it would. darn neighbors!

the original finish has some chips and dings but it's still a pretty guitar. the volume control is a bit too close to the play area and i often find myself turning it back up while playing due to hand slap. the woods used and construction are flawless. bridge, nut and tuning heads are all highest quality.

i would not hesitate to take this to a gig and play it all night even without backup strings!!! i have never had a more dependable guitar.

aria sucks as far as finding wiring diagrams or history about this guitar. i do all my own repairs and i found the wiring rather crazy. after much hair-pulling and cussing i finally found a suitable wiring setup and it plays well although i have no idea how close to original it is. what's up aria? give us more info please!!!

i have played for over thirty years. i also have a fender dg7 acoustic, an epiphone 12-string acoustic, a bcrich warlock and mics and p.a. equipment, as well as recording equipment. i wish i'd checked the electronics before buying, but it's been fun anyways. if somebody stole it i'd be likely to kill. i've put a lot of time and work into it now, and would not trade it for anything else (except maybe a 12-string ricky electric) i wish i was a better player, because this guitar does everything i can think of. maybe someday i may add onboard effects (i think it may have had those pre-tweaker) all in all if you see one of these at the local pawnshop BUY IT!!! hella great guitar.