Aria 2302 ES-175 Copy

This guitar was made in the mid to late 70's. I purchased one originally from a music store I worked in around 76 or 77. I liked it so much that I just recently purchased another one on Ebay. This one is incredibly clean for its age and has a honey burst flamed maple top. The one I had in the 70's was a dark red sunburst spruce top. I know they also made a beautiful natural flame maple version also. The tuners are original and are sticking a bit. I may take the covers off and lube them. The pickups are good, better than other copies I've owned (Ventura). These were rumored to be made in the same factory as Ibanez. The body is more comfortable then other es-175 copies I've played. It seems slightly smaller. The body and construction is very good, the binding is nicely aged and perfectly intact, no separation anywhere.

The sound is very good. This is the type of guitar suited towards jazz or blues. Although I'm a rock player primarily I do experiment with souful blues (Robin Trower), and contemporary jazz. This guitar is perfect for that and with the right settings doesn't feedback at all. Turn it up with to much distortion and obviously you will have a feedback problem. I'm using it with a Roland VG-5 and I can really find some great settings for it, with a bit of overdrive, nice reverb. Clean and punchy rythym settings. With aged 70's wood, its got some great textures to work with. Something you will not find in newer hollow bodied copy guitars.

The action is incredibly low, I actually raised it a bit when I got the guitar. The fit and finish on this guitar are excellent for its age. Its a 30 year old guitar and it really looks and shines like new. This includes all the chrome.

I consider these hollow bodies somewhat fragile. I will use it live but I treat it differently than solid bodies. Its in great shape and I want it to stay that way. All buttons, knobs, and hardware are solid and like new condition.

Not sure about the customer support from Aria, I've never tried. I was able to find a fair amount of information on these guitars at:
http://www.therathole.org/guitars/models/aria/hollow/ful/full.html

I've been playing 32 years. I love this guitar, if it were lost or stolen I'd look for another. As far as Gibson copies go, you cannot go wrong with an Aria or Ibanez from this era. They were known for excellent quality. The Gibson are great and so are the prices. These guitars are solid with great wood and sound. If you want to take it to the next level just replace the pickups with Gibsons and you'd be hard pressed to find a difference from a 70's era Gibson other than the logo.