Aria AC-7

General:
I got this guitar from a local seller used with a decent hard case that I do not think is original to the guitar. Condition was in very good condition as the owner admitted not really using it. There were some scratches and very minor wear, nonetheless it looked virtually untouched. This review will simply look at the features of the guitar itself as it was given to me. Ratings are relative to the original retail value at the time it was distributed and correlated to guitars of similar price range today. The original retail price for this guitar in the late 70's was something in the range of $75-145 as I don't remember what it said at the resource I found this information.

Top:
Top is nice. No paint or odd finish. Finish is relatively thin, though it looks nice for what it is. I believe the top is a laminated spruce. It is not clear to me, so it might actually be solid, but my eyes see laminated. Aria seems to show conflicting statements to whether the top was cedar or spruce (see resources below). It looks spruce to me.

Bottom/Sides:
The bottom is Rosewood, though I am quite sure it is East Indian Rosewood. I am not sure if it is also laminated; I would not be surprised if it was since the guitar is rather light. Is it possible to be a laminated top and solid back/sides?

Tuners:
Nickel plated tuners, nothing special.

Other:
Nothing to mention, if any others, they are good and negligible to make note as problems. Seems to be well built overall however I would not say this guitar is of true "concert" quality though it is very very nice for this price range.

Resources:
*Aria Archive
http://www.ariaguitars.com/int/00int_main/archives_acgtr02.html
*Aria Catalog (choose "Aria Concert Guitar Catalog - 1970")
http://www.ariausa.com/Archive/catalogs.html

Rather nice. I think it lacks some sustain. I am not certain how to measure how much sustain a guitar has, but I will say that it seems to be about average. The trebles are nice and even sounding. The bass is a little more muddy, but does not seem to over power the trebles too much. Balance is good overall. I don't like the strings the owner had on it but I don't think this effect the sound rating since the strings were of good quality.

Action is very nice both at the nut and at the bridge. Action may have been originally modified over the years, but it was good when I got it. Neck was not warped or otherwise abnormal. Tuners work as if they were new, being that it is fairly old, thanks to being well taken care of. Overall great for this guitar.

Seems to be relatively reliable. I have not had this guitar long enough to make a definitive rating for this, but I would suspect that it is very good.

None needed, haven't had the guitar long enough. The Aria website is not the most user friendly site around, so I'm going to rate customer support on that.

Overall, this guitar is very nice. Definitely bets many now-available entry level classical guitars. Though this guitar has not been with me for a good amount of time, I feel that this guitar is well worth it. If I lost it, I'd think I'd attempt to find a similar one, though Aria's seem to be very difficult to find for buying and research. The guitar as a whole is very nice; not much I'd want to change about it.

Fairly nice for this type of guitar (ie, price rating). I bought used a few days ago from a local owner who got it from another owner; neither used it. Looks very much untouched. I would rate it an 8.5 if it let me.

Age:
According to my research...which is fairly difficult for this guitar, it seems to date in the late 1970's.

Top:
The top is solid spruce I'm quite sure, though I'm not sure if its laminate (if its possible to be solid spruce laminate), I'm no luthier. Its very nice quality I think though. Aria seems to be conflicting in whether it was spruce or cedar (see sources below).

Back/Sides:
Correction to previous reviewer, the back and sides are Rosewood, a very nice one I might add. However, it looks like Indian Rosewood and not Brazilian Rosewood. Looks like solid wood.

Tuners:
Works very well.

Others:
None to complain about. I believe it originally retailed in the US for something like $80-$145 but I can't find the source I got that from.

Sources:
http://www.ariausa.com/Archive/cp_concert1970_01.html
http://www.ariaguitars.com/int/00int_main/archives_acgtr02.html

Nice sound though I think it lacks some sustain but is very nice for this guitar, hence the 9. Sustain for the bass strings is better than that of the treble, but that just might be the strings I have on them. Sound is even among all strings and projection is quite good for this guitar. I wish I could compare the sound to the Yamaha Nippon Gakki I wanted (I choose this one due to its condition being better), but I this seems to be superior. As previously state, I wouldn't call this a "concert" guitar, though it is very well made and sounds great.

All very nice for this guitar. Smells like old wood, but I like it. No complaints here, though the neck is wide and is fairly hard to use your thumb on the 6th string, but I think that's normal for classical guitars, if that not normal for good classical guitars, than you should make my 10 a 9 instead. I don't own a custom built classical, so I don't have that experience of knowledge. Overall, very well built.

Not sure, haven't had the guitar long enough to take into account abuse, though I doubt I'll be abusing it at all.

None needed nor have i had the guitar long enough to rate it, though the Aria website is fairly useful if you know how to navigate...its a bit cumbersome to find what you need.

Overall, very nice for price range, and I'm talking about its relative retail, not the fact that I got it used.

I bought this guitar 3 weeks ago, from a lady , she never played on the guitar, she prefers the piano.
The guitar is from 1983 she told me...i don'y no, the internetsite it is produced till 1980.
The guitar is brand new, not one single scratch, even a fingerprint.
The original strings are on the guitar, a little label on the neck tells: strings are made by Aria Nagoya Japan.
The guitar is also made in Japan.
I think the top is solid....spruce i gues.

Amazing!!
I never have a guitar whit this sound, i own a couple Japanese Vintage guitars, bur this one is special.
A little fretbuzzing, but i like it.

Very low action, beautifull finish.

I dont no, i have the guitar for a cuople a weks now...can nothing tell about it

Its very hard to find information of old Aria guitars.

I play for 5 years now.
I've got a few Yamaha vintage guitars, 3 Aria's

This is a well made Aria ac-7 concert guitar.It was made in japan during a time when japs were trying to conquer the world market,so its well made with quality woods.Its got a solid spruce top and mahogany back and sides that look solid too.Its got open style tuners and a very nice soundhole rosette.

Its better and better every day.Although its been beaten around a bit,and used for everything from flamenco to classical to bossa nova it still gives out a rich yet mellow sound,and al;though not an especially expensive guitar,I would match it with any of the newer high end guitars of today

The guitar was a present to me for my birthday in the late 70s and as I was only just then beginning to learn,I didnt know anything about action and set up,but as I got better I found that the action needed to be lowered,which was an easy matter of shaving the saddle.The finish of the guitar is good with no messy glue marks or splits.It was made in Nagoya,Japan.The home of the best luthiers in the world although we didnt know it then

This little guitar has been around the block many times and has been taken out on numerous gigs.It just keeps going on and on and all it has needed was the strings changed,Ive used it without backup many times.Although I now use a Hirade a lot,I still bring this one out for back up.Its very reliable

never had a problem with it,but I once wrote to them to ask for a replacement set of tuners,in case I needed them and they wrote me a very nice letter back.I never did get those tuners and the guitar never did need them

Ive been playing since the late 70s and this was my first "proper" guitar.Its been a good friend to me over the years and I wouldent part with her for a fortune.Although I now have a Hirade,a Giannini,and very old and valuable Ibanez Salvador,for all round playing,this is my favourite,apart from the fact that the others are getting too valuable to take out nowadays.Ive always used thia to practice and record with.Im currently looking for a mint one on ebay to give to my son,but cant find one

The Japanese Aria AC-7 Concert Guitar is a classic acoustic guitar of good quality. An inlay around the sound hole. .

According to http://www.ariausa.com/archives/acc.html this model was built between 1977 and 1980 from spruce (judging the color, that would be the front) and redwood. I got it in 1981 for my first lessons. As i got it, i honestly forgot whether it costed 170 or 350 euro back then. So compared to other guitars here, very moderate.

I would like to call the sound 'friendly', for strumming as well as picking. Sound gets richer with volume, but as i do not like picks i decided to grow longer nails. Perfect for normal use.
But frankly, i think the title 'concert guitar' is exaggerated. Though far better than the average medium priced guitar, i've heard guitars of a higher but still affordable price category (US$ 400) with stronger and richer sound.

Well finished. No frustration about anything.

I like the large distance between the frets, and their height, this makes it very easy to play and you hardly ever hear a string protesting for a malplaced finger. But for the same reason and the wide neck it may be less suited for ppl with small hands (barre!). Oh and because of the wide neck it is quite hard to use the left thumb on the lower E string while holding a chord (as would be nice in 'while my guitar gently weeps').

The guitar has always been good to me, survived temperature/humidity shocks, and has been dropped quite often. No sign or sound of damage.
As a moderate user i only caused some wear in the wood around the top frets. The 3 high strings have cut into the bridge wood, but i'm sure the bridge will last another 5 years at least.
It was only today (20 yrs after buying it) that i needed to replace the (originally very good) tuners because they were so worn that one blocked. It took me just ten minutes to replace the tuners. Uhm, i had to use a chisel(!) and a hammer to destroy one of the screws (blush, don't try this at home) but the quitar survived without protest.

Hey, it's twenty years old now and did not ask for any attention until today!

An honest and reliable classic guitar. Sound remains ok under severe conditions. A good mate to carry everywhere.
Oh and while the AC-8 model does not get you laid (see review), i'm sure this one helped me into two longer lasting relations.

Despite the quality i rate it just a seven because the sound is just ok but not special.