Aria AW 100

My Aria AW-100 is from the mid 1980s and was made in Korea, 20 frets, Body is spr. and mah.; neck mah. fretboard(?)...
No gimmick guitar, just normal dreadnought steal string guitar.

Well, this inexpensive guitar has the sound of a lifetime. Honestly, no other guitar I ever played suited my ears more than this one. I do a some fingerpicking and it's sound is perfect for that. It has a full sound, not too many mids, clear... perfect. (I tried Seagulls, Takamines and even a Martin, but I'd rather stick with this one...) Sounds good with new and used strings.

When I bouhgt it, it was set up very good, I didn't find any production flaws over the years.

This guitar has been around europe a lot (France, Italy, Denmark and all over Germany) I've played it _a lot_ in front of crowds on stage and on the street. No hassel, stay tuned even under rugh circumstaces guitar. Fingerboard suffered through the years, but still very good. It never failed me!

No need to contact Aria. They had a 2(?) year warranty, but this one is about 20 years old now.

I've played this one for about 20 yers now, it will stay with me until its dead and that will be at least 20 more years. It's light and has a great sound. I tried several other brands, but this is the only guitar i own.

I bought this guitar in 1989. 20 frets, laminated top, made in Korea. This is an acoustic with no extra features except for one strap pin. I have no clue what wood was used for the body or neck. This is the first guitar I bought and I was a student then. The price was affordable and the salesman played it so well that I though the guitar was good enough for me!!! The truth is: I could not afford a Norman.

The sound is great and loud. This is the perfect campfire guitar. It is also very light. A friend of mine who has a Takamine is always impressed by the feeling of playing and hearing this guitar. Over the years, I have tried many guitars far more expensive than this one and there seems to be always something wrong: the neck doesn't fit my hand, or the sound is too crisp or too faded. OK it's not a Martin (no kidding!), but the sound the player gets from this guitar is really unique and loud in every directions. The player can feel the sound from the body and it creates a very warm feeling when you play it. Although the lower frequencies miss a bit of sustain (is this because of the laminated top or the soft back?), the highs are not too "thin" and the overall sound is really impressing for a low end guitar. Here is my trick: Martin Phosphor bronze strings. Why? Because they age well and never really die. Sure, they fade out but they still play. This is something you want to know when you change them only once a year like me. I tried so many brands that died after a month!! I recently was introduced to Elixir coated and they sound promising. I might give a review on those in a year...

It has a great look and the finition is well done, but the factory set-up was really bad. I had to return it to the store because of a key that was not turning well, and the store manager replaced all the keys with a new set of keys. The action was really high and was pitching the lower notes. They lowered the strings at both ends and proceeded with a neck adjustment. Still it was a bit hard to play until I brought it to a real expert (last winter) who performed a really nice fret job and a very good adjustment for nearly the original price of the guitar! But it was worth the price because now it is much easier to play. The rating here is based on the actual condition of the guitar.

Even after 15 years of campfires, partys, heavy picking, rain, thunderstorm, snow, freezing nights in the car trunk at -30C, and sometimes a few bad hits (like walking on it..), it is as good as new and still looks great except for a few scratches. The finish has no real sign of wear, no cracks, and ther is no unexpected vibrations. The neck is straight. It aged well.

The store customer support was good, but I don't know about the manufacturer.

I started to play 30 years ago with a cheap used classical guitar on which acoustic steel strings were installed (of course, I had to screw the bridge..). I self learned and became an acceptable player after a lot of efforts. I now play many styles (nothing complicated)and I have this crazy sense of rythm that fills in the song I play in a very unique feeling. I own an Ovation Shallow Cutaway (japanese), an acoustic Mansfield MD120 (this one has a story..), an electric Marlin (dismanteled for refinishing) and another really cheap electric GK. My Aria is my favorite mainly because of the sound and I am glad the salesman played it well15 years ago!! If it was stolen, I would take the insurance money and watch ebay everyday until someone wants to sell an identical guitar and I would have it fixed properly. Or maybe not... I have had girlfriends stolen in the past and I have always replaced them with very different ones! A broken hearth can not be repaired, but the beat must go on!