Product: Aria AW 40
Price Paid: US $350
Submitted
10/20/2002
at
05:47pm
by
rich
Email: none
Features
:
10
Made in Japan, late 70's. Beautiful woods - solid dark spruce (cedar?) top with Indian Rosewood back and sides. Mosaic binding all around. Dreadnought Martin copy (the words 'Aria Dreadnought' on the headstock is stylized to look like the 'C.F. Martin' logo. Gold tuners similar to Grovers. The neck is fully bound with the same mosaic binding used on the body, and it has snowflake inlays for markers.
Sound
:
10
This guitar has aged beautifully over the years, and has an extremely full mellow sound that works well whether I'm finger-picking or strumming. I've tried Taylors, new Martins, etc., and nothing can touch the sound of this guitar.
Work well with any Acoustic sound.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
10
Low action and flawless finsh. Perfect tone for 25 years and counting! The frets are a bit worn, especially under the B and high E, but there is no buzzing, so I'll keep it as is rather than risk having it ruined.
Reliability/Durability
:
10
Have played live for years, either miked up or with a Dimarzio pickup (I prefer miking to maintain the true acoustic sound). It still looks as good as the day I bought it, the only thing I have ever had to change out (besides the strings ;-) ) were the bridge pins, as I broke one when changing strings. I couldn't find a duplicate for the Rosewood with mother-of-pearl dot inlays, so I replaced them with a set of Martin pins.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Never had to deal with them.
Overall Rating
:
10
I've been playing for over 30 years, and have a Fender Standard Strat as well as an Alvarez-Yari (nice guitar, but pales compared to the Aria!).
I looked at a ton of guitars at Sam Ash in Carle Place before picking the Aria. A combination of sound and price (sounded better than the more expensive Martins and Ovations I tried out) lead me to choose the Aria, and I don't think any other guitar would have served me as long and well as the Aria has.
I love the way this guitar sounds, the action, and all-around sharp looks. I don't think I could replace this if it wer lost or stolen, probably would have to go with a Taylor and hope it aged as well.
