2008 Model Aria TA50 in Wine Red. A 335 clone semi-acoustic model this guitar has 22 frets, two humbucker 'Seymour Duncan Designed'pickups, 2 tone and 2 volume pots, 3 way selector switch, maple top, back and sides, mahogany set-in neck with rosewood fret board, a stop bridge and tailpeice.
This paticular model is finished in a clasic glossy red stain, which still shows the grain of the wood beautifuly.

All the features you would expect of a guitar of this style and price-range.

I've only been able to put this guitar through a Danelectro Honeytone, but with headphones plugged in (which offers the best appraisal with this amp) the guitar can deliver clean 60's jangle (a-la Mamas and Papas)through the bridge pickup, right up to growling bass-end-heavy blues-rock (A-la Black Keys)thorugh the neck. sustain isn't brilliant at the high-end of the neck, but if you wanted that you'd get a solid body right?

Unplugged (I know its not the main purpose of a semi, but it's useful when the rest of the household is in bed)the guitar delivers suprisingly loud and well balanced tone. None of the richness or range of a full acoustic (of course) but good enough for quiet practice.

The guitar wa bought from 'Project Music' in Exeter, who gave the guitar a good setup when I bought it. The finish on this guitar is just pure gorgeousness. The wood grain shows through the red-stain, the gloss finish is mirror-smooth with no evidence of shoddy finish in corners or joins. Action is decently low and the neck is set into the body flawlessly. If you didnt know this was a sub ??200 guitar you wouldn't be able to tell by looking.

The guitar seems perfectly solid, infact its taken one or two minor knocks in the last 12 months with no evidence of damage. The only problem I've had is one occasion when the pickup-selector refused to make contact in the middle setting about 3 months in, however 5 seconds of wiggling seemed to sort this out and it hasn't happened again since.

The strap buttons are solid, however the guitar is a bit neck heavy due to the neck-button positioning, this has resulted in my strap coming off at the bridge end once when the guitar tipped up. A locking gadget for the button would sort this out however.

I would trust this guitar in a live setting much more than my mediocre playing skills.

Cant comment on Aria themselves as I havent dealt with them yet, hence no opinion.

Project Music, whom I bought this guitar from, however have been brilliant. They set the guitar up when I purchased it and have offered me unlimited free setups in the first 12 months. As this was my first electric guitar they gave a good heads up on the main differences between this and my old acoustic, and even advised against purchasing any of the cheap practice amps they currently had in stock as they werent sold on the quality themselves. Honest helpful dealers for whom I would give a 10.

I've been playing for a over 10 years, albeit without much real commitment untill around 12 months ago. I am a fairly proficient rythym guitarist and am now trying to perfect my lead/solo skills.

If this guitar were stolen, lost, broken etc. I would certainly buy another one the same.

I'm tempted to say this a good guitar 'for the price, which it is, but regardless of price it is a good guitar anyway. I'm looking forward to improving my playing skills and eventually getting this guitar to sing as beautifully as it looks! I certainly think it will last the course.

Just the same features you would expect from a 335. Wine Red finish, made in China in 2004. Never owned a real 335 but buying this guitar has created an interest in the 335???s and their history. This guitar appears to have copied the main features of the 335 using their own (Aris???s) hardware and DD pickups in the standard locations as 335 specs. From what I???ve learned on the subject, I think all the controls are pretty much identical to the 335. I have played a few Gibson 335 just briefly (a few minuets) over the years and this feels and acts equally well from what I recall. I have had a problem finding/reaching the bridge pickup volume control to make adjustments between rhythm parts to support my vocals, lead solos and turning back down when solo is complete???but I believe I can overcome this with practice.

It has the normally thick sound like I had always imagined these type guitars would have. The Duncan Design pickups do pretty much what I require and like. Sound-wise it pretty much sounds and operates like a les paul except it???s a little more prone to feedback due to it being semi-hollow body which is OK with me because you can kind of control the feedback by moving closer to the amp or moving away. As with any electric guitar the other big factor of the sound is what amp you link it to and the amp settings. I am a builder of point to point tube amps, so I have a large selection to choose from. With a little amp tweaking I???ve been able to dial in by favorite tones and response without any problem all amps I???ve hooked up to. I can???t imagine changing the pickups out but time will tell. I play on the neck PU most of the time.

I fell in love with this guitar right off the shelf of the pawn shop but the item was so just in, they hadn???t put a price on it yet. The action felt great. The build quality and finish looked top notch to me. I tried to forget this guitar and just let it go over the weekend but I couldn???t. So I waited for the shop to put a price on it and tried it once more. It was in new condition for $180.00, I couldn???t resist. I???ve had the guitar a month now and the only negative issue I???ve encountered is the guitar is neck-heavy. When you let go of the guitar with a regular nylon/cloth strap, the strap slips and the neck dives down toward the floor. I corrected this by buying a wide 3 ????? Eagle Mountain Leather Strap with strap-locks and it corrected the problem. Only other thing I noticed I???m accumulating a lot of pick scratches on the finish around the pickups and pick-guard. It???s not so visible except when the light hits it at a certain angle. I love the way it looks and feels.

I bought a pretty nice/cheap Guardian hard-shell case for it for $72.00 that I hope will protect it. I keep as old cotton T-shirt on top of the strings for a wiping cloth; absorb moisture and extra padding in the case. This has yet to be determined. I???m somewhat of a guitar tech so unless I encounter any construction issues, I should be able to keep this going from now on.

I was inquiring of USA Aria dealers about the difference in specs that I was getting off the net regarding the TA-50. Some specs indicate Maple neck other mahogany neck, some MH-1 pickups and others HB-103. I did get response from one company rep indicating from the serial number, it was built in Dec 2004. I even got a response from Toshiyuki Matsumura the Manager-International Sales Division. He said from all indications, it is a maple neck and DD MH-1 pickups.

I love this guitar. I would give it a perfect 10 if it wasn???t neck-heavy. I think Aria could work to swing some weight to the rear of the guitar in a creative way to counter balance the neck weight---but I like the way the guitar looks, feels, sounds and now that I got a heavy leather strap, it has no neck diving problems. I never was a real 335 fan or gave them or any copies a serious consideration until I picked up this guitar. At the price I got this guitar, it was an excellent bargain. Even at the list price it is a bargain when you compare to current 335 prices. I chose it not because of Aria or any 335 hype or anything else other than when I took it off the shelf from the git go, it???s been a great guitaring experience and I wanted to write this review to say how happy I am with it. I am presently 61 and first started playing around 1963. Played in a lot of bands and gone through a lot of equipment over the years, so I am speaking from experience. Fine piece of work at a reasonable price.

Just the same features you would expect from a 335. Wine Red finish, made in China in 2004. Never owned a real 335 but buying this guitar has created an interest in the 335???s and their history. This guitar appears to have copied the main features of the 335 using their own (Aris???s) hardware and DD pickups in the standard locations as 335 specs. From what I???ve learned on the subject, I think all the controls are pretty much identical to the 335. I have played a few Gibson 335 just briefly (a few minuets) over the years and this feels and acts equally well from what I recall. I have had a problem finding/reaching the bridge pickup volume control to make adjustments between rhythm parts to support my vocals, lead solos and turning back down when solo is complete???but I believe I can overcome this with practice.

It has the normally thick sound like I had always imagined these type guitars would have. The Duncan Design pickups do pretty much what I require and like. Sound-wise it pretty much sounds and operates like a les paul except it???s a little more prone to feedback due to it being semi-hollow body which is OK with me because you can kind of control the feedback by moving closer to the amp or moving away. As with any electric guitar the other big factor of the sound is what amp you link it to and the amp settings. I am a builder of point to point tube amps, so I have a large selection to choose from. With a little amp tweaking I???ve been able to dial in by favorite tones and response without any problem all amps I???ve hooked up to. I can???t imagine changing the pickups out but time will tell. I play on the neck PU most of the time.

I fell in love with this guitar right off the shelf of the pawn shop but the item was so just in, they hadn???t put a price on it yet. The action felt great. The build quality and finish looked top notch to me. I tried to forget this guitar and just let it go over the weekend but I couldn???t. So I waited for the shop to put a price on it and tried it once more. It was in new condition for $180.00, I couldn???t resist. I???ve had the guitar a month now and the only negative issue I???ve encountered is the guitar is neck-heavy. When you let go of the guitar with a regular nylon/cloth strap, the strap slips and the neck dives down toward the floor. I corrected this by buying a wide 3 ????? Eagle Mountain Leather Strap with strap-locks and it corrected the problem. Only other thing I noticed I???m accumulating a lot of pick scratches on the finish around the pickups and pick-guard. It???s not so visible except when the light hits it at a certain angle. I love the way it looks and feels.

I bought a pretty nice/cheap Guardian hard-shell case for it for $72.00 that I hope will protect it. I keep as old cotton T-shirt on top of the strings for a wiping cloth; absorb moisture and extra padding in the case. This has yet to be determined. I???m somewhat of a guitar tech so unless I encounter any construction issues, I should be able to keep this going from now on.

I was inquiring USA Aria dealers about the difference in specs that I was getting off the net regarding the TA-50. Some specs indicate Maple neck other mahogany neck, some MH-1 pickups and others. I did get response from one company rep indicating from the serial number, it was built in Dec 2004. I even got a response from Toshiyuki Matsumura the Manager-International Sales Division. He said from all indications, it is a maple neck and DD MH-1 pickups.

I love this guitar. I would give it a perfect 10 if it wasn???t neck-heavy. I think Aria could work to swing some weight to the rear of the guitar in a creative way to counter balance the neck weight---but I like the way the guitar looks, feels, sounds and now that I got a heavy leather strap, it has no neck diving problems. I never was a real 335 fan or gave them or any copies a serious consideration until I picked up this guitar. At the price I got this guitar, it was an excellent bargain. Even at the list price it is a bargain when you compare to current 335 prices. I chose it not because of Aria or any 335 hype or anything else other than when I took it off the shelf from the git go, it???s been a great guitaring experience and I wanted to write this review to say how happy I am with it. I am presently 61 and first started playing around 1963. Played in a lot of bands and gone through a lot of equipment over the years, so I am speaking from experience. Fine piece of work at a reasonable price.

Normal 335 features

For an import 33 clone, an amazingly good sound. Much better than Agiles or Epiphones I've played.

Action was perfect for me, very low. Neck was perfect and like a 60s slim, intonation spot on. Finish is not thick and glopped on like some import models, just right. I like the wrapped stoptail.

Everything so far is tight and solid. That the guitar costs so little it makes it easy to play out with and it has not let me down. Does not seem delicate like my Casino.

No opinion. The dealer has been great.

I've been playing over 30 years. I have a lot of great guitars. This was a guitar to use as a play-out guitar that I would not be concerned with being stolen or broken. That I really like the guitar and would play it anyway is a plus.

Made in China, this is the standard 335/ casino set-up. This is the virtually the same as the cheaper Aria TA40 (which I also have) except the TA50 has a set neck, "Duncan Designed" pickups, a smoother fingerboard, parallelograms instead of dot inlays, a quick change bridge and a more expensive looking maple body. It also has a scratchplate though I took it off as I prefer this look.

An interesting feature Aria guitars have is that when one volume is off the other cuts out too. There was quite a range of sounds from mellow jazz to cutting distorted leads. It could certainly hold its head up in nu/thrash metal band (even if it does not look the part). There is very little difference in sound between this and the TA40 though this one does give the lower strings more body.

The action was great and low though there were a few buzzing frets which is a shame as it would be the perfect guitar otherwise. I took a nail file and sandpaper to the guilty ones and now it is fine.

Despite being a fairly cheap guitar I do look after this one. No one believes the price I paid. I have started using this at gigs for jangly sixties songs. It fits this bill perfectly. If anyone was in a Beatles band pretending to be George here is a cheap option.

No idea

Occasionally you will come across a guitar which is in the wrong price range. This is certainly one. It has made my more expensive Ibanez Artcore a certain for ebay selling. I can't imagine that for the one hundred and eighty pounds that I spent there is a "proper" semi that looks, plays and sounds as good as this.

I'm not sure where it was made but it is well-made wherever! The passive electronics are interesting to work with but I think that's standard for most passive guitars.I'm not keen on the amount of interaction between knobs so I tend to record with everything maxed out then tweak from there.

This gets used mainly for recording through various VST effects and clean. In a live setting (rare) I play through Korg AG3X and Roland amp. Ticks all the boxes for me, even humm and hiss are acceptable on my simple recording system.

Finish and colour are good, the neck is well set-up too. How do they do it for taht money?

I don't get much chance to play guitar live but on the occassions I have, it feel like an old friend - you know how it will beahave under various circumstances and it is always good behaviour even if dirty!

Very comfortable neck, though it is heavy for you Strat people!

Never had to call on after sales service so Ican't rate that.

I've only been playing 37 years, and have owned various guitars from Watkins Rapier to Strat; quite honestly I dream of a 335 but now I'm not sure the differences would justify the cost!

Laminated Maple top, Mahog. Neck with Rosewood Fretboard.
2 x Aria Humbuckers, 3 way toggle, vol and tone for each pup.
Electrics are reliable and usable.
Switches/pots are clean, with no play at all.
Machine heads (Aria's own I think)are spot on.
All the features you'd expect on a 335 copy.

Sounds great!
Rock, blues and jazz, no problem.
Smoother than other much more expensive 335 copies I've tried.
Constantly amazes me what I got for such little money.

Set was OK out of the box, but asked the shop to improve it (which they did for free...)
Has played great ever since.
Nice neck.
No flaws.
Finish great for that price.
Looks expensive.

Still looks new 4 years on with a fair amount of use.

I've covered a lot of this already.
As good as much more expensive guitars.

Never needed any so can't comment.

Bought it as a cheap guitar that I didn't mind getting trashed.
It's now one of my favorites.
Would be happy if I paid twice as much.
Can't find anything to complain about with this.
Would definitely buy another Aria.

In the style of the 335 this was in wine red. I say was because I sent it back in no time flat - it was brand new. With chrome hardware it was nothing elaborate and the colour looked less bright and appealing in the flesh. A 335 is a 335!!!

I use a Fender 112 amp but I couldn't get as far as playing it enough to appreciate it fully.
I don't have a style but I am constantly on the search for that Chuck Berry sound ..........this didn't deliver since I didn't own it long enough. I since got a Rally - a really great piece of kit BTW - and, incidentally, appreciate the pups switch being away from the rest of the electronics.
They say these growl when unplugged. Didn't seem to do that for me.

This is where the trouble lay as right out of the box I suspected it would be a troublesome guitar. The bridge was all the way down yet the action was still high. I usually expect to have to set guitars up to my way of playing and this was no exception. It needed a lot of work on intonation, neck relief and string height etc. As the bridge couldn't be lowered I was snookered from the get go. I like a flat fretboard with little or no relief and low strings. The neck was true enough but the string height............oh dear. But what did it for me was that even at this height the top string choked on the 21st fret right down to the 17th. I got the feeling this was a seconds - we call them Friday jobs.

I can't really rate it in this section because the trouble is I got no further than preliminary playing but it seemed like it would do as a back up but I wouldn't like to say I could really depend on it. Guess I will never really know.

Customer support was fair enough, they just said return it for a refund. I had a lot of trouble getting a reply from them via email and after a day or so of unanswered emails I phoned them To my mind it needed a lot of work to make it playable and that's the last thing you need from a guitar that you have just bought online - after all, first priority is that it works.

I did a lot of reading online and came to the conclusion that the Aria TA50 was a good budget buy. It has been years since I had something like this, a Hofner Committee Verithin in Blonde and been toying with getting something along those lines again for years. This didn't cut it for me and if it had been stolen I would not have replaced it - it would have been a blessing that it went. Maybe it was a one-off but I have played for decades and had a good few cheap inexpensive guitars through to expensive ones. Having had a Watkins Rapier 3 as my third guitar I know what unplayable means. Today's guitars are amazing compared to then but this Aria reminded me of that early kit.
I usually ask what the setup is out of the box but I quite enjoy tweaking a new acquisition to my specs so if it is raw I don't mind as long as it it actually playable and tweakable.