Am i being ridiculous...(pic)

[Hoss]

ok...here's what happened...

i've been going around to local shops looking for my wife an electric violin and possibly a small x-tra clean amp...we went to several and made a stop at a really old small shop in my area who normally only carries about a dozen guitars, 6 or 7 banjos/mandolins/violins...and maybe 3 or four amps...

out of these...usually nothing high dollar...but he does sell on consignment and he buys used stuff from time to time...so you never know what you'll run into...hence the stop here...

so i walk into the little hole in the wall...(Literally) and instantly my eyes are drawn towards a les paul shaped-size/gretsch style guitar...beautiful burnt red/orange color (maple/maple)...with just enough wood showing through the finish...semi hollow (2-f-holes), gorgeous cream binding, and a real bigsby tremelo, 22 fret rosewood with nice inlays, two Hb's, with a three way and coil tapper...

the quality and finish were incredible...i was actually amazed...i've been looking at 335's alot lately...and even though they are a bigger body and the bigsby's are more heavy duty...the overall craftsmanship appeared to be very comparable...

i played it unplugged first...great neck...wide & thin...warm rich and resonant...just like it's supposed to be...fretted easy and played easy...

then i plugged it in...more of the same...pups weren't to bad at all, and the neck was actually really good...although knowing me...i'd swap em' out for duncans regardless...LOL...

BUT... it was an Aria...an aria fa80...

list price was $900...on sale for $525...BUT...it was an Aria...

BUT it felt/looked/played/sounded...great...just about as good as any rockabilly guitar i have ever played in any price range...

BUT...it was an Aria...

soooo...am i being ridiculously stupid for caring what's on the headstock...does anyone have any experience with newer Aria's or especially this particular model...

should i just buy the thing and put in a pair of duncans and forget about it!!!???

your views and opinions are greatly appreciated and welcomed as always...


thanks,
mike


here's a pic...which doesn't do the finish one bit of justice...but it'll give you and idea...

[stratsandaks]

Re: Am i being ridiculous...(pic)

I played on of those a couple of weeks ago unplugged at a local store, I thought it was a really nice guitar for the money too.

I have a two year old Aria PE model that blew me away with its playability right out of the box, one of my favorite guitars with a C5/Jazz combo in it.

If you don't plan on ever selling it, it plays well, and sounds good who cares what it says on the headstock.

[Xeromus]

Re: Am i being ridiculous...(pic)

The name on the headstock doesn't mean $hit. Only to those yodels who don't know quality when they see it and just buy a name even though the quality might suck. (Can you say Gibson).

Every company makes good and bad. I've seen guitars coming out of Japan that are 10 times better than any USA product. It doesn't matter WHERE they are made, only HOW. Higher end guitars that are made by hand are made by humans either way. People in other countries are just as skilled as americans. The only time you may see a dive in quality is like china, korea, taiwan, indonesia, etc where they are mass produced and they aren't looked over or QC isn't as stringent. With that said, I can also say I've seen a lot nicer guitars come out of Korea than USA. The best way to go is have a custom handbuilt guitar. Sometimes that's cheaper than buying some of the crap Gibson puts out. They really just sell based on the name. You should check out ESP's japanese site sometimes. They make Les Paul copies superior to Gibson's. A lot of companies do actually.

That's why I like PRS, they make quality stuff, and they keep making quality, they don't use the name as an excuse to manufacture mediocre stuff. Even their Korean SE line is great.

[mrfjones]

Re: Am i being ridiculous...(pic)

i have a korean made guitar that is top quality. If it feels right then get it. don't worry about the headstock.

[Hoss]

Re: Am i being ridiculous...(pic)

man...the more i think about that guitar the more i want it...SUPRISING HUH!!!??? LOL!!!

i would seriously love to see it and play it next to a 335 or gretsch...just to really compare them side by side...

i'm afraid it would be tough to find $2000+ worth of difference between them...

yeah...i'd eventually probably upgrade the tuners...although they were decent, and unless i was dreaming...it was a real bigsby trem...although most of the pics and sites i've found this morning, show a bigsby/type trem...but i'm almost positive it said bigsby...and of course a pup swap would be in order...a pair of Seths probably...or maybe 59's...

why am i still a tiny bit hung up on it though...???

this is frustrating...

[Mkf411]

Re: Am i being ridiculous...(pic)

Even the label Made in USA doesn't always mean made by Americans, anymore.

In California, at least, it seems factories import most of the workers and then stick the Made in USA label on it. Sometimes maybe the label should say "Made in USA by Foreign Hands".

Look for quality first. Companies that don't have the big brand name recognition often have to try harder, sell for a better price and have better quality to survive.

[Norman_T]

Re: Am i being ridiculous...(pic)

man...the more i think about that guitar the more i want it...SUPRISING HUH!!!??? LOL!!!

i would seriously love to see it and play it next to a 335 or gretsch...just to really compare them side by side...

i'm afraid it would be tough to find $2000+ worth of difference between them...

yeah...i'd eventually probably upgrade the tuners...although they were decent, and unless i was dreaming...it was a real bigsby trem...although most of the pics and sites i've found this morning, show a bigsby/type trem...but i'm almost positive it said bigsby...and of course a pup swap would be in order...a pair of Seths probably...or maybe 59's...

why am i still a tiny bit hung up on it though...???

this is frustrating...

Hoss,

I am sending you my ('68) 335 right now so that you can make a comparison

I would offer him $450 and settle at $475-$500, they are rather nice to play and the only person who is going to be concerned about the name on the headstock is you - you will have saved a fortune.

Okay here is the 335 being Fed-ex right as we speak

[y2stevo]

Re: Am i being ridiculous...(pic)

Yeh i know a guy who owns one of those arias... And there great Guitars and they look super cool..

Did you know that Aria are rated the most improved quality-wise over the last decade or so...
Reason that they're not that popular is because they stopped advertising in the late 80's early 90's or so for some reason...so i guess they focus more on quality than advertising...

[Hoss]

Re: Am i being ridiculous...(pic)

hey Norman...i warn ya...i'll need at least a year of playing to really give a quality comprehensive comparison...LOL!!!

i'm gonna go back over there in a couple of days and see what happens...

there haven't been to many guitars that i felt such a "connection" with...my takamine...a 335 i played once...my old tele...taylor 12 string...

i've played plenty that just didn't "do it" for me...lot's of high end stuff that i thought i would love...even some guitars i own now or have owned, didn't knock my socks off at first...

i love my i1 and all...but it wasn't immediate like this one...

i feel bad for being sooo skeptical about this guitar...it really shouldn't matter what kind it is...i felt the mojo when i played it...and i guess that's what really matters...

[JOLLY]

Re: Am i being ridiculous...(pic)

Here's how I see it. If you like it then get it. I could care less what's on the headstock of my guitars. I don't buy my guitars to impress anyone but myself.

[Scott_F]

Re: Am i being ridiculous...(pic)

I had an Ibanez Artcore for a few weeks. Unfortunately, no matter what I tried, the POS Bigsby wouldn't hold tune. I think it was an issue with that big spring that goes in there. Not enough tension or soemthing. Other than that, I'd have kept it and never got the Heritage.

Some friends have seen my Heritage and not knowing squat about guitars (yes I have friends that don't know anything about guitars, but only a few), ask me if it's like a cheap Asian guitar.

I just laugh and tell them that I'm not sure where it's made, but it sure plays well.

Hey I just bought a Japanese ESP strat. What do I know?

[kmcguitars]

Re: Am i being ridiculous...(pic)

If the guitar is a player? Who cares what it says on the headstock?
I have a few Gibsons and Fenders. I also have a few Squire's and
Samicks. I sound the same playing a $200 samick as I do playing
my $2000 Gibson ?? Or it might be fair to say I don't sound $1800
better with the gibby. If it was a real Grectch it would have mucho
Mojo, But aslong as your suppling the Mojo it doesn't matter.

[Lu_B]

Re: Am i being ridiculous...(pic)

If you like it and it feels good buy it.....don't worry about what folks think....be an individual don't follow the crowd.

like the guys have said there are many shockingly bad guitars made by those big brand names we all know and love and there are many great copies that are stunning value for money.

i know as I play a sexy little Korean Tokai 335 and have lost count of the times people have said you play a what??!! But at £375 it was a steal and now I've has a set of Seths installed its even better.

my advice buy it before someone else does!

[Panzer]

Re: Am i being ridiculous...(pic)

Those Tokais are actually pretty nice, Theres a couple Tokais at my local shop, My favorite is the gibson SG copy they make, That thing sounds great, almost as good as the real SG's on the wall beside it. and when your comparing $2000CDN in price difference, I would rather buy 4 Tokais instead of 1 Gibson. I still cant justify spending more than $3000 on one guitar.

[Xeromus]

Re: Am i being ridiculous...(pic)

Scott, how's that ESP strat? I hear their Gibson and Fender clones are freakin' awesome.