Aria
"Rosalita"
Make: Aria
Model: Aria Pro II TS-600
Name bestowed on her by Lily
Currently played through a Crate CR-160 amp with an Eminence Commonwealth 12" speaker
Year manufactured: 1980
Acquired used: ca. 1984
Body: Maple center with ash wings
Neck: 5 ply maple/walnut transmit (Thur)
Fingerboard: 24 fret Ebony
Scale: 25.4375
Pickups: Two Protomatic III HB
Controls: 1 volume, 1 tone, 3-way pickup selector, pickup phase, 2 coil-cut, booster volume, boost switch, 6-position rotary tone
Bridge: String-thru-body Bridge (with chrome saddles)
Tuners: Schaller (replaced ca. 1985)
Nut: Brass
Chrome Hardware
Natural Finish
In the Summer of 1978, before heading to WVU, I was in a music store in North Philadelphia and had the chance to buy a gorgeous blond Ibanez Musician series, possibly a MC400 NT (or maybe a MC300 NT), for $300. I passed. What would I need an electric guitar for? Idiot!
Recently saw one on some auction site with a $1200 bid. Damn
So sometime around 1984 I was playing a very inferior Ibanez ST-50 BS (the guitar that taught me to never buy instruments mail-order - they must be played!) with Nexus, and Diz put this Aria up for sale. I fell in love with it immediately (letting it show, and hence over-paying). She felt and soundly much like I remembered that Musician guitar playing. I still regret not buying that first Ibanez in Philly, But Rose is a fine and worthy substitute...even with the cheesy headstock logo.
Current rig:
My other electric guitar is an Standard Telecaster with single-coil pickups, and of course the Emperor Regent has a pickup, but I rarely use it.
