1981 Aria Pro II ES-500R Semihollow Electric Guitar

I'm no stranger to the cooler forms of ES-335 cloning (a friend of mine grabbed a killer Electra from here in recent memory) and this one is one of the better offerings. It's a Japanese-made instrument and, while it has a bolted neck design, it handles pretty much tit-for-tat like a late-'60s ES-335. The neck has the same thin C-shape and narrow nut, the pickups are the brighter/cleaner humbucker voicing, and the proportions are right.

It's also all-original save for some homespun painting of the f-hole sides to white rather than "as-finished."

What more needs to be said, really? It's a quality take on an 335 and it even has the Varitone switch so you can dial in too many tones with a flick of the wrist. The body features flamed veneer, too, and gold hardware throughout.

Its serial number suggest 1981 manufacture but the owner things it was made in '79.

Repairs included: fret level/dress, setup, etc.


Body wood: ply flamed sycamore (per catalog)

Bridge: quality modern ABR-style, no "wire trap"

Fretboard: rosewood

Neck wood: maple

Pickups: 2x full-size humbucker, lower wind, cleaner/brighter


Action height at 12th fret: 1/16" overall
String gauges: 46w-10 lights, unwound G

Neck shape: slim C

Board radius: ~10-12"

Truss rod: adjustable

Neck relief: straight

Fret style: wide-lower


Scale length: 24 3/4"

Nut width: 1 9/16"

Body width: 16 1/4"

Body depth: 1 3/4" +arching


Condition notes: it's fairly clean overall but does show an average amount of usewear per its age -- small scratching and minor scuffs throughout. The sides of the f-holes have been painted. All hardware and wiring appears as-original. There's a bit of wear to the plating on the tuners, pickup covers, and bridge gear. The Varitone position plate has green-yellowed rather than remained "gold." 


It comes with: a nice old hard case.


















Comments

CM said…
Gorgeous! I am a huge fan of Aria Pros and Hohner Professional Series guitars, their build quality is usually fantastic. Someone ought to do a good blindfold test with the big name boxes included and see what a real guitar picker thinks without knowing what brand it is. (and they can't feel for which is a bolt on vs a set neck). Just sit and play it.