The Guitar Gallery Forums - The Guitar Legacy of Matsumoku

i got this thing for free from my dads friend at work. people on other forums said it was a aria diamond. it was originally a 12 string converted to 6 string. do you think its worth restoring it back to working order? at the moment the electronics dont work, but they were working eariler, and i cant adjust the truss rod because the screw is stripped. also the action is extremely high. heres some pictures.










do you guys think its worth the money getting it back to full working order?

absolutely! looks like it's mostly complete except for truss rod cover. the truss rod is another story- is it the nut or the rod that's stripped? sometimes a fresh nut makes the difference.

it's not uncommon for older hollowbodies to warp somewhat so that the action can't be adjusted within normal range. A shim is the best/least intrusive/easiest way to fix it- unbolt the neck and try a strip pf cardboard maybe 1/4" x the width of the neck pocket- place it in the socket at the base of the neck. rebolt it and see where the action is now. Expect to repeat this several times before you get it right, but when you do it should be manageable. Some people get fussy against shims but frankly I have seen a number of these which appear to have been shimmed at the factory- and with a hollowbody you have more than plenty of sustain.

So, yes, it's absolutely worth fixing, and it shouldn't cost much, just a little effort to shim and adjust, and to find a new truss rod nut.

as far as electronics, i would suspect the 3-way switch first. Especially because the cover plate its mounted on will make it extra easy to inspect.

Knowing a good bit about how those guitars were constructed, if the truss rod is stripped or broken there is little one can do. There is no way to slip the fingerboard loose to replace the rod. I've had five like this. The adhesive is solvent based, not water based so they cannot be steamed apart.

Fortunately very similar models come up on e-bay frequently as projects which might yield you a six-string neck, or with a little luck a 12-string.

The two I kept, and later traded for a PE-450 I had replaced the necks with a chinese Jazzmaster neck and had one custom made by warmoth with 24-3/4" scale to look as close to the original as possible.