The Guitar Gallery Forums - The Guitar Legacy of Matsumoku

10 years ago even the high scale Aria guitars were around 2000 USD.

I've just been in Ochanomizu last week... J-Custom Ibanez guitars are starting at 3000 USD right now... with the ones with more bling going for 5000 USD. You simply can not compare the list price of today with 10 years ago. New prices for upscale guitars just exploded in the last 3 years.

The Japanese PE Inspire has no trouble competing with a PRS or any other high end brand. However, if Aria would still make the PE Inspire, the price would most likely be in the 4000 USD range new (for example http://ariacustomshop.jp/archives/eg/pe-8440cr-hb)... the new price was already in the 2000 USD range 20 years ago.
Anyway, the Korean version of the PE Inspire got a positive review in the British Guitarist magazine and it was half the price of the Japanese version new, so this could be a great deal buying used.

I believe I just snagged one of these. Despite the very few online examples of this exact guitar that I could find claiming to be "Japanese Custom Shop" I am 99% sure she's Korean. It looks the equal of Japanese quality in general but from my limited research I think the Japanese builds had Aria custom pickups (this one has Duncans - Custom 5 and '59), wooden cavity cover (this has plastic) and it has an "S" serial on it. So AFAIK = Korean. Aside from a tiny piece out of one of the abalone inlays and a cracked pickup ring it seems close to mint for an almost 20 year old.

Not many of these seem to have made it into the wild - quite a few seem to have been gobbled up by staff at distributors at a nice discount because they sold poorly at retail. Anyway........will post some piccys when she arrives. It's right up there with my favourite looking Arias ever (full thickness "natural oak" finish flamed maple cap etc...) ......

I had no intention of adding a guitar to my collection but had a reflex buying reaction when I stumbled upon it unexpectedly. I paid a reasonably full price for it to prevent it going to auction (around $800 US) - it was now or never (haven't seen one in Australia). But it comes with a nice Hiscox case worth $200+ and compared to the competition ...................well we all know they're a bargain for what they are. I'd take it over a PRS single cut any day of the week but that's just me.

Now to sell a guitar or two to fund the thing

I just found a couple of Aria catalogues from the appropriate timeframe 2005-2007 and the PE-Inspire (my exact model and color) is singled out as a flagship "made in the Custom Shop." But it seems the serial is Korean , so presumably Aria had a Korean custom shop or had parts made in their Japan custom shop and assembled in Korea?

Either way it seems a very high spec build for a Korean guitar....if that's what it is.

I have the Japanese made PE Inspire and from what I could read in the Guitarist magazine the specs of the Korean model are identical (also the SH-1, SH-14 pickup combination).

With an "S" serial your guitar should be made in Korea. My guess is that the Japanese version was made by Terada. Aria had (and still has) a Custom Shop in Japan, but according to information I could find they focused on acoustic guitars at the time the PE Inspire was made. However, there are two different styles of serial number application for the Japanese version, so there might be one more Japanese factory involved.

The years they were build are different, my Japanese PE Inspire was made in 2002... the Korean version was made a couple of years later.