The Guitar Gallery Forums - The Guitar Legacy of Matsumoku

Has anyone tried these new Aria Pro II PE-R80s? Apparently, Ish Guitars in Syracuse NY is the exclusive dealer for them in the US.

https://ish.guitars/collections/electri ... endor=Aria

Ish did a review of one on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4Sgtd51zS4) and loved it. Have you tried one?

Judging by the videos, they look and sound gorgeous. I love that they've brought back the batwing headstock and the H. Noble insignia. I would imagine the build quality and playability are superb as well, as expected from modern MIJ instruments. The Mat originals certainly didn't disappoint in the way of quality, but guitar manufacturers have learned a lot over the past 40 years and these appear to be on a whole other level. I'm guessing they're made by FujiGen or Deviser, given that Mat closed shop in the '80s.

But they're not cheap - not at all! At $2700+, I'm hesitant to pull the trigger. We're talking more $$ than a USA Gibson LP Standard or an MIJ Ibanez Prestige Artist.

Thoughts?

They are not made by Fujigen for sure. As far as I know, Deviser is an acoustic guitar brand owned by a company in Guangzhou/China.

The best guess is that they are made by Terada (https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/寺田楽器)

The post Matsumoku guitars are very nice guitars, but don't expect them to "feel" exactly like the Matsumoku made ones. I own a couple, but in my opinion the PE models that do not try to be a re-issue of the old Matsumoku ones are better... and most of the time more reasonable when bought used.

Wow! Great to see a comeback, just gorgeous looking instruments.

But the price!? Ouch! Especially when you convert to Canadian $$
No way for this pensioner to get one.

_________________
"A little song, a little dance. A little seltzer down your pants." -Chuckles the Clown
Guitars: https://legend.barryeames.com
Music/Pix/Videos: https://getback.barryeames.com

I've been sneezing my arse off ever since I clicked that link. I'm allergic to this kind of pricing. I realize they are light years ahead of even the GyppedEm Axcess models but the price? Achoo!!!!! I'd have to play something like that at least an hour before I'd even turn my head and cough (they have you do this before they remove them).

Tissue Crusty?

_________________
"A little song, a little dance. A little seltzer down your pants." -Chuckles the Clown
Guitars: https://legend.barryeames.com
Music/Pix/Videos: https://getback.barryeames.com

Dang, I like that one for $2,749.00. . .

I can't justify that price either.
Now that I think about it, that would cover what I have in my 5 nicest guitars. With HSC. . .

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Quality service since 3:00 last Tuesday

Are you referring to the PE-Lux models described below?
http://www.ariaguitars.com/jp/items/ele ... pe/pe-lux/

Indeed, these do appear to be built better than the ones that copy the original design. When a builder reissues a classic design, it's not uncommon for the quality to be somewhat lacking; copying an older design often requires the builder to implement some of the original build methodologies (for the sake of preserving the original's heritage) instead of more modern - and often more robust - design methods and technological advances.

No kidding!

I have one guitar that is worth a lot (1964 Gibson ES330TD) but the rest of my 39 guitars total about the same figure as above! Mind you they have been collected mainly over 15 years and range from a low of $50 to a high of about $500 and I'm not allowing for inflation to today's dollar.

They mostly also included case/bag, strap, plus sundry new/replacement hardware, but not my time & labour in repairs or refinishing. Ain't we glad we contracted GAS when we did?

_________________
"A little song, a little dance. A little seltzer down your pants." -Chuckles the Clown
Guitars: https://legend.barryeames.com
Music/Pix/Videos: https://getback.barryeames.com

I didn't refer to this model in particular, but this seems to go in the right direction.

There was a PE Inspire some 20 years ago, this is still one of my favorite PEs. They came in Japan and Korean manufactured version... at least the Japanese version is great: hollow body (completely closed, no f-holes), wide modern neck.
The PE Splendor went into the same direction, just with a solid body (I bought a shop demo model for 500 USD some time ago).
In more recent times there was a PE DC STD. There's one for sale in Yahoo Auctions right now for about 600 USD.
There's no need to pay more than twice the price, just because it calls itself PE-R80 re-issue.

Sounds interesting - I will check around. Are these PE models that you mention from 20 years ago as well-built as the Matsumoku originals?

I agree that the 2022 reissues seem way overpriced, unless their build quality is in the league of PRS/Paul Reed Smith, etc. For the same price or less, aficionados of Japanese guitars have plenty of other options from Ibanez, ESP, et al. And these brands are more well-known than Aria. Most younger guitarists today have either never heard of Aria, or they assume it's an old student-level or department-store brand (the young technician who performed the setup on my 1983 PE-60 barely blinked an eye as he remarked, "Oh yeah, I used to see these in pawn shops all the time").

For less than half the price of these new PE reissues, one can find a used FujiGen-built Ibanez Prestige AR2619 from the mid/late-2010's (Ibanez apparently discontinued this model a few years ago). Even when new, the Ibanez was "only" $2200 USD.