The Guitar Gallery Forums - The Guitar Legacy of Matsumoku

I recently acquired my second aria pro II, a nice "xr-series electrics" (printed on the headstock) from a local pawn shop. For the most part it is in great shape, except for the paint, which is very scratched up a couple of places. Talking the guy down from $190 to $120, I grabbed it and went home. I've used this site in the past for my other aria and I was surprised when I could find no information here or even at google about the xr-series guitar.

It's a strat-style with:
-22 fret, shark fin inlay w/ibanez-jackson pointy headstock (not reversed)
-S-S-H pickup config (all with aria pro II stamped on the front)
-5-way selector switch
-one volume and one tone pot (the tone pot has a push/pull switch for coil tapping of the humbucker
-Kahler "Flyer" cam-style tremelo with matching "behind the nut string lock"(not a locking nut, very different)

I've found a couple on ebay,

item #'s 190259062465 & 160294753780

The second one looks exactly like mine except for the kahler tremolo.
The only other pseudo info that I found was unfortunately another ebay listing

item # 310090327970

I was able to use a magnifying glass and read most of the text in the 1988 british advert.
-The top one is the model I have(except color). It mentions the kahler tremolo, the s-s-h pickup config, the push/pull on the tone & retailed for 279 (pounds)
-The second one is the same except for the dot inlays, tremolo & locking systems. retailed for 189 (pounds)
-The third one is the same as the one above it except it has two humbuckers and looks like no locking system. retailed for 199 (pounds)

As many adverts as that guy has, he might be a good person to talk to and help fill out the catalog/advertisement section.


I was able to find info on the Kahler tremolo system in the way of setup and maintenance.

http://www.carvinmuseum.com/decade/imag ... flyer.html

There is also a website that is selling new and NOS Kahler tremolos and tremolo parts.

http://www.wammiworld.com/

It's a little hard to find some things, but if you have a rarer cam system like I do, or any other kahler trems, they have what seems to be any replacement part you would need.



Well... now to the questions.

- Does anyone else have or has seen a XR-series, especially with the kahler cam tremolos?

- Any idea how long they produced the XR's? and how many? (especially ones with Kahlers)

- Is this an actually Matsumoku?
It is an Aria Pro II made in '87 serial#(7032xxx)
It doesn't however, have a 3 piece maple neck, the one on it is the original though.

- If it's not a Matsumoku, then any guess as to which one of the other factories made it?


All that aside, this is really a superb playing guitar. The action and trem settings were way off, but with the help of the site above I was able to properly set it up in no time. The cam-style trems are definitely easier to set up then the fulcrum-style floyd rose trems. The sound is great, playing through my Marshall 5210. The only thing I'll change is the polarity of the middle pickup in a effort to reduce hum when switched between two pickups. Other than that I am definitely happy with my purchase.


Thanks in advance for any and all help.

This model was made after Matsumoku went out of business... very much Jackson Dinky inspired with scarf-joint neck etc. They are not rare... especially since this "Super Strat" models were extremly popular at that time.