The Guitar Gallery Forums - The Guitar Legacy of Matsumoku

Hello!

I've found this nice guitar for sale, but the seller can't really provide any info regarding what specific model it is. I've been looking at the TA models in the guitar gallery, but doesn't really think this one quite looks like any of them.
For some weird reason the seller didn't want to provide me with the full serial, but I got this: it's 1 letter and 7 digit starting with with S5056
Any help will be greatly appreciated!

[img]http://www.noisejihad.dk/mikko/mystery_aria_ta.jpg[/img]

Hi there Mikko,
Judging by the inlay on the head, I'd say this one is a post-Matsumoku, Korean made TA. But there's TA specialists here (I'm not) who might be able to tell you a bit more.

_________________
http://www.GuitarDir.com has been hacked by some mindless fool, destroying years
of gathering info on guitars by non-commercial guitar lovers. Why?

If the serial starts with an S, I believe it be Korean.

Thanks a ton for the help guys! I think I'll pass on that one then. Matsumoku is the only way I rock.

Serials starting with an S point to Korean made instruments namely Samick.

The dove inlay on headstock is another indication.

I saw a newer Japan made Aria Pro 2 guitar with the almost identical dove inlay
except it had an anomaly, an extra feather above the dove's head. Go figure

(This thread was moved from the "Japan" to this area "Post Matsumoku models")

Weird. You should think those guys were taking a couple of bong hits at lunch breaks at some special yet very strange occasions.
Thanks for the S info. That's really cool to know!

It seems that Samick made most of the Korean Arias... but there have been other companies like "Sumer" (at least they claim to have made some).

Anyway, the most obvious difference for a post Matsumoku TA is that the bridge design changed. The post Matsumoku bridges can not be locked in place anymore (don't think that TonePros were the first to get that idea ).

If the TA you're looking at has stoptail, you can also tell by its spacing, if this is Matsumoku or not (the post Matsumoku ones have a wider spacing).

There have been a couple of Japanese made TAs in recent years. They were not overly expensive, but imho not exported. This is one thing you should be careful about when looking at newer Arias... for example a current model "PE Inspire" for the Japanese market is made in Japan... while the "PE-Inspire" for export (with identical specs) is made in Korea (from the serial number Samick). The list price of the Japanese guitar is twice of the Korean models and most eBay seller will try to blur the information on manufacturing location to hike the price.

Hey Wutz, who's making those Japanese guitars and how would you rate them?

Aria has a small workshop/manufacturing site in Japan and from what I know Terada manufactures guitars for them as well.

A shop owner mentioned that the Japanese TAs (that were produced in limited numbers a couple of years ago) were made by Tokai. I'm more confident on the accuracy of above information, but from the asking price that would fit the picture.

One of my most played guitars over the last two years is a PE-Splendor... so at least I like what Aria is making in Japan today.