The Guitar Gallery Forums - The Guitar Legacy of Matsumoku

Hello all,

This forum has been a useful source of information for me, so I thought I'd give back by creating a show and tell blog about my recent project: Aria LP Custom Black Beauty Rebuild.

Let me know if you think it was worth the effort!

Hello Hanz and welcome.
Boy, what a story! That was one pitiful looking mess when you found it. You are to be commended for resurrecting her and giving her a new life.
Now, the important question: how's she play, and are you enjoying her?

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"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

Nice job and very progress post. Its nice to see it come back to life.

Thanks guys.
Barry, to answer your question - the guitar sounds great, and plays amazingly well. The mahogany body gives it a nice resonant tone (interestingly, the A-5522 is advertised in the 1975 Aria catalog as being a "semi-solid" electric guitar), and the action is nice and low, with a totally buzz-free neck. Not too heavy, well-balanced and fun to play - I'm enjoying playing it, almost as much as I enjoyed rebuilding it!

Good story and nicely put together guitar, there, man; good work! It's nice to see an old girl come to life!!

Nice job and congrats ! Thanks for the story, too, I'm sure it will be a great resource. Welcome.

Great thread Hanz!

Thank's for posting all the extra info on your research for the material, it will come in handy! I was not aware that Rona held those products... You did a great job on the guitar... Funny, since I was also interested in that guitar... I saw the posting on Kijiji and still have the pictures the previous owner sent me... The extra pickup that was added put me off... Nice to see it went to someone that will enjoy her...

Great to see someone local join the site!

Please post more of your work if you have, it was great to follow the progress. You did a great job on it.

P.

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MAA Member since June 29th 2009, taking one baby step at a time..... and failing miserably!

Salut Frenchy!

It sure is a small world. Did you see the Aria listed on Kijiji this fall, or was it last year? The guy I bought it from said he got it in trade for a small amp. I actually made contact with the previous owner (the one who traded it for the amp), after recognizing pictures of the guitar at the MyLesPaul forums. He was able to give me more of the history, and told me that he picked it up about a year ago, also on Kijiji. If you could send me the pictures you have, that would be trés cool!

If my research or write-up have helped you in any way, then it was worth it. Unfortunately, I don't really have much in the way of other projects to post about, since this was my first in a long while (the last was a surf-wah pedal rebuild about 10 years ago). On the other hand, it was great to get back into the world of rebuild/refin/rewire, becuase the novelty of "collecting" guitars has definitely started to wear off (but don't tell my wife that just yet).

Anyway, good luck with your projects and meilleures salutations!

Allo Hanz! Ca va?

I could not find the email but I think these were the pictures that he sent me.. Let me know if this is it? I' m certain he would have sent you the same ones... I saw the post not that long ago, this fall I think...




I'm also enjoying the restore projects... make its more fun to play them after!

Enjoy!

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MAA Member since June 29th 2009, taking one baby step at a time..... and failing miserably!

Yeah what they said.

Hello and Welcome Franz of Ferdinand

That is a darn good documentation of a rebuild project.

The best thing is all that work pays off when you say it plays great