Hello, I'm trying to identify the age (or any other details) of this Aria Pro II RS Straycat that I recently picked up. I've been digging through the catalogs on the site and found a little bit about the guitar but some of the information doesn't quite line up so any advice that this community could provide would be appreciated.
A picture for reference:
https://imgur.com/rVXhYJ0Here's what I've got so far:
- The headstock identifies it as an Aria Pro II RS Straycat. Easy enough so far.
- The neck plate doesn't list a serial number, it simply says "Made in Japan"
- I found what I believe to be the serial number in two places on the guitar. The first was underneath a pickup "42 26.720" and the second was on the neck inside the joint which I was only able to read partially "42-026" with the rest of the numbers obscured by a shim that I didn't want to remove.
- It has what appears to be the "Vintage Tremolo" bridge as listed on the 1985 catalog, but the color appears to match the "Candy Apple Red" that is on the Straycat EX in the 1986 catalog.
I read on the website that the first digit was the last digit of the year, so 4 would presumably be 84. Do the other numbers have a particular significance? Would 4226720 be 84, Feb 26 and then a manufacture number or is the first 4 the only one of any meaning? I was unable to find the Straycat in the 1984 catalogs listed on the site unfortunately.
With the information I have available I'm leaning towards a 1984 year of manufacture but since I don't know what colors were available during that year I can't really confirm. Any tips?
Thank you!