Saturday, April 24, 2010

First Post

Welcome to my Aria bass blog! I will post pictures, links and info related to Aria basses of all eras. I hope the information here can help people ID their bass, or if you are just looking for info on a specific model, maybe you will find it here. I like to find and fix up damaged or neglected basses so I will document that here as well.

My main focus is on basses from the '80s, but I will post about any Aria bass I find interesting, including new models. I really like what the current incarnation of Aria USA is doing. After a long period of inactivity, Aria instruments are now distributed by Dana B. Goods. They seem to have given Aria new life in the US, which is great to see. You can see the current line of Aria basses and guitars at Aria USA.

I became an Aria fan when I discovered that Cliff Burton (Metallica) and Billy Gould (Faith No More) both used Aria Pro II basses. Cliff used the SB Black 'n' Gold I model and an SB-1000 for a short time. Cliff gave Billy an SB-Integra bass which he used for several years followed by a few other Integra models. I loved the look and the sound of the basses they used, so decided to try and find those models. In the days before the Internet took off, that was no easy task. Now it is much easier to find them...Maybe too easy! Collecting basses isn't cheap (at least they aren't Alembics or vintage Fenders)! I have scaled back my collection recently but still have photos of basses I've owned in the past.

Please feel free to send pics of your basses or relevant links. Thanks and enjoy!
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2 comments:

  1. UnknownFebruary 23, 2016 at 2:52 AM

    Hi.
    I've been lucky enough to get my paws on a SB1000 JT2 (twin pickup reissue in Padauk red ) my second SB. but it has no serial number . It has the paperwork with custom option all detailed. I was told that only 100 of each were made is this true.

    Many thanks
    Pauly C

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  2. UnknownJanuary 15, 2018 at 8:56 PM

    Thank you for this very useful blog. I got my Cardinal Series CSB-380 covered with dust coming from a retired musician. Just paid 150 € and i'm blown.
    The neck is superb, straight as an arrow, the pickup works fantastic (no humming issue). I don't want to modify it unless something breaks. I cleaned the old lady and strung it with a medium scale flatwound La Bella set. It barks straight from my headphones, without an amp ! It's like a sound hybrid between a Precision and a more "Music Man" sound (that bridge sound). It's so comfortable that I pass by my old P.

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