Aria & Aria Pro II Club (Part Three)

[mitril]

Originally Posted by bassgod76

I got this last night.

congrats! I got one too, but in dark stain. The are lovely to play. I use mine with d'Addario Chromes.

[mitril]

Originally Posted by bigthor

Hi All,

I do dig Ps
Found this in my area of residence. Looks aged and messed up, but in a cool old P-way. 200 USD.

Any feedback would be cool.

Thanks,

I would guess this stands up fine against any Precision-bass

[mitril]

Originally Posted by zuma

I may just have to upgrade my phone to support that!!! I love it!

Me too

[Melonthief]

Attachment 313988
My TSB 400
Super tone and fun to play

[Russell foulkes]

Has anyone here attempted to install an active pre-amp (or active circuitry in general) into one of the passive models? My 900 is a bit weak, bless her.

[Deathblade Eric]

Originally Posted by Russell foulkes

Has anyone here attempted to install an active pre-amp (or active circuitry in general) into one of the passive models? My 900 is a bit weak, bless her.

What?? That sounds a bit suspicious tbh. My 900 is hot as a very hot thing - hotter than a lot of actives

Has it ever been re-wired?

Pete.

[Russell foulkes]

Yes, a few years ago. When i bought it only the bridge PU was working, I then had the Armstrong replacement installed into the neck position and rewired. Its hard to explain, Whereas my Elite 2 sounds like a beast, the 900 sounds....."woody". Should I take it to someone to have a ganders at?

[bigsnack]

All,

Hello! This might be a dumb question, but has anyone ever had trouble removing the pickups on an SB Integra or a similar model? I took the strings off today to give the fretboard an oiling, and I figured I would replace the foam under the P pickup. I took the screws out, and pickups will not come out of the cavity. I can depress them a bit with my finger, but I can't pull them out with my fingers. Is it possible that they are just stuck to the foam which is stuck to the bottom of the cavity? I don't want to force them out if I'm going to break something, but I find it odd that I can't get them out easily. Thanks for any insight you can provide!

[Deathblade Eric]

Originally Posted by Russell foulkes

Yes, a few years ago. When i bought it only the bridge PU was working, I then had the Armstrong replacement installed into the neck position and rewired. Its hard to explain, Whereas my Elite 2 sounds like a beast, the 900 sounds....."woody". Should I take it to someone to have a ganders at?

Sounds like that could be a good call... something ain't right in there (although the Armstrongs in my SB-1000F are darker than the OEMs in the 900).
Any chance of some photos of

1. the control cavity
2. the underside of the Armstrong?

That'd help a bit as I could compare it to mine.

Pete.

[Alembic83]

Hey, I know that bass...

I think they are stuck to the foam, as you guessed. I have had the same thing happen with a similarly aged Aria. My guitar tech friend eventually removed the pickups, but a lot of the foam came out with them. The foam ripped, so it pretty much ruined it. So be aware that you might need to replace the foam if you try to pull them out.

Originally Posted by bigsnack

All,

Hello! This might be a dumb question, but has anyone ever had trouble removing the pickups on an SB Integra or a similar model? I took the strings off today to give the fretboard an oiling, and I figured I would replace the foam under the P pickup. I took the screws out, and pickups will not come out of the cavity. I can depress them a bit with my finger, but I can't pull them out with my fingers. Is it possible that they are just stuck to the foam which is stuck to the bottom of the cavity? I don't want to force them out if I'm going to break something, but I find it odd that I can't get them out easily. Thanks for any insight you can provide!

[bigsnack]

Originally Posted by Alembic83

Hey, I know that bass...

I think they are stuck to the foam, as you guessed. I have had the same thing happen with a similarly aged Aria. My guitar tech friend eventually removed the pickups, but a lot of the foam came out with them. The foam ripped, so it pretty much ruined it. So be aware that you might need to replace the foam if you try to pull them out.

Thanks for the heads up! I do have replacement foam, in fact I was hoping to replace the foam under the P pickup since the pickup won't go as high as I'd like. I already put new strings on it, but the next time I'm getting ready to swap them I'll give it another shot.

[MaddAnthony_59]

I just scored another Aria on my T-Get List. An RSB Deluxe-5. But it is not like the ones I have seen in the catalogs or listed on Ebay. It has 2 SB style pickups, but it is Active, and has Vol/Blend Treble/Bass controls with a Passive/Active switch. (Or maybe Series / Parallel) It all looks Factory. It's an '86, which would be the last year they were made. Unfortunatley the Bridge is corroded, and the G saddle is not original. Also the electronics are questionable. The input plug self destructed when I plugged the chord in. I was able to get a connection, and only 1 pickup worked, and when I flipped the switch that didn't work either. I'm gonna have a tch look at it. If it only needs a new input plug Great! If it needs more, I may exercise my 14 day return offered.

At any rate I'll post some Pics tonight.

[Prostheta]

If the neck is good and the pickups work then gutting it to install an entirely new loom is acceptable in my book. The bridge is a bit of an issue of course. I would advocate keeping that as-is. Dependent on price, I would certainly take an RSB-Deluxe onboard. Judging by the size of the swimming pool on the rear it could easily be upgraded to a hybrid "RSB-R150" circuit. The only issue is as to whether a DPDT socket could be finagled behind that jack plate without corrective wood surgery.

You see, this is what I would do but I just don't truly believe you are mad enough, Anthony.

[MaddAnthony_59]

I am the MADDEST of All Anthony's!

Actually, I have a tech lined up to do the following:

Verify the pickups are both working.
If they are not Working
Then Replace them with spares that I have
Else Keep original pickups

Verify the electronics are shot.
If they are Shot
Then Replace them with a 2-Band MEC (Warwick SS2)
Else get them working

The bridge might be tough. If I look long/hard enough I may find another, or something that will "Work" and look good. 80% of the bridge is original and functional!

Pics tonight! (Saturday at the latest...)

Originally Posted by Prostheta

If the neck is good and the pickups work then gutting it to install an entirely new loom is acceptable in my book. The bridge is a bit of an issue of course. I would advocate keeping that as-is. Dependent on price, I would certainly take an RSB-Deluxe onboard. Judging by the size of the swimming pool on the rear it could easily be upgraded to a hybrid "RSB-R150" circuit. The only issue is as to whether a DPDT socket could be finagled behind that jack plate without corrective wood surgery.

You see, this is what I would do but I just don't truly believe you are mad enough, Anthony.

[Prostheta]

What is it with the love for MEC electronics? They sound really dry and bland to my ears in Warwicks. Perhaps they sound better with other pickups but I've never had chance to play with a donor on the bench. If I had to spec up a Warwick I would can the MEC gear and go straight to Delano (just down the road) or perhaps Barts. That's just me though of course.

Last year I was hoping to spend some quality time in one of the machine shops milling up a bunch of repro bridges, saddle sets and the like. That didn't turn out unfortunately. My son is currently studying a machinists degree however so I might have the opportunity to get him to run some items up in brass. Given that bridges on all Arias other than the SB-1000, SB-R150 and some prototypes (as far as I am aware anyway) were cast Zinc alloy then these would be a fine upgrade to many Matsumoku-era basses.

I saw a bridge on eBay this week. Ah, here you go:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Aria-Pro-I...887317e&_uhb=1

Now go buy it and prove how slightly disturbed you are.

[Alembic83]

Yes, that is mine. It really needs some work!

Originally Posted by Prostheta

I saw a bridge on eBay this week. Ah, here you go:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Aria-Pro-I...887317e&_uhb=1

Now go buy it and prove how slightly disturbed you are.

[Prostheta]

I didn't realise that! What other treats are coming out of Castle Jason?

[zuma]

Originally Posted by Prostheta

What is it with the love for MEC electronics? They sound really dry and bland to my ears in Warwicks. Perhaps they sound better with other pickups but I've never had chance to play with a donor on the bench. If I had to spec up a Warwick I would can the MEC gear and go straight to Delano (just down the road) or perhaps Barts. That's just me though of course....

I spent some time with a 5-string Double $$ recently and I really loved the sound of it. I have no idea what electronics package it had, though. It was very woodsy (like our beloved SB-1000) with some serious low-mid grunt.

[Prostheta]

I think that comes out of most Warwicks despite the specific pickup choice. The commonality between the two is the fat neck profile. I am quite a believer in solid resonant necks with significant mass. As an experiment in this respect, I am making my next couple of basses with fatter profiles along the same lines as vintage Fenders, Warwicks, etc. A bit "batty" and maybe slow, but hey. You have to make every note count when playing slower ;-)

[Immigrant]

My FBB Bassworks medium scale has a relatively batty neck compared to my CSB series or my Jaguar. Solid, beefy construction keeps the setup more stable and makes for a nice, tight B.

IMO of course.

I've only tried one Warwick and it felt like a 2x4. The whole bass, not just the neck profile.