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Aria & Aria Pro II Club

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#341
Hello All,

I've got an '86 SB Elite II (pics on pg.15) that I am interested in knowing the market value of. I am half heartedly thinking of moving to a Kubicki. I've looked all over and have not seen a similar Elite II for sale. Anybody seen one at a local shop or classified? Able to provide a value? Input is greatly appreciated.

Best Regards,
Andy.
 
#343
Stan_da_man said:
To anyone who owns or has played an IGB 68 - is it a heavy bass? I know it's made of ash but is it generally a heavy wood?
Click to expand...

I know that I'm responding to an old post, but I've only just seen this thread for the first time. If anyone is still interested in this question, I could weigh my IGB-68 when I get home.

Edit: looks like its about 8 pounds.
 
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#344
shrimphead said:
hi guys

anyone from the UK here know what kind of price I'd be looking at if I wanted to get hold of myself a mid 90's magna series 5 string? (MAB-60/5 is what I'm after I think)

I'm just gassing at the moment, but really like the look of these basses

also what's the string spacing like to play? I know it's narrow (which I like) but how narrow is it? are they comfortable to play?

thanks

Matt
Click to expand...

Greetings,

I picked up a passive Magna 20/5 last year for £150 - a few dings, but in generally good nick. Got the vernier out last night & got the following...

Width at nut = 43.5mm
Width at 1st Fret = 45.5mm, Depth = 20.5mm
Width at 12th Fret = 58mm, Depth = 23mm

Width across strings (.045 - .135) at bridge = 62mm

So "damn narrow" could be a good description!

It's fairly comfortable, but has a quite sharp transition around the edges (5mm or so round over) which I find a tad uncomfortable, as I play with a pick - fingerstyle players wouldn't have a problem though. Body is quite compact, well balanced & fairly light - no idea as to the body wood except to say that it's pinkish brown & appears to have a close, fibrous grain.

One point to watch with these... the neck has a "scarf joint" around the 3rd fret which can be a point of weakness. If at all possible see one first & check that there's no sign of this failing.

Pete.
 
#345
The RSB arrived today.:hyper: SUPER NICE BASS!!!!! String spacing provides easier play than my Elite. Haven't had time to play with the sound much, but definately not as bright as the Elite. Maybe I'll replace the nut with brass and try some lighter strings.
 

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#346
80's Casualty said:
The RSB arrived today.:hyper: SUPER NICE BASS!!!!! String spacing provides easier play than my Elite. Haven't had time to play with the sound much, but definately not as bright as the Elite. Maybe I'll replace the nut with brass and try some lighter strings.
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Looks a beauty - good score.

Mine had a non-original nut when I got it, & it looks as though yours has had the same treatment. According to the 1984 catalogue, they were supplied with a graphite nut & strung high-C with the option of going low-B if the buyer saw fit - so I'll bet there's very few out there with their original nuts.

I'm guessing that this is a "series 2" model, as you don't appear to have any series/parallel switches & it looks as if it's configured Vol, Vol, Tone, Tone instead of stacked V & T - or is there some curious potswitchery going on?

Might be worth having a look in the control compartment to see if it's been rewired at some point - should have 500k pots & 0.047uF caps - 250K & a higher cap value will tend to muddy the waters a bit.

Here's a shameless repost of mine:
RSB-Deluxe-04.jpg
_6230243.jpg


The bridge looks different on yours also - any chance of some close-ups?

Pete.
 
#348
i_got_a_mohawk said:
We need numbers in this club :p

And in addition to my aria pro II posted on page 2. I now have its fretless brother :)

a1b4_1.jpg


(ok, i dont have it, but it should arrive tomorrow, hopefully :D )
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That is Sweet!...

Same Body / Headsock as mine I have the 5 String version (fretted). J Style (slanted pups)

I put (2) BL J45's in mine. Bill Lawrence is currently using a song of mine as a demo song for the J45 pup.

www.billlawrence.com

or direct link:

Link Removed

The original pups were really great, but slightly noisy....now I'm 100% noise free....and my bass sounds wicked
 
#349
80's Casualty said:
Nice Eric. Are all RSB's active? Anyhow, the brass nut will happen before xmas.
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Some models in the RSB style were active (e.g the later "CAT" series), but the vast majority were passive. The little switches on mine are series/parallel for each p/up, hence the rat's nest of wiring in the control compartment - no room for a battery in there!

From what I've seen of the '80s Aria actives, the preamp is just a buffer stage & the tone controls are still passive - i.e. cut only (the marketing blurb calls it a "noise killer circuit" which is certainly a more accurate description.)

Pete.
 
#350
Here's some details of my valued collection, this includes:

1980 Aria Pro II SB-1000 (in oak)
1984 Aria Pro II SB-1000 (in padouk red)
Aria Pro II SB Elite II (in black)
Aria Pro II SB-1000JT (John Taylor signature model)

Out of them all, the JT seems to have the nicest tone overall I think - plays like a dream!

Pics of the 1980 and 1984 SB-1000's attached to this post...
 

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#352
mdstevouk said:
Here's some details of my valued collection, this includes:

1980 Aria Pro II SB-1000 (in oak)
1984 Aria Pro II SB-1000 (in padouk red)
Aria Pro II SB Elite II (in black)
Aria Pro II SB-1000JT (John Taylor signature model)

Out of them all, the JT seems to have the nicest tone overall I think - plays like a dream!

Pics of the 1980 and 1984 SB-1000's attached to this post...
Click to expand...

That Padouk is a honey.
 
#353
Man, I love the look of the JTs. Nice to hear they sound/play as good as they look. Anybody else have the Live in London Duran Duran DVD with JT busting out his SB1000 re-issue for the majority of the gig? It's definitely worth checking out for any SB-1000 fan!
 
#354
Here's a technical question:

I have a '86 SB Elite II with a fried bridge pickup.

I also have a '86 RSB Deluxe 5 with properly performing active electronics.

I pulled out the calipers and the p/u's were the same size, and the Elite has more than enough knobs and switches to accomodate the active circuitry, and the cavity seems to have enough room for the battery. I think that the RSB guts will fit into the Elite w/out any routing.

Does anyone see a reason not to dump the active's into the Elite. I think it will cost me at least $150 to clone the bridge pickup, but I paid less than $250 for the entire RSB.

Your Opinions/Experience are greatly appreciated.

Andy.
 
#357
arai said:
its a good bass for a pro imho
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Well, that sounds good!

I knew it was easily worth the $60 I paid for it but I was wondering if I would be better off with a new sub $200 low-end Ibanez or Yamaha or whatever. I'm thinking not, because to my amateur eyes and hands this bass seems to have higher quality, and certainly more character and class than any new entry-level bass i've held.

I don't have a bass amp, though, so I still haven't been able to test the pickups yet.
 
#358
Can anyone tell me what I have here? I got it back when I was a teenager. I abused it and took the paint off (most of it anyhow). I haven't been able to figure out which kind of Aria Pro II it is. It was an active bass, but I switched it over to passive. See the filled in hole? Oh man, what a mess...

AriaPro2.gif


Thanks,
Joe
 
#360
Dude! I am sorry to say this but you ripped the seller off! That is one HELL of a nice $60 bass! Keep that thing FOREVER! Aria basses are some of the (IF NOT THE!) nicest basses you can buy for less than a lot of money! Yours is really pretty, and looks like it is great condition! Keep it, Love it, PLAY IT OFTEN!
 
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