Aria Pro II Black and Gold Restoration Thread

[garmenteros]

I got a new project. Paid about 40 bucks for this.
The good:
truss rod works
original bridge and tuning keys work (do need cleaning)
neck is straight
frets are in good to great shape (just dirty)
I love the neck profile and the bass is light

The bad:
The bass smells like garbage
No electronics or pickups
Nut is damaged

Im stripping it, refinishing it brand new like condition in gloss black, dropping in some dual coil barts, and making a brass nut and tuning it D flat standard.

 

[garmenteros]

Can someone send me a link to schematics for this bass, I know they are pretty simple, but it would be helpful, its a single volume and tone, one coil selector for each pickup, and and a pickup selector.

 

[TundraMan]

Looks like a fun project, but dang; where was this stored to put it in that condition? That's a lot more than just getting dusty.

 

[garmenteros]

It really does smell like garbage truck. Give or take a couple of weeks itll be new.

 

[daveman50]

This will make for an extreme before-and-after shot! (And smell.)

 

[Gilmourisgod]

Flood damage? Years in a moldy basement? That thing is roached! If nothing is delaminating, those were great basses, well worth restoring. Id try stringing it up to check for basic playability before spending a lot of time on it though. Water + bass = bad.

 

[TundraMan]

Flood damage? Years in a moldy basement? That thing is roached! If nothing is delaminating, those were great basses, well worth restoring. Id try stringing it up to check for basic playability before spending a lot of time on it though. Water + bass = bad.

About 10 years ago I was playing guitar at church on a Sunday morning. After the service was over we went downstairs to enjoy a potluck meal, and when we came back up to pack up our gear the bass player discovered that while we were gone a kid had thrown his bass in the baptistry. The finish started cracking and peeling almost immediately from the wood swelling, but the instrument was still playable. After a few weeks, though, everything started to delaminate. Eventually he just wound up discarding the whole instrument, which was a bummer because that was his best sounding bass.

 

[garmenteros]

Thats not really a problem. It could have been in the ocean for a year and Ill fix it. I cant afford a reissue cliff and would love one. I have a gibson ripper. I got it for cheaper and worse condition and it had seen a lot of water. What I did was steam the bass and take it apart and put it back together.

 

[dwizum]

a kid had thrown his bass in the baptistry. The finish started cracking and peeling almost immediately from the wood swelling, but the instrument was still playable. After a few weeks, though, everything started to delaminate. Eventually he just wound up discarding the whole instrument

Well at least we know it went to heaven.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

I just noticed the condition of the nut, maybe this is just a victim of cataclysmic abuse, filth, and terminal ineptitude by the previous owner, which is still better than flood damage. Seriously, wear a respirator mask working on this thing, you don't want mold spores in your lungs. Can you narrow down the Stench Identification? Garbage or Sewage? Flood basses tend to be drenched in sewage and heating oil, a heady aroma all it's own, and highly toxic. Nice job rescuing the Ripper, BTW.

 

[Tom0Blam0]

Where do you all find stuff like this?? I'd love to get a restore project like this! Such a cool bass, too!!

 

[garmenteros]

I go through pawn shops, ones that dont sell instruments usually. A place that pawns instruments will probably know what it has. I go to dumpsters and flea markets as well. They literally pickup trash and sell it, discarded electronics, i picked up randall elliots old mutron biphase for 5 dollars once.

 

[garmenteros]

You'd be surprised what people throw away. A local friend whos a garbage diver said these wise words once, "you can take a pulse of a country's economy by what kind of things people throw away."

 

[garmenteros]

Looking good. No damage apparently.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

Dang! That looks good! Why'd they cover up the walnut neck through laminations? I think I'd go natural finish on that, or maybe transparent. That's too nice to paint back over.

 

[Matt Liebenau]

I understand if you want to put it back to black and gold but, a natural finish wouldn't be the worst thing ever on that bass.

 

[postalflunkie]

Wow! Quite a project you've got there...
I'd scour the web and try to find original aria pickups.
For the bridge and tuners try Flitz polish, they'll look like brand new.

 

[garmenteros]

Im thinking about going natural, the wood
Looks amazing. Expect More pictures soon.

 

[garmenteros]

People at aria customer service sent me this.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

They orobably painted it because it's a couple pieces on the bottom body wing, but I still think it would look great natural.