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OMG! I won an Aria Pro II SB-R150
- Thread starter Dee_01
- Start date
My wife's the opposite, if I tell her I spent a grand on a Bass, she'd say why didn't you spend it on a holiday, next time it's a one way ticket, lol.
On a completely other tangent, I feckin hate bass snobs, ref the guy who was yapping on about a poor mans alembic, sounds like some rich kid from the mid west.
Love your Bass, but if I'm being fussy it has to be Padouk Red for me, or at least Oak, will get photo's up when I can figure out how to, can only seem to get 2 at a time,
groovyplucker
On a completely other tangent, I feckin hate bass snobs, ref the guy who was yapping on about a poor mans alembic, sounds like some rich kid from the mid west.
Love your Bass, but if I'm being fussy it has to be Padouk Red for me, or at least Oak, will get photo's up when I can figure out how to, can only seem to get 2 at a time,
groovyplucker
It's all good, groovyplucker, I think "poor man's Alembic" is probably quite accurate! I love the red ones, too. And black. I love all of them!
Anyway, the bass came in yesterday. I spent a whole day cleaning it up and it looks pretty nice now. I used steel wool on the fretboard and frets (there was lots of tarnishing), and removed the corrosion from the bridge. These bridges are originally lacquered but I took it back to the bare brass. It looks almost new right now. Very shiny!
There are quite a few scratches and dings but nothing serious. Overall, it's a seriously good bass. The biggest problem is the neck pickup which is completely dead. I guess it's gonna have to go to a guitar tech who's good with electronics. I might have to order a new pickup from Aaron Armstrong if it really is dead.
I'll get some pics up soon.
Anyway, the bass came in yesterday. I spent a whole day cleaning it up and it looks pretty nice now. I used steel wool on the fretboard and frets (there was lots of tarnishing), and removed the corrosion from the bridge. These bridges are originally lacquered but I took it back to the bare brass. It looks almost new right now. Very shiny!
There are quite a few scratches and dings but nothing serious. Overall, it's a seriously good bass. The biggest problem is the neck pickup which is completely dead. I guess it's gonna have to go to a guitar tech who's good with electronics. I might have to order a new pickup from Aaron Armstrong if it really is dead.
I'll get some pics up soon.
I bought one of these from a Japanese auction a couple of years back...it cost me something like 500 euro.
On arrival I was very sad to find hairline cracks under the nut, about 1.5 inches each. I'd love to get it restored to 100%, but I don't think there's anyone in Ireland capable/reliable enough to do it.
To answer earlier questions - yes it weighs like an anchor. I have an SBR 60 also, it's about comparable. When I switch from the SB to my Geddy Lee, it feels like a little toy.
Also I don't find the tonal range that great on the SBR150 despite the various controls.
If there's anyone out there would very much like to get their paws on an SBR150, I would trade for an undamaged early 80s SB1000 in red. That's all I've EVER WANTED but cannot find one. Been making do with the SBR60 (very good deal at 200 euro) and the SBR150.
On arrival I was very sad to find hairline cracks under the nut, about 1.5 inches each. I'd love to get it restored to 100%, but I don't think there's anyone in Ireland capable/reliable enough to do it.
To answer earlier questions - yes it weighs like an anchor. I have an SBR 60 also, it's about comparable. When I switch from the SB to my Geddy Lee, it feels like a little toy.
Also I don't find the tonal range that great on the SBR150 despite the various controls.
If there's anyone out there would very much like to get their paws on an SBR150, I would trade for an undamaged early 80s SB1000 in red. That's all I've EVER WANTED but cannot find one. Been making do with the SBR60 (very good deal at 200 euro) and the SBR150.
Great bass!
Re the PU issie..... I have had 3 basses over the last few years that had one pickup with lower output than the other. It drove me crazy (but I am really picky). I had a Jazz pickup rewound and that fixed the problem, but Sadowsky Jazz PU and Roscoe Bart soapbar PUs had to be replaced. Very hard to fix PUs other than open coil Jazz and P PUs.
Sorry for such a late reply. It's been almost 6 months since it was stolen and I haven't tracked it down. I still think about the bass every day!
The thing about the 150 for me was the playability. It was stupendous! I wasn't sure of how great it is tonally because of the bad pickup, which, in hindsight, I'm glad I didn't replace because it would have been a waste of cash. I must say though, I rarely need more than a couple of tones, and although only the bridge pickup worked on my 150 it sounded good, it just lacked depth because I couldn't use the front pickup at all.
The SB-R 60 is a nice looking bass, I'd be fairly happy with one of those, but I'd much prefer the SB-R 80 being as it's close in terms of spec to the 150. If anyone has an 80 for sale, especially in red, I'd be interested to hear from you. I will sell my current bass ('82 Westone Thunder IIA) and raise the cash.
