Aria guitars. Good or bad?
Red Monkey
tell me how the Aria strat copy compares to the mexican standard strat
please. I dont want to buy a load of old rubbish but I'm not exactly
rich either. Any advice on the best first guitar would be a great
help. Cheers.
CyberSerf
Play an Aria, play a MIM, the one that works best for you is the better
guitar...s'not like either is going to appreciate a whole lot, so try it a
bunch and get the one that turns your crank the most (there is so much
variation between individual guitars, that brand name can only be used as a
rough indicator of quality). The nice thing about a MIM Strat is that: 1)
many are quite good, and 2) they all have the Fender name on them. The nice
thing about an Aria Strat is that: 1) many are quite good.
All the best, CS
--
---
The opinions, comments, and advice offered by me here are mine alone.
As such, they carry as much weight as a feather in a snow storm.
Red Monkey <crimso...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:721eb99f.02022...@posting.google.com...
JG
nearly nothing as soon as you walk out the door. The Strat will hold most
of it's value until you break it. It will make a BIG difference when
you're ready to trade up to a premium guitar, and you might just find that
with a couple easy-to-afford modifications, that your Strat can be made to
play as well as a $900 version of a Fender Strat.
Take someone who plays, with you to play the Strat (preferably someone
who' played about 10 years or more - like a local guitar teacher - & not
someone who works at the store) when you have cash in hand. Go more for a
good feel than a cool paint job - you can paint a guitar, but a crappy
feeling guitar might never feel really good, and as a beginner, you don't
want you first experience to be really bad or you might not stick with it.
Play it yourself too, to make sure the neck isn't too big for your hands.
Expect that it'll feel a little strange until you've played it a while,
and don't expect to reach a lot until you build up the muscles in your
hands that you'll only ever use for playing guitar.
If you like the Strat (they're really good guitars), consider buying a
used one from the local paper, or eBay if you have a credit card & an
account there. The Fenders are a lot more consistant than most guitars in
their price range, and you shouldn't have any problems with getting a
crappy guitar (maybe one set up badly, but that's cheap & easy to fix -
any guitar store can do it for maybe $20). Another place to buy online is
Harmony Central (do a search for the website). I've bought guitars online
and haven't been burned yet.
Good luck,
- Jeff G
Red Monkey
Thanks for the advice. For some reason I had this misconception that
people would be really snobby about beginners guitars but it's nice to
be proved wrong. I've still no idea what to get. The mex is about £340
(cheapest I can find) and the aria stg04 is about £150. I just wonder
if these prices reflect the quality. I've also looked at Cort guitars
and also Squier. Is the Aria better than a Squier?
I think I'm gonna go for the Peavey Blazer practice amp though. I can
get a deal on the blazer and the aria for around £210 plus vat at
regent guitars (good website).
I don't give a toss about the paint or the name. Re-sale potential
would be nice but not essential. Durability and playability are the
main criteria for me. Oh, and reasonable price!
Old Geezer in Quebec
I have a question for you. I will be buying my first car. Should I get
a Toyota Corolla or a Honda Civic? I don't know how to drive. They say
that the best car is a Jaguar. My buddy has a Porsche and it is always
broken. It must be a piece of crap. I can get one of those for a lot less
than a Civic but I'm too smart to waste my money on one of those rotten
Porsches. What colour is best? Maybe I could stick the "Honda" sticker on
the Porsche. Would anyone notice that I bought the cheaper car and put on
that nice "H" on the front?
Red Monkey <crimso...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:721eb99f.02022...@posting.google.com...
Old Geezer in Quebec
Go to Google.com and check the archives. Each week there are about 30
people who ask those same questions. You will save lots of "lira" if you
check all the answers and then browse the Harmony Central reviews for amps
and guitars.
If you really want to play guitar, don't get those shitty beginner
guitars and amps. Buy something good. Buy used stuff if you want to save
money. There is lots of it out there. There are as many people who quit
playing as there are those who want to play.
99.9% of the guitarists will tell you that a tube amp sounds best.
99.9% will say that individual stomp boxes are better than amps with options
or multi-effects. 99.9% will tell you to buy the most expensive guitar you
can afford.
If you decide to quit, and you did your homework, and you bought good
stuff at a good price, you won't lose any money.
Red Monkey <crimso...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:721eb99f.02022...@posting.google.com...
Richard
Made-in-Mexico Fender Strats have the reputation of being great guitars
for the money. This means that if you decide to sell it later you should
be able to find a buyer easily. It also means that if later you upgrade
the pickups and other stuff under the pickguard, you won't be wasting
your money.
You need to try a number of them out to find the pick of the litter. Go
to a couple of different stores, if you can. You want where the neck and
the body join to be a tight fit, you want the frets to be smooth and
even, you want the neck to be in good shape (no frets buzzing when you
strum chords all over the neck, and bent strings ring out rather than
make the frets buzz). When you strum the guitar before plugging it in,
it should sound nice to your ears. (If the guitar has old strings on it,
this is hard to tell.)
--
"Our darker impulses will prove our undoing, because they so often
masquerade as our virtues." (Ben Monder)
This post simply contains some of my personal opinions.
ObURL: http://home.earthlink.net/~huddler
Red Monkey
> Hey Monkey,
> I have a question for you. I will be buying my first car. Should I get
> a Toyota Corolla or a Honda Civic? I don't know how to drive. They say
> that the best car is a Jaguar. My buddy has a Porsche and it is always
> broken. It must be a piece of crap. I can get one of those for a lot less
> than a Civic but I'm too smart to waste my money on one of those rotten
> Porsches. What colour is best? Maybe I could stick the "Honda" sticker on
> the Porsche. Would anyone notice that I bought the cheaper car and put on
> that nice "H" on the front?
Err....thanks for the invaluable advice but I've already been through
the car analogy and it doesn't work 'cuz;
a) It only takes an hour to learn to drive.
b) Tossers who drive porsches and jaguars generally drive slower than
I do in my Transit van.
c) There is no such thing as a budget 'starter car'.
I know a lot of it is subjective but a little objective advie would be
nice.
RM.
Red Monkey
Yeah, I'm in the UK (although I can think of sunnier places to be).
The only Burns guitar I've seen in the shops is that horrible looking
Brian May thing. Most of the budget or cheaper makes I've seen so far
are Squier, Marlin (no thanks), Yamaha pacifica ,Aria, Cort and some
Epiphones, and also something called Samiak I think (or something
spelled similarly). I'm gonna go and check out Harmony Central as a
few of you have advised. Someone on here suggested going for a valve
amp straight away but I cant see it's worth it for just learning on at
home, especially as my pad isn't exactly spacious.
Thanks again one and all for the helpful advice. My search continues.
Red Monkey
and bought my first geee-tar. Ah, what did I settle on I hear you
saying. Did I go for the MiM strat? Nope. Did I settle for the Aria?
Nope.Do you care? Nope. Well I'm gonna tell you anyway....
(drum roll please)
In the end I went for the Cort G-250. A gorgeous looking Korean made
strat-a-like. I compared it to the MiM (as well as a novice can) and
it was the overall finish and build quality that clinched the deal.
It's got a roller nut and rolling string guides, a Wilkinson trem,
Mighty Mite S-S-H pick-ups with a push/pull coil tap. Obviously I got
someone else to actually play the thing so I could compare sounds. Not
bad for £229 (including full set-up, plectra,lead and soft case bag
thing).
Now I've just got to learn to play the bloody thing. Now where's my
'Guitar for Dummies' book ..............
CyberSerf
I was glad to hear you went out and tried some other axes before
settling. I was also glad to hear you brought someone with you. I'm sure you
will have years of pleasure from it. Now stop wasting your time here and go
play!
All the Best, CS
--
---
The opinions, comments, and advice offered by me here are mine alone.
As such, they carry as much weight as a feather in a snow storm.
Red Monkey <crimso...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:721eb99f.0202...@posting.google.com...
Old Geezer in Quebec
choice. Anytime you are happy, is a good choice. You did exactly what you
should do: shop around, ask for advice, look for quality not brand name,
bought what you wanted. Cort guitars are fine. I think my old Cortez
acoustic was made by the same company. (probably Samick)
I find you rather brave in buying a first electric guitar with a tremolo
bar that can be a nuisance. At least it is a good quality tremolo bar and
will cause fewer problems than the cheaper ones.
Red Monkey <crimso...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:721eb99f.0202...@posting.google.com...
Red Monkey
Trouble is I don't pick it up 'til next week as it's still due to be
properly set up in the shop.
So if anyones got any horror stories bout Cort G250's (just to really
piss me off) then let me know. On second thought's, don't, I think
I'll find out for myself!
Toodle-pip you wacky axe wielding maniacs you!
RM
Wayne Deleersnyder
investment. But then I went to an '85 Japanese Strat a couple of years
later when I really started getting into playing guitar. American made
Strats were a little hard to come by at the time.
What it all comes down to is price for quality. As some have suggested,
bring a friend or someone you know to test out the guitar. Personnally, I'd
go for the Fender Strat, but you have to be careful with the Mexican ones.
Some suck and some are good. If you can go on eBay, I'd suggest trying for
a Jap. Strat.. I ended up buying 2 Jap. Strats. and the quality compared to
the American ones are very comparable. Avoid the ones made in China and
Indonesia; they look like little kids toys.
Buying from a pawn shop might be a better idea though. As a first guitar
you don't want to spend a load of cash on something you might find you just
don't have the time for. Stick with names you know (Fender, Ibanez, Aria,
Gibson, etc...). And if you do buy from a pawn shop, bring the guitar
straight to a Guitar shop and have them set up the strings, intonation, and
the bow of the neck. It can sometimes turn a cheap guitar into jem. If you
decide in the long run your going to stick with it, you'll probably trade up
to a $1000+ guitar.
Good Luck,
W.D.
"Red Monkey" <crimso...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:721eb99f.02022...@posting.google.com...
DrA12
>investment.
Two things. One: Arias are a crummy investment. Two: Arias can suprise you like
nothing else. I bought an Aria probably 20 years ago and it recorded better
than anything I've ever owned, although the intonation was a problem. The
bridge is iffy with them, but the electronics can do some great things. They
always put things like coil taps and phase switches on some out of the way
model that you pick up just by chance. I agree with that pawn shop rec, and if
you ever find anything from the old Aria Thor series, drop me a line
Regards
Buz Abrams
t. clancy
I saw a thor series in a pawnshop a few weeks ago. what's the
big deal? weren't they just a cheap knockoff of an ibanez. they
tried to made it look like it was a neck through.
> Buz Abrams
tim gueguen
"t. clancy" <tccl...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:370adbd2.02040...@posting.google.com...
>
> I saw a thor series in a pawnshop a few weeks ago. what's the
> big deal? weren't they just a cheap knockoff of an ibanez. they
> tried to made it look like it was a neck through.
There were bolt on, glued neck, and neck thru variations of the Thor Sound
series. I quite like my bolt neck TS-300.
Anyone interested in 70s and 80s Arias, and other guitars made at the
Matsumoku guitar plant like Westones and Electras, might want to check out
the Guitar Gallery link at www.therathole.org which includes a bulletin
board for discussing these guitars.
tim gueguen 101867
t. clancy
> "t. clancy" <tccl...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:370adbd2.02040...@posting.google.com...
> >
> > I saw a thor series in a pawnshop a few weeks ago. what's the
> > big deal? weren't they just a cheap knockoff of an ibanez. they
> > tried to made it look like it was a neck through.
>
> There were bolt on, glued neck, and neck thru variations of the Thor Sound
> series. I quite like my bolt neck TS-300.
interesting. I've only seen the bolt neck ones.
there was a recent ebay auction for an old aria just like the
one I have. I was surprised how quick it ended.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=855036675
there's also a couple of aria 'lawsuit' les pauls on ebay now too.
(with the gibson headstock.)
Daveskihoser
the bolt necks and set necks are great value guitars at current prices. They
generally have 2 humbuckers with a coil tap and a phase switch and a string
thru tailpiece.
The set neck LP copies (PE series) are fabulous guitars with 2 humbuckers, coil
tap and phase switches and stop bar tailpieces.
All of them suffer from inadequate tuning machines.
They are not good investments for the original owners, because thay all can be
had for $100 to $300 now (30%-50%of original cost), no matter what the blue
books quote. They should hold this value though.