HELP - somebody talk me out of buying this '85 Aria aw40 (Martin D45 copy)

[guitar george]

Originally Posted by Casey86

It is a dreadnought, top model for Aria, and 'kind of' a copy of the Martin D45 (imho)
https://vancouver.craigslist.ca/rds/...465986769.html

Originally Posted by sid45

I think 350 for these is more reasonable and common on our west coast , also, this is not a style 45 copy at all, trim wise at least, sid

The seller states, "hand made in Japan as an HD28 D28 Martin copy".
This guitar is more like one of those because it does not have any of the D45 trim such as an abalone rosette or abalone perfling on the top, back or sides.

If it did have the D45 trim, then it would be a good deal at $750.00 CAD (Approx. $600.00 USD)

[merlin666]

Originally Posted by backdoc

I’d take the $750 and buy an Eastman E6D or a used E8D if you must have rosewood. My E6D and I will not be parting ways..ever. I have WAY more guitars than I need, but the Eastman and my Martin OM15M are just amazing guitars.

I disagree. Some of the guitars that came out of Japan in the late 70s and early 80s had the best tonewoods and workmanship imaginable and often surpassed American equivalents that cost two or three times as much. Comparison would be Collings and not Eastman! However, this does not necessarily apply to ALL Japanese guitars of the period and there were also many duds. This one might be a sweet find though and if you're in the Vancouver area would definitely be worth a trip to check it out. The detail on the purfling sure looks great, probably a step above the more common D45 style abalone. Also, these are Canadian Dollars, so about US$ 500!

[fazool]

a copy-paste of a former post of mine (copying a former post of mine, again)


copying another post of mine



I made this post questioning why some companies aren't more communicative with their customers.

And, in John Thomas's excellent book, Kalamazoo Gals, he describes Gibson's incoherent and senseless serialization non-method.

OK, a sentimental favorite cheap brand of mine is Aria Guitars from Japan. An entry-to-mid level guitar that peaked in the 80's. I have a soft spot for them since that was the first guitar I ever bought/owned.


Well, I did a lot of research about Aria, especially during their 80's heyday.

Here are three interesting tidbits of high quality:

They made an all solid wood guitar without any special marking on it.

They made a line of special high quality guitars with a small paragraph printed right on the front of the headstock about these finest woods opening up over time.

They made a very-low-volume line of guitars with a firebranded Aria logo on the back of the headstock. These were their most special "private reserve" guitars given as gifts to endorsed artists and very special dealers.

I've since researched, shopped, bought, restored and old several Arias from this era. I thought the naming prefix indicated construction (AW, SW, LW). I thought the higher numbers indicated higher quality. I thought the printed headstock was on the firebrand guitars only.

OK, here comes the silliness.

A model SW8 is all solid wood cedar/mahogany with satin finish
A model SW700 is solid spruce top, laminated rosewood body with gloss finish
LW600 is laminated spruce top, laminated rosewood body with gloss finish
LW30 is solid spruce over laminated rosewood body with gloss finish
LW40 is solid cedar over laminated rosewood body with gloss finish
AW20, AW200, AW??? is laminated body solid top
LW??? is laminated body solid top
SW40 is a firebranded solid spruce top, unknown body (but supposed to be solid) with the firebrand logo and the paragraph
SW30 is a solid spruce top, unknown body (but supposed to be solid) without the firebrand logo but with the paragraph


OK, OK,........don't try to make sense of it.

Basically:

The prefix means nothing it does not indicate wood or solid-vs-laminate construction.

The model number means nothing. It is not an indication of quality or appointments.

The paragraph on the front is sometimes on a firebrand but sometimes on a non-FB.


I can't figure them out.

They make cheap guitars but sprinkled in (with no rhyme or reason) there are gems.

[Wasper]

HI,

Can't really help you decide to buy it or not, or if the price is good or not.. that said, the confusion over the model and woods used got my curiosity up and I went searching.

I found the following scan from a circa 1980-ish Aria catalog showing the AW40. Since the owner said he purchased it around 1985, and the included picture of the AW40 looks like the one pictured in the for sale ad, I would say its a match.

AW40:
Dreadnought Model
Rosewood fingerboard
Bone nut & saddle
Solid Spruce Top
Solid Rosewood back & sides
Marquetry purfling

Link to the scanned page: http://www.matsumoku.org/models/a-ap..._pg10.jpg.html

Hope this helps

[Casey86]

Originally Posted by Zigeuner

Tell us again why you are concerned with resale before you even buy the guitar?

In a few weeks I'll be turning 63. Every musical instrument I buy now will have to be dealt with in the next 10 or 20 years.
Maybe I'm looking for an excuse not to get yet another instrument or feeling guilty about all my gear. Some of it is very high end (Alembic bass, hand made symphony quality upright etc)

I have 5 basses, 2 uprights and 3 guitars. I gig about 75 dates a year but that won't last forever.
Been gigging since I was 16, but when the gigs start to run out, I'll start unloading gear.

I learned long ago that we are only temporary caretakers of good instruments.

I'll give you my honest reaction (not always popular with folks).

I wouldn't buy a knockoff of a Martin dread. I'd go buy a Martin dread. You could probably swing one for a little over twice as much as this, used. If you don't have the money, save and wait. I had to do that back in the day and it was worth it. And if you're worried about resale, the Martin will re-sell when it needs to. The Aria? Other than a couple people here, who's heard of them? Certainly very few potential future buyers will have.

[guitar george]

Originally Posted by Casey86

I learned long ago that we are only temporary caretakers of good instruments.

Well in that case, we should take care of more.

[Casey86]

Thanks for the comments. Really helpful. Decided to work more on my playing chops and stop thinking about the guitar itself.

Had some spare time and dropped into the local shop and played some beautiful dreads. Martin hd-28v, Taylor etc. None of them sound significantly better than my wife's Larrivee D-04 to my ears. They did have a bit more low end punch than my Larrivee LV-03 but not enough to shake up my world.

I gave advice on one post where a new Martin owner felt he did not get the right sound. I recommended working on his chops more and giving the new guitar a chance. I think I should take my own advice!

I had made an appointment with the Aria seller. After checking out these $5000cdn beauties and not feeling it with them decided ...there is sadly little chance the Aria will rock my world.

[Borderdon]

Good Luck on your search.
I've an '80's Aria (AW-20 E) Spruce over laminate. basically a wall- hanger, never heard one of their upscale models though. I doubt I'd lose too much sleep over one, YMMV of course.

[wickerman]

Originally Posted by Casey86

Thanks for the comments. Really helpful. Decided to work more on my playing chops and stop thinking about the guitar itself.

Had some spare time and dropped into the local shop and played some beautiful dreads. Martin hd-28v, Taylor etc. None of them sound significantly better than my wife's Larrivee D-04 to my ears. They did have a bit more low end punch than my Larrivee LV-03 but not enough to shake up my world.

I gave advice on one post where a new Martin owner felt he did not get the right sound. I recommended working on his chops more and giving the new guitar a chance. I think I should take my own advice!

I had made an appointment with the Aria seller. After checking out these $5000cdn beauties and not feeling it with them decided ...there is sadly little chance the Aria will rock my world.

Personally for me I would have bought it in a heartbeat, I own an AW20 original series and it's a lovely guitar. They are quite rare and the AW40 is top of the line in that series. Easily up there with some of the nicest guitars I've played . It's also rare to find a Japanese guitar made with solid wood, many people believe they own an "all solid japanese guitar" when in reality they are not, as the Japanese made very few in comparison to the the many thousands of laminated models. I don't personally go in for the Martin hype as like all guitars there are good and bad. But these are in my humble opinion, well worth it.

[rumble]

I was very fortunate to have come across an Aria Dreadnought AW30 that is as good and many times better than some of the big names I’ve owned..
All solid construction . Solid spruce top solid mahogany b&s Ebony fretboard and bridge with the highest level of marquetry inlay around top ,back , sides and fretboard binding. It is an amazing build!! Yo****aro Hoshino/ Ibanez /as well as the custom shop at Terada did build for Aria.
The guitar is a major gem in MIJ collection. Worth every dollar above $750that I gladly payed for her a few years back from an older touring Bluegrass player from N.Carolina. He who hesitates is ??? Give it a play

[rstaight]

You are wanting someone to talk you out of buying this guitar. Not happening here.

Are you married? Ask your wife if you can buy it. If she is anything like mine the answer is a resounding no.

But then again I don't listen. But at least she can't say I didn't talk to her about it.

[Rockysdad]

old post, didn't realize.

[jimmy bookout]

Originally Posted by rstaight

You are wanting someone to talk you out of buying this guitar. Not happening here.

Are you married? Ask your wife if you can buy it. If she is anything like mine the answer is a resounding no.

But then again I don't listen. But at least she can't say I didn't talk to her about it.

Probably a little too late for either buy/don't buy. This thread is 16 months old.

[Rosewood99]

OK. Don't buy it.