Aria Pro II FA-50E

[IdahoGuitarguy]

I saw a discussion of the Aria FA-50E which spurred my thoughts about my FA-50E. It appears, from all I can see with a quick search, the model sold now is identical to mine, which I've had for several years. I've owned several Gibson archtops, a couple of Gretsch archtops, and enjoyed them all. I still have a couple of Gibsons, but have put them up for sale. I don't play much any more, but I like jazz guitar very much. I play the FA-50E now. Since I don't collect guitars any more, what I am keeping are the guitars which feel the best, meaning they are a joy to play. That is what the FA-50E is, simply a joy. Acoustically it is one of the best electric archtops I've owned, surpassed only by a late '40s vintage Epiphone with a solid spruce top. Electrically the Aria is excellent. The neck fits my hand perfectly, which contributes greatly to the fun. I paid about half of what they are selling for now, but knowing that the sound and playability are high quality, I'd pay the price in lieu of paying more for a bigger name guitar. That's my 2 cents' worth.

[cjm]

Originally Posted by IdahoGuitarguy

I saw a discussion of the Aria FA-50E which spurred my thoughts about my FA-50E. It appears, from all I can see with a quick search, the model sold now is identical to mine, which I've had for several years. I've owned several Gibson archtops, a couple of Gretsch archtops, and enjoyed them all. I still have a couple of Gibsons, but have put them up for sale. I don't play much any more, but I like jazz guitar very much. I play the FA-50E now. Since I don't collect guitars any more, what I am keeping are the guitars which feel the best, meaning they are a joy to play. That is what the FA-50E is, simply a joy. Acoustically it is one of the best electric archtops I've owned, surpassed only by a late '40s vintage Epiphone with a solid spruce top. Electrically the Aria is excellent. The neck fits my hand perfectly, which contributes greatly to the fun. I paid about half of what they are selling for now, but knowing that the sound and playability are high quality, I'd pay the price in lieu of paying more for a bigger name guitar. That's my 2 cents' worth.

I'm curious: From a design standpoint, the FA-50E appears to be the same basic guitar as the Washburn HB-15...which I had for a couple of years as a travel/practice guitar until it developed a separation at the heel...at which time the dealer replaced it as an implied warranty issue with a HB-15C. The HB-15 was built in Indonesia, and the HB-15C which replaced it was built in the PRC.

To my question: both Washburns needed fret work -- the HB-15C was the worse of the two for frets -- both had very crudely carved bridges, noisy pots, etc. In other words, they took a little work.

What I'm asking is whether this guitar, as an Aria, and through a different importer, also required work, or does Aria perhaps do a better job of quality control and specing components?

They're actually sort of neat guitars -- I reworked my HB-15C to where I use it as my main gigging axe. The 25.5 inch scale and full profile neck help prevent joint pain, and the thinner body makes it easier to "squirm around" and find a comfortable position when I play for 2 or 3 hours. And it is unusual to find a 25.5 inch scale on a 16 inch guitar regardless of depth.

But because of quality control issues, I haven't recommended the Washburn to anyone, and would like to know if Aria does a better job of it.

[RoyaleT]

I, and two friends play Aria FA's, 2 - 71's and the other a 70. I bought mine used 3 years ago, no issues with quality or durability. The others were bought new more than 10 yrs ago, same quality, no issues,