Value of Aria pro II PE-175HE Herb Ellis?

[marr]

I'm currently hunting for a used archtop. Somebody is offering me a 1980 Aria pro II Herb Ellis in Exellent condition. He has put new Kent Armstrong pickups in the guitar but the original pickups are included. Unfortunatly I won't be able to try the instrument myself since the seller lives too far away.

Does anybody have any idea of the value of these guitars ?

[ruiner54]

i think its listed in the jazz gear section of the main page as a popular guitar for jazz. i have heard people talk well about them ...sorry no personal experience though.

[SamBooka]

2010 Price guide has it as a PE175 from 78 to 87.
From 450 to 550 US which seems low to me
2010 blue book doesn have it listed but the guy who does the Blue Book wrote this Aria Pro II ?Herb Ellis? Model TE 175: Prototype or First Production Model? - Premier Guitar

he has it as 800 to 1000 which is a little high to me as well.. but what do I know?

[marr]

Thanks guys.

[Scolohofo]

I have one for 500 euro but i won't part her for that less!

[va3ux]

I recall the ones I've seen on eBay went for roughly $600 - $950. Owners consistently report that they're on par with a Gibson ES-175 in terms of tone of construction. Apparently they're the 'real thing'. If you buy it, you're getting a good guitar. They're not easy to find.

[Steve Z]

The 2012 Vintage Guitar Price guide has the Aria pro II Herb Ellis in excellent condition priced between $450-550. That stated, I usually see them on eBay for $550-900 as the above post stated as well.

PE-175 was made between 1978-1987.

Most of the reviews I have read on the guitar state it is a great instrument.

Here is an interesting video comparison that I found on YouTube of the PE-175 and the ES-175. Although the video/audio quality is not great it is good enough to be interesting.

YouTube Video

YouTube Video

[Hammertone]

These are really nice ES-175-style guitars.
Build quality is high and availability of clean examples is low.
I think anything in the $600 - $1,000 is fine, especially with a hardshell case and an extra set of pickups included.

Unlike Strats, Teles, Les Pauls, ES-175s and so forth, this is a good example of an instrument that is obscure and scarce enough that there isn't really a set market price, or "fair market" price. Just a few individual buyers and sellers and their various motivations leading to an agreed-upon price.

Good luck with it. Been there myself.

My silly Japanese guitar collection (not for sale) which includes an ES-175-ish 16" all-laminated hollow-body jazz guitar. It took me a LONG time to find these guitars. Value? <//Dr. Evil-on//> A million dollars!:

[SamBooka]

there is a polytone guitar on ebay as we speak.. saw it last night

[marr]

Thanks for the input guys.
I am also being offered a used Gibson es-137 (few years old) for the same price as the Aria. I dont´t really dig the color though, it´s blue. I am a bit torn which one i should choose.

[Hammertone]

ES-137 - totally different instrument, great guitar.

If you want a hollow-body laminated jazz guitar, do not buy the ES-137. It is not a hollow-body guitar. It is a semi, with a block.

[wizard3739]

Hey Sam, I just wanted to give you a heads-up from my short experience with Polytone Guitars. Back in the late 70's, Polytone imported some oriental guitars. I spent some time at the Namm show tuning them up for the Polytone factory. At that time, they were mostly solid bodies and, IMHO, not good instruments, IMHO, they were cheap imitations of some of the other guitars at the show. I didn't see any more of them after the Namm show was over and I have no other information to add. The Polytones in the picture above look like a better quality than the first few at that Namm show. Most of us are familiar with the quality of the Polytone amps and the great jazz sound that can be achieved with them. I don't know if Polytone continued to sell them or ?

best wishes,
wiz

[Hammertone]

Originally Posted by SamBooka

there is a polytone guitar on ebay as we speak.. saw it last night

There are a couple of them.
Crane's in England has had what is labelled an Improv I for sale for some time. It's @16" wide, a little under 2 1/2" deep, and they say that it has a block. It has a bunch of changed parts and looks quite nice. Not the same as the hollow-body version I have, which is identical to what is listed on the original Polytone tear sheet.

The recent listing is for a Improv II S, also with a bunch of changed parts. It's 14 1/2" wide, 1 3/4" deep, with a block.

Polytone had them built in Japan in 1980 for two minutes, and the very few of them that have emerged have wildly different body specifications. Since no one knows or cares about these guitars, it's of no concern.

As the wise men over at the Matsumoku forum pointed out to me, the solid body Polytone "Contempo" guitars to which wizard3739 refers, were rebadged El Maya guitars, built by the Rokkomann company. They had a facility in Kobe that was apparently destroyed in an earthquake, or by Godzilla, or possibly by Mothra, or some combination of all three.

[marr]

Originally Posted by Hammertone

ES-137 - totally different instrument, great guitar.

If you want a hollow-body laminated jazz guitar, do not buy the ES-137. It is not a hollow-body guitar. It is a semi, with a block.

If I'm not mistaking there is a block in the Aria as well.

[Hammertone]

The Aria Pro II Herb Ellis guitars I have played over the years have been straight-up hollow ones.

[marr]

Originally Posted by Hammertone

The Aria Pro II Herb Ellis guitars I have played over the years have been straight-up hollow ones.

Ok, thanks for clearing that up.

[Hammertone]

Aria Pro II PE-175 Herb Ellis :

[marr]

Originally Posted by Hammertone

Aria Pro II PE-175 Herb Ellis :

The one i'm considering to buy looks like the one in the middle; with a wider headstock and does not have "Herb Ellis" writen in the neck inlay.

[Hammertone]

That's the earlier one:

[jerzy]

Hi.This is my first post,but I've been reading some threads for a while.
I own Aria Pro II HE and can highly reccommend the guitar.Excellent!I own or have own a lot of really good archtops like Gibson L5 Studio,Gibson L4 CES,D'Aquisto New Yorker(which I going to sell soon),Epiphone Elitist Broadway and Byrdland,Yamaha AEX 1500 and many others.Gibson L5 and Aria HE will stay with me forever.I paid for the Aria $550 with HSC and I still can't believe how cheap the guitar was(price/quality).There are a lot of junk guitars on the market for that price.Another story if you would like the guitar as much as i do.It's almost like choosing a wife on the internet.For example I am not a big fan of guitars with floating pickups,but some players love them.I prefer full,rich,more electric sound from guitar with routed pickups and Aria HE suits me very well.Anyway it's always risky buying a guitar without playing her first.Good look
Jerzy

[kris]

Originally Posted by jerzy

Hi.This is my first post,but I've been reading some threads for a while.
I own Aria Pro II HE and can highly reccommend the guitar.Excellent!I own or have own a lot of really good archtops like Gibson L5 Studio,Gibson L4 CES,D'Aquisto New Yorker(which I going to sell soon),Epiphone Elitist Broadway and Byrdland,Yamaha AEX 1500 and many others.Gibson L5 and Aria HE will stay with me forever.I paid for the Aria $550 with HSC and I still can't believe how cheap the guitar was(price/quality).There are a lot of junk guitars on the market for that price.Another story if you would like the guitar as much as i do.It's almost like choosing a wife on the internet.For example I am not a big fan of guitars with floating pickups,but some players love them.I prefer full,rich,more electric sound from guitar with routed pickups and Aria HE suits me very well.Anyway it's always risky buying a guitar without playing her first.Good look
Jerzy

Yes.
Jerzy has a big expierience with jazz guitars.
All The Best- Wszyskiego Najlepszego
Kris

[va3ux]

Originally Posted by marr

If I'm not mistaking there is a block in the Aria as well.

No. it's full hollow. The PE-175.

[va3ux]

Another thing to note about the Aria Herb Ellis PE-175, is that unlike some 'signature' models from some manufacturers, Herb actually played the damn thing full time. That on it's own says something about the guitar. I believe the only reason he stopped playing it and started playing his Gibson signature ES-165 was that Aria ended production of the model and hence the endorsement with Herb. With that done, Gibson approached him about endorsing a guitar.

[jerzy]

Originally Posted by va3ux

No. it's full hollow. The PE-175.

There is no sustain block like in most semi hollow guitars,but THERE IS a sound post connecting top and back of the guitar.It's a small piece of wood going crosswise inside the body.Nevertheless it's still a hollowbody.
Jerzy

[jerzy]

Originally Posted by kris

Yes.
Jerzy has a big expierience with jazz guitars.
All The Best- Wszyskiego Najlepszego
Kris

Thanks,Kris.You are kind,like always