The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    I just bought this in a private sale from a player here in Canada, probably for a student of mine looking for a better guitar guitar on a very limited budget.

    It's an Aria Pro II TA-I around 1999. It was made in Korea and is pretty much a 1960's 335 knock off. The price was $500 CDN plus $80 for shipping (about $425 US). I didn't do much to it before I plugged it into my recording interface. It still has the round wound strings that it came with (I normally play flat wounds). They're also heavier than I like so I tuned the guitar down a full step to get the tension close to what I'm accustomed to.

    The recording was done direct into the interface with no edits or overdubs. I'm using S-Gear's Scuffham amp sim plugin for both the amp and reverb.


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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #2

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    Sounds good to me!

  4. #3

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    I recently bought a € 180 JET Tele with a solid poplar body and a roasted maple neck. Invested € 200 in a new bridge and a used tremolo, put some
    new pickups in that I had in the drawer and bingo, it’s a fabulous guitar that sounds absolutely amazing with a set of heavy roundwounds tuned down a whole step. Unbelievable guitar for small money, unthinkable a couple of years ago…. Then there are the many sleepers from asian production from the later 60‘s / early 70‘s …. With patience and a sharp eye there are many treasures to be discovered out there !

  5. #4

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    The only guitar I've bought in a Good Will auction, for $200 including a very high quality hard shell case, turned to be a real winner. It's a 1991 Washburn acoustic-electric D12 made in Korea. The auction listing made it sound like a well-worn antique ("the item is in a well-used condition") but the photos suggested otherwise so I took a chance on it.

    It arrived quite dirty, with tarnished frets, etc., but had a straight neck with zero fret ware, as if it had been stored in the case and never played. Unplugged, it has a lovely resonant acoustic sound, and the electronics work fine. The only issue was overly high action due to high bridge saddles, but sanding down each saddle individually fixed that and now the action is good. (I presume the guitar came that way, 4 chord folkies wouldn't mind it).

    George Washburn Hybrid Acoustic Guitar - Equis Ii | ShopGoodwill.com

  6. #5

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    I tried like 10 guitars in 250-500$ range, all nice instruments, didn't notice any major flaw in any of them. Golden Era of Affordable guitars has come.

  7. #6

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    Solid score I’d say


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  8. #7

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    The mighty Jim Mullen played an Aria Pro for years. I’m sure he wouldn’t have if it wasn’t a decent guitar.


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  9. #8

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    That guitar sounds just like Jim Soloway!

  10. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Soloway
    I just bought this in a private sale from a player here in Canada, probably for a student of mine looking for a better guitar guitar on a very limited budget.

    It's an Aria Pro II TA-I around 1999. It was made in Korea and is pretty much a 1960's 335 knock off. The price was $500 CDN plus $80 for shipping (about $425 US). I didn't do much to it before I plugged it into my recording interface. It still has the round wound strings that it came with (I normally play flat wounds). They're also heavier than I like so I tuned the guitar down a full step to get the tension close to what I'm accustomed to.
    May have come from the Peerless Korean Factory, they (and Samick) were making guitars for a few different brands at that time. Did they put a serial number on it?

  11. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mick-7
    May have come from the Peerless Korean Factory, they (and Samick) were making guitars for a few different brands at that time. Did they put a serial number on it?
    SN: S00095458. I'm guessing that the S means Samick. I've been doing a bit of research (actually the internet algorithms are feeding me research) and it seems that they went to Samick after the Maksumoto factory closed down. There's a very nice 17 inch Aria Pro II with a floater available just north of us right now for $900 CDN ($665 US). I'm not sure I could handle a guitar that size though.
    Last edited by Jim Soloway; 10-06-2024 at 04:20 PM.

  12. #11

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    Quote Originally Posted by Cunamara
    That guitar sounds just like Jim Soloway!
    I thought so too. Throw some flats on there and I think I could make it sound just like home.

  13. #12

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    Quote Originally Posted by Christian Miller
    The mighty Jim Mullen played an Aria Pro for years. I’m sure he wouldn’t have if it wasn’t a decent guitar.


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    just saw Jim play tonight
    with the Aria …. sounded fabulous