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If you hunt you can find a really nice Aria Pro II PE180, made in the 70's by Matsumoku. They came out under other brand names too, like Bradley. Very nice guitars. Laminate bodies dimensionally like L5ces, neck and headstock inspired by the Super 400. Ibanez also made a near exact clone of the L5ces.
Here's my Aria Pro II PE180.
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11-16-2020 03:55 PM
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Originally Posted by lawson-stone
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Originally Posted by manolo_asdf
Last edited by Hammertone; 11-18-2020 at 10:17 AM.
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This is going for likely well under £1000 if you don't mind the damage.
1979 Aria Pro II L1000 L 1000 L-1000 L5 Archtop + Case | eBay
Bit heavy and doesn't have a solid top but you'll get your money back when you've got the funds for an L5.
You could try for an Yamahas AE1200
Message this guy and offer him £1100. He's a reseller though so likely won't have the margins to accept.
Yamaha AE1200s Archtop guitar 1988 Very good condition PICS & VIDEO ADDED | eBay
These Guild De'Armond's are some of the better stuff to come out of Korea.
DeArmond De Armond X155 By Guild | eBay
Bare in mind the above are quintessential budget L5 Copies. Quite heavy and dull sounding. They sound good plugged in but not very good unplugged.
You could always spring for an Eastman or Peerless but I've never enjoyed them personally.
2005 Eastman AR905CE Uptown Electric Archtop Guitar | eBay
If you can stretch to £1500 I've got an Ibanez GB-20 you can have.
I've also got an American Guild SF3, which is around £1200 but not really an L5 substitute.
Drop me a PM if you're interested. I was gonna put them up for sale soon.
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Vintage! 1986 Heritage Eagle Archtop Jazzbox Sunburst + | Reverb
I've seen these go for under 2 Grand which can't be beat. All solid woods, the right/classic dimensions, clean looks -
Alternative : the Guild X-500 (pressed wood but still with a solid top)
The japanese models by Aria, Yamaha etc. are all plywood, most of them pretty heavy and so they just lack some the dynamic
range and response a lot of players want. When you're playing bebop in a loud-ish group that won't be such an issue but when you want to hear all the little nuances of your chords and lines, the difference between the attack of a heavy pick and your fingertips etc. then you want a guitar that can translate all of that. It pays off to wait, save up and learn as much as you can in the meantime...
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Originally Posted by docbop
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Originally Posted by gitman
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Originally Posted by gitman
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Originally Posted by ArchtopHeaven
ps I was also watching the Aria - seemed a lowish price even with the binding issue.
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Originally Posted by ArchtopHeaven
It's relisted at £1450. He's in no rush.
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Here is a side-by-side of 3 17" archtops: L5ces, Aria Pro II PE180, and Epiphone Broadway. All 17", all 25.5" scale, all 2 humbuckers, the Aria and Epiphone are laminates and the Ephiphone is a bit shallower rim than the other two. All guitars are stock except the Epiphone has a Steward MacDonald Parson Street Golden Age pickup.
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Great video, Lawson. I actually liked the Aria most of all.
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Way back down-thread somebody mentioned the Ibanez SJ500. This was replaced by the SJ300, which I have, I would be interested in others feelings/thoughts about these. I really enjoy it but don't really know enough to give an informed opinion.
Cheers
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Originally Posted by Rob MacKillop
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
"Why Do The World's Best Guitarists Play On the...
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