Unusual Aria Les Paul.........any pointers?

Posts regarding models produced after the Matsumoku plant ceased guitar production of those labels.
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bl5150
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Unusual Aria Les Paul.........any pointers?

Post: # 82156Post bl5150 »

At a gig the other night I spotted one of the most beautiful looking Arias I have seen. It was a bolt on Les Paul Standard body shape/bridge/pickguard but with more of a PE type headstock with the uppercase logo like that in attached pic. It seemed to have a super thick violin finish flamed maple cap on it....almost looks custom shop but on a bolt on?? Weird. No serial numbers anywhere on the headstock/neck plate.

Any thoughts on model/year would be appreciated. I am probably "barking up the wrong tree" but wondering if maybe it was some sort of prototype around the time of the move to Aria Pro ii

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Crusty
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Re: Unusual Aria Les Paul.........any pointers?

Post: # 82161Post Crusty »

The logo is post Matsumoku. I have an Aria flame top set neck much like what you are describing. It's a great guitar for sure. To date still no model but I know it is not a prototype (meaning one off) but it is a PE.

Prototype is a word that people use when they can't identify a model. "I can't find any info on it. Prototype?" Custom shop is extremely unlikely.
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Wutz
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Re: Unusual Aria Les Paul.........any pointers?

Post: # 82183Post Wutz »

You "flame" maple will usually be a thin laminate on those models.

Currently Aria has a PE line up from a couple of hundred USD to a couple of thousand USD, with about every price point in between. You get what you pay for, so quality is decent to high as well.
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