1960 ' S Aria Diamond / Ventura Hollow Body Electric Guitar Vintage Sunburst VGC
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:27438766 |
This Matsumoku built "thin line" hollow body guitar looks a lot like some of the high end Harmonies from the late 60's/early 70's but it's actually an Aria 1202T body with Ventura hollow body electronics. The body is a laminate with a small bridge support block, binding on both the front and back and a vintage sunburst finish. It has a bol...t-on three piece maple neck with a bound and block inlaid rosewood fret board, and a standard nut (no zero fret). The head stock, pickup(s) and 3-way switch surround all have a 3-layer celluloid finish (the mismatch between the head stock color and the others is due to my having moved the pickups/surrounds/wiring harness and all of its components as well as the tremolo tailpiece and bridge from a Ventura (also Matsumoku made) body (which had a broken neck) to an Aria Diamond body and neck.
The finish looks and is in very good shape with some exceptions: - a small hole in the back at about 3 o'clock on the dial. - 6" down from the head stock there's a gouge on the back of the neck. - wear to the top of the head stock. - small holes where it looks like a jack plate once had been. - screw holes for missing pick guard. - holes for non-original tuners which I replaced with originals. The single coil pickups are robust, however as with any vintage single coil care must be taken to avoid feed back (don't sit right next to the amp); - bridge position - 13.35 ohms; - middle position - 5.65 ohms; - neck position - 9.83 ohms. When you switch from one pickup to the next it sometimes requires a "nudge" to active the pickup - give it a slight touch and once it's "on" it stays (I have cleaned all the electronics with switch and control cleaner, and the switch itself looks to be okay in my non professional opinion - so someone with more experience may be able to do a more thorough job of ensuring clean contacts). The neck is 1 9/16" at the nut widening to 2 1/8" at the 21st fret; it's back is D shaped and relatively thin (approx. 1" thick) which feels very comfortable. Scale length 24 3/4 ". Fret/fingerboard wear is minimal. String action: Low E at 12th fret = 7/64"; high E at 12th fret = 3/32".
The D'Addario EXL110 10-46 Nickel Wound Regular Light Gauge strings are new. The intonation is very good, and the tuners do their jobs well (these strings are so new that they could use a little stretching before that point is proven though).
The guitar will be very well packed and shipped in a guitar carton. (No case).
The finish looks and is in very good shape with some exceptions: - a small hole in the back at about 3 o'clock on the dial. - 6" down from the head stock there's a gouge on the back of the neck. - wear to the top of the head stock. - small holes where it looks like a jack plate once had been. - screw holes for missing pick guard. - holes for non-original tuners which I replaced with originals. The single coil pickups are robust, however as with any vintage single coil care must be taken to avoid feed back (don't sit right next to the amp); - bridge position - 13.35 ohms; - middle position - 5.65 ohms; - neck position - 9.83 ohms. When you switch from one pickup to the next it sometimes requires a "nudge" to active the pickup - give it a slight touch and once it's "on" it stays (I have cleaned all the electronics with switch and control cleaner, and the switch itself looks to be okay in my non professional opinion - so someone with more experience may be able to do a more thorough job of ensuring clean contacts). The neck is 1 9/16" at the nut widening to 2 1/8" at the 21st fret; it's back is D shaped and relatively thin (approx. 1" thick) which feels very comfortable. Scale length 24 3/4 ". Fret/fingerboard wear is minimal. String action: Low E at 12th fret = 7/64"; high E at 12th fret = 3/32".
The D'Addario EXL110 10-46 Nickel Wound Regular Light Gauge strings are new. The intonation is very good, and the tuners do their jobs well (these strings are so new that they could use a little stretching before that point is proven though).
The guitar will be very well packed and shipped in a guitar carton. (No case).
