Author Topic: Arialembic LG MK1 (Read 379 times)

trekster · « **Reply #15 on:** August 24, 2006, 10:19:42 AM »

Hey lg -- I've had both an SB1000 and SB900 in my past bass holdings. In both cases, I took the bridge and it's saddles to the closest brass shop and had them polished and relacquered. Worth every penny of the $15 I spent. In the case of the SB900, I also switched out the chrome gotoh heads and replaced them with gold -- made for a much better match to the bridge. Very attractive.

--T

lg71 · « **Reply #16 on:** August 24, 2006, 11:25:01 AM »

--T what happen to them? Sacrilege

Well, you know what, I have just finished the neck of my SB 1000 few minutes ago, it is now dead straight, and it is going to be fretless for the meantime. I am using some nice Danish oil, I have applied the first coat already, will carry on gradually over few days...

In fact, it's funny you've mentioned polishing the bridge, I was just talking about this with my other half, as well as upgrading the Tuners when I get richer!
The sad thing is, I am in London and it is hard to find places to get the bridge polished + relacquered, I don't know were to go, and it would probably cost an arm and a leg other here! I have done the SB 700 bridge, which was in a bad state, it took me so loooong to do it by hand without the machine...

Well, I am going to enquire and see if I can find a place + a good deal, and funny again, I have to do the bridge on the SB 1000 as well as the SB 900.

Are you guys spying on me thru satellites, with hidden cameras or something

Since have been re-watching the whole Twilight Zone series, strange things happened to me!!!

bigredbass · « **Reply #17 on:** August 24, 2006, 06:08:59 PM »

Aria (www.ariaguitars.com, the Japanese/World website) lists the SB1000RI (ReIssue) as well as their swell SWB electric uprights. The SB's carry over from the John Taylor (DuranDuran) reissues from a few years ago, and are identical to their 80s forebears.

Damn shame that Aria's nitwit importer in this country won't bring them here, but good for our friends in other parts of the world. Their top-shelf PE electric guitars are fabulous as well, and ALSO unavailable in the US.

They AREN'T cheap, as they're true Japanese production. Amazing how few 'Japanese' guitars are still made in Japan due to their labor rates.
Unfortunate, as we don't see the Yamaha SGs, these Arias, and several other FarEast-only gems.

J o e y

lg71 · « **Reply #18 on:** August 25, 2006, 03:21:59 AM »

(sent twice..)

(Message edited by LG71 on August 25, 2006)

lg71 · « **Reply #19 on:** August 25, 2006, 03:23:34 AM »

Joey, I have seen those reissues here in London (Bass Cellar/Denmark Street), there was one on eBay as well two months ago, it didn't sell!!! Why? Well, they are not exactly like the originals, the bridge is different in shape and material, die cast as opposed to brass... the neck was running nearly parallel on the originals (similar to the Alembic), now it is more like the standard, narrow at the nut... I didn't even want to try it. Oh, another thing that shocked me a bit, the two bigger pieces of maple on the neck, had a different color, and to me it looked really odd! So, I have seen two in the shop, and one on eBay, both had the same newer features, on the other hand, I the pickup should be the same as the original. And yes, it wasn't cheap, about $3000 in the shop, but the one on eBay which looked new, was going for half that price. I bet the original buyer on eBay was a bit disappointed, I don't know...

trekster · « **Reply #20 on:** August 25, 2006, 05:00:50 AM »

No indeed! Not like the originals. And NOT cheap copies, either!

One other thing -- when I got my SB900, it had non-Aria pickups in it. Not thinking about Alembic at the time (sorry), I contacted the distributor of Aria stuff in Japan and got a set of pickups shipped over. These pickups, although VERY nice sounding, were not yank-and-replace with original Aria pickups either -- I had to enlarge the pickup cavity by 1/8 on either side to accomidate them. And, although this is actually an improvment, the new pickups were 4-conductor wiring instead of the vintage Aria 3-conductor. I still wired it for series/parallel, but I could have just as easily put a 3-way switch in and wired it for s/p/single coil.

Oh, and lq, the reason I don't have the Arias is the same reason I am currently Alembic-less.. life and money needs. I will one day own both again.

--T

FC Bass · « **Reply #21 on:** August 25, 2006, 05:06:27 AM »

I love these basses. I'd like to get a black one with one pick up and oval inlays, just like the one Cliff Burton (RIP) used.
What type would that be?

Cheers!
F.C.

bigredbass · « **Reply #22 on:** August 25, 2006, 12:15:06 PM »

I'd been told they were good re-issues, I stand corrected.

J o e y

lg71 · « **Reply #23 on:** August 26, 2006, 06:05:19 AM »

--T, thanks for your valuable info regarding the newer Aria pickups being bigger than the originals.

About the money problems, I can only sympathize with you, because I am in a similar situation myself... You know, I had to borrow money to get what I wanted, including those Arias, it has been the only way for me for the last few years, since I lost my day job because I got seriously injured by simply doing my job! Then what, I can't even play my Basses thru an amp! (I don't have one anyway) I use headphones most of the time, very occasionally and quietly thru the speakers via a Bass Pod. Why, because I can hear my neighbors thru the walls and floor, to a point were there is zero privacy!
This is London my friend (when you are poor). I wish I could play at least one or two hours everyday at a reasonable level thru my speakers. One day maybe...

I always say to myself an others, don't complain, there are/will always be people in a worse scenario, so I think about them, and it gives me strength to cary on the journey...

F.C the models with the oval inlays were the Elites and SBRs (including SBR Black and Gold series). Although, I heard that some artists had custom models made for them. Why don't you check out the two links I have provided, it will answer all your questions...

As a side not, why I like those Arias so much, IMHO, it's the best wood for the money. Indeed, the poor man's Bass.

blazer · « **Reply #24 on:** August 26, 2006, 11:26:41 AM »

In the late eighties, Aria even offered a version of their SB series that had Alembic pickups and electronics as a standard feature. I'm kinda surprised nobody seems to be aware of those.

Anyway, here's my Aria SB 700 bass. Nice one but a bit on the hefty side...

lg71 · « **Reply #25 on:** August 26, 2006, 12:19:02 PM »

Nice , my 700 looks exactly the same in fact, apart that I have cut the excess on the E string , this is the good ones, you can tell by the headstock, and the pickup should be an MB1, as opposed to MB2s on the post 80's models, the tunings as well, they changed after 1980. While all SB 1000s had MB1s even after 1980... So, at that time, lucky were the people who bought the cheaper models early!

Well I am from 1971 and when I was a teenager I knew nothing about basses, in fact I have only discovered Aria SBs few years ago and by accident, I gathered that they were nice instruments and suited me very well, especially compared to what was available new for the same price. For example, my SB 700 cost me $400, to me it still a lot of money, but I know that there is nothing out there that can touch it for this sort of money.

Chris from the Bass center/London did tell me that there use to be some Arias with Alembic pickups + electronics, I didn't know, I am also surprised that Mica doesn't seem to be aware of it, otherwise I think she would have mentioned it to me.

Does anyone know anything about it? like what Alembic part/specs was fitted exactly, and how much those models used to cost...

FC Bass · « **Reply #26 on:** August 26, 2006, 03:22:00 PM »

Thanx lg71, I will check the links. Very nice collection you have there, congrats! Here are some pictures of Cliff with an Aria:

He also played the "Dot" version:

Cheers!

alembic83 · « **Reply #27 on:** September 15, 2006, 04:00:25 AM »

Hello, sorry to join this thread so late.

To: Lg71, nice basses! I also collect SBs. It's harder to collect Alembics due to their price, but I do have one spoiler (see link below). If I ever come across a gutted SB (there do seem to be a lot of them with bum pickups), I will definitley consider bringing it back to life with Alembic guts!

To FC_spoiler: the Aria Cliff is with in the top pics you posted is an SB Black 'n' Gold I (passive pickup - at least mine is - die cast black/gold bridge, gold tuners). The bottom one, the dot inlay model, is the SB-1000 (brass bridge, chrome tuners, BB active circuit w/ 6 position tone selector). I believe he must have had his SB1000 custom finished in all black. I've never seen any other SB1000s like that. They all had the maple/walnut neck finished in a clear coat (think John Taylor).

Also, I recently picked up a re-issue Aria SB-1000CB (Cliff Burton model) in Tokyo. It's basically the same as the John Taylor re-issue, but black. The previous posters are correct, this is not exactly the same as the original SB-1000. The bridge is not the original brass but it's a Gotoh die cast. Nothing too remarkable about it. The fretboard is shaped more like the other SB models, such as SB Elite series and R-60/80 models with wider string spacing. The neck on my original SB1000 feels a lot chunkier, so in that regard I like the playablilty of the re-issue a little better. Also, as others have said, the electronics/pickup are not exactly the same, but they seem pretty close. I think they got it about as close as they could. The volume/tone knobs are a little smaller. Also, I *think* the active bypass switch maybe located in a lower position on the re-issue. Have to check. I've only had mine a couple months but construction seems very good. It seems like a very high quality instrument to me, but it's not the same as the original models. I guess at first glance they do seem to be identical but if you are a stickler for details you will find a lot of little things that are different. The SB1000 never had oval inlays for example, never had black hardware, etc. Which reminds me: Aria put the black Gotohs on the bass with a slight downward angle. I guess it makes tuning easier, which is the only reason I can think of doing that, because to me it just looks bad, like they made a mistake (but all of the latest re-issue models are like this now).

If anyone wants to see my SB collection (well not ALL of them are mine. I have since sold many of them) and my Spoiler please check out this link:
http://s26.photobucket.com/albums/c104/AriaProII/

Jason

lg71 · « **Reply #28 on:** September 16, 2006, 12:06:09 AM »

Jason, nice collection you have too...

Which SBs in order do you prefer playing (and sound) and why?

alembic83 · « **Reply #29 on:** September 18, 2006, 07:23:36 AM »

Thanks...As far as sound I tend to lean towards the red SB-R80 I have right now. I can get some pretty diverse tones with the two pickups it has. It's also a little more lightweight than some of the other SBs so more comfortable to play. The list will probably change, but right now I'd say, in order:
SB-R80 (as stated above. Ironically, I guess this is the black sheep (or red sheep maybe) since it's the only non-black bass I have at the moment!)
SB-1000CB Re-issue (slimmer neck than the old 1000, big variety of tones)
SB-Black n Gold I (just good overall tone and playability, not as heavy as the black Elite I)
SB-1000 black original (very heavy and thick neck, but it does have the classic tone)
SB-Elite I, black (very heavy, nice thin neck, good tone but not quite as good as the BnG I which it is very similar to).
Jason