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Aria Pro 2 SB1000


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Hi Guys,

This is my first post on this forum, my refurbished Aria SB1000.

Its not finished yet but I hope to have it complete in a few weeks time. When I got it the bass it was in quite a state, looked like it was in a shed or garage as all the screw were badly pitted and rusty, the lacquer had pealed and chipped in places, buckle rash at the back but generally not to bad body wise considering.

I was worried about the pickup and wiring due to its storage and it was dead when I first plugged it in. The toggle switch was broken but I soon had this replaced and thats when it came back to life, the batteries drained quite quickly so I contacted Prostheta who gave me loads of advice on this matter. Good input from Norris as well on the finish.

The nut was missing and I used this old jazz one I had to hold the strings in place whilst I tried it out. A new one will be made of brass.IMG_1993.thumb.JPG.7d49728c979af78421fdc137aa62354d.JPG 

Anyway here are a few pics when I first got it. I was not too keen on the walnut finish anyway so a full strip was the only way forward.

More to followIMG_1942.thumb.JPG.ee9f09d02bcab2ed794638559fb76aba.JPGIMG_1941.thumb.JPG.01111533d080a6620dfd53147a424803.JPGIMG_1944.thumb.JPG.c1a402312f515ce3e194e70b5acd1a9e.JPGeIMG_1946.thumb.JPG.64046ef11a0e9561799a45d3c04a183b.JPGIMG_1989.thumb.JPG.f38a3bd46013ff8acbf2014fb802b464.JPGIMG_1990.thumb.JPG.b180cb7189a9efa2100dc9059c853905.JPG 

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Brian any myself have been discussing the bass privately since he bought it. Yes, I seem to have become an Internet magnet for SB-1000 restos and repairs. The one thing I currently haven't yet managed (or gotten around) to solving is the battery monitor, or at least a proper battery monitor. The 80s SB-1000s had a dumb blinking LED that indicated nothing, other than there being battery life enough to run the monitor. :mellow:

It looks like the original pots' splining have been mashed up a bit. They were a bit non-standard (can't remember the tooth count) so once the originals are gone you find it difficult to replace them with anything that fits, never mind originals which were exclusive an Aria Pro II thing!

The switch is a PITA as well, since it's a 4PDT paddle style ON-ON. A 3PDT suffices as one circuit of the four is used. Whilst both are easy to acquire, finding a paddle type in a black finish is not.

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As promised some pics of the near finished body but not in all its glory. Bridge finished and installed, that was a bit fiddly to clean up but plenty of patience is required.

I started the brass nut today but I need some accurate measurements of the nut slots spacings. Any help appreciated

Prostheta has advised me to leave the finish to cure for a couple of weeks before buffing the final coat.

New decals will be ordered but I dont know what to go for Gold or Black

 

IMG_2007.thumb.JPG.89719f65f66da140573c31a349ea3c6c.JPGIMG_2008.thumb.JPG.fbe9abcf85cd6ddc62c965268009864b.JPGIMG_2030.thumb.jpg.835a435a8792eea8b5e37dc764796b18.jpgIMG_2033.thumb.jpg.1059a98f1e0b7a2061c7781ca14cb1ae.jpgIMG_2034.thumb.jpg.a2c707d3734d7034728823fe41bee79a.jpg 

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4 minutes ago, Norris said:

I could measure mine but I'm not sure if it's exactly the same spacing. It's the earlier model without the recessed jack socket

Hi Norris, I do have an SBR60 which is in storage and see if thats the same width, the SB1000 is 45mm wide but some of the later ones like the SB600 are narrower so its down to a bit calculating the string spacing but thanks for your help.

B

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9 hours ago, Briansbrew said:

Hiya Curtisa,

Sorry didn't get the section right but thanks for sorting it for me.. We were lucky in our town as we escaped most of the snow thankfully.

All sorted, all good.

We have friends in Co Wexford, and judging by the photos they've sent they look like they're going nowhere in a hurry.

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That looks about a 35mm spread which makes sense. It's 16mm string-to-string at the bridge (crazy, right?) or a 48mm spread. 35mm gives 5mm from the centre of each outer string to the edge of the board so that would work. Depending on how one feels about the odd neck profile and taper, that could be reduced to 4mm or a 37mm spread. It seems fine as it is.

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13 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said:

Hi, Brian and welcome! :)

I love Arias.  I've worked on one in the past and have seen @Norris 's in the flesh.  Beautiful!  

With the care you're taking on this one, I'm sure yours will turn out just as good.  Watching with great interest.

Hi Andy,

Thanks, I will be hopefully finished this in a few weeks time but loving the challenge. 

IMG_2040.jpg

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23 hours ago, Norris said:

That's about the best shot I can get of the nut using my mobile phone camera. My digital caliper says the nut is 45mm

20180303_121007.thumb.jpg.cde6fa26b5126c278ca0e2a504e4bfc4.jpg

Hopefully you should be able to zoom in. Hope that helps 

Norriss your a star, thats perfect. I did a quick sketch last night to see how it worked out but I only got the outside strings based on my other basses but I wasn't sure if they were equally spaced centre to centre but your pic is great so now I  can get on with the first cut, don't know what to use yet for the D and G slots as luthier tools are expensive for this type of work.

Cheers

IMG_2040.thumb.jpg.9b2bc62f4014d465f6bee5201c617293.jpg  

IMG_2041.jpg

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