Wow! Love it! If you ever get tired of it, you know where to find me! ?

Edit: actually! It's terrible! Why would you buy such a thing! ? send it to me and I'll dispose of it correctly and safely! ? ? ?


Can I ask why there's tin foil in the nut?

Chocklit_Thunda wrote:


Can I ask why there's tin foil in the nut?

Its a little trick I learnt. Bits of the nut crumble off every time I tune it because its so old, so the string ends up sitting lower than it should and you get fret buzz. This also means it goes out of tune easily. So to solve this problem, I am using the foil to raise the string to right level as a temporary solution (it works very well, I have done it for years whenever I could not afford to get it properly fixed), until I can install a new nut.

Kush wrote:

Chocklit_Thunda wrote:


Can I ask why there's tin foil in the nut?

Its a little trick I learnt. Bits of the nut crumble off every time I tune it because its so old, so the string ends up sitting lower than it should and you get fret buzz. This also means it goes out of tune easily. So to solve this problem, I am using the foil to raise the string to right level as a temporary solution (it works very well, I have done it for years whenever I could not afford to get it properly fixed), until I can install a new nut.

Ah! Quite clever actually! Never thought of that. I should try it out on my jazz box... Putting 13's on it dig into the nut.

But still... Beautiful guitar! ?

Chocklit_Thunda wrote:

Kush wrote:

Chocklit_Thunda wrote:


Can I ask why there's tin foil in the nut?

Its a little trick I learnt. Bits of the nut crumble off every time I tune it because its so old, so the string ends up sitting lower than it should and you get fret buzz. This also means it goes out of tune easily. So to solve this problem, I am using the foil to raise the string to right level as a temporary solution (it works very well, I have done it for years whenever I could not afford to get it properly fixed), until I can install a new nut.

Ah! Quite clever actually! Never thought of that. I should try it out on my jazz box... Putting 13's on it dig into the nut.

But still... Beautiful guitar! ?

Thanks! ? I just need to decide how I am going to mod her, still waiting for some ideas from the other forumites........ anytime now, I'm sure

As for pickups, I'd get those same ones rewound if they don't sound that good. ? it would keep the vintage look with better sound! ?

If no one else offers I'll help you with the wiring. I've fiddled around with my Yorktown a few times.

Thanks, I might just take you up on that offer.

Pots, switch, socket and wiring - get them all done at the same time. Those pups I always quite liked, although they can be microphonic as all hell, they capture a lot of the natural acoustic tone of the guitar.

Nut is obvious (superglue also makes a good temp fix, BTW), But I'd also drop in another Gibson-style bridge with metal saddles or the fixed wooden ones (and keep the original). The nylon rollers are likely to be problematic by now (and were never great - tonally or tuning-wise - to begin with). While you might just be able to replace the top part with a TOM, I seem to remember that the post spacing is not quite the same, so it meant removing the posts, filling and redrilling.

Oh - and just unscrew the trem arm and put it in the case - no good will come of it. ?

Thanks Alan!

Very nice, enjoy her!

hi there Kush! how much did you pay for her?

Ive actually been searching for more info on this guitar as Ive had one myself for a few years.

Cheers, J

That looks very very nice. If you need some work done speak to JD at JD Kustoms he is upstairs at Marshall Music in Woodmead Johannesburg.

justindallas wrote: hi there Kush! how much did you pay for her?

Ive actually been searching for more info on this guitar as Ive had one myself for a few years.

Cheers, J

Hi, I paid R900 for the guitar, an old 30W solid state amp, mic stand, leatherette carry bag and 2 coily guitar cables. So I would say I paid about R400 to R500 for the guitar itself.

Delta Male wrote: Congrats on a very nice guitar. I bought the exact same guitar on Sunday for an absolute steal. There are only three differences between mine and yours. Mine has the white pearl looking plastic on the headstock and the scratchplate, mine is a 12 string, and mine doesn't say Aria, but DIA on the headstock. Not a common branding on a guitar at all. Anyone know if there are any other differences? And also, is it pure coincidence that its a DIA, same as the DIAmond series Aria? Ill post pics tomorrow..

If it says "Steel Adjustable Neck" on the neck plate it may very well be a Matsumoku or Aria guitar imported under a different name. As far as I know though, Aria made guitars with these names only: Arai, Aria, Aria Diamond, Diamond, and Arita.

Wow, an Aria Diamond exactly like that one was my very first elec guitar, got it around 1974 from a pawn shop in Cape Town, R80 if I recall. I loved the 335 shape but it's a hollow body with a bolt-on neck so the sustain wasn't too good. I also remember the neck being a bit narrow and the frets a bit low, so I struggled to play it. I got rid of it after a year when I got a Fender strat. It didn't end there though - I then got a strat-shaped, Aria-built early 70s Epiphone with the same pickups as the Diamond (this Epi is the model Kurt Cobain famously played in the early days of Nirvana), which I loved the sound of. Then about 10 years later I got the 12-string version of your Aria Diamond - same shape and pickups, hollow body and bolt-on neck, but with a tremendous amount of mother-of-toilet-seat plastic on the enormous headstock. This has become one of my fave guitars and features on tons of recordings. I much prefer it to my old Fender hockeystick elec 12, which I could never get to stay in tune and which I eventually got rid of. Your Diamond is likely to sound sweet with some mild distortion (like from a tube screamer with the drive on 3 or 4) to improve the sustain, and if you're anywhere near your amp you should be able to get some easily controllable feedback. have fun