Aria Pro II LS-800 Leopard, brown sunburst, made in Japan 1980. Aria Pro II have a long and storied history; many of their earlier guitars like this were made at the famed Matsumoku plant that produced famous 'lawsuit' models by Ibanez, among others. This particular example is a take on the classic Les Paul Standard, and it's a very, very good one. First up: it's taken a decent knock at some point, and the top cracked. We arranged a repair, that's been stabilised, glued and filled and then had a clear coat over the top to smooth everything out. We also had the frets levelled and dressed, so it's had a fair bit of work done. It's come up looking cool in a quirky way, the crack adds a certain level of intrigue and swagger to the aesthetic. When I first plugged this in, I was blown away: holy heck, it sounds amazing. Aria were dropping Dimarzio PAF humbuckers in these higher end LS models, which are amazing pickups and vintage examples like this fetch a pretty penny sold separately. The neck pickup has that bell-like clarity and glassy sheen on the top to bring out the detail in your chords, balanced by a round and full low end. The bridge pickup has a mile-wide and wonderfully complex midrange and an expressive sensitivity to it... there's plenty of girth to the low end and a lovely creamy sweet treble on the top. It'd take a hell of a Gibson to sound better than this, is really is spectacular. The neck is slim and stable feels slick despite a few knocks, and the natural resonance of the guitars is immediately apparent in the hands. It'll take the right buyer to understand the glory of this particular piece, but it'll absolutely reward your curiosity.

Model: Aria Pro II LS-800VD
Made: Japan, Matsumoku plant, 1980 (006129)
Finish: brown sunburst, gloss poly
Body: mahogany, maple cap
Weight: 4.170kg
Neck: mahogany, rosewood board, 12" radius, 24.75" scale, slim 60s profile
Mods: top crack repaired. The crack has been stabilised and filled with glue, then sanded to level and had a new clear coat applied to achieve a smooth finish. The frets have been levelled and dressed
Pickups: Dimarzio PAF humbucker x2, factory original
Case: basic vintage hard case

Cosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. The headstock has some dimples on the end and some scuffs on the front and back. The neck is clean and smooth in the hands, just some dents and scuffs on the back. The back has widespread light scuffs but no major marks. The sides have minor scuffs around the whole body and a few scuffs and a little chip near the jack. The front has a crack we had professionally repaired, see the notes above, as well as some checking around the outside of the body, dimples near the knobs and below the neck pickup as well as some standard play wear on the horns. Note the guard is missing. Overall: very good condition (8/10)

Playing condition notes: Neck is straight, action is low, intonation is good, truss rod works. All electrics tested and working properly. The frets been recently levelled, dressed and polished, so they're in great shape following that work, 8/10 for fret life left. No headstock breaks. Wearing fresh 10/52 Moonshiners strings.