STG

Despite whatever's written on the headstock, be informed that this is a good guitar. It's Aria's STG-004. It's a Strat-esque guitar, let's not look away from that. 

It's the manufacturer's no-frills entry level model (together with the STG-003) before things go into a more intended territory with the likes of STG-57 & STG-62. What I like about this guitar is the weight & pickup clarity. Despite not weighing much, there is ample resonance here & the tone's single note definition is a healthy serving; these are in-house units, mind you. The humbucker there could be the deal breaker as it lacks warmth compared to the rather impressive single coils. Things get too bright rather quickly especially at overdriven settings but we expect such manifestations with guitars at this price point. With that said, the humbucker's clean tone with chorus dialled in is a pleasant surprise. On a budget but not wanting poor tones - the STG-004 should be on your checklist.

ARIA STG-003 (List: $185)

Available at Davis GMC

Selling: Aria Frontier 615

It had been a wonderful adventure but time to say goodbye to my Aria Frontier 615. FYI, the guitar had been refinished in this brown hue without a lacquer overcoat so not for the fussy people who worry their instrument body will dent easily at the slightest knock.

• ARIA Frontier 615 (no bag)
• Input jack is in tact, so is the ground wire
• Selling as is- no pickguard/ electronics/ pickups
• Self-collect at CCK mrt station
• No reservations/ trades
• Queries/ conformation: subversion.sg@gmail.com
• Price: $99 (non-nego)

The pretenders

Had some playing time this morning as it's a public holiday 🎉

Let's not kid ourselves in seeing something original here. Bacchus & Aria Pro are clearly riding on Fender's shadows. What's the point of spending good money on such copies? My take:

1. Budget alternatives. There are now countless copies out there, even boutique names are taking pride in doing so. The funny thing is, some of us drown ourselves in snob appeal with our boutique copies but we are quick to judge if our peers strum the budget versions. There are players out there who had the Fender experience (played one in store, borrowed a friend's, etc.) & wouldn't want to spend too much on the brand name. They just want that bolt-on chemistry plus some passable twanging moments & can live with other concessions. As the general audience out there simply can't tell the tonal difference between a Fender & its countless imitators, why the heck not. Ditto recording moments- is the whole world there to witness you record your musical glory with a Fender? They are too busy, too lost in their own moments to care.
2. Back-up. Especially for those of us who are playing a Fender as our No.1, having a reliable back-up will save us from tripping into the pits of hellish embarrassment. It might even prevent us from getting fired. These days, there are above-average Strat/Tele-type models to choose from. You need not tread the Squier path if you think they are not up to it for you. Take some time to browse the stores, disregard the brand name & be objective. I'd personally recommend the LTD models.
3. Inspiration. A little ironic but we sometimes get inspired by the stuff we overlook. I sometimes make it a point to have these imitators on standby when I play my Fenders just to have a moment of difference. We are at times blinded by arrogance in acknowledging the fact that our lesser brand names are the ones that share our intimate moments & perpetuate inspiration rather than that over-priced excess. 

Whatever the case may be, these budget alternatives have their place in the grand scheme of things, we tend to dismiss them prematurely before knowing what's unfolding next. 

Guitars in pic: Bacchus BST-1/ Aria 615 Frontier

El-cheapo (2)

Another bottom feeder acquisition ($45) but I must say this one was in a more desirable condition than the last, especially so when the fret board is wood, not some synthetic substitute. I've played Aria acoustics before, I trust their craftsmanship at this price point. The stickers are there to cover some light dents. The fact that there are more than one there implies susceptibility at that area so prevention is rather necessary. This guitar was, in my opinion, played & then left unattended. Its bagless nature would imply external knocks while the instrument was at rest, more so than careless handling. The neck was warped at the time of purchase but I have faith in guitars with truss rods & this one was successfully rectified.

Selling: STB J-bass

I bought this bass for a one-time performance last week. It's a definite value for money, incredible sustain.

However, it's a little too heavy for me. My back hurt the night after playing it. Maybe for you youngsters out there, it won't be an issue because your back is still in good shape but not the case for me so it's going for a good price. 

Aria: STB JB-DX (bag included)

• Condition: 9/10 (one week as at date of posting)
• Self-collect: CCK mrt stn
• Query/ confirmation: subversion.sg@gmail.com
• No trades, no reservations
• Price is final: $165

Aria strings

I'm not averse to trying lesser known brands. This here, is a pack of Aria coated acoustic strings that I'm trying. The gauge is a little light for an acoustic set but that's my preferred measurements as I do not wish to struggle with fretting. I'm already struggling with the handling of an acoustic so there shouldn't be any more hindrances during play.

Weekend noodling

It's the weekend. I kept things simple:

• Aria: 615 Frontier
• Maxon: OD808
• Marshall: JVM 1W

There were no intentions to dwell in the clean realm so the JVM was utilized along with the OD808. The Aria has a high output humbucker in it so it was an all-out dirt affair. I had been in chromatic mode for some weeks now. It's not an attempt to revise my phrasings but it just opens up more connections between metal & non-metal ideas. If you embrace chromatics, you'd discover quite an endless avenue of what works. In fact, everything works, it's up to you to fit these chunks of ideas into your compositions. Isn't that great? You are in control of your ideas instead of being enslaved to finite scales.  

Anyway, this school of thought had forced me to utilize 4-notes per strings ideas more extensively & it worked wonders for finger strength. My left hand is currently quite independent from my right. Under lots of drive, I do not have to pick every note & that cleans up my playing tremendously.

Re-string Sunday: Pure nickel

Good Sunday morning to all :-)

Just had a fresh set of D'Addario pure nickels in my Aria. Notice the hybrid gauge- the bottom ends are trimmed down slightly. It might not be that significant in feel but it reduces tension, rather beneficial for dweebs like me who has a light picking touch when it comes to solos. The trade-off here is, of course, its less 'meaty' manifestation when it comes to bass notes peddling. Many of us have other guitars for that kind of assignment, sometimes we need to lay back a little & soak into something that's not our thing for the sake of variety. We may not end up liking it but there might be some take-aways in terms of experience.

Aria: 615 Frontier (3)

All done.

Roller string tree replaced the default vintage type which I don't fancy (even in Fenders).

Since the guitar features a single bridge pickup only (, I had a single volume control while the rest of the components were removed. Many of us find this objectionable- leaving blank what should be residing in their rightful places but I'm keeping things simple. The pickup in there is a Giovanni GCT-73, an Alnico V pickup with a midrange spike, my kind of tone preference.

A look at the Aria from the back.

Time flies. This marks the end of June & we are beyond half of 2014. I'm taking it slow for the later half of the year as I plan to have a custom guitar done. That is if nothing enticing crops up at Summer NAMM :-)

Aria: 615 Frontier (2)

The finished article- in brown. It screams boring but I'm with less conventional colours these days. Yes, I'm doing away with the neck pickup so this guitar will join club single.

Aria: 615 Frontier

Aria's 615 Frontier is a very wallet-friendly Tele-style guitar. Despite being conceived to appease the budget conscious players, it's a well-made instrument, not one to exude an upper class experience but enough to get a deserving recognition from discerning players.

So it's an easy decision for me after trying it at the store. I don't quite fancy the sunburst finish though so it shall make way for another hue. The arrows & circled holes were not defects but they were indicated for the person who's refinishing it for filling. I have other plans in addition to the new coat of paint :-)

Aria strings

Aria strings are clearing at Davis GMC for less than $5. So cheap = bad, right? That's always the case isn't it? It's the case for people who don't bother to try, that's how it is. This set wasn't conceived with extras- coatings or cryo treatment; you won't find it here but it's a good set of strings, nothing repulsive.

Short-scale blues

Ladies & gentlemen, here's Beez stretching his blues using a short-scale Aria guitar. Please give it up, for our one & only... Beez Master!!

Selling: ARIA STG mini

My ARIA STG mini (22.1") is for sale- bag included :-)

• 4mths old
• Condition: 9/10
• Self-collect @ CCK MRT stn
• No reservations/ No trades
• Queries/ confirmations: dark1349@hotmail.com
• Price: $110 (final)

Thanks for reading.

Tall tale, short story

These were yesterday's indulgences; Ibanez RGD321 & Aria STG mini. It's 26.5" vs 22.2" respectively in terms of scale length, both aren't the standard guitars scale lengths but I find owning them to be beneficial. 

Longer-scaled instruments forces me to stretch my digits so if I slack, make no efforts to reach my destination & not persevere (because lethargy sets in rather quickly), there will be lots of mistakes. Due to the nature of my playing- a fair share of riffing & soloing- I find playing extended scale instruments do give the fingers a good workout. However, there are a good number of players out there who restrict themselves to the lower frets of the guitar because they are more attuned to the lower notes more than anything else. To them, this type of guitars are more useful as riffing tools.

The shorter-scaled guitars do not win too many fans with guitar players namely because they see it as a kiddy supplement; small stuff for the small people. If you hand one of these to a guitar dweeb, chances are, it's going to be a mistake extravaganza. The main protest: Frets are too near one another so they hamper 'natural' movements. But even with shorter-scaled guitars like the STG Mini, the distance between the initial two frets (the farthest) require some stretching but that stretch is less for this one as opposed to the standard scale model. So what's the lesson learnt here? Control- you reduce your stretch in trying to adapt to a shorter scale length. Once you get round this struggle, it's second nature.

STG mini- inevitable meddling

Yes, they had to go those vintage-type string trees. The replacements, as seen above, are the rounded version which made tuning more effective, an immediate benefit.

A dragon sticker I bought a few days ago, an in-between residence there as a reminder that there are only 2 pickups here. Along the way, the fretboard was re-moisturized as well.

Last but not least, a fresh set of strings; K-Garage's .010 - .046. This isn't my preferred string gauge but putting anything thinner in there was out of the question for a much shorter-scaled instrument. The action was set lower much to my preference, of course, & re-intonation was done as well.

Aria: STG Mini

I just reached home, was at Davis GMC to pick this up: Aria's STG Mini. It's junior-sized, sporting a 22.1" scale length but it's the wrong weight for any juniors to be slinging one.

I'm definitely into the pickup combo here; a humbucker & single coil are all I need, it's been my preferred configuration of late. Due to its rather hefty nature, this guitar doesn't sound wimpy, the alder body is solid all round.

That headstock looks very Pacifica-ish. No issues with the default tuners but those strings trees are better off replaced.

Cheap & cheerful (4): Aria IGB-Std

Aria is currently experiencing a come-back of sorts. Either this or there is an attempt by the manufacturer to make Arias more accessible to players. The IGB bass I tried yesterday wasn't a costly unit- $350 <$250 & you get a very decent J-bass tones & those deep, wicked Stingray-esque voicing from that humbucker. The construction- I give it a thumbs up despite a slight fray at the exposed neck tongue, near the single coil pickup. A great bass that won't break your piggy.

Thanks to Davis GMC for the opportunity.

Selling: ARIA XL Standard

Yes, this Aria XL Standard is still very new, I'm clearing it to make way for another ARIA, one sporting a dual humbucking pickup combo, I do not need a middle pickup in the mean time. Details:

• For sale: Aria XL Standard
• Condition: 9/10
• Bag included
• Self-collect: Venue to be confirmed
• Price: $140 (final)
• No trade/ reservation
• Confirmation via e-mail: dark1349@hotmail.com

Need more details? Just post it via the comments section here/ e-mail me... thanks in advance.
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EDIT: Guitar SOLD as at 8.07 PM (9th May '11). Thanks to all who replied.

Separated at birth (slight return)

This is the affordable Squier Bullet HH- looks simple & attractive if you are an objective player, shopping on a budget.

The Aria STG 005 bears an uncanny resemblance (save for some differences) & it's less than $160... I played this guitar a few days ago at Davis GMC, I won't hesitate to recommend it to those in need of an above average player that's very reasonably priced.