Aria Jazz Bass

[SvenBB]

Hey Basspeople,

I have this Aria jazz Bass and i wanna know more about it!
It looks en feels like a great bass, Can someone tell me what the bass is worth?
The bass looks very similar to the 1540 J model which is made between 1970/1975!
I think it has the same specifications as the 1540 model but the pickguard and the chrome pickup covers are missing on the bass. I think there's something with the pickups/electronica because the bass doesn't make sound. I wanna know if it's worth to restore the bass? and if someone can tell me more about the bass, let me know!!

Grtz Sven 

[SvenBB]

Here some Pictures!

[SvenBB]

and some more pictures!!

[chromium]

Haven't been following this stuff much lately.  I will say that I had an Ibanez 2365b jazz bass knockoff for a while, and it sounded killer!!!  Kinda regret selling it (bought it for US $215 and sold it for ~450), but I have a MIJ Precision now for the occasional unsavory venues/gigs.  I know that the Ibanez was from a different factory, but that's my only point of reference.

Your's also looks to be of a higher build quality (maybe more akin to the 'silver series' Ibanez).  The body on mine was comprised of chunks of mystery-meat-mahogany(?) with a spruce(?) laminate on the front and back, and the sunburst was sprayed to obscure the laminates in the contours (blacked out).  Still a great player, however, and based on that I'd say keep it and fix it up if you like it!

[Pilgrim]

Aria made some good quality instruments, at least as good as production Fenders.  They came out of the Matsumoku factory in a wide variety of designs and configurations.  That J clone needs a pickguard, but if a standard J PG doesn't fit it, you could have one made for it.  I like the Matsu basses and have found them to be good players.

The sound issue is pretty easy.  it just means (1) checking the pickups to make sure they work, and (2) going through the electronics and making sure that you have all the wires connected and none are shorted.  

Disconnect each pair of pickup leads and use a digital meter to see what the resistance is for that pickup.  If you get infinite resistance, you have a bad pickup, which would explain no sound.  If you get a reading, it will probably be in the (best guess here) 7K ohms neighborhood.

Most likely candidates for no sound are:

1) A broken wire
2) A bent output jack that's not making contact
3) A bad volume pot

There is plenty of information on the web about how to wire pickups, so a bit of homework will benefit you.  There really is no single "best" way to wire up a J bass - many variations are possible.

[SvenBB]

Thanks guys for helping me out, i think i'm gonna restore it!

Grtz Sven

[dadagoboi]

Look forward to seeing pix!

[patman]

If it plays well, just trouble shoot the electronics and slap a pickguard on it...