Aria SB-1000

Masaki, or Jimi as he likes to be known, says,

“The bass was bought in 1979. I replaced the volume and tone knobs with ones made by Greco, otherwise the bass is original.”

“I think the laminate strips in the neck are walnut. The body is made of a Japanese wood called sen, which is perhaps not quite as good as ash.”

Be that as it may, Jimi, but it still looks nice! I bet there are thousands of SBs in Japan, which is after all their home country.

2) Someone sent in this nice pic of the body of an SB-1000 but I lost their details.

3) Three pictures of another SB-1000, in a dark finish, which was for auction on eBay. Thank you to Central Pawn of Phoenix, USA.

4) Yet another Central Pawn instrument. Looks like Phoenix is the place to be! Note this one says “The Aria Pro II” which, along with the bat's ears and the flush jack-socket, shows it is an early model.

This actual bass was bought by Damon Stout, who is clearly an SB fan as he now also owns a lovely SB-R150 as well!

5) Zuma from Los Angeles, USA sent in this photo of an SB-1000 in the paduak red finish. (See also 7)

Yes sir, and would you like French fries with that?!

6) This photo has been lying around in a dark corner of my pc for a while now. Not the most attractive colour I've ever seen...

The gold-plated hardware suggests to me this may be some sort of recent special edition.

Anyone out there got an SB-1000 in lime green? Pink with purple spots?

7) Another photo sent in by Zuma of Los Angeles (see 5). This is of an early SB-1000. A lovely finish.

Zuma has two websites of his own. His main site is about all sorts of things, not just music. He has another on Myspace featuring some songs of his own, and has also uploaded some superb videos on You-Tube of him playing various pieces - about eight in all. Well worth checking out!

8) Urpo Koivula from Finland is hoping to buy an SB-1000 some day. He sends in this old photo of his wife playing one.

Urpo points out that the bass has no LED. He says, “I found an instrument which looks the same in Aria's 1978 and 1980 catalogues.” Urpo refers us to pages from Neal Keyser's superb website : 1978 and 1980.

9) Every now and then someone throws up a puzzle. Top SB collector Diego from Napoli sends in photos of a normal SB-1000 side-by-side with a smaller version!

Diego says, “I Bought this creature in Japan some time ago.” He then goes no to point out several differences between it and a normal 1984 SB-1000 :

“The body is smaller, the headstock is shorter, the scale length is 32 inches (not 34) and the neck is wider where it joins the body. The bridge is chrome and wide, not gold and narrow like on other SB1000s.”

So what is it? Diego suggests, “In my opinion it is a Matsumoku product built in 1986. You can see the details, the serial number on the back of the headstock(# 6033275), the original knobs and hardware) and the electronics are absolutely the same as on a normal SB1000 of that age. I don't think it is an SB1000RI (Re-Issued) because of the fact it was made in 1986 (the last year of the Matsumoku factory). The first SB1000 re-issue was not a Matsumoku product and was built in 1990.”

Diego wonders if the bass is some kind of prototype, concluding “I don't know. Maybe it is a rare exemple of an SB1000activeFO but I am not sure because I have never seen this particular model built only in 1986”

10) Left-handed Eric Lazarus of the USA picked this nice early SB-1000 up for a snip in Oregon.

Eric loves his acquisition, saying “The bass ab-so-lute-ly rocks!!!!!”

“It came with the original hard case. All for the high, high price of $280 .... nice, very nice!”

It sounds like Eric got the bargain of a lifetime!

11) Urpo from Finland (see 8) is now the proud owner of two SB-1000s which he got from England.

A good illustration of two lovely finishes and how the grain of the wood can differ.

Rare views of the inside of the control cavity. I never knew it takes two 9-volt batteries to power the SB-1000!

The fretless is lined, which makes it easier to finger accurately. Urpo says, “Both are in good shape and great to play!”

12) Andy Bull of England sends in photos of his SB-1000. He says, “Thought I would send some photos of my SB-1000 that I bought in about 1981. I did find the receipt a while ago, it was bought for £350 from Elvis Music in Braintree, Essex.”

In 1981, £350 was a lot of money. The serial number does indeed show this is of that vintage.

“My son learnt to play bass on the SB,” adds Andy. “The speakers are his as well as an Ampeg amp. Lucky lad, I never had gear like that when I was his age! Love the web site.”

Thanks for the kind comment, Andy.

13) Matt Stevenson, who has also sent in photos of his SB-700, offers these lovely pics of his beautiful SB-1000.

Matt says,“My 1984 SB-1000 is another well-looked-after example, with a lovely grain in the paduak red finish.”

In example 9) above, Diego shows us a smaller SB-1000. It seems that Matt also owns one of these :

“For some reason, my SB-1000 is slightly shorter than my SB-700, with a slightly smaller body and shorter neck. However, this seems to be a much more "conventional" length, as the SB-700 always seems to look massive in pictures!”

Some measurements would be helpful here.

14) I'm not sure who sent in this great photo of the SB-1000 plastic plate. Please let me know if it was you!

I leave the photo large so the detail can be seen.

15) Zack Dowell of California, USA sends in these photos of his lined fretless SB-1000. What I am wondering is whether this is an example of the “1986-87 SB-1000 Active FO (fretless)” mentioned on Aria's list?

Zack tells us, “I bought this bass at a pawnshop a couple of years ago. Unplugged, it sounds like a piano - huge ringing sustain. The neck is smooth as silk and a joy to play. The little toggle switch thingy is broken, but can still be switched using a pick or thumbnail. Serial number on the back of the headstock is 104002.”

I'm not normally keen on modifications, but someone has added this tasteful brass Aria decal.

16) Bart van Overveld of Tilburg, Netherlands is the proud owner of this SB-1000.

He says, “I bought mine in Paris two years ago. I paid 450 euro (300 pounds). At first the guy asked 600 euro, but when he found out I had been looking for the bass for ages and that I was coming from Holland, he took 150 euro off the price.”

Bart tells us more about the seller - “He owned 50 bass guitars and he wanted to buy another one. His wife forbade him this and told him to sell some other basses first (lucky for me!).”

50 basses?? Amazing!

According to Bart, this bass is in mint condition. It came with the original case and plays superbly.

There are more photos on Bart's website (click on "gear" at the bottom of the home page).

17) Alon Goldshuv is a bass player who has been after an SB-1000 for a long time.

“Here are a couple of pics,” he says. “I just bought it this week after looking for one for 15 years! You can see from the pictures why my search took so long - I'm left-handed!”

Alon adds, “The sound of this instrument (John Taylor in Arena mostly) made such an impression on me that I just had to pick up a bass guitar and start learning! I never found the exact sound I was looking for with my other basses (although they are nice in their own way) until I got this one. I think it's a 1983 model since the serial number starts with a 3.”

18) Andy Brown writes, “Here are a couple of pics of my SB-1000. It is a 1980 fretless model, bought on eBay from a local guy who had owned it from new! Complete with Aria case, it even has the plastic overlay for the controls! ”

“The condition is virtually as new. There's no wear to the fingerboard, just a couple of chips to the laquer. Not bad for 27 yrs old, eh?!”

I wish we all aged that well!

An extra strap button has been added to the horn, detracting somewhat from the instrument's good looks.

19) Mikey O'Donohoe from Ireland has already contributed to the Elite II page. Now he also owns an SB-1000! Comparing the shapes of the two basses, he writes, “The open book shapes at the top of the headstock are slightly different with the SB Elite II having more pronounced points at the edges.”

Mikey also compares lower horns. “The SB-1000 horns come to a more pronounced sharper edge than those of the SB-Elite II.”

20) “Bassman” from north Wales has owned this attractive SB-1000 for 18 years.

Recalling the fire which destroyed the Aria factory, he writes, “I remember hearing about the disaster, and reading that all the blueprints for early models of guitars had gone up in smoke. Aria (representatives of Matsumoku) released a document on their website asking anyone who had a pre-1981 version of an SB-1000 to get in touch so they could examine their basses for to recreate them.”

Lovely grain in the wood. Give those string-ends a trim please!

21) Anton Farmer recently asked if I had a wiring diagram for an SB-1000. This is a request I've had a few times and I have to say no, and I can't find one online. Perhaps a reader can help??

Well folks, that's us got twenty basses on this page. Many thanks! I am still keen to accept new contributions but only if your SB-1000 is in some way different to the ones already shown on this page.