SB Elite I

Diego says he bought the bass on eBay in 2004. The seller lived in Manchester, UK.

Apparently the white finish is beginning to tarnish a bit with age, but you wouldn't guess from these photos.

2) I saw this SB Elite I on eBay. The seller was Richard Sutcliffe of London, UK, and the bass went for a modest price of 205 pounds sterling.

Elites have gold-plated hardware, and this particular bass has a deep green/blue metallic finish. Richard says Aria called it Phantom Blue.

Richard adds, “I didn't really like the SB all that much, hence the sale. I am more of Jazz/Lakland man. I did enjoy it, although I think through necks are overrated. There is too much vibration going into the body in my opinion.”

“There are a couple of dings and minor scratches, mainly on the top of the headstock. The neck is thin and narrow, with low action and little or no fret wear. The model number was 3086006”

3) Len Kemp of the UK sent in these photos of what I think is a fretless SB Elite I. He says, “I found it on Ebay & paid £245 UK for it, as I'd been looking for a fretless brother of my fretted Pro II for some time.”

I'm not sure what fretted model Len has. Going by his comments, it sounds like an SB-700.

Len dislikes the knobs on this bass (I know what he means, I often feel they are a bit ugly), but he is clearly an SB fan. He adds, “ I am more and more impressed with vintage Aria basses. They suit me so well they could be custom built.”

Nice bass, shame about the garden ...!

4) Someone sent in photos of this left-handed Elite I in a nice pearl finish. If it was you, please let me have your details.

The volume knob appears to have been replaced with one of smaller size.

The headstock appears to have a couple of dings in it.

5) Three photos of an Elite I in red from an unknown reader.

This would look even better if all four strings had red winding!

What beautiful lines ...

6) It's that man Diego again! This time he has an SB Elite I in black.

Diego comments on the black finish, “I don't know why, but in my opinion every black SB has a particular appeal.”

Noting the similarity between this model and the SB Black 'n' Gold I model, Diego adds, “Firstly the bridge of the Elite I is totally gold; the bridge of the Black 'n' Gold I (or SB-R60 Black 'n' Gold before 1983) is black with gold screws and gold stringholders.”

“Secondly the cover of the electronics compartment at the rear of the Elite I is gold, on the Black 'n' Gold I it is black.”

Diego also tells us that Aria introduced this Black finish to the Elite models around the turn of 1984/5. He thinks it replaced the Phantom Blue finish.

Please continue to send in your SB Elite I photos and stories folks, but only if your bass is in some way different to the ones already shown on this page.