Aria SB-R150

In my opinion this fretless SB-R150 has to be one of THE most gorgeous basses I've ever seen. David points out that the lead plugs in on the side, and the SB-R150 is the only one of the original SBs with this feature. Note the six-position rotary switch à la SB-1000 and the fact the sides are finished with a top layer. If you would like to drool over the original uncompressed photos David sent, please email me!

Commenting on this instrument, a viewer called Wayne adds,

“The gorgeous fretless Aria looks very much to me like the original Jack Bruce edition. I've still got mine, I bought her new in the early 80's. If I remember rightly there was also one with a lined neck that came out later. I don't think the model was made for very long at all.”

Thank you Wayne! Jack Bruce did indeed have Aria make him an ebony fretless which he often used for live work, and there was clearly a small production run of these.

2) Well, here's the lined version Wayne refers to. Tracey Gholson from the USA brought it to my attention. It was for auction on e-Bay. The seller was Central Pawn of Phoenix, USA and I am grateful for their permission to use the photos though apparently they don't nearly do justice to the finish!

The seller says,

“This auction is for an Aria SB-R150 Aria Pro II custom fretless bass guitar. This bass was actually a prototype made for a music artist and was never made available to the public. The bass features silver finish, ebony fingerboard, and active electronics. The headstock reads "Specially Designed & Approved By ARIA Research & Development LAB Original Custom Body Pat. No 555719". ”

3) Now for one of the ugliest finishes I've ever seen on a bass. What a horrible colour! Nevertheless, thanks though to Tracy Gholson for sending these eBay photos in.

Reader and SB expert Diego Napoli from Milan says “This is a modern re-issue of the SB-R150. Probably it was available few years ago ONLY on the Japanese market (late 90's or early 2000's) but it is not a Matsumoku product.”

4) Diego sent in this photo of his reissue SB-R150 in paduak red. He bought this beauty in Japan in 2004, and adds, “It is an amazing bass that sounds very very good but the finish of the orange model shown in your site is terrible....”

“In my opinion the model was marketed in Japan as the SB-1000RI2 (two pickups version).”

5) Here's an important bass!

With its distinctive fret inlays, this is the first time I have ever seen an original SB-R150. It was sent in by Damon Stout of Los Angeles, USA.

Damon comments, “It has a slightly wider neck than the SB-1000 so it's not as fast, but the fact that it has two MB-1E's is why I had to pick it up. Not that there's anything wrong with Aria's MB-II pickup, but the R150 and the 1000 exclusively using the MB-1E definitely sounds a bit punchier. The zebra-wood finish is dead-on, simply an overall wonderful instrument. The inlays are a great way of telling that it's an original as opposed to a reissue, also they distinguish it from an Elite model. This SB-R150 is an original from 1981 and was a great find.”

If you'd like to hear Damon's basses, he has provided a link to his band The Diviners.

Damon says, “The R150 is featured on the song Coming Home.”

Fine songs, Damon, and good playing!

Please continue to send in your SB-R150 photos and stories folks, but only if your bass is in some way different to the ones already shown on this page.