ARIA HOLLOW BODY BASS GUITARS (THINLINE - 1970s)

Aria introduced a range of ES-335 style hollow bodied electric guitars and basses in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These were made by Matsumoku in Japan - some of these Aria intstruments are identical to other brandnames also made by Matsumoku - for example early 1970s Epiphone ES-335 copies.

Aria 5020

The Aria 5020 was the bass version of Aria's 5002 (Barney Kessel) model. It had similar specifications and hardware to the 5120T bass (except for its Florentine cutaways): twin pickups with dual controls, deluxe heavily chrome-plated machine heads. Sunburst or red finish on the body with a blonde finished adjustable maple neck. Rosewood fingerboard with offset pearloid dot position markers. Chrome plated adjustable bridge wtih a custom desgined spring type mute. Trapeze trail-piece with wooden insert.

Source: Aria 1971 catalog

Read more

Aria 5120

The Aria 5120 was a hollow bodied bass made by Matsumoku from 1970 to the mid 1970s. It had twin pickups with dual controls, deluxe heavily chrome-plated machine heads. Sunburst finish on the front and back with an adjustable maple neck. Rosewood fingerboard with offset pearloid dot position markers. Chrome plated adjustable bridge wtih a custom desgined spring type mute. Trapeze trail-piece with wooden insert. This model was identical to the Epiphone 5120 bass - both were made in the same Matsumoku factory.

Read more

Aria 5520

The Aria 5520 was the hollow bodied bass version of the ES-335 style Aria 5502 guitar, made by Matsumoku from 1970 to the mid 1970s. It had twin pickups with dual controls, deluxe heavily chrome-plated machine heads. Red finish on the maple front and back with an adjustable maple neck. Rosewood fingerboard with offset pearloid dot position markers. Chrome plated adjustable combination bridge & tailpiece.

Read more

Aria 783

The Aria 783 was a hollow bodied bass made by Matsumoku in the late 1960s. The 783 had a trapeze trail-piece with wooden insert and a bridge with mute option. In 1971 this bass was renamed/replaced by the identical 5120 model. Aria described the ES-335 shaped 783 bass as follows in their 1969 catalog:

Read more

Specifications:

ModelImageDimensionsFinish colorsFinish effectsMade inNumber of stringsScale length
Aria 5020
1970 to 1973
45.125 × 15.75 × 2 in
red finishsunburst finishJapan4 strings30.5 inches scale-length
Aria 5120
1970 to 1975
45.125 × 15.75 × 2 in
-sunburst finishJapan4 strings30.5 inches scale-length
Aria 5520
1970 to 1974
45.125 × 15.75 × 2 in
red finish-Japan4 strings30.5 inches scale-length
Aria 783
1969 to 1970
--sunburst finishJapan4 strings30.5 inches scale-length
ModelControls materialNumber of control knobsPickup selector controlsTone controlsVolume controls
Aria 5020
1970 to 1973
black controls4 control knobs3-way selector switch2 tone controls2 volume controls
Aria 5120
1970 to 1975
black controls4 control knobs3-way selector switch2 tone controls2 volume controls
Aria 5520
1970 to 1974
black controls4 control knobs3-way selector switch2 tone controls2 volume controls
Aria 783
1969 to 1970
black controls4 control knobs3-way selector switch2 tone controls2 volume controls
ModelPickups configuration
Aria 5020
1970 to 1973
2 double coil pickups
Aria 5120
1970 to 1975
2 double coil pickups
Aria 5520
1970 to 1974
2 pickups
Aria 783
1969 to 1970
2 double coil pickups
ModelBody styleHollow bodyPickguard materialSoundhole
Aria 5020
1970 to 1973
ES-335 stylehollow bodyblack pickguard2 f-holes
Aria 5120
1970 to 1975
ES-335 stylehollow bodyblack pickguard2 f-holes
Aria 5520
1970 to 1974
ES-335 stylehollow bodyblack pickguard2 f-holes
Aria 783
1969 to 1970
ES-335 stylehollow bodyblack pickguard2 f-holes
ModelFingerboard materialFingerboard position markers
Aria 5020
1970 to 1973
rosewood fingerboardoffset dot fingerboard position markers
Aria 5120
1970 to 1975
rosewood fingerboardoffset dot fingerboard position markers
Aria 5520
1970 to 1974
rosewood fingerboardoffset dot fingerboard position markers
Aria 783
1969 to 1970
rosewood fingerboardoffset dot fingerboard position markers
ModelHardware colorTailpiece
Aria 5020
1970 to 1973
chrome hardwaretrapeze tailpiece
Aria 5120
1970 to 1975
chrome hardwaretrapeze tailpiece
Aria 5520
1970 to 1974
chrome hardware-
Aria 783
1969 to 1970
chrome hardwaretrapeze tailpiece
ModelNumber of fretsTuner layout
Aria 5020
1970 to 1973
20 frettwo-each-side
Aria 5120
1970 to 1975
20 frettwo-each-side
Aria 5520
1970 to 1974
20 frettwo-each-side
Aria 783
1969 to 1970
20 frettwo-each-side