The Aria Pro-II TS-500. It’s a super-strat, it’s a hippie sandwich, it’s a mock BC Rich… Aria II was better known for their basses but plenty of guitars were sold as well. All of the guitars in this post were once common sights at pawn shops and ‘somewhere in the back’ of yr neighborhood music store. Many were made by the Japanese Matsumoku corporation and then sold in a variety of brand-names around the world. I don’t see them too often any longer, except for the occasional flea-market appearance. Since they had neither the baby-boomer appeal of Gibson/Fender/Gretsch nor the flash of 80’s shred-axes, these things traded in the $100 range for decades. Now, like the mustache, some cachet seems to be building around them and prices have risen to the $500 – $1000 area.
The Aria Pro II PE-1000 of 1979. I can recall playing some of the PE-series decades ago; they were very fine guitars; note the heelless neck.
The Washburn Hawk of 1979, a good-quality instrument from their Wing series.
The Westbury Custom S circa 1981, imported by Unicord (importers of Marshall/Korg/etc…). Note the similarities to the Aria Pro IIs.
The Westone lineup of 1979.
Any Matsumoku collectors out there? Any know of any relevant players using these things nowadays?
6 replies on “Pawnshop Classics: off-brand Japanese guitars of the late 70’s”
Most of those guitars played great in the store but within a few years they need too much work to be worth keeping. Usually, the necks need work and no one wants to work on these things, so people try to do it themselves and screw it up further. Most of the hardware was also built with different materials on one another so they form a battery and corrode solid, and unlike Gibsons or Fenders you can’t find replacement hardware that bolts on. That’s why they wind up in pawnshops.
Pawnbrokers don’t know less care about the details of anything, because they aim to make their money on payments rather than selling the item. That’s why everything in the pawn store is junk usually. People buy from pawn shops and pay too much because they are influenced by their sense of larceny.
Once in a while you find a plum in a pawn shop. But if you factor in the time and frustration you could have paid market price and not feel morally stained. I won’t set foot in pawn shops any more.
I have a similar Westbury guitar. It sounds halfway decent, unlike the amps which are best thrown off a bridge.
What is amazing about pawnbrokers is, at the end, they usually have astonishing amounts of stuff and they let it deteriorate to a terrible condition. I’ve cleaned a couple out. When they finally die a lot of what would have been valuable stuff has to be scrapped because of deterioration. One guy had a 55 gallon barrel full of rifles and shotguns that had literally rust welded together. Not junkers either, there were Garands and Model 12 Winchesters there. Another had a complete master set of LS Starrett machinist’s tools equally rusted to uselessness, in a mold covered Gerstner chest. (The tool chest was salvageable with enough bleach and dye.) There was also a complete Encyclopedia Britannica of one of the few desireable editions and a Steinmetz Talmud set. Moldy to the point they had to be burned. I did get a rusty but very restorable Cushman motor scooter and some lightly rusted but salvageable hand tools out of that deal.
Some of the older Japanese guitars were built really well and play / sound good. The problem is finding one that doesn’t weigh 9 or 10 pounds but they are out there. There is defiantly a premium on most of the Matsumoko built guitars these days sometimes you can find a decent player with that vintage look. The semi hollow body Japanese guitars are at more of a value and are built good with the lighter weight. I have a Greco that I installed P-90’s in that’s a good sounding guitar now.
Vantage Artist 800 Neck through, just paid $450 Can. mint condition. seller(guitar teacher lol) thought was VP700(no model listed anywhere) looks almost identical but has set neck. I have a new love,this thing sounds awesome, nice warm tone & great pinch harmonics. I’m not comparing it to cheap guitars, I own: Schecter “classic” stock SD jazz & HB, Westone Thunder 1 with SD p90’s, Ibanez SZ720 duncan/Ibanez pickups , 2013 LPJ, Epiphone SG 400
I have a Westbury Custom S and I thank this article for putting that guitar on my radar. It’s perfect for me.