Advice needed on changing pickups.

Binka · 02-09-2014 9:32pm #1

I have a 1982 Aria Pro II RS600 Rev Sound that was made in the Matsumoka factory in Japan. It still has the original pickups in it - 2 singles and a slave. I believe Matsumoka were using their own electrics in the early 80's and the official blurb from the original brochure says:

2 RSP-II pickups with centre slave, 1v, 2T, phase, 2 coil-cut.

The problem is that it's sounds dull and lifeless and very quiet. I'd love to perk it up and bring it back to life but have never done any modding before so haven't got a clue what to change. I also don't want to spend a silly amount of money. It's a beautiful guitar in immaculate condition with a lovely low action.

Is it just a case of go buy any old single coil pups off the shelf or is there more to it than that? Am I just looking for strat type singles? And I don't really understand the purpose of the centre slave and should it be changed too?

If anyone out there can give me a bit of advice or point me in the right direction I'd really appreciate it.

cheesebiscuit · 03-09-2014 7:49pm

A picture of the instrument to illustrate what you mean by "2 singles and a slave" would go a long way. Unfortunately, a lot of Aria pickups from that era have a habit of crapping out and they're generally not a standard size.

wild turkey · 03-09-2014 8:45pm

Have you tried raising the pickups ?
Mabye change the pots to 500k instead of 250k this would brighten up the tone but could make it ice picky
the above are the cheapest mods you can do

Getting replacement pickups could be a problem if the originals are an odd shape but if theyre singlecoils mabye something like a hotrails might work as they are just a rectangular shape rather than the standard singlecoil shape

Unscrew one of the pickups from the guitar body and have a look ,maybe theres a cover on it and you would be able to replace the pickup and put the old cover back on

Throw up a few pics so we know what were dealing with.

Dord · 03-09-2014 10:15pm

The guitar would have been made by Matsumoku for Aria. I'm not sure exactly on the guitar pickups, but I have a few Aria basses. The pickups are encased in epoxy. Usually if they break you'll know about it as some/all of the pickup will stop working.

At that age it may be a good idea to get the wiring checked out. I had to get some pots replaced in a later 80's Aria SB bass due to some sound problems. Once that was done it perked right back up again.

I personally believe in keeping unusual instruments like this as original as possible.

The slave pickup would be a dummy coil wired to reduce hum on the other pickups. Quite a clever trick! It wouldn't affect the tone so much as another full pickup.

More info here, scroll down for the blurb on the RS600. http://www.matsumoku.org/models/ariaproii/rs1/rs1.html

Binka · 04-09-2014 9:33am

Thanks for the replies. Here is a photo. The bridge and neck pickups are close to the strings. The middle one is flat to the body...

I could probably take some better closeups of the pickups tonight when I get home and post them up.

Binka · 04-09-2014 7:56pm

These pics might give you a better view of the configuration. I like the sound of changing what's underneath and putting the original covers back on so that it still appears original. I guess my best bet is to take it to a guitar doc but I just wanted to see if I could source the pickups myself.
I had it in my head that standard singles would be the same size but it seems from your comments Aria may be the spanner in the works here.
I'm not techy enough to attempt to do any modding myself.

Dord · 04-09-2014 9:24pm

Have a chat to Aaron Armstrong (http://www.armstrongpickups.co.uk). He makes replacements for the Aria bass pickups. They look like bigger versions of your pickups. I'm sure he has encountered guitar pickups like yours before.

I've dealt with him before and would recommend.

Binka · 04-09-2014 10:57pm

Dord wrote: »

Have a chat to Aaron Armstrong (http://www.armstrongpickups.co.uk). He makes replacements for the Aria bass pickups. They look like bigger versions of your pickups. I'm sure he has encountered guitar pickups like yours before.

I've dealt with him before and would recommend.

I've had a look around and I really like the look of that site, especially the repair and rewind service. Thanks Dord. I'm going to contact him and see what he suggests to get it back to its former glory.

abdunne · 20-06-2017 2:52pm

Hi Binka,

I also have an 80's Aria Pro II RS600 and would be interested to know how you got on with the pickup upgrade.

I agree that the output from the original pickups is a little weak and timid and have often thought of an upgrade.

Cheers!

Binka · 01-08-2017 2:13pm

Hey abdunne,

Sorry for the late reply, only just saw your post there. Unfortunately it never happened. When I looked into the whole pick up strip out it just didn't seem financially viable for me to get them repaied, rewound and then put back in by someone(wiring not basic enough for me to attempt).

What did end up happening was that a good friend of mine in England bought it from me for £500 and said he would sort it out himself. So I kept it in the family, so to speak, rather than sell it to a stranger.

It turns out he loves it just the way it is and has kept it original. He thinks it's extremely versatile. He's a far more accomplished player than I am and has better amps, pedals etc. It just goes to show it's a very personal thing. I ended up using the money to buy a Schecter PT Fastback 11B which is the most amazing guitar.

Even though I miss the Aria, as it was with me for 3 decades, the Schecter puts a big smile on my face every time pick it up

abdunne · 03-08-2017 12:55pm

Hi Binka,

Thanks for getting back to me. I think I spotted your pickup upgrade question on another forum since, maybe the Seymour Duncan one..?

Anyway, good to hear your guitar has found a good home. I bought my Aria from McCullogh Piggot's in Dublin in the mid 80's and it is exactly the same as the one you had, except left handed!

Was interesting to read in your reply that it fetched £500, I didn't realise they commanded such value. My guitar plays perfectly, great tuning, great action, but does have a few dings here and there. I took a picture to post but because I've only dipped into Boards over the last few years, they won't let me post it.

I'm not familiar with the Schecter guitar as being left handed my range has always been severely limited, I'm playing a Telecaster at the moment which has a Fender Enforcer humbucker fitted in the neck position and gives it quite a boost. I may look at replacing the pickups in the Aria at some stage as it is a very decent guitar.

Thanks again for your reply and info, take care.

Alan.

Dord · 13-08-2017 12:46pm

By the way, since my post above, Rautia Guitars (in Finland) are now more recommended than Aaron Armstrong for Aria pickups. I've not used them myself but have heard many great reviews and people advising that they're more similar to the originals.

Advice needed on changing pickups.

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