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  •  SOLD  1977-1980 Aria Pro II L-1000
    Matsumoku's response to L5
Here is your long awaited Aria Pro II's L5 / Johnny Smith copy, model name L-1000, crafted by the legendary builder Matsumoku.

Spruce top + 5-ply Maple neck + Ebony fretboard is equation of Matsumoku standard. Sounds great acoustically or amplified. You are seeing some binding cracks and a noticeable hand-made pickguard, none of which would concern you if you are seeking a hardly-seen lawsuit vintage. This guitar will be packed with anti-shock materials and shipped to your country with a sturdy hardshell case.

For a quick note of Japan-made L5 replicas, as shown in the very bottom pic, Greco L-100 and Aria Pro II L-1000 are the most popular ones among the prominent Japanese challengers in 70's and 80's, and to directly compare those two, Greco looks more aggressive on copying, as close as possible to L5 whereas Aria, while following the same quality in terms of timbers and craftsmanship but was wiser to get around the lawsuit from the US company. Thus L-1000 resulted in the same 17' body and tailpiece of L5, yet the flame emblem of the headstock and fretboard inlay was borrowed from Super 400 and Johnny Smith model. In other words, L-1000 put all the best bits together...