1980 Aria Pro II LS-600D Les Paul DiMarzio DP103 PAFs MIJ Japan

Used 1980 Aria Pro II LS-600D Model - Les Paul Standard - In Cherry Sunburst finish - All original with original double cream DiMarzio PAF DP103 humbuckers - Made in the famous Matsumoku factory in Japan - MIJ.

DiMarzio was the first real aftermarket pickup maker, and Aria Pro II was one of the first Japanese companies to recognize this and put these DiMarzio humbuckers in their production line - in fact they even referenced this in their marketing material. In terms of 80's Japanese made guitars, the DiMarzio PAF's were usually reserved for the highest end models. These are the same pickups in the incredibly rare Aria LS-1500VD, some high end Tokai LS models, as well as some Greco EG-800+ models.

They are supposed to be Alnico 5 PAF type pickups. For me, these are great all-round pickups - they clean up nice, or they can play loud and dirty, and can do everything in between. These are some of my personal favourite pickups from this era. When I asked DiMarzio tech support, they confirmed the original DiMarzio PAF's are quite a bit different from the current DiMarzio PF 36th anniversary DP103's. Although they share the same part number - DP103 - they are different models. The original DP103's are closer to the modern Air Classics they mentioned.

Sometime in the early 80's the DiMarzio PAF's changed from a chamfered type slug, to a completely flat slug. The pickups in this guitar, being from early 1980 (or earlier) have the original chamfered slugs.

Like all the guitars I sell, this guitar just looks awesome from every angle - it has a vintage vibe, and it can really handle all types of genres. But that 2 piece centre-seemed plain maple top really just looks awesome.

Everything on this guitar appears to be original, and this guitar is in good player grade condition. It's no museum piece or case queen - it was played, and it has scratches and dings all over, there's some corrosion, rust and/or peeling on the chrome hardware, but nothing is out of the ordinary for a 40+ year old guitar. If you want a natural looking relic, this is a amazing option.

Many of the Aria's guitars before 1980 were hollow or chambered style bodies - but by 1980, they were all solid maple tops on Mahogany backs.

This one has a really nice 2 piece maple top, centre-seemed, that is 1/2" thick, on a pancake mahogany body, with a 3 piece maple neck. The 2 piece centre seemed body was generally only found on the LS-600 model.

The neck is relatively thin for a Les Paul, thanks in part to the strong 3 piece maple neck, and it has a comfortable carve, and a nice dark rosewood fretboard with a beautiful grain all the way up the fretboard, and fret edge binding (fret nibs). I don't know for sure, but this fretboard could be Jacaranda - it doesn't look or feel like the typical rosewood Aria was using at the time - it's shinier, smoother, and the grain is different, but without a 1980 catalog in hand, I don't know for sure what the material is. The frets have been played, but overall there's lots of life left in them.

Neck Specs:

Nut Width: 43.23mm

Width at 1st Fret: 45.08mm

Width at 12th Fret: 52.09mm

Thickness at 1st Fret: 20.85mm

Thickness at 12th Fret: 24.68mm

The guitar weighs 9.32lbs

While in the guitar, the neck pickup measures 8.09kΩ, both measure 3.98kΩ, and the bridge measures 7.84kΩ.

Setup in E-standard with new D'Addario EXL 120's 9-42 strings.

Truss rod works as expected.

Overall, this is classic guitar you'll love to play - it plays well, looks great, is built really well, and sounds awesome.

If you're looking for a Japanese Les Paul, don't miss this one.

CONDITION ------------

Overall it's in good player grade shape.

I've tried to capture all of the flaws in the photos and in the description.

The body, top, back and sides all have small dings, chips, scratches and swirling in it - most of it's along the sides and back of the body, with less so on the top of the body and the neck - although there's a few scratches on the back of the neck.

The body binding close to the pickguard bracket is pulling away from the body slightly (which appears to be typical of Aria's in this era).

The chrome hardware, bridge, tailpiece, pickup pole pieces, nickel tuners, pickguard bracket and hardware all have varying degrees of corrosion and pitting.

The top strap button had been re-drilled previously (not by me). The current strap pins are solid.

The cream plastics are all in relatively good shape, with typical light scratches and pick marks.

The cream pickup bobbins have typical wear marks, and some minor staining on them.

All of the Aria Pro II Kluson style double ring tuners are straight and work properly.

Around the strap buttons there's some very light strap marks/swirling.

The frets have been played, and there is some minor play wear across the fretboard, but there's lots of life left in the frets.

There's no signs of a neck or heel break, or any other major repairs.

SHIPPING ------------

Shipping is available - contact me for more details.

I ship with full liability coverage and tracking, and fully wrapped in bubble wrap, in a cardboard box meant for guitars. There will be proper support inside. In order to reduce environmental impact, the packing material (paper, bubble wrap, air packets, foam, etc...) used may be recycled.

Package dimensions are 118cm x 47cm x 17cm

Total shipping weight will be around 18lbs.

Shipping within Canada - via Canada Post Regular Parcel from Ayr, ON, Canada.

Shipping to United States - via UPS Standard from Ayr, ON, Canada.

Shipping everywhere else - contact me for a precise quote on shipping.

Note: if you want an exact shipping quote, just send me a note with your postal/zip code, and I'll get a proper quote for your address.

QUESTIONS ------------

Any questions? Want more photos or detailed shots? Measurements? Shoot me a message, and I'll be happy to answer them, or send more pics, or take any measurements you want/need.

Thanks for looking!

MORE PICS ------------

For more pics, check out the listing on my reverb store here:

https://reverb.com/shop/rising-sun-vintage-guitars

TRADES ------------

Not interested in trades.