1980 Aria Pro II LS-800VD Leopard Les Paul Standard Model MIJ

1980 (1981 Catalog) Aria Pro II LS-800VD Leopard Model - Les Paul Standard - In Cherry Sunburst finish - Made in the famous Matsumoku factory in Japan - MIJ.

Serial Number: 008266 (August 1980) Body: Flamed Maple veneer on a maple top, with a pancake mahogany back Neck: 3 piece maple, with glued on ears, and a heel cap Fretboard: Rosewood - very dark grain on this one Fretboard Radius: About 10" Fret Edge Binding: Yes Inlays: Real mother of pearl Frets: 22 x Medium Jumbo Nut Width: 43.25mm Width at 1st Fret: 43.91mm Width at 12th Fret: 51.81mm Thickness at 1st Fret: 20.26mm Thickness at 12th Fret: 24.68mm Nut: Bone Tuners: Aria Pro II branded double-ring Kluson style tuners Bridge & Tailpiece: Nickel Japanese made ABR-1 style bridge and tailpiece Pickups: Gotoh HB-Classic α Alpha with Alnico 5 Magnets (custom order) Neck Pickup Resistance: 8.73K ohm Bridge Pickup Resistance: 7.53K ohm Pots: Original - June 1980 Pot Code Dates Strings: D'Addario EXL 120's 9-42 strings - E Standard tuning Weight: 9.48lbs Non Original Parts: Pickups & screws/springs, pickup rings & screws, pickguard, pickguard bracket & screws Case: None Truss Rod: Works as expected The LS-800 didn't show up in the 1980 catalog, only in the 1981 catalog, but every LS-800 I have ever seen was made in 1980 based on the serial number. So this was a 1981 catalog model, that was made in 1980.

In the 1981 Aria Pro II Catalog, which is the last year for the LS (Les Paul) models, the LS-800VD appears for the first time. It is unknown what the "V" stood for in the model name, but it was only used on models with a flamed maple top, like this one. The "D" likely stood for DiMarzio. The 1981 catalog says that the LS-800VD has a 3 piece maple neck and DiMarzio PAF's.

This guitar likely had the DiMarzio PAF's installed in them - when I received the guitar, it had some other pickups installed, but it was using part of the old DiMarzio PAF lead (which has since been removed).

I put in a pair of brand new Gotoh HB-Classic α (Alpha) pickups with Alnico 5 magnets. These were custom ordered from Japan from a shop that orders them from Gotoh directly. I had emailed Gotoh to confirm they are real, and they confirmed that they are. These are very close to the original DiMarzio PAF's, very similar specs & sound. However, I have found these have a little less output, and they have alot of range when you roll the volume up/down. Although lower output, they can still drive an amp easily into overdrive/distortion, but they also clean up really well. They are excellent pickups, and sound fantastic in this guitar. I placed the stickers on the back - since they are custom ordered, Gotoh doesn't place stickers on the back. I placed them there so if in the future you forget what pickups are in there, this will help. Not sure how long it will stick, since the pickups are wax potted.

Along with the pickups (including the screws and springs), the pickups rings are new (along with the pickup ring screws), and the pickguard and pickguard mounting bracket are new (along with their screws). The 2 pickguard screws attaching it to the guitar are from my parts bin, and would have been the same ones used originally.

Everything else 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 definitely played. 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 centre-seemed highly flamed maple veneer on top of a maple cap which is on a pancake mahogany body, with a 3 piece maple neck.

The neck starts out is relatively thin for a Les Paul, and it has a really comfortable carve, and a really nice and very dark rosewood fretboard, beautiful real mother of pearl inlays, and some of the best fret edge binding (fret nibs) on any Japanese made guitar from this era that I have seen. The frets have been played, all the way up the neck, but overall there's lots of life left in them.

Like all the guitars I sell, I test, thoroughly clean, and setup my guitars completely before I list them. Anything that is missing, damaged, or non original is mentioned in the listing.

I setup all my Gibson style guitars to Gibson factory specs - including neck relief, action, pickup height, intonation, and tailpiece height. So this guitar will be ready to play out of the box (after you tune it up - I ship my guitars with the strings loosened).

Overall, this is a classic looking, sounding, and playing guitar you'll love to play - it plays well, looks great, is built really well, and sounds superb.

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, neck and headstock all have small dings, chips, scratches and swirling on it - most of it's along the sides and back of the body.

There is a crack in the maple veneer on the top of the body by the Low-E side bridge and tailpiece posts. This is pretty common on Aria and Burny guitars with maple veneers.

The top body binding close to the cutout is slightly separating from the body, also common for this era Japanese Les Pauls.

The neck has some dings/dents in it along the back.

One of the control panel cover screws is missing.

The binding has separated slighter from the neck right by the nut - although it doesn't move when pressure is applied. This is also common on Aria's from this era.

The nickel hardware, bridge, tailpiece, pickup pole pieces, nickel tuners, pickguard bracket and hardware all have varying degrees of corrosion and pitting, but they're not bad.

The black plastics are all in relatively good shape, with typical light scratches. All of the cream plastics are new (pickguard, rings, pickups).

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 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 the box. In order to reduce environmental impact, the packing material (paper, bubble wrap, air packets, foam, etc...) used inside the package may be recycled.

Package dimensions are 118cm x 47cm x 17cm

Total shipping weight will be around 17lbs.

Shipping within Canada - via Canada Post Regular or Expedited 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.