Just saved this from a living nightmare!

Found this on Ebay last week and took pity on it. I took one shot on a last second bid and actually won it. 




It's a 1983 Aria Pro II RS Wildcat with Protomatic IV (MMK 45) humbuckers. The guitar has got plenty of dings and dents but it plays great so I'm not to bothered with it's condition. I decided to fit the switchmaster knobs as the originals were long gone, turns out 30 year old Aria knobs are quite hard to find, where have I heard that before? 


It's got a push/pull coil tap on the tone control, I still need to find a tip that fits the switch properly.

 
One of the machine heads has lost it's dust cap which will need fixing in the near future.


August '83. I just noticed it actually says 'ACCURATF' 


So, what living nightmare did I save this lovely Aria from? Well, it didn't look quite like this when I first got it, the previous owner had...erm.... kinda...decorated it a little tiny bit. 








Wanna see what it looked like before the clean up?









You sure??








OK then, hold on to your sides...





 

...you were warned!!!







Yep, you're looking at Barbie wrapping paper sealed with brushed varnish! W.T.F.

Short story is that I had the guitar in pieces within an hour of getting it and the paper was gone within three hours! 

What do reckon then, it cost me £57 in total and it plays and sounds great. I might post some more pics if you want to look at it's guts!

DAN.

Now that's a good save!!

That didn't belong to the band Aqua, did it?!?😁 They're a good guitar, too!

oh yeah baby! those are great guitars. i love mine!
and a great save too.

recently i got a busted up one of those same guitars(without the barbie covering), just for the parts, to make some repairs on mine. i got an undamaged pickguard, a like-new neck, and a switch tip, so everything is up to original specs now.

so i have an extra tuning peg (like these) to replace the one missing it's back on your guitar. if you want one, send me a PM and we can work the details

Beat me by a £1 Duo.
n1....

Westbone wrote:Beat me by a £1 Duo.
n1....

Sorry mate, did a stupid thing and watched the auction countdown timer. I got sucked in and my itchy trigger finger did the rest!

gittarasaurus - PM sent.


DAN.

Its a good job you got it Dan, Damian would have kept the Barbie theme 

In a Barbie world

Great save Dan. Good on both you and Damian for spotting the diamond in the rough! Glad she's ended up in good hands either way.

Two ends one's are mint Mats.
Middle is Korean, well made but in need of a pup transplant.

That white one is a beauty!  been after one of these for a while, just waiting for one in my price range.

Nice guitars Westbone. They certainly got some mileage out of the RS body style. Inazuma, Night Warrior, The Cat, etc.

I'm really impressed with the Wildcat. It feels lighter than Westone Spectrums I've played, and it rings for ages.

This model isn't strung through the body, just top loading only. The bridge unit does have an extra set of holes for a string through version so I was tempted to drill the body, but hearing it how it sounds, thats not going to happen!


The bridge is about 8mm (5/16") deep and is a heavy piece of cast zinc, I'm guessing it helps transmit the string vibrations to the body.

DAN.

Every time I see that Barbie wrapping paper I chuckle...

Does that have a pull/push for coil tap?

Both my Wildcats have one.

Nice score Dan.

Yep, it's on the tone pot. Doesn't look like the electrics have been buggered about with either, just needed a clean.





DAN.

Holy smokes, it's my old guitar!!!  I'd recognize that Barbie motif anywhere.  Took me hours.  She was stolen at a Princess tea party gig where I was playing.  Little girls are MEAN, don't let them fool you. 

GREAT rescue man.