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Aria TA40 Mod and Union Flag Semi-Acoustic Guitars

 

Review of the Aria TA40 by The Man in the Jar

Aaaah!  1979... What a year!  The Chords on the turntable, tassels on our loafers and pocket-flaps tucked in on two-tone tonic jackets. This was the Modern World and we didn't need no-one to tell us what was right or wrong!

Features of the Aria TA40

Tuners - Unbranded covered (not sealed) tuners with large Les Paul type knobs in light jade plastic.

Headstock - This looks quite large in isolation but fits with the fat-bodied vibe of the guitar as a whole. The Aria logo is screen-printed in gold. 

Nut - The white plastic nut abuts the fretboard and adds a nice contrasting "collar" to the headstock.

Neck - The maple neck is finished in the same white gloss finish as the basic body colour. The overriding influence here, as in the guitar as a whole, is Gibson's 335 Semi. So the neck has that lovely parallel profile, slim depth and satisfying width familiar to all players of the Dot. Unusually for the type, the neck is a bolt-on. 

Fretboard - Medium dark rosewood board has traditional abalone dot markers (what else?).

Frets - The medium-thin frets are nicely polished.

Action - Superbly low on the model I dragged off the shelf. The combination of the low action, lovely frets and comfortable neck make this one of the most pleasurable players I have come across in a long time. 

Body - The body is laminated maple in construction and very obviously modelled on the 335 profile. The top is delicately arched with two tidily-finished f-holes. The back also has the most subtle of arching which adds a real feeling of class to the guitar. The body is bound front and back with antiqued binding. The front carries either the classic Mod roundel or the Union Flag. I particularly fell for the off-set design of the roundel.

Bridge - This is Aria's take on the classic tune-o-matic and stoptail. In reality the differences between this and the Gibson version are really only cosmetic. Each saddle is adjustable for intonation and string height is adjusted by a screw at each end of the bridge assembly.

Pickups - Two Aria CH-1 humbuckers sit under chrome covers in black surrounds.

Controls - Volume and tone for each pickup sit under gold top-hats. The three-way pickup selector nestles under the bridge. 

Pickguard - Three ply black-white-black floats on a metal support. I'd probably get a replacement guard cut in white or transparent as I personally feel the black guard is visually a touch heavy.

Strap-buttons - One decent-sized button on the bottom of the body and one at the heel. The button at the heel doubles as one of the four screws that holds on the neck.

Output Jack - Set in the face without a mounting plate.

Finish - These difficult finishes has been executed perfectly.

 

Sound of the Aria TA40 

Acoustically the sound is bright and toppy courtesy of the maple construction. This translates beautifully into the amplified voice especially when running the bridge pickup into a valve amp with medium overdrive. Running clean the sounds are mellow and jazzy with a sparkling treble edge. In fact this guitar delivers exactly what you would expect from it. Not quite the entire sonic palette you'd get from a Gibbo, but that's why Gibbos cost six times as much. That said, the Aria TA40 delivers substantial goods in the tone department with a clean bridge jangle that compared well with my Rickenbacker 330.   

 

Overall Impressions of the Aria TA40

Themed guitars, like t-shirts with slogans, will only be worn by those with an affinity to the message. I happen to think the Mod vibe is really cool and if I didn't already own a Ricky 330 (inspired by the Modfather himself) I would be taking the Roundel Aria home today. The Cool Britannia Britpop revolution was (is) almost solely fronted by 335-wielding guitarists and here both of these Arias should find their place. In fact, if you can do without the signature on the headstock, the Aria provides a cheaper alternative to a certain Noel Gallagher branded 335 copy.
If you don't go for graphics you can still enjoy the Aria TA40 in Wine Red, Black or Vintage Sunburst

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