No, it's not a superstrat!
It's something I've always remembered, and sort of wanted, since I first started buying Guitar Player magazine in late 1981.
It's an Aria Cardinal Series CS-400, made at the Matsumoko factory in 1982, as played by Danny Johnson of Derringer and the Rod Stewart Band (and, later, Alcatrazz)!
It's not an expensive guitar but it's nicely made - three piece maple neck (slim but not too skinny), rosewood board, four piece ash body and weird in-house hardware like everyone used in those pre-standardised days. The colour's the one I always wanted - Mahogany Sunburst - and it's in remarkably good condition, just a few minor dings. I suspect the pickups are non-original, I'm pretty sure they should have polepieces like a DiMarzio Super Distortion, but I'm not really bothered about that.
So there we go. Now I just need a Washburn Falcon, Ibanez AR-300 and Yamaha SG2000 from the same period....
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Guitar Bomb Giveaway – Win a FREE set of Oil City Pickups Deep Six humbuckers
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Oh yes.
Guitar Bomb Giveaway – Win a FREE set of Oil City Pickups Deep Six humbuckers
Seriously: If you value it, take/fetch it yourself
Many guitars have a re-sale value. Some you'll never want to sell.
Stockist of: Earvana & Graphtech nuts, Faber Tonepros & Gotoh hardware, Fatcat bridges. Highwood Saddles.
Pickups from BKP, Oil City & Monty's pickups.
Expert guitar repairs and upgrades - fretwork our speciality! www.felineguitars.com. Facebook too!
That's a really nice looking guitar.
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@Bucket It's a thought, but I never really wanted a Westone - they came along a year or two later if I remember right, and by then I wasn't feeling the need to buy every guitar I saw in Guitar Player (or buy albums by everyone they interviewed, which I did for a while!)
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Many guitars have a re-sale value. Some you'll never want to sell.
Stockist of: Earvana & Graphtech nuts, Faber Tonepros & Gotoh hardware, Fatcat bridges. Highwood Saddles.
Pickups from BKP, Oil City & Monty's pickups.
Expert guitar repairs and upgrades - fretwork our speciality! www.felineguitars.com. Facebook too!
As an aside I'm wrestling with myself at the moment - I've been offered an original USA Hamer Chapparal (Gibson scale length) for £250... REALLY high quality guitar for stupid cheap money.
Many guitars have a re-sale value. Some you'll never want to sell.
Stockist of: Earvana & Graphtech nuts, Faber Tonepros & Gotoh hardware, Fatcat bridges. Highwood Saddles.
Pickups from BKP, Oil City & Monty's pickups.
Expert guitar repairs and upgrades - fretwork our speciality! www.felineguitars.com. Facebook too!