Aria Guitar Serial Number Lookup

Where Are Aria Guitars Made

The serial number suggests built in the Samick plant, Korea in 1994 or possibly 2004. My understanding is that the serial numbers for Korean Aria Pro 2's follows the same rules as for the Epiphones. *1976 Serial numbers 220 were also used. Begins using one set of serial numbers for guitars & mandolins. 1994-2002 Mandolins are custom order only. Matsumoku Industrial was a Japanese manufacturing company in Matsumoto, Japan, between 1951 and 1987. Established in 1951 as a woodworking and cabinetry firm, Matsumoku is remembered as a manufacturer of guitars and bass guitars, including some Epiphone and Aria guitars. (There is occasional confusion between Matsumoku and Matsumoto.Matsumoto is a town in Japan's Nagano Prefecture, where.

Updated on: February 05, 2019

Aria guitars emerged on the music scene in 1958, with the first electric models appearing five years later. With such a large number of years in production, owners of Aria guitars often want to know what year their guitar was made. Manufacturers included a few clues to help you decide when your Aria was 'born.'

Locate the serial number on your guitar. If you cannot locate a serial number, chances are your guitar was manufactured before the mid-1970s. Serial numbers will be found on a plate bolted to the back of the guitar's neck on electric models or inside the body of an acoustic model.

Look at the first number of your serial number if one exists. Through 1987, Aria guitars serial numbers represented the year of manufacturer as either the first one or first two digits of the serial number. For example, a guitar made in 1978 might have the first two digits of 78 or the first digit of 8.

Determine whether your guitar's first two digits are 81 or higher. If the digits are 81 or higher, you can likely pinpoint the week the guitar was made. Guitars in this era included the year and week of manufacture as the first four digits. For example, a guitar made in the 10th week of 1988 would have the first four digits of 8810.

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References

Warnings

Remember that dating Aria guitars is not a science. For information on Aria guitars, e-mail info@ariauk.com.

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Bruce G - Posted - 01/21/2013: 08:24:57

I acquired an ARIA acoustic guitar today. The owner thought it was probably 20 years old but was not sure. I think it is probably a basic model even though it has binding used. I have looked on the ARIA site with no luck how to read the serial number. Not sure if the 66 means 1966 or not as one other site suggested. Any assistance would be appreciated

Model: AW-20N

S/N 66078326

GalenB - Posted - 01/21/2013: 16:22:56

Hey Bruce, I used to have an LW20 I picked up in the late 80s when I was in the Air Force in Germany. I bought it used from a guy who had bought it new in '85. I took that thing all over the world with me. The LW had a laminated top, and as such was built like a tank, but it played really well and didn't sound bad and I never had to worry about stability or cracking. I traded it off a couple years ago to a co-worker and it still looks like new, short of some fret wear.

The only infomation I have ever found is here: matsumoku.org/models/a-ap2_aco..acou.html

Where Are Aria Guitars Made

This catalog dates from the 80s. On this same site there is a price list from mid 70s and none of the AW/SW/LW series are listed. I think they came out early 80s and were made for most of the 80s. They are 10 times the instruments they put out these days. The solid wood models like the AW and SW I remember as being really pretty nice.

Hope this helps.

P.S. I sent my coworker an email to get th serial number off the LW20 - I think based on my earlier searching its a production sequence number and maybe this will give you a ball park.

Edited by - GalenB on 01/21/2013 16:30:42

GalenB - Posted - 01/21/2013: 18:29:59

Probably no help, but my friend just sent me a shot of the back brace stamp and it is 612036 for this mid 80s Aria. So my earlier post that the guy I bought it from might be wrong; he must have bought it new in '86 or near the first of the year.
This may not help either scribd.com/doc/75948875/Electr..er-Dating since your 8 digit number doesn't fit the format - it couldn't be a '66 since they didn't use serial numbers before the mid 70s. I would bet its after '87, and I have read before they started moving manufacturing to Korea. That usually throws the whole serial number thing out.

Bruce G - Posted - 01/22/2013: 11:28:12

Hey Galen,

Thanks for responding. I have looked on a number of sites with no luck. They all claim to tell you what the S/N means but they don't. It's not a big deal. I was just curious. The guitar looked old and smelled old so before I clean it up and put new strings on, I was just trying to date it.

Bruce