1966-1967 Aria Diamond 1202T Vintage Hollowbody Electric Guitar Matsumoku MIJ

Vintage 1966–67 Aria Diamond 1202T Hollowbody Electric Guitar – Matsumoku Japan

Welcome to the Reverb home of Carl’s Custom Guitars! Be sure to check out my other listings for more quality new, used and vintage guitars, amps and gear, as well as my own handcrafted Speaker Soak Power Load Volume Attenuators, smooth taper effects loop investable master volume control Volume Boxes and 6-string electric Cigar Box Guitars. I’ve been providing fast, friendly and affordable stringed instrument service and repair since 2001, and everything I sell is personally inspected and represented as accurately as possible.

Here’s another really cool vintage piece, a circa 1966–67 Aria Diamond 1202T hollowbody electric guitar, built in Japan by the legendary Matsumoku factory. This is a great example of the wonderfully creative guitars coming out of Japan during this period, with loads of unmistakable 1960s style and character.

The 1202T features a fully bound, rounded double-cutaway thinline hollowbody with a beautiful three-tone sunburst finish and those wonderfully unusual segmented f-holes. It’s a striking guitar from just about any angle and certainly doesn’t look like everything else hanging on the wall.

One of my favorite features has to be all of the deep red tortoise appointments. Matching material is used on the pickguard, pickup surrounds, selector-switch plate and headstock face, tying the whole guitar together and giving it a fantastic unmistakably-1960s appearance.

The bound rosewood fingerboard features large pearloid block inlays, while the headstock carries the original raised “Diamonds” badge along with its vintage three-on-a-strip tuners.

Electronics consist of two vintage Japanese single-coil pickups, individual Volume and Tone controls and a three-way pickup selector. These pickups have a wonderfully distinctive old-school voice — clear and articulate with plenty of character and exactly the sort of sound you’d hope to hear from a vintage hollowbody like this.

The guitar retains its distinctive vintage spring vibrato/tailpiece assembly, and it’s all in working order as well.

For a guitar approaching 60 years old, this one remains in very nice overall vintage condition. Naturally, there are assorted scratches, finish cracks, small dings, finish wear, hardware aging and other signs of normal use accumulated over the decades. Nothing unexpected for an instrument of this age, and personally I think it all adds to the character of a genuine vintage guitar rather than detracting from it.

Please take a good look through all of the supplied photographs, as they are considered part of the description and provide the best representation of the guitar’s cosmetic condition.

Most importantly, this guitar has recently been professionally inspected, serviced and fully setup. It plays nicely, the electronics are functioning properly and it’s ready to go, not only is it a cool and highly collectible guitar but it is also still totally playable and functional.

This is a really cool survivor from the early days of higher-quality Japanese electric guitar production — visually striking, fun to play and considerably less common than many of the later Japanese hollowbody guitars you see for sale. Whether you’re a collector of vintage Japanese guitars or simply somebody looking for an instrument that’s a little different from everything else out there, this old Aria has personality to spare.

While you’re here, be sure to check out some of the other things I build right here at Carl’s Custom Guitars, including my original Speaker Soak Power Load Volume Attenuators, designed to let you push your tube amp into its sweet spot at much more manageable volume levels; my handy Volume Box smooth taper master volume control for amps with effects loops; and my handcrafted 6-string electric Cigar Box Guitars.

Everything is built one at a time right here in my little shop — no big corporate markup and no high overhead. I’ve been doing this since 2001, and I truly appreciate everyone who chooses to support a small independent business.

After nearly 60 years, this old Aria has undoubtedly already had quite a story, and I’d really like to see it go to a new happy home where it will be played, enjoyed and appreciated for many more years to come.

As always, feel free to reach out with any questions. I’m a guitar player and repairman myself and I’m always happy to talk guitars!

I appreciate your interest, I would love to see this beauty go to a new happy home, thank you so much and be well! – Carl