Very rare Aristides 020 from the first year of production.

Dutch acoustic engineer Aristides Poort founded the guitar company, Aristides, to bring a neck-thru composite guitar to the market that is unaffected by temperature changes. After studying how wood cells react to vibration, Poort and his team, working with the Technical University Delft, developed Arium as a more stable alternative to wood. Whereas timber's natural resonance is dependent on various issues, like its density and moisture content, Arium is totally unaffected by any of the above. Consequently, changing atmospheric conditions will have zero effect on Arium, so shouldn't affect the guitar's tuning stability.

"As it does not contain any water, it is more stable than wood, it reacts less to temperature fluctuations and humidity, has a conspicuously more stable tuning, and requires less maintenance. The material has several advantages as compared to wood: wood cannot vibrate in the direction of the fiber and it therefore forces sound waves to resonate only two-dimensionally. Arium in contrast, has no fiber structure and it vibrates three-dimensionally, which does not only extend the sustain considerably, but also enhances the acoustic sound volume.

Hip Shot Griplock locking tuners located on the modestly appointed three-a-side headstock, a Graph Tech low friction nut, a conventional rosewood fingerboard fitted with 22 medium jumbo frets and a pair of covered Seymour Duncan humbuckers, linked to a standard three-way selector switch, a rotary tone control and a rotary volume that doubles as a push/pull coil tap.

The 020 weighs-in at around 7 lbs., which is lighter than many US Standard Fender Stratocasters. Slung around the neck on a guitar strap it feels just the right side of 'solid' without starting to get uncomfortable. The 10-inch radius rosewood 'board offers a good compromise between a comfy vintage curvature and the more bend-friendly modern radius and again, there is nothing about the 020's feel to suggest that there is anything high-tech going on beneath the gold finish.

Sound-wise, the Seymour Duncan TB-4 bridge humbucker and SH-2N neck pickup make a very workable and dynamic combo, offering a good blend of muscular authenticity and smooth bluesy richness, with the extra 'honk' factor courtesy of the coil tap circuit.

Original case is included.