Aria Pro II SB Elite-I bass 1984 - Cliff Burton - gold bridge - RARE

Fantastic shape except for a rough repainted section below the electronics cover, with some dings on the cover, and a small hard to see ding in the middle back of the body - see pictures. There's also some discoloration on the sides of the fingerboard - it might be some clear coat separation, not sure. Still feels very smooth, not ragged.

This is almost identical the Black & Gold that Cliff played. This one has the gold plated bridge and electronics cover, and Aria Pro II tuners. Serial number indicates this was made in 1984. Powder Coat the bridge base in black and you would probably never know the difference. The one strange bit is that the matsumoku.org site only lists white, blue and red colors for 84, not black. Black is listed for 85. The finish appears original.

Full disclosure: when I got it someone had messed with the electronics - see before and after pictures. And the colors for the pickup wires are not the expected black/brown/red/orange. Instead this has green/white/red/black. I took the pickup out to test and believe this is the configuration:

black+ white- (one coil) maps to the original orange+ brown-

red+ green- (other coil) maps to the original red+ black-

It could be an aftermarket pickup but there are no markings so I suspect someone professionally repaired it. Either way after I rewired it to spec it seems to work properly, including the switch. Sounds great to me.

Includes brand new Hola bag. Regardless of its lineage, it's a cool bass all on its own and plays great.

To the best of my knowledge these are the specs:

Made in Japan

Neck Shape: Standard, Medium

Neck: 7 Ply Maple/Walnut

Neck Joint: Neck-through, Heel-less Cutaway

Tuners: Solid Brass Tuner Buttons, 24 K Gold Plated

Nut: 40mm Width Solid Brass

Truss rod Cover: Solid Brass

Headstock Front Inlays: Patent Statement

Fretboard Scale: 34" or 864mm

Frets: 24 Frets

Fretboard: Rosewood

Fretboard Inlays: Cat Eye, Mother of Pearl Inlays

Body Material: Alder

Pickup: Aria MB-V Passive Pickup

Controls: 1xVolume, 1xTone, 1-Dual Sound Mini-Toggle Switch

Knobs: Black SB Knobs

Tailpiece: Solid Brass With 24K Gold Plated Saddles and Gold Plated Body

Strap Pins: 18K Gold Plated Solid Brass

Finish : Black