New on the upper-end of the Aria line is the IGB-RC. A bit smaller, has a thin neck and has good balancing, according to the video below.
The street price of this bass is about $2,000.
Do you think it’s worth it? Does this bass recapture the great upper-end Aria Pro II basses of the past? Post a comment or two with your opinion.
Our opinion: Balancing is important, so it’s nice Aria took that seriously. But some may not care for the reverse P pickup and the proprietary electronics. Some may not also like the prominent metallic flake in the finish with stripes. The only two colors are the red/silver seen above, and blue/silver. No solid or natural finish options.
No natural finish, no money from me.
$2000…The profit margin on that bass must be about $1600. No Thanks to the ’70s custom car paint. Big companies better start paying attention. New Sire Basses
Aria should be looking back at the 70’s SB 700 and the SB 1000 basses and bring the quality back today.
I own a SB 700 1977/78 and it still sounds great.
I LOVE THE 33″ SCALE!….yes I did shout that in excitement. I really like the fact that Aria put out a 33″ scale instrument. I personally love smaller basses as I have smaller hands and the small neck just screams awesome. The price point seems a little high but I would love to try one cause it’s kind of hard to find basses with those features that aren’t custom.
The “reverse P” pickup is the way it should have been laid out in the first place, so that’s never a bad point–it’s actually a selling point for me. It shows that the builder was thinking logically about the sound of the instrument and balance across the strings. As for the paint, any sparkle finish is a big draw for me. They are fairly rare and it’s a thumbs up when a company offers it.
bring back the the aria pro 2 integras like what billy gould from FNM used to play. they were the best basses aria ever built along with the SB line. i owned a black SB integra with bartolini pick ups a gotoh bridge. aria bass quality these days seems sucky…
better buy an old Charvel that sounds and play loads better and 800euro !!! Vinage 1986
hell yes i love the tone and feel of those basses. there is a 2nd hand music shop down the street fro my house that always sells them.
Nice looking axe, – a bit pricey, however. To me, it sounds like any other instrument with a P/J pickup combination & active circuitry . . . nothing really new here, sorry.
Kind of pricey for a “me too!” sound. You can get the same elsewhere. Nothing unique here except the shorter scale (I’ll give ’em props for that); and that hideous finish.
I have this very same bass in my collection. The folks here that are shaming it, have obviously never played one. I have had some Aria basses in the past, that I wish I still owned. This little bass is a hot rod. It exudes quality from top to bottom. It has a deep rich sound that is very noticeable from all my other basses. The neck is truly awesome. I love 24 fret basses and at 33 scale, it’s pretty neat. I know it’s a bit flashy, but so what. Some times it’ good to step out of line a bit. I have two American Fender P basses that I really like. I play this Aria twice as much. It’s like a magnet when I’m in the mood to put on some backing tracks and play in my Bass-Mint. If you have the opportunity to pick one up and play it a bit, I think you will have a better understanding of it’s role. Do you want to ride a Harley or a Honda Goldwing?