Excellent condition featuring two piece sharp double cutaway body with cherry stain finish, two humbucking pickups with black and white plastic (zebra) bobbins and white plastic pickup surrounds, two volume controls and two tone controls with gold plastic notched speed knobs, three way pickup selector switch with original flat white plastic switch tip, two mini toggle switches for coil tapping and phase, Aria Pro bridge unit with six individual adjustable saddles, three piece maple neck, rosewood fingerboard with pearloid dot inlays starting at the 3rd fret, Aria Pro/Vantage peghead shape with cherry stain peghead face finish, gold Aria Pro II logo and Cardinal Series logo, single ply white plastic truss rod cover with CS-250 Model print, three per side tuning machines with Rotomatic style buttons, four bolt neck fastening plate with Aria Pro II, serial number and Made In Japan engravings, single ply white plastic electronics control cover plate, string through body construction with six individual metal string ferrules, two metal strap buttons and rectangular hard shell case with black Tolex covering.
This 1983 Aria Pro II CS-250 Cardinal is in overall excellent vintage cosmetic condition showing some signs of play wear throughout (see photos). The neck profile on this instrument is that of a modern thin “C” shape that tapers larger towards the upper register with a 1 11/16” nut width and feels very nice in hand. The fret wire is in great shape and shows hardly any wear. This guitar plays great up and down the fretboard. This guitar is currently set up with Ernie Ball Beefy Slinkys and is tuned to C sharp. The original humbucking pickups sound good. The bridge pickup has a very woody bite that sounds exceptional with an overdriven amp and the neck pickup is very round and clear with a wooly bottom end. The original phase switch and coil tap switch further add to the tonal possibilities of this instrument. These Made In Japan Aria Pro instruments are very well made and are getting to be a bit collectible. If you are looking for cool and quirky guitar to add to your collection, this Cardinal is a pretty stellar choice. A gem of a guitar shipped out safely and promptly from our little shop here in Clarksville, Tennessee, to your front door.
