My first lute was an Aria and I got it in 1977. For a factory-made instrument, it was probably not too bad, but as a lute it left a lot to be desired. The construction was primarily plywood (good quality, but plywood nonetheless) with a stamped-out rosette. As a result, it was pretty heavy (and LaBella lute strings were fine on it) with a fairly thin sound. Probably the best part of it was the case--a nice form-fitted case with good plush lining When I had a store for a while about 10 years ago, I occasionally sold used Aria lutes that came through--but I sold them to theater companies or Renaissance Faire guitarists, both of whom needed something that looked like a lute but responded to harsh treatment and weather rather better than an historically accurate lute. Given the choices on the market today, I'd not recommend one of the Aria lutes, even to a beginner. I think you would find that it will not hold up (musically or tonally) as a long-term investment. You might have to pay more to get a "real" lute, but in the long run it would be a better choice. On the other hand, the upper end Aria guitars are quite nice--made in Spain while their lower end instruments (Korean, I think) are nothing particularly special. I used to sell the better guitars and still recommend them to students who are looking for a good instrument at a reasonable price.
jeff Guy Smith <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: They did, some years ago (20?) but didn't stick with it. I've seen a couple of them, and wasn't impressed. They were rather heavy, didn't sound that good, and they made some odd design decisions, like a curved fingerboard. They did a much better job with guitars. I've still got my old 60's vintage Aria "starter" classical guitar, and it's a respectable instrument. BTW, IIRC, Aria doesn't actually have a factory, as such. They do the design but job out the actual construction. I'm not sure where. It's been quite awhile since I read that item, so someone on the list might have better info. Guy -----Original Message----- From: Wim Loos [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, June 06, 2007 8:00 AM To: lute@cs.dartmouth.edu Subject: [LUTE] Factory build lutes Dear members, I wonder knows anybody if the guitar-factory "ARIA" also makes lutes, and what there quality is. For instance 8-course renaissance lute. Thanks in advance, Wim _________________________________________________________________ Jouw nieuws: wereldnieuws! Beleef 't op MSN.nl http://reporter.msn.nl/ -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html --
