Aria Pro II

Aria Pro II launched at the 1975 Instrument Fair, when Arai Trading debuted a new guitar built by Matsumoku under the new brand name. The name itself was deliberate: "Pro" for professional, "II" over "I" simply because it sounded better to Aria's US distributor, who suggested the change.

The partnership with Matsumoku — a Matsumoto, Nagano woodworking company that had previously built Singer sewing machine cabinets before pivoting to guitar manufacturing — proved pivotal. Matsumoku brought CNC precision to body carving at roughly the same time Peavey was adopting the same technology in the US, and the results showed. The key figure in Aria Pro II's design identity was Nobuaki Hayashi (known on headstocks as H. Noble), who joined Matsumoku in the mid-1970s and steered the line decisively away from Gibson and Fender copies toward original forms.

The flagship PE (Pro Electric) series arrived in 1977 with the PE-1500, featuring an ash or maple body, a deep cutaway, a heel-less neck joint for upper-fret access, and DiMarzio pickups on higher-end versions. Neal Schon of Journey and Andy Summers of the Police were early adopters. The SB-1000 bass — neck-through construction, active onboard electronics — became equally celebrated on its own terms. Through the late 1970s and into the 1980s, the PE line expanded down-market with the PE-800, PE-600, and PE-500, broadening the range while the more aggressive XX, ZZ, and U-1 models tracked the rise of hard rock and metal.

Matsumoku closed in 1987; Hayashi departed the same year to found Atlansia. Production shifted primarily to Korea, though select models continued to be built in Japan. Aria Pro II's commercial prominence waned through the 1990s, but the Matsumoku-era instruments — particularly the PE series and SB-1000 — remain among the most respected Japanese guitars of the period.