Here's one that took some creative adaptation. Yet another ebay guitar. Those of you that are Aria nuts will probably recognize the body as a 5102T. Lyle, Conrad, Epiphone, and Orlando HBs of this period were simply re-brands of the Aria 5102T and it's close cousins. The pickups, bridge, pickguard, and trem are a dead giveaway. I got it for a great price so the mention of a warped neck and pickup trouble didn't concern me much. The truss nut's socket was stripped so I removed it and punched a new hex hole in it. The dreaded was confirmed when I put it back on and attempted to cook and adjust the neck straight. The truss rod had been wrenched free from it's anchor at the other end and was turning freely! No wonder the previous owner was selling it as a project guitar. It would have been hard to miss and the stripped socket should have tipped me off to over-torgue on the truss rod right off.

Back to the drawing board I went. A new neck was in order. I found a Chinese Squire Jag neck at a local shop that couldn't be used on anything they had as someone had sanded it in an attempt to make it look vintage. After a short examination I bought it and set about re-routing the neck pocket on the body to fit it. It turns out I'm glad the original neck was boogered. This thing plays great! The pickups got an overhaul, potted, and she got a new wiring harness (if you've ever re-wired a hollowbody you know how much fun it can be). The pickups sound GREAT and the body being a true hollowbody and not blocked has fantastic resonance! Fogerty would be proud!

I have under $200 in it including the replacement neck, which is probably max even for one 100% original. Yes, they are cool guitars, but they are in fact only decent quality bolt neck entry level guitars. They do have their merits, but could not be classified as the same as the later Aria Pro II ES, FS, and TA models or even Mach I  that replaced the 51XX series. Incedentally, it is NOT trashed for those who have seen the eBay listing.
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