Aria Review: AC-8

History:

Purchase: I've had this guitar for over 10 years. A friend i knew in high school sold it to me for under $100 (canadian), he was playing mainly electric guitar and didn't use this one at all.

What I Like About This Aria AC-8: When i got it, a bracing was broken (the wooden bars inside the body) and the top was bent because of this. This caused the guitar to have very sucky low-end sound. I recently (about a year or two ago) brought it to a local repair shop to get it fixed (which cost me about $60 can.) and i was blown away by the renewed quality this guitar had regained!! The top of the instrument is still warped at the bridge, but it sounds awesome, especially for something i bought this cheap 10 or 12 years ago. I checked at another store and saw one (aria ac-8) second-hand for sale at $400.

What I Do NOT Like About The Aria AC-8: Aria's are very good sounding, but very fragile instruments. The original tuning mechanical parts were a disaster, so i changed them for the ones on a spare classical guitar that i had.

Aria AC-8 Quality Rating: Above standard quality for a classical guitar. Sounds great, very well balanced, but as i said you have to be careful not to break it, as it's pretty fragile.

Review Summary: This guitar has a unique, very special sound which i really like a lot. It records very well using various mics, and it's a good tool to have in the studio. I wouldn't use it live, however.

Rating of this Aria product: 4

This Aria AC-8 Classical Guitars Review Submitted By: Éric

Review Date: 2003-04-21