Japan’s Aria released their first electric guitar in 1963 and has enjoyed a reputation for making solid, budget-friendly instruments ever since. But the company isn’t only known for entry-level instruments—top-shelf bassists like Duran Duran’s John Taylor and Metallica’s Cliff Burton have championed Aria’s pro-level offerings. One such bass is the new IGB-RC, a 4-string machine boasting smart design, great tones, and more than a little flash.
Aria We There Yet?
You can’t judge a book by its cover, but still, the 33"-scale IGB-RC looks pretty badass. The metal-flake finish and dual racing stripes provide a touch of glam, while the silver-finished neck and headstock complement the vibe. The paint job is flawless from top to bottom.
The electronics include an Aria-designed active P/J set (with a reverse-P layout) and onboard 2-band EQ via a stacked dual knob. The tidy wiring cavity is easily accessible, as is the 9V battery compartment.
make slappers happy.
Several design features distinguish the IGB-RC from traditional builds. The 4-bolt neck offers more sustain and beef than most bolt-on instrument. (I love the string-through-body sustain of the IGB-RC as it arrived, though the Gotoh 404SJ bridge permits top loading as well.) The tight, compact ayous body features a contoured belly scoop and a carved top that adds a third dimension to the metal-flake finish. A rosewood fingerboard tops the maple neck, and lightweight Gotoh Res-O-Lite tuners help keep the bass evenly balanced.
There are no flaws on the bass’s seams. The neck joint is super-tight. The frets are perfect, and all the screws are tight. The only imperfection I found was a loose EQ pot, easily fixed. The care evident in the IGB-RC’s assembly and setup is truly impressive.
Ratings
Pros:
Well built. Lightweight. Pro features.
Cons:
Pricy. Tonally limited.
Tones:
Playability:
Build/Design:
Value:
Street:
$1,999
Aria IGB-RC
ariaguitars.com
Aria You Experienced?
I started out playing unplugged, just to get a feel for the bass. The IGB-RC has a smaller footprint than a beefy P, and it sits just right on the body. The factory string setup is low and ultra-fast, and the lower cutaway affords access to all 24 frets. Unplugged, this bass sustains like crazy. I also dig the way the reverse-P set lets me comfortably anchor my thumb on a 3rd/4th-string pickup that’s closer to the bridge than on a traditional P.
Next I ran the IGB-RC through an Eden CXC210 combo with the pickups at equal power and the EQ flat. The bass has great midrange punch, very modern and concise. Tones are articulate and pointed, which should make slappers happy. Keeping the pickups centered, I moved the active EQ around and was glad to find that there isn’t too much EQ with which to get in trouble. Cranking the highs enhanced the pointedness (handy for when you need help cutting through the mix) but didn’t make tones harsh and unusable.
When I rolled the pickup balance toward the P side, tones got somewhat darker, though they lack some of the warmth I expect from a P-style axe. Adjusting the bass EQ helped, but didn’t quite give me the frequencies I was hoping to pull out. Favoring the J-style pickup provided plenty of bite and aggression, and beefing up the low EQ a touch gave me a pickup I could hang with all night.
After moving from pickup to pickup, I found I favored the combined sound, which provides smooth, balanced tones that lie just right. Now, remember: This is a modern-style bass—if you need rounder, vintage-type tones, you may have to look elsewhere. But if you need extra pop for fast fingerstyle runs, well, here you go!
The Verdict
The IGB-RC’s design is smart. Its weight and balance can make three-set gigs more comfortable. The compact styling may suit players who are small in stature, though the lofty price tag may keep the bass out of reach for those who are small in wallet. It’s a flashy, well built bass whose bold finish and modern tones just may get you noticed in a hurry.
Watch the Review Demo:
Diamond Pedals Dark Cloud
True to the Diamond design ethos of our dBBD’s hybrid analog architecture, Dark Cloud unlocks a new frontier in delay technology which was once deemed unobtainable by standard BBD circuit.
Powered by an embedded system, the Dark Cloud seamlessly blends input and output signals, crafting Tape, Harmonic, and Reverse delays with the organic warmth of analog companding and the meticulous precision of digital control.
Where analog warmth meets digital precision, the Dark Cloud redefines delay effects to create a pedal like no other
But by gosh, if delay—and its sister effect, reverb—haven’t always been perfect for the music I like to write and play. Which brings us to the Fishman EchoBack Mini Delay. The EchoBack, along with the standard delay controls of level, time, and repeats—as well as a tap tempo—has a toggle to alternate between analog, tape, and digital-delay voices.
I hooked up my Washburn Bella Tono Elegante to my Blues Junior to give the EchoBack a test run. We love a medium delay—my usual preference for delay settings is to have both level and repeats at 1 o’clock, and time at 11 o’clock. With the analog voice switched on, I heard some pillowy warmth in the processed signal, as well as a familiar degradation with each repeat—until their wake gave way to a gentle, distant, crinkly ticking. Staying on analog and adjusting delay time down to 8 o’clock and repeats to about 11:30, some cozy slapback enveloped my rendition of Johnny Marr’s part to “Back to the Old House,” conjuring up thoughts of Elvis trapped in a small chamber, but in a good way. It sounded indubitably authentic. The one drawback of analog delay for me, generally, is that its roundness can feel a bit under water at times.
Switching over to tape, that pillowy warmth evaporated, and in its place came a very clear replication of my tone—but with just a bit of the highs shaved off the top. With the settings at the medium-length mode listed above, I could see the empty, glass hall the pedal sent my sound bouncing down. I heard several pronounced pings of repeats before the signal fully faded out. On slapback settings (time at 8 o’clock, repeats at 11:30), rather than Elvis, I heard something more along the lines of a honky-tonk mic in a glass bottle. Still relatively crystalline, which actually was not my favorite. I like a bit more crinkle—so maybe analog is my bag....“That pillowy warmth evaporated, and in its place came a very clear, pristine replication of my tone—but with just a bit of the highs shaved off the top.”
Next up, digital. Here we have the brightest voice, and as expected, the most faithful repeats. They ping just a few times before shifting to a smooth, single undulating wave. When putting its slapback hat on, I found that the effect was a bit less alluring than I’d observed for the analog and tape voices. This is where the digital delay felt a little too sterile, with the cleanly preserved signal feeling a bit unnatural.
All in all, I dig the EchoBack for its replications of analog and tape voices, and ultimately, lean towards tape. While it’s nice having the digital delay there as an option, it feels a bit too clean when meddling with time of any given length. Nonetheless, this is surely a handy stomp for any acoustic player looking to venture into the land of live effects, or for those who are already there.
