Guitar
guitarz.blogspot.com:
The Arbor brandname is one which I am familiar with, but I know virtually nothing about them. This Arbor bass currently listed on eBay looks to be a solid enough well-built instrument and looking at it I'd guess it was 1980s Japanese judging by the build style, the brass hardware (check out that chunky bridge), and the use of DiMarzio (or possibly DiMarzio designed or just clone) pickups.
I tried scratching around on the net for more information, but there is not a lot to be had. Ask Jeeves tells us that:
The above-pictured Arbor bass is currently listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of US $249.99.
G L Wilson
© 2014, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.
- 1980s Morris Global Sound Solidbody Electric Guitar
guitarz.blogspot.com: Of course Japanese guitar builders really hit their stride in the 1980s... Here's a Morris Global Sound guitar being offered for sale for €400 on a French website. It features the faux thru-neck body finish popular on Japanese...
- Electra Westone X-700jb Futura Bass, Made In Japan Circa 1984
guitarz.blogspot.com: Ah, you know we're big fans of Japanese-made guitars here at Guitarz, particularly those from the now legendary Matsumoku factory (could they ever do any wrong?), so I can't help myself showing this Electra Westone X-700JB...
- Just Look At The Size Of The Case For This Guitar: Pointy 1980s Hondo H-1
guitarz.blogspot.com: Here's another 1980s offering from Hondo guitars - reviled in some quarters and loved in others. It's a Hondo II H-1 from the 1980s with body styling obviously based on the now legendary Gibson Explorer but with the pointiness...
- Gibson Explorer Shadow Bass From 1986 - But Where Are The Pickups?
guitarz.blogspot.com: Graphics like these appeared on a number of mid-1980s Gibson Explorer guitars and basses, but more unusually this 1986 Gibson Explorer Shadow Bass appears to have no pickups. Of course, it does have pickups but not of the magnetic...
- Japanese-made Westone Guitar From 1964? I'd Aways Thought They Were From The 1980s
guitarz.blogspot.com: We've looked at several Westone guitars previously here at Guitarz. As we've mentioned before, Westone was the house-brand of Japan's Matsumoku factory with guitars being produced from 1981-1988. The Westone name was...
Guitar
1980s-era Arbor Bass
guitarz.blogspot.com:
I tried scratching around on the net for more information, but there is not a lot to be had. Ask Jeeves tells us that:
Arbor guitars came in both electric and acoustic and were first available on the market in 1983. An issue of the Vintage Guitar Price Guide says they are budget grade and that they carried bass guitars with a solid wood body. Arbor guitars were imported to the United States from China by Music Corp. (MTB), though no current information appears to be available online. Their company website was not working at the time of this writing.... which doesn't completely ring true to me. I'd have said they were Japanese, maybe even Korean, in origin. I did find the following on a forum to support this hypothesis:
Arbor guitars were founded in 1984 in Osaka, Japan by an ex-Ibanez president and an ex-Yamaha manager. A factory was purchased in Hamamatsu, Japan where guitars were produced from 1984-1986. They were forced to sell the company in the 3rd year of production due to lawsuits that were immediately filed by both Fender and Gibson, jointly. Production was moved to Korea by the new owners.I'm guessing that they also made guitars for Hohner, who marketed the Hohner Arbor series sometime in the late 1980s/90s.
The above-pictured Arbor bass is currently listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of US $249.99.
G L Wilson
© 2014, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.
- 1980s Morris Global Sound Solidbody Electric Guitar
guitarz.blogspot.com: Of course Japanese guitar builders really hit their stride in the 1980s... Here's a Morris Global Sound guitar being offered for sale for €400 on a French website. It features the faux thru-neck body finish popular on Japanese...
- Electra Westone X-700jb Futura Bass, Made In Japan Circa 1984
guitarz.blogspot.com: Ah, you know we're big fans of Japanese-made guitars here at Guitarz, particularly those from the now legendary Matsumoku factory (could they ever do any wrong?), so I can't help myself showing this Electra Westone X-700JB...
- Just Look At The Size Of The Case For This Guitar: Pointy 1980s Hondo H-1
guitarz.blogspot.com: Here's another 1980s offering from Hondo guitars - reviled in some quarters and loved in others. It's a Hondo II H-1 from the 1980s with body styling obviously based on the now legendary Gibson Explorer but with the pointiness...
- Gibson Explorer Shadow Bass From 1986 - But Where Are The Pickups?
guitarz.blogspot.com: Graphics like these appeared on a number of mid-1980s Gibson Explorer guitars and basses, but more unusually this 1986 Gibson Explorer Shadow Bass appears to have no pickups. Of course, it does have pickups but not of the magnetic...
- Japanese-made Westone Guitar From 1964? I'd Aways Thought They Were From The 1980s
guitarz.blogspot.com: We've looked at several Westone guitars previously here at Guitarz. As we've mentioned before, Westone was the house-brand of Japan's Matsumoku factory with guitars being produced from 1981-1988. The Westone name was...