A Short History Lesson
Information sourced from Jedistar and Aria Guitars indicates that "Shiro" guitars were produced by the Aria Tatsuno and Aria Nagoya guitar factories from around 1970 to 1982/83. It is also interesting to note that the name "Shiro" itself was derived from "Shiro Arai, Chairman and the founder of Aria Guitars."
Diagnosis
The Shiro Sprinter Stratocaster Copy featured in this post boasts a solid ash body, sunburst nitro finish, and maple neck. It arrived in less than pristine condition, for want of a better description. Further inspection and testing revealed the following:
1. Scratchy electronics, even after servicing
2. Worn-out tuning machines
3. Rusty string trees and trem springs
4. Rusty pickguard and backplate screws
5. Worn-out nut and frets
6. Jammed saddle height adjustment screws
7. Missing tremolo arm
8. Mismatched knobs (two strat-style and one chrome dome)
9. Salvageable tremolo unit
Work Done and Parts Replaced/Added
1. Pickup leads replaced with genuine vintage-style Gavitt (cloth covered push-back) wire
2. Alpha A250K pots/Gotoh DM-50 five-way selector switch/Neutrik output jack
3. Full refret and custom-fitted nut
4. Vintage-style string trees/tuning machines
5. Three tremolo springs
6. Russian 0.022uF PTFE tone cap
7. Three Genuine Fender Stratocaster control knobs
8. Six vintage-style saddles
9. Chrome pickguard and backplate screws
The missing tremolo arm was replaced with one taken from a Fender Strat on display at Kuantan Music. Here, words cannot express my gratitude to Kuantan Music senior guitar tech Mr. Liew. We'd tried all the trem arms on sale, but none fit satisfactorily.
Finally, Mr. Liew unscrewed one from a display unit, handed it to me, .... and it fit perfectly! Sensing that I was worried about his display unit now lacking a tremolo arm, he reassured me that he could always order a replacement along with the next shipment of Strats. How's that for service?
That's about it, I guess. Now, if you'd like to see and hear a Shiro Sprinter Strat in action, here's an excellent YouTube video of one being played through a Guyatone 1030 Reverb amp. Enjoy!
Information sourced from Jedistar and Aria Guitars indicates that "Shiro" guitars were produced by the Aria Tatsuno and Aria Nagoya guitar factories from around 1970 to 1982/83. It is also interesting to note that the name "Shiro" itself was derived from "Shiro Arai, Chairman and the founder of Aria Guitars."
Diagnosis
The Shiro Sprinter Stratocaster Copy featured in this post boasts a solid ash body, sunburst nitro finish, and maple neck. It arrived in less than pristine condition, for want of a better description. Further inspection and testing revealed the following:
1. Scratchy electronics, even after servicing
2. Worn-out tuning machines
3. Rusty string trees and trem springs
4. Rusty pickguard and backplate screws
5. Worn-out nut and frets
6. Jammed saddle height adjustment screws
7. Missing tremolo arm
8. Mismatched knobs (two strat-style and one chrome dome)
9. Salvageable tremolo unit
Work Done and Parts Replaced/Added
1. Pickup leads replaced with genuine vintage-style Gavitt (cloth covered push-back) wire
2. Alpha A250K pots/Gotoh DM-50 five-way selector switch/Neutrik output jack
3. Full refret and custom-fitted nut
4. Vintage-style string trees/tuning machines
5. Three tremolo springs
6. Russian 0.022uF PTFE tone cap
7. Three Genuine Fender Stratocaster control knobs
8. Six vintage-style saddles
9. Chrome pickguard and backplate screws
The missing tremolo arm was replaced with one taken from a Fender Strat on display at Kuantan Music. Here, words cannot express my gratitude to Kuantan Music senior guitar tech Mr. Liew. We'd tried all the trem arms on sale, but none fit satisfactorily.
Finally, Mr. Liew unscrewed one from a display unit, handed it to me, .... and it fit perfectly! Sensing that I was worried about his display unit now lacking a tremolo arm, he reassured me that he could always order a replacement along with the next shipment of Strats. How's that for service?
That's about it, I guess. Now, if you'd like to see and hear a Shiro Sprinter Strat in action, here's an excellent YouTube video of one being played through a Guyatone 1030 Reverb amp. Enjoy!
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