Right off the bat, let me say that it's safe to assume that this fire engine red Aria Pro II XR-Series Electric Guitar was manufactured in 1990, based on the neck plate serial number (9032282). It features Aria Pro II pickups in an HSS configuration, Floyd Rose Special Tremolo System, reverse headstock, 22 jumbo frets, bound rosewood fretboard, 5-way switch, master volume and tone controls; plus black hardware. I'm sure it must have set many a guitarist's heart aflutter in its heyday.
One night, so the story goes, the owner, a working musician; was on a break at one of his regular gigs. Then, without warning, a pissed-drunk customer swaggered onstage and bumped into the Aria; sending it crashing to the floor. I think you can guess the rest, it having a tilt-back headstock and all that. I'll hazard a guess that had the same thing happened to a Fender Strat, it would be no worse for wear save for a few dings; or a string or two out of tune.
The damage to the neck was extensive, to say the least. The back of the neck had cracked and split at the scarf joint all the way through to the 3rd fret slot of the rosewood fretboard; unseating the fret and damaging the binding on either side. There was also a chunk of wood missing at the apex of the scarf joint. I knew that I'd have to carry out this repair in stages, starting with the back of the neck itself.
Folks, since the back of the neck had numerous cracks spreading out every which way; I realized that just a single backstrap overlay would not suffice. I'd have to remove as much damaged wood as possible and graft on several layers of wood for extra strength and resilience. I believe I grafted on five layers of wood in all.
Once that was taken care of, it was time to repair the fretboard. A mixture of rosewood dust and super glue was used to fill the 3rd fret slot and solidify the sides of the fretboard. Yes, this meant that I'd have to re-cut the fret slot (a real hassle) later; but there was no other way.
Next, I adjusted the truss rod to get the fretboard as flat as possible; and discovered that the section from frets 1-7 was back-bowed. As the truss rod was maxed out, I decided to remove the frets and sand that section of the fretboard to the correct profile. Having done that, the 3rd fret slot was re-cut, a partial refret (frets 1-7) carried out; and the new frets leveled and re-crowned.
So far so good. Now it was time to repair the binding. The affected sections were cut off, and new binding grafted on. It was really tricky trying to create a seamless transition where the edges of the old and new binding met, and I really hoped the repair would not be too noticeable.
It was now time to seal, stain and refinish the back of the neck. I opted to refinish the entire back of the neck in an attempt to achieve continuity between the repaired and untouched sections. After the wood was sealed and sanded smooth, it was stained with a mixture of StewMac's
ColorTone Liquid Stain, namely Medium Brown and Vintage Amber. Following this was about 10 coats of Tru-Oil, steel-wooled to a uniform satiny finish.
The rosewood fretboard was de-gunked and treated with lemon oil; as I usually do. The hardware and electronics were also cleaned, lubed and serviced, after which the neck was reunited with its body; and the guitar strung with
Ernie Ball Super Slinkys (courtesy of the owner). Final setup wasn't particularly an enjoyable experience, what with having to deal with a Floyd Rose Special and locking nut (you know what I mean). Oh yes, before I forget; I have nothing to do with the missing truss rod cover. Seems that the owner had stashed it away somewhere and forgot to pass it to me. 'Nuff said, then. Let's look at some pictures.
YouTube Video: Demo by Armz-3D
