The Late-1970s Copy War and the Rise of the DiMarzio-Powered Series

In the late 1970s, Japanese guitar makers found themselves locked in what could only be called a copy war. Each company was producing near-identical versions of classic American guitars, yet at the same time was under pressure to differentiate itself from competitors doing exactly the same thing. It was a paradox that pushed manufacturers to get creative in how they stood out.

Amid this fierce competition, DiMarzio burst onto the scene as the pioneer of replacement pickups, spreading through Japan’s electric guitar world much like firearms brought from Tanegashima once revolutionized warfare during Japan’s Warring States period. The idea that “a guitar will sound great as long as it has good pickups” took hold, and a generation of naïve young players came to worship the DiMarzio name.

Sensing an opportunity, Arai Trading (Aria Pro II) took a page from military strategy: even weak infantry can become formidable if armed with guns. While other companies reserved DiMarzio pickups for their flagship models, Aria Pro II took the bold and unconventional step of fitting lower-priced guitars with them and branding these instruments as part of the DiMarzio Powered Series.

One such model came equipped with three DiMarzio FS-1 pickups and carried a price tag of only ¥50,000—astonishingly low for the time. The Aria Pro II catalog listed the FS-1 at ¥10,000 each, meaning that the pickups alone accounted for ¥30,000 of the total cost. In the same series, the LS-500D, fitted with two DiMarzio Dual Sound pickups (¥17,000 each), was also priced at ¥50,000. This kind of aggressive pricing would have been impossible without large-volume procurement that dramatically lowered component costs.

The body construction uses a four-piece center joint, hinting at some cost-saving measures, but beyond that, there’s no evidence of corner-cutting. The craftsmanship, true to Matsumoku’s reputation, is excellent.

Weight: 3.19 kg (including strings) — exceptionally lightweight.
(Updated August 17, 2016)