Aria is the trademark of the Arai Company of Japan, which began producing guitars in 1956. Prior to 1975, the trademark was either Aria or Aria Diamond. Original designs in the 1960s gave way to a greater emphasis on replicas of American designs in the late 1970s. Ironically, the recognition of these well-produced replicas led to success in later years as the company returned to producing original designs. The Aria trademark has always reflected high production quality, and currently there has been more emphasis on stylish designs (such as the Fullerton guitar series, or in bass designs such as the AVB-SB).
The Aria company has produced instruments under their Aria/Aria Diamond/Aria Pro II trademark for a number of years. They have also built instruments distributed under the Univox and Cameo labels. Aria also offers the Ariana line of acoustic steel-string and nylon-string models.
Instruments currently produced in Japan, Korea, China, Indonesia, U.S., and Spain since 1956. Distributed in the U.S. by Dana B. Goods in Ventura, CA. Previously distributed by Hanser Music Group (previously HHI) in Hebron, KY and by Aria USA/NHF in Pennsauken, NJ.