Bud Light by Aria

25.5         Scale Length

43 mm     Nut width

S.S.S.       Pick Configuration

22             Frets

12             Fretboard Radius

Blue          Body Color

6.7 lbs.     Weight

1.5 mm    Action at 12th Fret

Right Handed

X   Deep Clean

X   Electronics Checked

X   Tuners Serviced

X   Fretboard Cleaned / Hyddrated

X   Neck Adjusted

X  Setup Completed

X   Body Buffed / Polished

Alnico 5 Pickups - 6.10 ohms Neck,  6.11 ohms Middle,  6.81 ohms Bridge

CTS potentiometers A250K

Oaks Grigsby 5 way switch

Switchcraft Output Jack

Gilmour Switch

.022 Capacitor on Middle Tone Pot

.047 Capacitor on Bridge Tone Pot

Cloth Pushback Wiring

Silver Soldered Connections

Copper - Foiled Pickguard and Pickup / Electronics Cavity

Wilkinson Vintage Bridge M Series WOV01-10

Kluson Plus Series Tuners - 18:1 ratio

Bone Nut

Butterfly String Trees

Jescar Medium Jumbo Nickle Silver Frets

Mushroom Style Strap Buttons

Ernie Ball Regular Slinky 10 Gauge Strings

Custom Imaging on Pickguard - Pickup Covers

Custom Imaging on Backplate Cover

Oil Wet Sanded Neck - Headstock

Won after a competitive online auction in late January 2026, this Bud Light by Aria promotional guitar arrived at Back From The Dead Guitars for evaluation during the first week of February 2026.

At intake, the guitar was found to be in unplayable condition. The exposed metal hardware showed heavy rust and oxidation, and dust, dirt, and fibers had collected anywhere they could settle. The pickups did not produce a working signal, so no meaningful electronics testing could be completed at intake.

This guitar was clearly built as a promotional instrument, likely intended more for display, advertising, or giveaway use than serious playing. Whether its previous owner ever played it regularly is unknown. How it eventually found its way to auction will remain part of its mystery.

The following story is purely fictional and simply reflects the thoughts this guitar inspired during its restoration and upgrading.

Central Texas brings to mind cowboys, barbecue pits, spring-fed swimming holes, long summer nights, and the music culture surrounding Austin and the surrounding towns. It is easy to imagine this promotional guitar being won during a local event — maybe an electric bull riding contest, a bar promotion, or a ranch gathering — then signed by a local favorite before being taken home as a prize.

Maybe the winner never really played guitar. Maybe it hung in a barn, a shop, or a weekend hangout space as part decoration, part memory, and part conversation piece. Over time, the shine faded, the hardware rusted, and the guitar became less an instrument than a forgotten reminder of another season of life.

Eventually, like so many things from our younger years, it may have been gathered up with other items and donated, sold, or sent off to auction. Its true history is hidden beneath the rust, dust, and long years of neglect, but what is known is that it eventually made its way here.

At Back From The Dead Guitars, this promotional Aria was not treated as a throwaway novelty. It was restored and upgraded with the goal of turning it into a real playing instrument while preserving the bold advertising character that makes it unique.

Now rebuilt as a functional guitar, it stands as both a conversation piece and a playable reminder of a time when promotional guitars were meant to catch attention from across the room. It is no longer just a display item. It is ready for its next chapter in the hands of someone who appreciates unusual guitars with a story..  

This guitar arrived at the shop in early February 2026 with the high E string broken, a condition commonly found on many neglected auction guitars.

The first inspection raised immediate concerns about the guitar’s long-term storage conditions. Every exposed metal component showed visible rust or oxidation, and any area capable of trapping dust, dirt, or fibers had collected a noticeable buildup. The body displayed heavy scuffs and signs of rough handling or extended storage wear. The autographed pickguard was slightly warped along one side, most likely from a combination of being screwed down too tightly and long-term exposure to heat in a non-climate-controlled environment.

When plugged in, the guitar produced no signal, preventing normal electronics testing at intake. The pickup selector felt as rough and compromised as the exterior hardware appeared. The volume and tone pots had inconsistent movement, suggesting that even if signal output had been present, the controls would likely have been noisy, uneven, or unreliable.

Despite the visible rust, the tuners remained functional enough to bring the remaining five strings up to pitch for basic neck and fret testing. No fret buzz was found during this limited test. A notched straightedge showed that the neck had appropriate relief and remained structurally usable.

The frets, however, were in poor condition. They had not been dressed, and many had sharp ends, making inspection and play testing uncomfortable. The guitar arrived without a tremolo arm, and the exterior condition of the bridge made it clear that the bridge assembly would need to be replaced rather than reused.

Further disassembly revealed spider egg nests and dead spiders inside the tremolo block cavity. The tremolo springs also showed rust, though not as severely as the exposed exterior hardware.

The tuners were removed and found to be stamped JIN HO, indicating they were a better-quality OEM tuner set than might be expected on many entry-level promotional guitars. Unfortunately, even their higher-quality construction could not overcome the extent of corrosion and long-term neglect. Replacement tuners and string trees were determined to be necessary.

The original plastic nut remained usable for basic testing, but it will be removed and replaced with a bone nut, consistent with the standard approach used on most Back From The Dead Guitars rebuilds.

The electronics cavity was unshielded and routed in a full “swimming pool” configuration, allowing for multiple pickup layouts during factory production. The original pickups were ceramic. Once removed, the pickup readings were:

• Neck: 5.32 kΩ

• Middle: 5.25 kΩ

• Bridge: No reading

The electronics consisted of unbranded A500K potentiometers, a single capacitor shared by the two tone controls, and a printed circuit board-style selector switch commonly found on entry-level import guitars.

Overall Assessment

This guitar arrived in non-working, heavily neglected condition. While the neck and body remained structurally viable, the hardware, electronics, bridge, tuners, string trees, nut, pickups, and frets all required replacement or major corrective work before the instrument could be returned to dependable playing condition.

Because of the extent of the required work, this guitar was not treated as a simple restoration. It became a full rebuild project intended to turn a neglected promotional display guitar into a reliable, playable instrument.

The visual condition of this guitar reflects a balance between corrective restoration and preservation. The finish was cleaned and polished to improve its overall appearance, but deeper scratches, scuffs, and wear marks were intentionally left alone where further correction could have risked damaging or thinning the clear coat.

The original autographed pickguard arrived slightly warped. Corrective heat treatment improved the warp, but the process damaged the autograph, making removal the only practical option. Because of this, the pickguard became a blank canvas for a new visual feature. A one-of-a-kind tissue-paper image transfer was applied, giving the guitar a custom look while still preserving the original Bud Light identity on the body.

The neck received significant attention during the rebuild. It was wet-sanded with boiled linseed oil and worked up to 1500 grit, resulting in a smooth, broken-in feel. The fingerboard was sanded up to 1000 grit and rehydrated through multiple lemon oil applications. Combined with the rolled fretboard edges, the neck now has a comfortable, silky feel in the hand.

Cosmetically, the guitar still shows noticeable scratches, chips, and scuffs, mostly on the back and sides of the body. There is also a visible cigarette burn on the front of the headstock near the nut. This mark was intentionally left as part of the guitar’s history rather than removed aggressively, since sanding it out would have altered the surrounding finish and wood. There is also a visible finish crack at the neck pocket area. It can be felt with a fingernail, but inspection found no evidence that the crack extends into the neck pocket wood. Clear photos of these areas have been included in the listing photos for full disclosure.

The original output jack plate was polished and reused. Because of the original body routing, modern replacement parts did not fit perfectly in every location without adjustment, so some original hardware was retained where appropriate.

From the front, this guitar presents as a bold and visually striking custom promotional instrument. From the back and sides, it clearly shows the wear, scuffs, and history of a guitar that spent many years neglected before being rebuilt.

The new electronics, pickups, frets, bridge, nut, and hardware upgrades have transformed it from a non-working promotional display piece into a solid-playing guitar. It now works as both a conversation piece and a functional instrument — something that can hang on the wall, stand out in a collection, or be taken down and played.