The Aria Pro II Cardinal Series is a family of Japanese-made solid-body electric guitars produced by Aria in the early 1980s, with many examples built at the Matsumoku factory. The line included models such as the CS-250, CS-350, CS-400, and CS Deluxe, usually featuring a compact double-cutaway body, bolt-on maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, 22 frets, two humbuckers, and additional switching options such as coil-splitting or phase controls on some versions. The CS-350 was a mid-range Cardinal Series model and is one of the better-known versions today, partly because Kurt Cobain used a modified example during Nirvana’s early years. Specs varied slightly between models, but the Cardinal Series is generally remembered as part of Aria Pro II’s early-1980s Matsumoku-built electric guitar lineup.
