Alvarez 5037 12-String

Made in 1993 and is 19930005 of this model. Its now a 12 string small Dreadnaught body size, if fact its a European Mini Jumbo style body. Only one os these I have ever seen. Solid Spruce top.I am told the sides and back are Laminate Mahogany. But the grain on mine is exact on the inside and matches the outside?? Gloss Finish. Beautiful straight grained Solid Spruce top. Die Cast Enclosed Tuners. Wide Neck, low strings with No Buzz with medium Strings. Dosen't say where it was made.I called and talked to Tom at the Alvarez Shop and he told me tons of great info.

Not a Boomer like a Jumbo, But Sweet and almost southern bluesy. Loads of Sustain. I do alternate tunings and the shorter body style and wide triangle shaped neck is perfect for my style.

Beautiful fit and finish, Hand Made is burn stamped inside the back. Really Put together with Care.

Neck is Straight and Solid, No Flex, dosen't change pitch when you try to move the neck. Seems Rock Solid.

Been playing for over 35 years and will kepp it as long as?? If it were stolen I would Hunt them down like the thievin Dogs they are.

This is a plain Dreadnaught 12 string. Nothing fancy but the sound.Solid spruce top,Mahogany ply sides and back,Dicast tuners.Nice gloss finish. MOP logo inlay in head piece...nice. I bought this used on Ebay as a beater because I didn't want to take my Martin 12 on the road. I haven't even looked at the Martin since the first time I played this one. OMG!! The sound from this piece of wood makes me cry. It sounds like it is praying. Loud or soft. I like to play a 12 string because I am only a midlin player and it makes me sound like a better player than I am.

OK, Like I said, I bought this used. I knew that it had a crack in the top that was professionally mended...nice job. It arrived with the tension off the strings which were abviously very old. I was not expecting much when I quickly tuned it up and started to play Hotel California (What else?). The sound just blew me away. Sweet, rich,clear,full expression from each and every string. I have been playing guitar since I was 10 years old and I have never heard anything like it before. It may be just me,but this fiddle pushes buttons in me that I didn't know I had.

I have no idea how this was from the factory or even how old it is. When I first got it the 1st e string had a little nut buzz in it. The action on this guitar is low and just superbe all the way up the neck. It was abviously set up by a professional. The bridge saddle was compensated and probably micarta.The nut was also micarta. To fix the buzz I decided to change the nut and saddle which were showing signs of wear. I switched both to unbleached bone. Got a little more sustain and no buzz for the trouble. I also switched large and small string positions because I prefer to finger pick this guitar. With new strings the sound was even better. I could scarsely believe it. This is a very well made guitar. Maybe I just got lucky but I can't believe I only paid 100 bucks for it. I paid so much more for my Martins but they cannot match the sound that comes out of this box.

It had a small crack from shipping but it was repaired well. Apart from trauma I can see no reason why my son won't inherit this guitar.( I certainly won't give it to him while I am alive!)

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Overall this is an exceptional instrument. The action is low and very easy to play. I have been playing for over fourty years. I play mostly folk now ( Alot of Neil Young) and some Led Zep. My first guitar was a Gibson SJ which I still own and is my sentimental favorite. It still sounds and plays great but the neck is too small for me now. I also own a Gibson Les Paul, a Gibson Gothic Explorer, a 68 Strat, a Martin DX-12, a Martin D-48, a Cort Earth 900,and a Gibson J 200.I have owned many more over the years but these are what my wife lets me keep. If my house was on fire and I had to get out quick I would be leaving with My SJ in my right hand and the Alvarez in my left. I might send my wife back in to get the Strat.

It is a Korean guitar, but sounds very very full, I paid only $250 for it new, old stock, blemish,and what a bargain!! Solid top, plain looking, but who cares! It sounds fine.

I play solo, and sing, this guitar is very suited for this. Sounds nice and strong, I pick with my fingers, and usually 12 strings need a pick to get the sound I like, but this one can be finger picked, no prob.

The action is good, no buzzing anywhere, and the harmonics stay intune up the neck. The guitar is a Blemish, there are several small finish flaws, but hey, $250??=BARGAIN.

It'll hold up fine, and I am ROUGH on equipment.

Very good folks at Miller!!

I have been playing guitar for over 22 years, I have over 15 instruments, Alvarez, Yairi, Ovation, Takamine, Fender, and many others. Keyboards, Antiques, Dulcimers, Banjos, etc......
This is my only current 12 string, and I think it will serve nicely in its role.

This is a pretty standard acoustic 12-string dreadnought, bought new in June of this year('99) . It has a solid spruce top, with laminated mahogany sides and back, standard gloss finish, with a rosewood fingerboard. A couple of little cosmetic things that I like are the way 'Alvarez' is written on the back of the headstock, with the logo on the front, and a scripted gold 'A' on the back of the neck joint.

The sound is bright and full, a bit more treble heavy than the Larrivee D02-12 and the Martin DM-12 that I tried out. I'm playing it mostly with our worship team at church, where I have a Fender Acoustasonic Jr. amplifier, and I hook up using a DiMarzio Natural soundhole pickup. The sound system at church was always muddy and bass-heavy, so this guitar cut very nicely through all that. I also use it to lead worship during small group meetings at home. In this setting, I'm usually the only instrument, and this guitar projects very nicely without amplification. The sound is awesome - so much so that I can sit and experiment with different arpeggios and fingerings for long periods, just listening to how beautiful the strings blend and sustain. I wouldn't mind a little bit more bass, though, and will probably try putting on some slightly heavier bottom strings.

I got such a great price because this guitar is stamped as 'almost perfect'. I don't have the greatest eye for detail, but after 5 months I can find no serious flaws. It is a gorgeous piece of simplicity. When tightening the strings, I sometimes hear some stress in the wood, but this has happened on many 12-strings I've tried out, so I'm hoping that's not a problem. The action is nice and low - several of my friends who have problems playing the 'F' chord were able to produce clear, ringing 'F' chords on the Alvarez. I can pick a bit of lead guitar on in, doing even a little bending. Fingerpicking is almost impossible because the string sets are fairly close together. (Note: If you want a 12-string that you can really fingerpick, try a Seagull!). I don't do a lot of fingerpicking, but I have a Yamaha acoustic 6-string that I can use for that.

I've been using this continuously for the last five months, and I've broken one string - the high 'G' (of course). There is no pickguard, and the area below the soundhole shows no scuffing whatsoever, which is good. It does tend to go out of tune after a few days in the case, but, it's nothing major. I try to take decent care of my instruments, so I'm not expecting too many problems. Though I'm not a band musician who needs a workhorse for a guitar, I do require that I have something I can take with me and can be confident in. The Alvarez fits that quite nicely.

Because it wasn't perfect, there was no warranty on it. After playing and inspecting it, I was comfortable that I wouldn't need one - and with the price I got, I couldn't complain. However, I could not find this guitar on their website, so I sent them a note requesting information about the model, when it was built, etc. but never received a reply. I have a friend who has an Alvarez-Yairi, and he has a lifetime warranty.

I had spent months looking for a 12-string, keeping records of what I'd tried and ranking each guitar's strengths and weaknesses. My choice was the Larrivee D02-12 at $549. I went to buy it and realized that it really was more than I could afford (last minute jitters?). Later that day, I played the Alvarez for the first time - it sounded nearly identical and was $170 less. I bought it in a minute and I've never regretted it. I plan to get it electrified soon. Yeah, it'd be nice if it had gold hardware, fancy fretboard inlays, etc. - but I got the guitar for sound, playability, and price, and this guitar excels quite nicely in all 3 of those areas. Besides the Larivee and the Martin ($729), other 12-string guitars I tried the Ovation Celebrity Deluxe ($529) and Standard Balladeer ($805), two different Yamahas ($299 and $399), a Seagull ($429), a used Guild D4 ($425 with case), a Washburn D12-12($300), and an Aria($399). If this were stolen or lost, I probably could not replace it, at least for the same price (It lists for over $800). If I could find it for $379 again - I'd buy it in a minute. This is the first solid-top acoustic I've owned, and will probably never buy a laminate-top guitar again (My other guitar is an old laminate-top Yamaha FG336. Still love it, though). I'm not listing my E-mail address, as I plan to be changing it soon.