Alvarez 5221 12-String

Well this is a 12 string body guitar its built in the 80's. It is just a striped down accoustic guitar. Standard tunners an thats it. but its a acoustic so there isnt much more needed.

well I play alot of alternitive metal an heavy metal. I do lots of picking patterns an like to use a clean acoustic sound when ever possiable. The guitar is a middle of the road kinda sound. Not really rich an super low an also not really bright an high as well its got a very in the midtone kinda sound wich makes it a great picking guitar for me cause every note gets heard with out a issue.

first off this guitar is almost as old as me. an the person that had it befor me really didnt take care of it. an left it strung up an in its case for a couple of years he said. an never detuned it. so when I saw it the body had started to bow out an the neck was bowing as well. I wanted a 12 string so I could use it as a 6 string. I personally like the wider fret board for the picking arrangements. It Gives me better acurase. (I have very wide fingers ). so I got it for little to nothing. an Had to totaly over haul the guitar. first things I'll explain what I did. the neck came off the guitar the second I tried to retune the guitar at home. so first thing was I reset the neck. the tunners were in horrable shape. so I stripped some off a old lotus strat that I had an used them. The body was bowed an the string thrue bridge was unuseable, so I put a trapize style bridge from the back of the block. an than put a tune o matic bridge were the original bridge was located. the guitar looks kinda frankinstinish, but after a lot of trust rod work an work in general I got this guitar working great. An now the action is Great. the guist plays like a dream. an I must say that the original finsh has gone thru hell an back and has held up nicely. If this guitar was taken care of buy the original owner It would have been a wonderfull guitar.I dont know what kinda wood it is but the wood look wonderful

If the original owner took care of it, it would have been reliabe. Now after the over haul I play this everyday at shows at practice on the toilet. I play this guitar more than any other guitar I own. I dont own another acoustic an as long As it dont get run over This is rugged. I drop it an never even worrie bout it. strong like a Ox

dont know

I play thrue a line 6 spider 3 hd150 with a carvin legacy cabinet.I own a Guild x-88 flying star, a Esp h-305, Gibson les paul standard bout 8 years old, an a no name brand les paul knockoff. I play this guitar more than them all, I wright most of my bands songs on this guitar, I just love it to death. when pluged in to my amp thru the woody pick up That I got, it sounds great. This guitar is a pleasure to play.

This is a 1986 Korean made 12 string dreadnought with 20 frets, 14 clear. The entire body is laminated mahogany, top, sides, and back, with a clear gloss finish that has stood up incredibly well over the last 17 years. Neck is mahogany with a ebony fingerboard. This has the set-in neck, and a nice easy truss rod adjustment. Frets are enclosed nickel, and stay set nicely. there are inlaid ivoroid dots at the main frets, and a bird design at the 12th. The headpiece "mirrored A" is a decal. No electonics. Overall, it's a basic acoustic 12 banger, not fancy but not missing anything important.

I play folk and Irish stuff, strumming rhythm with a thumb pick. The sound kicks tushy. You don't expect a laminate mid-market guitar to sound like much, but I play alongside Martins and Guilds and don't feel embarrassed. I've had the opportunity to play a lot of 12 strings lately, and can compare. There's a lot of clarity from the mahog, and lots of volume...I use Martin Marquis strings, which they call light weight.... .0115 - .047. It lacks the bottom end of a Martin D12-28, but has more sparkle in the midrange than a Guild J-30. In fact, a couple months ago I tried several Taylor 12 strings, and liked the sound of this old banger better.

Action was way high on arrival..set it down closer...I recommend not messing with the bridge, but check the nut carefully...they sometimes bind. The finish has held beautifully, and the frets are sound after 17 years of hard playing.

I made the mistake of playing it tuned to concert pitch until recently...put that down to ignorance. Consquently, the bridge has lifted a tiny bit. That's expected in 12 strings. It's actually settled back some since I started treating it right...that is, tuning down to D and putting a good Shubb capo on the second fret. This takes a lot of the strain off the neck and makes the action better too. I play this live at jams frequently...advice...take a tuner with you. It'll need minor re-tuning under heavy strumming or after temp changes.

never had to take it anywhere

If this one dies or disappears, i'll probably replace it with something else, since they don't make this model anymore...but if you find a used one for around $150-200, and it's straight and unbellied, snatch it...it'll play the socks off a lot of high end 12vers. mI also play a Pro series Alvarez 6 string...and love it. If I ever have to replace the !2ver, I'll probably get an Alvarez Pro model 12.