Alvarez 5237

"Made In Korea" sticker on the back of the headstock.
Alvarez Artist series, Dreadnought size, laminated spruce top.
Laminated curly maple sides and back, gorgeous sunburst gloss finish. Rosewood bridge. The body is nicely bound. The rosewood fretboard is unbound, as is the headstock. Dot inlays on the fretboard. Not sure what the neck wood is, but I'm pretty sure not mahogany and not maple.

The grain of the maple body is absolutely beautiful!

Fishman Natural undersaddle pickup (and endpin jack preamp) professionally installed.

Bright treble, precise bass. Even response over entire range. For a laminated top and body, this guitar sounds much better than one would expect. I usually use D'Addardio phosphor bronze 80/20 light gauge strings (I put a new set on every six weeks or so... when the strings get old, the instrument loses its brightness, the tone becomse dull and muddy... but new set of strings brings it right back to life.

It's hardly fair to pit a plywood box (like this Alvarez) up against an instrument made a solid woods. But I have tried out some of the lower end guitars advertised as having a "solid top" that don't sound as good as this guitar.

I received the guitar second hand, and had a setup performed by a local luthier. (The same luthier later installed the pickup and preamp for me.)

This has been my only guitar for four years.

I've had no reason to contact support.

I received this guitar second hand, as a gift, four years ago. Been practicing and playing nearly every day, and now there is noticeable wear on the fret wires on the first through fourth frets, but that hasn't affected playability. I use this guitar in church worship, mostly rhythm, some fingerstyle.

I just upgraded to a used Taylor, but I'm hanging on to this Alvarez. I trust this guitar, I like the stability of the laminated top and body.

I would be saddened if this guitar was lost or stolen. I would replace it if I could find another one.

Built in 1986, (I believe), this is a Korean made dreadnaught sized guitar. The body has a laminated spruce top, and the back and sides are laminated flamed maple, with gorgeous flame and figure. Even the insides of the body are finished with flamed veneers. Perhaps the makers were trying to hide the fact that they used laminates. The set-in neck is nato, with wild and varied grain. The headstock is spliced to the neck. The splice is hidden under a flamed maple veneer on the headstock face. The headstock shape is squared off, like a Martin, and the face veneer is inlaid with the Alvarez "Mirrored 'A'" in abalone shell. The 20 fret rosewood fingerboard is unbound, and is inlaid with small pearloid dot position markers. There is a fancier scroll or leaf inlay at the 12th fret, but it is white plastic, not pearl. The bridge is rosewood, and the tuners are Korean made Schaller copies. They do the job, but are a little roughly finished. The binding on the body and the soundhole purfling is made from strips of contrasting colored wood and the guitar is finished in a beautiful antique violin sunburst which really shows off the flamed sides and back. The finish is polyester and was applied in a thin, even coat.

Overall, the workmanship is tidy, but unexceptional. For the day, and intended selling price, the guitar offered a lot for the money.

I play both electric and acoustic guitar, and cover a wide variety of styles. I consider myself to be mainly a rock and blues player, but over the years I've dabbled at almost everything.

Considering that the guitar is laminated, and not solid wood, it actually sounds pretty good. The maple construction means that it doesn't have the rich bass of rosewood, or the airy brightness of mahogany. The maple body gives the guitar a bright tone, with good note separation that really cuts through and makes itself heard in a mix, even though it is not the loudest guitar around. Over the years, I have used the guitar for my solo acoustic act, mostly to accompany my voice. It has served me well for this. Walking basslines are clear and distinct. The volume and tone cannot, of course, compare to a mid level Taylor or Martin.

Overall, the guitar sounds better than I could expect a laminated guitar to sound, but it still lacks the presence and volume of a solid wood instrument, so for that reason I'll give it a 7.

This is where the trouble begins. This guitar was purchased in Indiana, and brought to upstate New York. The action was set up very low from the factory, and during the first winter, the top settled and a couple of frets popped up, making the guitar unplayable. I took the guitar to a good luthier and he reglued and dressed the high frets, and shimmed the bridge saddle 1/32 higher. The guitar played like a dream after that, and has required only an occasional tweak of the truss rod in the last 15 years. If the top rises too much in damp weather, I can always remove the shim, but so far, I haven't had to.

The heel of the neck looks a little uneven under the finish, like someone whittled it by hand, or it got dented and then finished over the dents. It doesn't mean anything, but it looks a little funky. Otherwise I can find no serious flaws (and I'm pretty picky).

I am taking off a couple of points for the poor setup and fretwork, so I'll give it a 6 here.

Once the initial build and setup issues were worked out, this guitar has been as reliable as a woodsman's axe. For most of the fifteen years that I've owned it, this was my only acoustic guitar. It has traveled with me in all kinds of weather to numerous coffee house gigs, as well as countless private parties and jam sessions, all without a whimper of complaint.

I usually string it with bronze wound strings, extra lights (10-47) so I can do blues bends on the 25 1/2 scale.

After so many years, The frets are showing some wear, but still have planty of life left. The finish is also starting to wear along the sides of the neck. I've touched up a couple of spots with super glue, since lacquer won't stick to the polyester finish. I replaced the tuners with a new set of Gotohs a couple of years back. Otherwise, the guitar is in nearly perfect shape and still looks nearly new. Of course, I take good care of my equipment.

Strap buttons are a non-issue on acoustic guitars IMO. I never stand up to play acoustic. I think it looks kind of "Peter, Paul and Mary" to play solo acoustic standing up.

For years I depended on this guitar, and gigged without a backup many times. Now that I have better guitars, this is my backup.

I've never dealt with Alvarez, nor heard anything about their customer service one way or the other. If you buy a Chevrolet, do you expect GM to fix it for you? Of course not. My advice is to find a good luthier in your area whose work you trust and give him your business. It's worth it.

I have been playing for 35 years, and have over the years owned many fine guitars and amplifiers (Fender, Gibson, Taylor, Ibanez, Epiphone, and others). I was given this guitar by my wife as a wedding gift. I wish that the marriage had lasted as long as the guitar has.

If it were stolen or lost, I probably would not buy another. Heck, in the last 15 years I have never even seen another like it. I would consider another Alvarez model, however, probably one with a solid wood top. It's true, you have to be a little bit more careful of the humidity levels, but the extra tone is worth it.

That said, the guitar has served me well, and still is useful for situations where I might not want to risk one of my more expensive guitars.

I wish it had some kind of a pickup in it, as I find I play most of my acoustic gigs "plugged in" these days. If I keep the guitar I may have one installed.

My overall rating seems a little low only because I think there are better values out there to be had today for not much more than this guitar cost 15 years ago. True, you won't get flame maple veneers, but your can get better setups and solid wood tops (and better tone) if you shop carefully in the $300-$500 price range.