Alvarez AD70SC

Standard AD-70SC, single cutaway acoustic with a light natural-wood top which should mellow and become more caramel-colored with time. Purchased in April of 2006. The guitar would look better to me with an entirely different shape to the pickguard, which seems completely goofy and not designed to the guitar's body shape at all. A "what were they thinking??" deal.
Has the multi-functional electronics control panel which I've hardly used, but it has several tone-shaping controls which other users have found to be excellent.
A beautifully-made guitar (but not, in my opinion, a "musical instrument") such that I'm considering looking for a more responsive Alvarez guitar, perhaps one of the Alvarez Masterworks ones.
The finish and appearance are splendid for the price range and superior in even cursory examination to guitars priced twice as much.
String spacing is fine, and string layout down the fingerboard is perfect. The top's woodgrain is even and narrow. The fingerboard and frets are finished and polished beyond any criticism. Tuners pretty, with large key ends for easy adjustment, their gearing snug without stiffness, no annoying free-play in the tuner's action.
One bridge pin broke the first time I tried to change strings, and every pin the shop had was too big for Alvarez' pin holes. I sanded one down slightly with emory paper and it then fit. Shop said it's no mark against Alvarez, because these pins are often cheap plastic, even on better guitars, in their experience. Hence their box o' pins in the store, I guess.

The guitar is particularly unresponsive to a lighter (fingerpicking, with fingernails) touch, with the high E string speaking very little in comparison to the others, probably due to the guitar's relative stiffness. And boy is it stiff. Projects with multiple voices when strummed with a guitar pick, hard, however!!
There is little to feel through the body. My comparison is perhaps unfair, my brother's well-seasoned Guild D-40, which is lovely even when played with the softest fingernail touch and vibrates richly. I called the Guild "a musical instrument" the first time I played it, realizing how un-musical-instrument-like the Alvarez I'd been struggling with is. The Guild's top strings sound in perfect balance with the others. By comparison, even willfully pulling at the Alvarez' high E isn't satisfactory. I should note that my brother was studying to be a luthier, was a craftsman, and had worked the Guild's nut and bridge to perfection so the action is low and easy.
NOW, if I were just to use the Alvarez for chords or strumming with a guitar pick, I'd say this'll do, because it can really wail, sounding like 2 guitars at times, when hit hard. I've used several different gauges, including Elixers in 12 and 13 sets, Martin Marquis in 13. I first put on the 13's hoping to improve the voice projection of the high E, but this didn't work. (Note: the Martins have a larger-than-everyone-else's spool on the brisge end that barely can be jammed down into the hole in the bridge plate!)
I find it just way too hard to play cleanly, again as compared with an actual musical instrument, the old Guild D-40. (I recently briefly played a new D-40, so called Richie Havens model, in a shop and found it nothing at all special, by the way.)
Over the several months I've had it I continually reassess it, wanting a different guitar, an actual "musical instrument", but not having a choice at the moment. It is beautifully made, quality in every aspect. But hard, stiff in that the body just doesn't seem to resonate and communicate, and the upper strings feel as if I have an even higher gauge string set on since I have to try so hard to get them to speak. Hence, it's murder on my fingernails, whereas the Guild I can play for hours without nail damage.
It certainly would be a fine starter guitar for a plastic-pick user, and with lighter strings so's not to be discouraging.

The finish and appearance are splendid for the price range and superior in even cursory examination to guitars priced twice as much.
String spacing is fine, and string layout down the fingerboard is perfect. No falling off to one side of the fretboard or the other as can happen. Unlike the string spacing on a goofed-up Fender acoustic I quickly traded in for this. They'd cut the bridge slots wrong, so the string placement was uneven, and I just couldn't get my brain to accomodate to the uneven spacing. The Fender had stickered at about a hundred dollars more!
The top's woodgrain is even and narrow. The fingerboard and frets are finished and polished beyond any criticism. Tuners pretty, with large key ends for easy adjustment, their gearing snug without stiffness, no annoying free-play in the tuner's action.
The action was 'satisfactory' from the shop but could easily stand improvement, with some careful nut work I'm not skilled enough to do. The neck bow, typical at the body joint, is adjusted easily enough with a small Allen wrench (included) at the body end, through the sound hole.
One bridge pin broke the first time I tried to change strings, and every pin the shop had was too big for Alvarez' pin holes. I sanded one down slightly with emory paper and it then fit. Shop said it's no mark against Alvarez, because these pins are often cheap plastic, even on better guitars, in their experience. Hence their box o' pins in the store, I guess.
I find it just way too hard to play cleanly, again as compared with an actual musical instrument, the old Guild D-40. It is beautifully made, quality in every aspect. But hard, stiff in that the body just doesn't seem to resonate and communicate, and the upper strings feel as if I have an even higher gauge string set on since I have to try so hard to get them to speak. Hence, it's murder on my fingernails, whereas the Guild I can play for hours without nail damage.
It certainly would be a fine starter guitar for a plastic-pick user, and with lighter strings so's not to be discouraging.

A beautifully-made guitar. The finish and appearance are splendid. String spacing is fine, and string layout down the fingerboard is perfect. The top's woodgrain is even and narrow. The fingerboard and frets are finished and polished beyond any criticism. Tuners pretty, with large key ends for easy adjustment, their gearing snug without stiffness, no annoying free-play in the tuner's action.
One bridge pin broke the first time I tried to change strings, and every pin the shop had was too big for Alvarez' pin holes. I sanded one down slightly with emory paper and it then fit. Shop said it's no mark against Alvarez, because these pins are often cheap plastic, even on better guitars, in their experience. Hence their box o' pins in the store, I guess.
Given the dynamic pull of the strings against the top of a guitar which can lead to bowing up of the guitar top, I'd guess that this thing is so stiff that this wouldn't be a problem for years. The stiffness may equate with 'durability'. It may last for years with its same unresponsive 'durability'.
Again, the electronics pack has been reviewed as being a superior unit, so with a spare 9-volt battery on hand, it should prove reliabel.
Oh- the built-in tuner, fine for quick tuning, is in disagreement with my other (Sabine) chromatic tuner. I believe the built-in one makes the compromise for the odd slightly-off tuning necessary for a standard guitar, whereas the Sabine is a more pure even-temperament tuner. The built-in produces what sounds wrong to my ears as I tune to it, but which seems to work out in practice. i guess my ears are very pitch-aware.

Store (Wood Brothers, in Pittfield Massachusetts- where I have been VERY satisfied!!) replaced broken bridge pin without question, and reasdily adjusted the slight buzz which occurred as the guitar settled in. I've had no experience with direct factory communications, however.

I have played since 1965, all sorts of acoustics (steel, nylon) and electrics (Guild Starfire, Gibson SG, Gibson SRV, G&L Legacy, Carvin) in all sorts of string gauges. I have .011-.053 on my electrics for SRV-style stuff. Have played classical pieces and folk fingerpicking tunes on my classical guitar (nylon strings) and various folky/ John Fahey pieces on acoustic steel-strung guitars. I prefer a .013 set of medium gauge 20/80 strings on the acoustic steel for Fahey stuff.
If I had to find a new acoustic guitar, I'd be trying to replace the Guild D-40 guitar that I've inherited recently from my almost-luthier brother. I call it a jewel, because it sparkles, but with a warm tender sound. Stunningly beautiful sound, achieved with the easiest of touches, light fingernails barely touching the strings. The body breathes against your chest as you play. "Fine as a beeswing.": I would not look to directly repalce this Alvarez, for reasons given in the other sections.
Gear and experience: I have a 1968 Fender Bassman amp reworked by an Alberta, Canada, bloke into his 'Bluesmaker'; a Render Deluxe Reissue; a Peavey Classic 50 ;an ancient Hilgen Bass amp, and some other stuff for electric wailing. I own a Carvin electric solid-body, a G&L Legacy with strat-like pickup arrangement, an SRV Fender- one of the first ones, before they did that insane computer-carving of the guitar to look "just like" Stevie Ray's. Also have a 35-year-old cheap classical guitar which has been my main guitar forever. An incredible value. Was $57 in 1971!

Dreadnaught single cutaway body. Solid Spruce top, Bookmatched Indian Rosewood back and sides (laminate). Bound, satin finished, Indian Rosewood neck (shaved feel). Dual binding on the body. Headstock features abalone Alvarez logo and binding. Die-cast tuners. Tusq bridge and saddle (I think). System 600T MKII tranducer pickup system with EQ, etc. Came stock with Elixirs and Lifetime warranty. Check out www.alvarezgtr.com for more details.

There really should be two categories for Sound on this model: Unplugged and Plugged. Acoustically this guitar is very fat, balanced, and warm with a great lead tone. But when chorded, it rumbles more than it cuts. If I played unplugged all the time, this wouldn't be my guitar and I would give it a 6 or a 7. However, this thing is an absolute MONSTER when you plug it into an amp. The 600T system that it comes stock with is second to none. It is trebly, bright, crisp, and has a lot of options. The Indian Rosewood sides and back seemed to be constructed to handle feedback when plugged in too. I give this guitar an 8 because some folks aren't going to like its lack of volume unplugged. Keep in mind that you don't buy an Alvarez if you aren't going to plug it in.

Alvarez really shines here. Their guitars play great right out of the box. This guitar was perfect and came with Elixirs, a fresh batter, great action, and no fret buzz. My dealer told me that some of their guitars come with dead batteries though which would be somewhat of a bummer.

I would gig the hell out of it, but I would never play without a backup. That is just dangerous. I wish a guitar company would make an output jack that actually serves as a reliable strap button though. Alvarez builds these things to last, and you get a lifetime warranty to boot.

Alvarez guitars come with a lifetime warranty. My dealer told me that I could return the electronics at any point and Alvarez would send him another one without question. I haven't dealt with Alvarez directly though. He has nothing but nice things to say about them.

I have been playing guitar for about 8 years. I play a fusion of folk-rock/bottleneck blues/progressive acoustic music. I used to play resonators almost exclusively, but it is hard to amplify them and solid-body electrics just don't have the raw sound I was looking for. This led me to search for a transducer loaded acoustic and I found a soulmate in this guitar. As mentioned above, I love the sound of this guitar but it is not the loudest acoustic unplugged. However this makes it perform even better plugged in. Acoustics that are very vibrant tend to feedback heavilly when amplified, Alvarez is known for making guitars that react perfectly to rocking/piezo induced live situations, and their guitars are meant to be banged on and ran HOT. Monte Montgomery says it best: "My guitar is actually very quiet...unplugged." You buy Alvarez guitars to plug them in. Period. I run mine through a Laney GC50A with an MXR Dyna Comp and I'm in piezo heaven.

This guitar comes with a solid spruce top with rosewood back and sides. Alvarez does not come out and say the back is solid but it is bookmatched. Scalloped bracing. Gloss finish on the body and satin finish on the very playable neck. Pearl sound hole and headstock inlay. Single pearl inlay at the 12th fret. Active pickup system that I haven't completly dialed in yet. I connect into the church's system through a BYOC chorus pedal.

I play mostly praise and worship in church. Open chords usually. The sound is rich and full. When I first played it in the store I and the salesperson was amazed at the sound this guitar puts out. The sound is very similar to the sound out of the Tacoma DM9 I traded for it, just cleaner and able to withstand heavy strumming.

The action is right where I want it. Nice and low. Have not experienced any buzzing so I say the setup is perfect.

The solid top is bookmatched with a few waves in the grain. The back is also bookmatched. They don't say its solid but I can't imagine them bookmatching laminate.

The finish (gloss body, satin neck) is flawless. My only gripe, and it is a small one, there is some tearing of the bridge around the top of the bridgepin holes.

This guitar seems solidly built without being being built like a brick outhouse.

Great!! My guitar came without a pickguard. An email to Alvarez and I found one in my mailbox a few days later.

I've been playing for about 5 years. I've only had it for a few weeks but I am in love. If it were stolen I would get another in a heartbeat.