Alvarez FD60

Made in China. All maple acoustic electric with quilted top and 600T MKII Electronics. It only had one strap button. No case with mine. Thin dread cutaway.

Never got around to playing it much since I sent it back (see below). However, it sounded fine and played smoothly for the few chords I strummed on it.

This is where the guitar fell short. Unlike the Korean models, this Chinese one had a very poor quality finish with uneven gluing at the neck and heel. The heel had a finish crack and the hole for the electronics was not cut evenly. The polishing was also poorly done with numerous scratches. I only paid a fraction of the price that others have paid for this guitar since it was marked at more than 60% off, but even that was too much. Also, the amber color was more yellow than amber and quite ugly in my opinion. I have owned $50 guitars that had better finishes.

I returned it the same day it arrived.

I purchased it from Musicians Friends and they were great about returning it. I have ordered from them many times and this was the first guitar I have ever had to return, but it was very easy. I did not deal with Alvarez directly.

I have owned numerous guitars. My favorites are a Blue Ridge BR-63, Parker P8E, and Breedlove Atlas. Other guitars include a Yamaha AES620, a Seagull S6+, and a A&L Ami. I don't think I will buy another Alvarez unless I know it is made in Korea or Japan. The Chinese one is very inferior.

Made in Korea by geniuses! Rosewood fingerboard with 20 frets all accesible and a beautiful burnt orange quilted maple laminate (I believe) top. Simply beautiful to look at. Grover tuners and a built in tuner...Praise the Lord!!! System 600 mkII electronics are really nice with 3 band EQ, sweep mid, notch filter, piezo, etc.

Sounds great through a PA or acoustic amp and really nice through my Roland CUBE 30 with a little bit of chorus and reverb. Almost sounds like a 12 string. It's a little limited unplugged due to it's thin body. I did a totally unplugged Bluegrass gig and my right arm was pretty tired after an hour of smashing out chords against a banjo, violin and 3 part harmonies. Not as loud as a Jumbo but not a big deal unless you aren't miked or amplified. I also did some recording with it and we decided it sounded really sweet when miked acoustically (of course we used a $1,000.00 AKG) than it did when we ran it direct. Not bad for a guitar in this price range.

Great action but I did have to have it adjusted as the "F" note on the 6th string buzzed a little bit. Otherwise it was a pretty good factory set-up. Nut and bridge are perfect and the finish looks like a Custom Shop model. Chicks dig it!!!

I've had it for 2 years now and not had any problems with it. The tuner is a little touchy but I just run through it a few times to make sure everything is in tune. I play mostly electric so I don't use a backup acoustic but this guitar has never let me down even when other people in my band are playing it.

Never had to make a call to Customer Support but with no problems I figure Alvarez is supporting us already.

I've been playing for 38 years so I know my stuff. The minute I picked it up and saw the incredible price I bought it immediately. The preamp controls are a little small but once you know where everything is you get used to it. Plus, you don't want big controls on an acoustic anyway. Certainly a big bang for the buck. I used to own a Gibson Hummingbird and while this doesn't have the big low end of the Gibson it plays every bit as good and is a very practical for gigging live.

I just got my Alvarez FD60AMB a few days ago, and it plays better than every other guitar I have looked at. I have tried out just about every brand, shape, build, and none are quite as good as this one. The smooth action combined with the clean acoustic sound is great. With some tinkering, and skill you can get the same great sound from it while it is plugged in.

The sound is sharp but clean, with a subtle sustain. Playing at loud volumes can show the unplugged range a bit limited. However, when you plug this beast in, it roars with the same tightness and clarity of being unplugged. A true acoustic-electric needs no special electronics, they just need to be able to make the guitar sounds as if it were not even plugged in, and the System 600T MkII does that beautifully.

My guitar was straight from the factory as an almost perfect. Let me tell you almost perfect should be termed as, someone didn't like the finish so they marked it down, cause these guitars play like they don't even know they are a factory second. There is no decernable blemishes on mine, as there is no decernable defect in playing as it feels just as tight as the $2200 Yairi in the room with it.

As for the durablility, I am not sure as it is new, but I have seen some very old alvarez guitars, so I would say this one will handle the load.

Over all this is a good guitar, and being that I have played for 3 years both guitar and bass, I can say this is one of the best I've seen.

2005 FD60AMB (amber color) all maple,unique color flame top that I would call golden blond(nice). 20 fret cutaway, medium neck and frets, rosewood fretboard, grover tuners,perfectly cut bone nut and bridge. MK 600 preamp system w/ onboard tuner and MK II 50 Alvarez sound hole pickup active electronics. Came with Alvarez tweed case, strap, manual, shine rag, the works. Great deal.

I play a variety of music from rock to country to oldies through a Johnson J- station hooked up to a Peavy Memphis blues tube amp. Incerdible versatile sound. Set at 100% piezo and 25% magnetic pu( which is very strong and Strat-like) it is loud, full and bluesy, somewhat sweet like a jazz box, even on full piezo with no sound hole pu.(one reviewer did not like that but I do). Almost limitless variety of sounds. Use the phase switch to add or cut bass, very stratty. Just awesome overall sound. Can be overdriven unlike many piezo guitars for a bluesy/rock sound and for leads. Could be used exclusively.

As stated by others action is really good, easy bending and playable. Funny stain run @ neckjoint/cutaway but otherwise beautiful. Binding is a little bumpy looking in a few spots, but you cannot feel anything and have to look closely. Otherwise basically flawless. I always do my own set up, but it only needed a little neck tightening.

Very light but solid, should hold up to use. Hardware seems very good and strap buttons are firmly set. Preamp controls are very small as noted by another reviewer, could be tough to use in a dark gig setting so we shall see. NEVER gig without a backup plus I like switching guitars anyway, but I may not put this down much. Tweed case is very nice.

Lifetime warranty that I do not forsee using. Other reviewers give thumbs up here.

I have been playing 32 years (how'd that happen?).Just outstanding. Sound variety is best feature with action and looks next best. I am not sure it could be much better, especially with the extra pickup. I love being able to dial in different sounds and this baby can do it all.I have(and had)Gibsons, Fenders, Takamines, Corts. Possibly the best guitar I have owned. Bought on gut feeling- I was not wrong. Only acoustic that might be better is a Gibson dreadnaught I had once, but it was huge and had no electronics so comparing is not really fair to either guitar. Definitely would replace if lost or stolen.

Made in Korea , 20 frets, single cutaway, 600TmkII piezo, self tuning,transparent flamed maple amber finish, neck and body binding,abalone 12th fret slash and double A headstock inlay, double rosette at soundhole, thin wide flat neck, gold Grover tuners, just beautiful!!!

Perfect for almost anything acoustic, jazz, and soft rock. Marshall G30RCD amp and it sounds great. Bright full sound with sweet sustain.

Only thing I could find was a color mismatch/slight uneveness at the neck/body setpoint in the cutaway. I had to look for it and it absolutely does not affect the guitar's playability...it's a "beauty mark"!!!

Seems very well made and unless you run over it I'd say sturdy and dependable is the first impression

Just got it and don't expect to need anything soon!

I own everything from Teisco del Rey electrics to PRS/Gibson/Fender/BC Rich and Yamaha to Alvarez Yairi acoustics. If this was stolen or lost I would definitelt try to replace it. Love the self-tuning, looks , and sound but adore the neck!!

Made in 2002.. Its the brand new Fusion series with the amazing, AMAZING, System 600T Pickups. Maple, cutaway, with the Cherry Sunburst.. My god, it sounds bright, it looks bright, this guitar is worth a million bucks and luckily brand new it can be bought for $549! Has Gold Gotoh tuners, thin body and very lightweight, comes with a custom thin-body hard case with orange lining that matched my Cherry Sunburst perfectly. The pickups on these are so much better than Fishman, with the piezo and all the options this is the most natural sound. You want bright? You can have bright sounds like the sun. You want warm? This thing can sound like theirs cardboard on the inside for a deep sound, its awsome.

I play in a jam band, Dave Matthews style, and this guitar is perfect. Its perfect for any style with the options on the pickups. Unplugged is sounds bright, very bright. Plugged in, it sounds like a million bucks. I need alot of guitar work in my playing, not just strumming, and this thing rings out every note clear and beautifully. There's no way that this is not a good investment, because these guitars are beautful with the burst finishes, the 600T pickups are amazing. I'm in love with this guitar, from the second I saw it, to the second I got it home I am just hooked on it and want to buy another as my backup for stage or to keep it in a wierd tuning.

Right out of the box, brand new, the action can be lowered a bit, thats the only thing I can find wrong about it, but its not really anything wrong, because to suite me just a tiny bit better I would lower the action a little. The tuners are awsome, beautiful gold and smooth to turn .

Its a thin body, and very light, may ding easy. I just got it so there's nothing wrong, just by looking at it you would want to treat this thing as your baby, and thats just what I plan to do. I would definitly gig without a backup though, everything is solidly put together on this.

I saw the Amber finish on one of these guitars, checked out the Cherry Sunburst online and emailed my local guitar shop that I wanted the cherry sunburst, and the shop said they would have to order one from Alvarez and they would contact me when it came in. It shipped lighning fast, 4 days later in was in the shop and in my house.

I have been playing for 4 years, and my first and only acoustic/electric was a Taylor 314e,and I have been gigging with that since I got it, so I just went out one day to see what else was out there, and I found these Fusion guitars, and I had to have one. This Alvarez will now be my main Axe, and I will definintly get one in Amber probably, and sell the Taylor.. The fusion just sounds better than the Taylor and is way less expensive, which is huge.. This guitar is the answer and everyone should check them out!! Im excited I got one, and hope others look into them..

great preamp with all kinds of extras. doesn't sound bad unplugged either

you can dial up any sound you want when plugged in, unplugged (remeber it is a thin line guitar) it is missing a little bass but will suit almost any style of playing

plays like a strat

this guitar is made tough and made to be played live. guitar also comes with a lifetime warranty covering electronics and all

very very amazing support. a guy i know bought an older alvarez around 14 years old. when he bought the guitar used the electronics went out he took it to the local alvarez dealer and they replaced it for free, over night mailed the electronics

gitar plays awsome plugged or unplugged perfect for live gigs (that is why i bought it. i make my living playing and it has done fine by me. only beef i have with it is the fact it is Korean damn it

My fd60 was made in Korea and is the amber finish. The top is quilted maple but other reveiws on this guitar said it is part of the finish that makes it look like its quilted any way its very nice.The finger board is 21 frets and is made of rosewood with the 12th diagonal inlay with a snow flakein the middle. It has gold tuning keys.The gloss finish on it is very nice although I would have liked to have had a clear pickguard on it tends to pick up finger prints and is heavily scracthed were the pickguard would be. My fd60 came with the systems 500k mark2 with a sweapable contour and internal trim pots it got 3 bands of eq.I found out later about the newer updated electronics with the buil in digital tuner but for what I need the preamp is good.The pickup is a piezo and is mounted under the bridge. When I first got the guitar the wires from the pickup to the peamp and to the end jack had come down so one day I super glued them back up where they belonged and have not had a problem since. The back and sides are made of laminated maple and look sturdy. The body itself is a thinline[its thin to reduce feed back on stage]drednought cutaway.It has a strap button on the heel. I found that to be a nice feature. The thing that made me some what ticked is that it did not come with a case or even a gig bag. 3 months after I bought it I purchased the hsc for 129.99 and it is a nice one if you want to pay that kind of money for a hsc the case is made by tkl and came with an extra saddle bridge pin and practice cable and a truss rod wrench. The thing I don't like about the case is the my tuner won't fit in the storage compartment.The inside has a green interior and fits like a glove

I play alot of diferent things. I have been playing for 2 and a half years and want to learn how to play the style of dave matthews band. I also like to play neil young stuff or praise songs. I own a marshall 50 watt ASR50 acustic soloist thatigot for last christmas. The guitar came with elixer lights but were preaty worn so I bought a couple of sets of cheap martins but for the last year I have bought elixers and martin sp's+ but I like the sp's better to me they make the guitar sound brighter. The sound for a mid priced guitar is quit nice the only the I can some what compare it to is the alvarez-yairi dy-84w but it did not have new strings although I had played the dy84 ealier in the year a the local guitar shop. The fd 60 is not as loud as a regular guitar b/c it is thinner. The pickup on senses the string vibations and with to high treble the strum will sound like a loosly held pick going across the strings.The 3 band eq can give you a wide variety of different sounds. My dislike is that it did not come with a newer eq with the capacity to mix in a mic. I've herd that the electronics are comparable to fishman brand.If you like the bright bronze sound get the martin sp's.

The action could be a little less tight. I don't know if the people at mars music had set it up different or not. Since this is my first major guitar purchase I canot decide how good the action realy is it feels comperable to a Taylor 410ce but not as good as the dy84w i played. The bindings around the top and back and neck seem to look very well installed and no problems there. The frets look preaty standard and a acustic although the is a small amount of oxidation on the lower frets. I think the braces are alright.Though one of the screws on the eq mount is kinda loose. It is a good set up for the price.

The guitar to me would withstand live playing. I since I've only been playing for 2 years. I realy don't know how to play a certain style of music but possibly in the future I would gig with it. Like I said before this guitar is well built the strap button feels quite solid and won't come loose. If I gigged this would be my guitar except for a 12-string I don't own yet I have never broken a string on it.

never dealed with em

Besides my alvarez I own a fender mexican strat and a takamine.If my guitar was ever stolen I'd buy a new one. When I was looking at guitars to buy I first looked at a cheaper alvarez but this one is the one I wanted. What got me interested in alvarez is that I know a guy that owns a alvarez-yairi wy1 and it had a very nice live sound. The next guuitar I wish I had next to this is a wy1k I played one before and it is a gorgious guitar.If you are looking for a very good mid priced guitar then I would highly recomend the alvarez fd60 fusion. It will serve you well.

I bought this guitar (Made in Korea) mainly for its many desirable features:

*Body Style Cutaway Thin Dreadnought - Transparent Black (all Laminate I believe)
*Neck maple? Fingerboard on the narrow side (1 & 5/8" at nut) but fairly thick (front to back) somewhere between a 'C' and 'D' profile on back
*Back/Sides Maple
*Top Quilted Maple
*Finish Transparent BLACK
*Soundhole Rosette Abalone
*Body Binding Ivory/Black *Fingerboard Rosewood
*Fingerboard Inlay 12th Fret Diagonal
*Tuning Machines Gold Die Cast *Bridge Rosewood
*Electronics Standard System 600T (has built-in tuner and even has an auxiliary input for second pickup or mic)

Purchased early 2002 so the honeymoon is over and I can be somewhat objective in my evaluation.

I play pop, rock, country and blues. Casual jams with my friends and the occasional open mic. Both acoustically and electrically, this guitar is very bright, lots of projection (acoustically) despite the fact that it is (I think) all laminate material. (This guitar was strung with Elixir strings at the factory, which I think actually helps to tame some of the more unpleasent aspects of its inherent brightness. Right now I have it strung with some plain old D'addario bronze strings which come across very bright on this instrument. I think I'll go back to the Elixirs once this string set is worn out.) For the most part the sound works for me. Alvarez's System 600 pickup and preamp are one of the best stock electronic systems you can get in an acoustic/electric guitar today.

The guitar was meant to be visually striking with its quilted maple top and gold hardware though this was not the main point of appeal for me. AGAIN, the main selling points for me were its Features and function. I really prefer a less ornamented look when it comes to acoustic guitars. If they had an identical model in a natural with chrome hardware and satin finish I would've opted for it.

I had to go through quite a few examples (about 10) before I found one that was set up well straight off the shelf. Good action and properly set neck angle. I think the nut was not set in it slot just right, so I may eventually want to get that replaced or reset. Low profile frets, satisfactorily finished . No pickguard so scratches show up quite visibley in the strumming/picking side of the soundhole. Regarding the electronics, the main gripe I have with it is the control panel, the buttons and sliders are too damn small (and I have small hands!) ...and for a performer they will be hard to differentiate between in the dark.

The poly finish creates a plastic-y, inorganic feel. Again, hindsight leaves me wishing they offered this exact insturment in a Satin finish.

All laminate so I trust it will hold up quite well. Hardware seems average if not better / durable . Poly finishes tend to be quite durable though they don't feel right to me. I don't gig regularly but this guitar was obviously built with gigging in mind and if I were in a band situation again I'm sure it would serve that purpose well.

na

Overall I'd give this guitar a 7. Better than average for what it is (a moderately priced acoustic/electric guitar with excellent electronics) but with what are (for me) some shortcomings. I'm considering getting a Taylor in its place, probably something in the 300 or 400 series.

Been playing 25 + years. Over time I've owned what would probably add up to a small music store's worth of gear. Now I'm down to two acoustics (this Alvarez and an old Asian-made nylon string), one electric (a Starfield/Ibanez strat style guitar), two amps (Fender Champ 12 and a Vox AC15TBX RI), and a few efx which are basically toys for me.

This acoustic/electric guitar is one of the Alvarez "Fusion" series -- the 'F' in FD60. The 'D' stands for Dreadnaught and the '60' refers to bascially the type of wood, in this case maple. The other letters in the FD60 series refer to colors; they all are otherwise the same: A thin (3.5" in lower bout) dreadnaught body, cutout, with Avarez pickup/electonics.

The (pretty) top the body looks like 'flame' maple but it is a synthetic veneer. The guitar we bought new, at Mars Music, was made in 2001. The FD60 model comes in several colors -- the names Alvarez gives them may be misleading. Hers is called 'purple' but really is a very attractive wine/burgundy. (Colors/models seem to vary from year to year; this 'purple' isn't currently listed.) What they call 'amber' is more in-your-face yellow than golden orange. (Note that the same color name can look completely different on different Alvarez brand lines.) The finish is very glossy, durable polyurethane. The maple body is laminated (I'm told maple always is). The body and neck have full binding (ivory/white with black). Sound hole is trimmed in abalone inlay. Tuners are gold Alvarez. Like Taylors, new Alvarez guitars come standard with Elixir strings. Fingerboard and bridge are rosewood. Neck is 1 5/8" at the nut, rounded back, comparable to Taylor. Neck and headstock are same color as body. Alvarez AA logo on headstock is in abalone inlay. No case or accessories were included. (A custom Alvarez hard case costs about $130-160 depending on the dealer. We are using a regular gig bag for now.)

Like General Motors, Alvarez offers several sub-brands at various price levels. The Fusion series lies between the Artist and the Professional. All the Alvarez guitars follow designs of Yairi, a Japanese master luthier. The Alvarez brands are all manufactured, generally in Korea; the upper-scale Alvarez-Yairi models are hand-made.

I'm no more than a dillettante guitarist -- I bought this guitar for my wife, who is a talented singer-songwriter. I am however a very shrewd shopper and after several months of shopping with her for the 'right' guitar for her needs (more on that later), I'll offer the conclusion that Alvarez in general offers very impressive quality for the money at just about every price level, yet the company is relatively under-appreciated among the musicians we know (in the D.C. area).

Getting to her requirements: She is trained mainly as a vocalist and keyboardist, and is self-taught on guitar. Her songs are broadly in the folk/country/pop genre -- more acoustic/natural than electric/synth. In the last year or so she realized she needed to perform her own songs more in public to get them heard. And the great majority of songwriters around here (probably in general too) perform with guitar.

So she needed an instrument that would be good for performing her music in public. That meant:

(A) Since she is still developing as a guitarist, it needed to be as easy and comfortable as possible for her to play. As a skillful keyboardist, her guitar style tends toward finger-picking. She also tends towards fairly sophisticated chords and progressions, so she needs a neck with relatively easy and fast action. The size of the guitar also is important. A full-size dreadnaught body is too deep for her to comfortably manage her left hand on the neck; so a thinner body is better.

(B) Any performer wants an instrument that sounds good, and she has a particularly acute ear. She finds a two-mic setup distracting, so having a guitar with a good pickup and good electronics also is important.

(C) On top of that, she wants a guitar to look beautiful too. Appearance matters to her.

Shopping over a period of months, she/we tried out a wide variety of brands and models: Taylor, Martin, Gibson, Guild, Gretsch, Larrivee, Tacoma, Bredelove, you name it. As I said, the full D and J sizes would not work for her, so we focused on 'auditorium' (or

My wife and I don't entirely agree about the sound though it certainly is good. At one Alvarez dealer we visited, she compared two models that seemed suited to her needs: this FD60 and the PF90SC. The latter is a Professional series Folk size guitar with a solid Englemann Spruce top and rosewood back and sides. I personally preferred the richer, more complex tones of the PF90. (Sidebar: Compare the latter with a Taylor 812 and be astounded at the relative value Alvarez delivers for the money.) The dealer (also a guitarist) preferred the pure, solid, clean tone of the maple-bodied FD60, and my wife agreed with him. (She also liked the feel and action of the FD60 a bit more.)

Ultimately, it's matter of taste: like the choice between cabernet and merlot.

I'd say the unplugged sound of the is guitar is very consistent and even across the frequency spectrum. The separation of the strings is also very good and clear. Even tho thin, the D size body gives good bass tone and volume. The rigid maple construction conveys higher pitches well also. The overall effect I think of as piano-like more than guitar-like.

BTW, at the suggestion of an Alvarez technician at St. Louis Music (the parent co. and U.S. supplier), I replaced the Elixir strings with DAddario EXPs (15s, comparable to custom lights) which have a more durable coating and the brighter tone of phosphor-bronze. The EXPs give the guitar a little louder, more complex, brassier sound. Again, a matter of taste.

The Alvarez 600T electronics are outstanding, even superior it seems to the Fishman Blender. Like the latter, the Alvarez system can blend the sound from a second pickup in addition to the piezo, bridge pickup. The Fishman Blender adds a built-in mic. The Alvarez EQ has an internal jack for adding a second pickup of your choice: dynamic or condenser mic or magnetic. One dealer I went to wanted about $300 for an internal mic to plug in to the 600T EQ. But the Alvarez specialist at Mars told me to try a $25 condenser lapel mic at Radio Shack -- an incredible gem that I've found other musicians have added to harps/other acoustic instruments.

The Alvarez bridge pickup sounds very good by itself. And the 600T EQ offers a full array of pots and switches to adjust the tone and to kill feedback. (Note: The guitar comes with no manual, but the manual for the EQ can be downloaded from the Alvarez web site.) Still, the bridge pickup like all piezos sounds brittle and scratchy when turned up more than about halfway. But the Radio Shack mic inside adds bass and natural acoustic resonance from inside the body that enriches the sound notably -- almost like going from black-and-white to color TV. The internal mic of course compounds feedback problems. But I've found that adding about 20% mic to the bridge blend gives an impressively rich plugged-in sound, usually without any big added problems in stage setup. One could, alternately, add a magnetic pickup for a more electric sound. (Note: The 600T EQ contols only the volume, not the tone, of the second pickup.) Overall, the Alvarez electronics offer tremendous plugged-in versatility to create the sound you like.

My sense is that this guitar would be most apt for a flat-picking jazz or blues style player. It also can be quite powerful when strummed with a pick, either plugged or unplugged. It may be least typical of a folky, finger-picking style, but still works quite well. My wife's songs actually span a variety of styles -- folk, rock, pop, and jazz -- so the versatility of this guitar suits her needs well.

The Alvarez-made tuning machines are closed and seem to stay in tune very well. But, as a valuable added bonus, the 600T electronics have a built-in chromatic tuner -- a terrific feature when making adjustments on-stage. Tuner uses LEDs so it's easy to use in the dark.

As I said, I believe her guitar was adjusted at the store before she tried it. From our shopping, and other reports, expect that Alvarez guitars generally come with the action set high and somewhat hard. Lowered too much and there is a problem of fret buzz. I'm no expert but I found that fine-tuning the truss rod with a standard hex-key was pretty easy and I got the neck set just the way my wife likes it. I'm pretty sure the nut and saddle are synthetic; a luthier suggested at some point we replace them with bone.

The particular guitar we bought at Mars had a tiny ding in the finish on the side of the body -- which got us 10% off the price, a good deal. Other than that, fit and finish seem excellent and Alvarez in general seems to manufacture to very high quality standards.

We've had no problem with the electronics from the outset. Even the battery is still good after 8+ mos. And the battery can be changed fairly easily from the outside: two thumbscrews allow the EQ to pop out.

If you like a colorful guitar, the finish is beautiful. The 'figured maple' top looks authentic and impressive under the lighter colors, even tho it's printed. The polyurethane finish is glossy and tough. It does show fingerprints under the lights so you may want to polish it up first.

The Alvarez-made die-cost tuning machines are solid and accurate, and seem durable. They hold tuning well. When the guitar was new the strings tended to grab in the nut some and then slip out of tune. As they've worn in tho that no longer seems to be a problem. The string pegs are twitchier -- they don't stick in their holes all that well, and tend to pull up when the strings are tightened, especially the lower strings.

The fingerboard has only a distinctive Alvarez abalone slash and diamond inlay at the twelfth fret -- a uniquely uncluttered look. Fret dots are on the upper edge of the binding for navigation. As noted, the soundhole rosette and headstock logo also are abalone inlay. Overall, the quality and appearance of the finish are impressively refined for this modest price range.

My wife has four other guitars. But this is the one she uses about 90% of the time. We carry it around in an ordinary Mars gig bag. I thought about getting a hard case, but the standard dreadnaught case is not ideal for the thin body -- too much movement inside the case can damage the neck and adding a pillow to take up the slack seems cumbersome. A true thinline hard case would be desirable but a bit pricey for our current budget.

As it is, the guitar is still in great shape after 8+ months of steady use. The laminated maple seems very strong, and is not nearly as sensitive to humidity and climate as a solid wood body. I wouldn't recommend driving nails with the guitar, but it does not seem at all delicate.

I'd say you could reasonably rely on it without a backup, tho I'd think a serious performer would always want to have backup just to be sure.

Haven't needed any repairs. Warranty is lifetime, with some of the usual limitations regarding the top. Warranty coverage requires having a dealer send the guitar to St. Louis Music -- in St. Louis MO. For getting information and advice, I've found that the folks at Alvarez/St. Louis respond helpfully either by email or by phone. You can locate nearest dealers through the Alvarez/SLM web site. (I found that there are some authorized dealers around here who were not yet listed there when I was looking last summer; so if in doubt call/write SLM and ask. They directed me to a dealer much closer to home than what I saw listed.) My impression is that the people at SLM will make a real effort to be supportive and helpful. I wish their websites (www.stlouismusic.com or www.alvarezgtr.com) were more complete and informative -- Taylor is really outstanding on that score.

BTW, while Mars, a big chain, is technically an Alvarez dealer, the selection of Alvarez guitars they carry is generally limited. I found a number of local dealers who specialize in Alvarez and carry a much larger variety of instruments.

As I said, I'm not much of a guitarist but I grew up in a family of retailers and have great skills at competitive/comparison shopping and bargain-hunting. My wife is the real artist but I'm her total support staff. With my background in science, engineering, and business, I focus my attention on the tools, equipment, craft, and business of music production. Given all that, and several months of obsessive shopping, I'll repeat my conclusion: Alvarez offers impressive, even incredible, value for the money across their product line. This particular guitar compares to a Guild thin-body dreadnaught my wife tried that retails for 2-3 times the price. Side-by-side, she liked the feel and sound of the Alvarez better. This guitar retails for about $550 and we got an extra 10% off. Alvarez is not as visible, broadly available, or well known as major brands such as Taylor or Martin. But any musician who doesn't have money to burn really should make the effort to check out an Alvarez, which I'd say generally delivers at least 90% of the quality at 1/2 to 1/4 the price of the big name or premium brands.

Because Alvarez makes such a full spectrum of guitar brands and models at every level of price and quality, it's a little daunting to figure out which one fits your needs and budget. Best to go to a well-stocked dealer and ask advice, try stuff out. But if in doubt, contact St. Louis Music and ask.