Alvarez MD80

If you are reading this, then you already have the spec of this guitar - all in all, a damned fine engleman spruce, mahogonay all solid wood combination.

A brand new guitar, bought as an ex-display model from Absolute Music Soutions for 200 quid! The tone is a little bright at the moment, but with a few months playing it will loosen up nicely. I've etro fitted a set of brass string pegs & this has certainly helped the tonal stucture a lot.

Superb action, great finish. You wouldn't beleive this guitar so little.

Certainly seems tuff enuff - very well put together.

Nver tried them.

Get one - NOW!!

Solid Engelmann spruce top
Solid mahogany back and sides
Bound rosewood fretboard
Multi-ply maple top and back binding
Abalone rosette
Nickel die-cast tuners
Indian rosewood bridge
Satin finish

The case that came with it has a cool little dial to let you know if its too hot/cold air pressure type thing!

Im into folk fingerstyle music but I play anything and everything and this guitar does just the job! Its a full bodied sound and it picks up every little pull off and hammer on. Its a deep and warm feeling you get from this guitar. Because its an all solid wood guitar the tone is balanced just perfectly. You get all the rich vibrant sound of the bass and the rich clear sound of the higher pitched notes. Even though their is no pick-up this guitar gives out enough sound to be heard if you were playing to a small audience. If you were playing a gig or with a band then you would really need to mic it up!

When I first bought this guitar the action was a big high, I've not got round to putting it in for a service yet but its not that big a deal, nothing that a guitar tech can't sort.

Another thing that I did come across and beware! When you are putting a new set of strings on this guitar the bridge pegs come out really easy and its a bit of a struggle to get them to stay back in when you are tightening the new strings. You have to kinda hold the bridge peg down and twist it slighty whilst turning the tuning pegs. All a bit of an effort to be honest but its worth it when you start strumming. I have never came across this before but when I asked the guy in the shop about it he said it was a common practice for more upper range guitars like this, o well!

No other complaints though!

Beautiful finish that will age well. No pick-up so no problems with loose wires or that, just a full bodied natural sound. The sound will mature with this guitar as the wood ages so I suggest keeping it for at least a few years. I bought this guitar new and you can tell from the sound. I've heard a second hand one of these thats been well played in and it sounds that little bit better!

You probably couldn't gig this without backup unless you were a solo singer song writer playing small venues otherwise you would really need to mic it up or install a pick-up or something.

Case that came with it is a bit on the bulky side but its solid and looks great. Brilliant for taking it to venues and it has a code lock on it so no one can open it and give it a strum without you being there! Its got a fair size storage compartment for all your little extras and it has a few zip compartments on the outside of the case, handy for music ect.

Website is great, plenty of customer support ect.

This is the first guitar that I have bought in about 8 years that doesn't plug in but to be honest I think you would loose that beautiful natural quality that you get from this guitars acoustics. I generally replace my acoustic after about a year or so and upgrade but to be honest I dont think any of the higher priced guitars match the quality, spec or sound that the MD80 has to offer and at the price I got it for I am more than happy to keep it for life.

In this price range I have yet to find it's match.

I had a close call with the SJ the other night and decided that I needed another guitar that wouldn't give me a heart attack if it got scratched. I was playing around with a Taylor 315 ($1700) and a Guild Gad 30 ($900) and couldn't make up my mind between them, when a kid picked this thing up and started playing Bluegrass (Way better than myself I might add ) and my mind was made up. $550 used with a case and this sound........slam dunk! With several hundred dollars left in my pocket.

It had extra light strings on it at the store so I left it and had them replace the nut and saddle with bone and medium strings. Played and sounded great before with no buzz, and now, with action lowered, still works great. Very well built and no flaws anywhere that I have found. Stays in tune for freaking ever.

Had it a month but it's built very well from what I can tell and I have no doubt that this thing will be around for a long time. I doubt I'll ever get rid of it.

no idea

This was purchased for our Wednesday night get together to avoid having to carry a $4000 Gibson to a place that can sometimes get a little rowdy. If it was lost or stolen I'd have another one before the sun went down. Without a doubt, the sound is why I bought it. Even if it wasn't such a nice looking guitar I would have paid alot more after hearing it .

Solid Wood -- spruce top with solid mahogany back and sides. Solid one piece mahogany neck with rosewood fret board. The binding is made of a real light color wood. Decent solid case came with it. No strap.

Nice bridge with the "swoosh" for good intonation. The nut wasn't as bad as the other reviews made it sound.

Sound is fantastic. Deep rich bass tones and clear chimey upper tones. Small guit, but big sound for its size.

Beautiful wood and finish. The frets are perfect and the action is great. Only defect was a scratch were the neck joins the body most likely from the neck adjustment during setup. Strings were in bad shape -- the protective coat was flaking off.

Seems solid and durable.

This is a solid guitar for the money. It sounds fantastic and has great feel and touch. I have played some nice ones for a lot more $$ that aren't as good as this guitar. Great utility -- I don't think you can find a better guitar for this price or even $200 more.

If someone ripped it...I'd get another.

nice gloss finish, no errors, really immaculate. one of the most comfortable necks out there, neck is not glossed, and very smooth. 2004 model from the east. solid top, when my luthier put on the bone nut he pointed out the "cross grains" in the top, signs of a quality sound board. solid mahogany back and sides nice reddish color evenly matched no knotts.

smallish dread body, like most mahoganys very even and rich sounding.
i strum and chord songs light to hard (ghost riders in the sky) and it handles it all. the only guitars i've heard that out performed my MD-80 were handmade.

action was low to med-low and very comfortable. top is book matched perfectly. no flaws, frets filed properly, you don't feel them. did replace the nut with bone.

this guitar is very well made, no hardware issues, great finish, plan on having it around for years.

limited life-time, what isn't, called alveraz twice for info, great to company to deal. some info, these guitars are made overseas, but setup and QA'd by american luthiers!

3 yrs and still learning, i would replace it pronto if lost or stolen! there is nothing i don't like about this guitar. my favorite feature is how comfortable it is to play. i spent 3 months looking at all the top names. the only two guiatrs i considered were the gibson songwriter deluxe ($1,000.-) more and the martin OOO-18 ($1200.-) more. may yet purchase the martin. don't understand the all the negatives, have to profesional guitar players in the family, they both said " you paid what"!

Solid wood MD-80 purchased for a second guitar

Strings buzzed, having to get it set up correctly for semi aggressive strumming. thin sounding tho...using 12/54s, 80/20 bronze, thought it would have a little more UMPH . Heard other brands laminated that sounded better. Just wonder if I got the B stock model instead of what I paid for. no case either as was advertised Free Case ???

Action way too low, nut fell off when I changed the strings, NUT looked way too low on treble side, may need to be replaced ?? will know in a few days/ Finish nice, pretty, but sometimes pretty just don't get it

I'd be hard pressed to use this guitar on a gig, like one other guy said, sure aint gonna turn no heads.. of course depends what you're singing & playing, but toooo thin sounding....

Never dealt with company, just have a luthier do my stuff, maybe it will open up one of these years ???

I will not buy sight unheard anylonger. done it a few times and it's 50/50, taking a chance...I should have went out and looked around alot more, could have saved several hundred dollars from what I saw today in comparison in 3 music stores, and had a good sounding beach banger guitar. the MD-80 in no way compares to $2K+ er lines in sound...WEAK !

I laugh at the first review of this column. Makes me wonder why this guy would bother buying it if he were used to playing guitars of such superior quality. I`ve been playing over 25 years and I say this model sounds as good or better than many more expensive Martin or Taylors. You`ve got to lay out some serious dollars before you get your hands on a Martin that sounds this good. Try one the Martin or Gibson, Guild or Taylor "cheapies" and hear what they sound like. I think you`ll agree the MD80 sounds way better. Good guitar to smash on stage? Get real. Sure there are better instruments but this is definitely worth the money.

This guitar sounds nice and bright with medium gauge strings. Just how solid mahogany should. Intonation is perfect. More volume than I expected by far. Clear, crisp treble with balanced bass and midrange.

Factory set-up was pretty good. Nice low action and no string buzz at all. Everything seems well put together here. Nice choice of wood. Very easy to play.

I play several times a month with friends and so far this is standing up well. I`ve had other Alvarez`s and am very pleased with the quality of workmanship. I have no doubt the MD80 will last. Finish is very nice and uniform. Doubt I would smash it on stage for effect.

I have had the pleasure of speaking with the folks from St. Louis Music and they are very helpful.

I`ve been playing strings over 25 years and I know instruments. I have recommended this model to friends without hesitation. You wont be disappointed with the sound at all. You simply cannot buy a better solid wood guitar brand new for less. The hardshell case is very nice as well. One thing that would have made this model better would be to have a bone nut and saddle instead of simulated Tusq material. I`ll be cutting a new nut and saddle and I expect it sound even better. A excellent bargain.

This is an Okay Guitar for those who want a solid wood guitar, it is a great beginner guitar and it is put together well. But it is not a Taylor, or Martin and should not even be classed with them or any other top end guitar. It's made in China and it's tuners are cheap the finish is cheap and the tone woods are not select.

This guitar is sufficient for playing on stage, it has a good sound and the tone is pleasing. It's not going to make too many people turn their heads though.

The action is a bit too low for me, had to have it setup and the bridge replaced to keep it from buzzing on the E string. The rosewoood bridge pins were too loose and kept slipping and had to be replaced with better quality bridge pins.

Had ot have the strap button replaced, cheap rosewood pin, too small it popped out while I was playing it. The finish is glossy and looks good but it's too soon to tell if it's rugged enough. This may good backup guitar if you needed something while your good guitar was in the shop, refretting modifications or whatever. But beyond that if this was the only guitar I had I would be concerned.

I have had no dealings with the company, but I'm sure that Alvarez is a good bunch of people to deal with. Some of their dealers may have issues though.

I have been playing for 10 years, and I own a Taylor 710. I also play a Mandolin. I bought this Guitar because It was hard to believe that you could buy a $500 solid wood guitar brand new. I figured that with a little work it would make a decent guitar. I'm Okay with it but I wouldn't loose too much sleep over it if it was stolen. It would be a great Guitar to smash on stage for effect.

Just picked up this guitar at a pawn shop, it was under about a years worth of dust. i didnt really know what i had picked up to look at when i first saw it...all i knew was alvarez was a good guitar. not sure what year it is, but after buying this jewel and and after a good cleaning and some tlc and new strings, WOW!!!! shes like a brand new guitar.it is just fantastic. guitar also came with a hardshell case. i dont think the pawn shop really knew what they had!

she has one of the best sounds i have ever heard. very rich and warm. i am using a light gage set of strings by elixir that are just great. i think i may add a pickup at a later date.

the guitar itself just stands out when you take it out of the case, the finish is wonderful, and the action feels good. the only thing im not sure of is the tuning keys....i may change them out later.

this guitar will stand out in a crowd. she looks as good as most $2000+ guitars. i think i have found a guitar that will be in my arsonal for a long, long time.

never had to call, so dont know.

the find of my lifetime! every once in a while, you come across a find like this.

Current model. This same review is provided for both the MD80 and MD90, as the only difference is the side and back material - MD80 is mahogany, MD90 is rosewood. Solid woods throughout. Non-cutaway dreadnaught, gloss finish body without pickguard, rosewood fretboard, decent plastic nut and saddle, Englemann spruce top, scalloped bracing. Alvarez proprietary tuning machines are OK. Tasteful appearance - a nice balance between simple and elegant with wood bindings, abalone ring, headstock symbol and 12th fret marker.

Amazingly good sound for the price - competes with any under-$2000 guitar. These guitars are somewhat mellow, but by no means dull. The best comparison would be to a good Martin D28 with a bit less thunky boom on the bottom and a bit more subtlety and character throughout. Very versatile - with light gauge strings they are excellent fingerpickers - with mediums they project a stronger attack. Overal tonal range, sustain, overtones, clarity and complexity is much like guitars at three times the price. The mahogany MD80 is somewhat more defined and maybe a bit brighter, while the rosewood MD90 has a bit mor low overtones and resonance.

Action is very good, about average for a finer acoutic guitar. Like many guitars, you may want to tweak it with a light fret evening, bridge and relief adjustment - but it's quite good from the factory. Neck width is the common 1 11/16". Depth is shallower than average and very comfortable. Overall construction is very good - this is a well made instrument. It is mass-produced and the polishing and detailing are not what you would expect of a $2000+ guitar. Otherwise it really is a lovely instrument - nice wood, inlay alighment and overall apearance.

Everything is well-made with no reason to suspect failures. Playing without a backup is your choice, but it would not be for any unreliability of this instrument. Tuners could be a bit better, but are easily replaced if you don't like the stock ones.

No experience with coustomer support. From what I can tell, there is no direct manufacturer contact - it is all through the dealers. Bought it used, so I don't know about warrantee.

I have been playing about 40 years and have owned more guitars, electric and acoustic, than I can count. This has included fine and vintage Martins, Gibsons and Taylors. If I did not have this one and needed a guitar, an Alvarez MD80 or MD90 would be at the top of my list. In fact it is such a satisfying instrument that I am parting with my rosewood Taylor, since I usually prefer to play the Alvarez. Everybody has their preferences and I am absurdly picky about mine. I would like a 1 3/4" neck, but this one is average width. There is a great deal to like about it - the sound is outstanding and the look is elegant. The general "feel" is light, balanced and vibrant - you can easily feel the woods vibrating at top and back. There are some other good guitars similar prices, maybe a bit more, from Tacoma, Martin, Larrivee, Guild. The MD80/90 seems to have a balance of qualities that add up to a more high-end sophisticated sound. They are exceptional guitars and an unusual value. A prince in pauper's clothing, if you will. Highly reccommended!