Alvarez RD8

The features can be found online at any good guitar sales place. It's a basic cutaway acoustic with all laminate woods, a nice gloss finish, cheap tuners, rosewood bridge and fretboard. Has good pickup and electronics.

Very nice sound considering it's a laminate wood guitar. It is full and dynamic. It doesn't favor bass or treble too much. It's perfect in this category.

I lowered the saddle to help the action, which was too high from the store. The finish is perfect. The build is perfect. The fretboard is too flat for my taste but still playable and fast. Frets are great.

The only thing about this guitar that eventually will need to be replaced is the set of tuners on it. When I first tried the guitar I noticed how cheap they felt. They hold a tune nicely even after three years of use but eventually I'll throw on a set of Schallers and never think about it again.

Soundwise this guitar is one of the best in its class. For 300 bucks with a hardshell case and electronics, you can't go wrong. Especially if you need a good guitar for on stage for little cost. For one hundred more dollars you could get a Blueridge, which doesn't have electronics but does have a hard shell case if you buy it at the right place, and that would be a better guitar as far as overall sound and playability goes. But this RD8 has a surprisingly good sound, build and electronics, and I've never been disappointed with it.

Features mentioned before

I like the sound from this guitar; good, rich, full. After owning this guitar for 6 years it still keeps the sound

As i said before, I've had this guitar for about 6 years and it's held up very well. For those who said thiers lasted 2 years, you must have done something wrong. I've been playing on mine since i got it. Plus, the natural finish looks good

yet again, 6 years. I would bring this guitar with me to gigs and just to play anywhere. Finish is rockin and this guitar is highly dependable

N/A

Awesome! I highly reccommend this guitar to any beginner or to any guitarist lookin for a low price guitar

The specs on this guitar have been covered many times, so I won't go over them again. Mine is the RD8BR and I really like the dark brown finish with the wood grain showing through. It also came with a Hard Shell Case.

Nice sound for the price, sounds better than several other guitars that I tried that cost $100 to $200 more. I did change the strings though, I don't care for the coated stings that come on the guitar. Put on a set of Martin Lights.

Action was great out of the box. Finish was nice no real problems that I could see. Just a touch of glue visable where the neck and the body come together but not enough foe me to be concerned with.

Seems to be pretty well made and I think it will serve me well for as long as I own it, which will be for quite a few years.

N/A

I picked up the guitar again about 5 years ago after about 30 years of not playing. I primarily play electric, own a Fender CP50 and several Squiers that I play through a Blues Jr. I was looking for a decent but inexpensive acoustic to knock around with, this one fits the bill prefectly and with a hard case included it was a real deal.

The spec on this guitar has been covered over the last 3 pages and so need to add anymore in this area

What can I say.. unbelievable sound in the top end.. I always listen to the sound it's the main priority for me when buying a new guitar. I was shown this in Sound Control Salford by one of the staff there.. I was looking for something around ??200-??300 and had tried the Avalon and a cheap end Takamine.. I actually had my heart set on a Takamine after selling my EN10 in favour of a Martin recently.. don't get me wrong I love the Martin, but had grown up with that 'Tak sound!!'.. However the only Takamine that caught my interest was priced at ??700 and I just didn't have the money.. I was introduced to this guitar and couldn't believe my ears, what a sound.. it's not a ??700 Tak (possibly a personal taste thing here!) but this guitar sounds wonderful.. I love it.. and at a cost of.. wait for it.. ??99 inc hard case.. what a steal..

Straight out of the store it was set up really well as far as I'm concerned, top strings to boot.. I don't have any plans to have this altered (unlike my Martin!!) no need it is well set up the action is really low.. It also looks really nice with nice markings around the sound hole and polished off beautifully.. no flaws and the neck is just right for me.. not to fat but not thin either.. very nicely put together guitar.. I also had a Fishman pick up fitted in store (??150.. more than the bloody guitar!!) but I had the money to spare owing to the cheap cost here.. and so it is now an electro acoustic.

It all seems solid enough but have only had it a few days so can't really comment more than that really.. It seems dependable and I would have no hesitation gigging it although my main aim is to use it in recordings.. and yes I would defenitely record with it, as stated above I have had the pick up built into it so I can mic and direct inject this guitars signal.. early tests are very positive..

Not had any real dealings here, I was able to register the guitar on line which was simple enough.

I have been playing acoustic and electrics for 25 years and have owned some nice (and expensive!) axes, including Martin, Takamine, Rickenbacker and Fenders.. and if it were to go missing I would buy one of these guitars again tomorrow without a second thought.. (if only for it's sound quality).. I swear there is no exageration here.. this guitar is great and CHEAP.. well done Alvarez.. I'm sold..

Finish: Natural
Body Style: Dreadnought
Tuners: Chrome Die Cast
Neck: Rosewood fingerboard
Accessories: Hard shell case w/ lock and 2 keys, Elixir light gauge strings
Frets: 20
Top: Solid select spruce
No electronics, tuner or EQ
Body/Neck Woods: Mahogany back, sides and neck. Spruce top and Acrylic

Pretty much the same as everyone else's.

This is the best sounding 200 dollar guitar I have ever come across. Has a great tone. The one flaw that kind of kills me is the sometimes inconsistent tunning. However, I am a stickler when it comes to these things, so it's only natural that I complain. Moreover, you really only notice it when you use a capo.

I lowered the action and shaved down the frets to make it a little better in the playable area. However, out of the box, this guitar is awesome, and it looks classy enough to hang on the String Swing.

This is a super durable guitar. Mine has taken quite a few beatings, and you would never be able to tell from both perspectives of sound and looks. I bought this guitar when I lived in Santa Barbara, CA so I can't really speak to the durability in the face of weather. I now live in San Diego where the weather isn't any different. Yet I do pay attention to when any guitar should go in the case.

Never had to deal with it.

I have been playing for almost 4 years now, and this was the first guitar I ever bought, after using my mom's old '60s Yamaha for a year. I have no regrets whatsoever and I would replace it in a heartbeat. Before I bought this guitar, with the help of a friend who had been once been a luthier and had been playing for some 20 years I tested out a lot of guitars in the 200-300 dollar range. This easily blew the competition away. I love that it's simple and tough, and has a great sound. The only drawback, as I mentioned above, is the sometimes inconsistent tunning. The hard shell case is awesome, though I have long since moved away from the Elixirs.

Now that I am definitely hooked for life with guitars, I am looking to buy a really nice guitar, namely a L'Arrivee LV-09E, but I can guarantee that this guitar will stay with me until either the end of my days or the guitar's - whichever comes first.

With a dreadnought body and OK finish, decent tuners overall- but the D tuner began bugging and i saw no way of fixing this rattling sound. maple neck and came with a really nice case, 22 or so frets, no pickups or any electronics, just a simple dreadnought

though i have read scattered opinions, i found the sound to be warm and loud as hell. sound-wise it was louder than a friends yamaha, a friends epiphone and a friends gibson. though there isnt much justice for the high frets, this guitar sounds very nice for basic chords/open tunings etc.

its just a very very basic guitar that does what a guitar needs to do

the action was never wonderful, a little too high for my liking, but im too afraid to try and alter it. other than that it seems to be doing well.

if the bridge didnt give me trouble id be very confident in using this guitar live, but sadly after a year and a half of using it for small cafe shows non-stop, the tuning gave out on it, and i moved on to my seagull s6+folk

as far as denting/wear and tear i couldnt have been happier

Features have been mentioned

6 - I don't understand why everyone is saying this guitar sounds so great, especially compared to more expensive guitars... It sounds like a beginner's guitar. The frets buzzed all the time, and the tone was dead sounding. Nobody in the audience would notice that this guitar doesn't sound great, but if you buy this guitar, then play a friends nicer guitar or go to the store and play them, you'll get guitar envy.

It looks nice, but I don't believe it is well constructed. Mine broke (see below), and

The bridge came off of mine while playing normally, it is now unplayable. It lasted for a good 2 years though.

n/a

I wouldnt buy this guitar again, and I wouldn't recommend it to a friend, even in the $200 price range.

Finish: Natural
Body Style: Dreadnought
Tuners: Chrome Die Cast
Neck: Rosewood fingerboard
Accessories: Hard shell case w/ lock and 2 keys, Elixir light gauge strings
Frets: 20
Top: Solid select spruce
No electronics, tuner or EQ
Body/Neck Woods: Mahogany back, sides and neck. Spruce top and Acrylic Pearl soundhole rosette

I bought this guitar at the advice of my instructor. I don't have a style per say but I do enjoy blues and finger picking type music. This guitar presents no problems in accomplishing this.
The sound is remarkable for the price of the guitar. It's tone is warm in full with no jags in the treble and it's bass end doesn't sound muffled or mudded up.
My only dislike about this guitar is it's so comfortable and easy to play that I can't put it down.

The guitar came inside it's hardshell case and was packaged very well. The strings were just a hair out of tune and the action is perfect. Hardly any effort goes into fretting chords.

I'm not a perfectionist and I'm realistic about the price and who this guitar is meant to be marketed to so I'm not going to trash this guitar in the finish respect. There was some laquer drips that dried in the soundhole that might catch the eye and some glue that wasn't wiped away properly near the bridge and 21st fret along where the body meets the neck but otherwise it's beautiful and these are flaws that unless you really like looking at guitars an average beginner wouldn't even notice. I actually unboxed the guitar in front of 3 guys who don't play and they were blown away with how nice it looked.

I don't think this guitar is or would be good for live playing. For the price range and target player it's aiming for I don't think it's ever intended for that.
The hardware seems solid. Average at best.
The finish is buffed to a high gloss and very very nice. I purchased some polish cloth and polish to really keep on top of it and ensure that it stays looking like new.
I would say for lessons this guitar can be counted on for whatever you throw at it.

I've had one dealing with customer support and it was fast, prompt and very helpful.
When I bought the guitar it didn't indicate it came with strings so I emailed Alvarez's parts guy and he told me the spec'd out strings and didn't make me feel like an idiot for asking.

I've been playing for a little over six months on a 2001 Fender MIM Fat Strat and needed an acoustic for the lessons I'm taking. I was also unaware that a well made, good sounding acoustic could be purchased so cheap.
If this guitar was stolen I'd probably buy another in the sunburst finish or upgrade the model.
I was playing my sisters Yamaha F310 before this and this thing is like dating Cindy Crawford after being married to Rosanne Barr.

All the features are WELL covered below and at the Avarez website! The guitar is a simple dreadbought. It is tastfully built with just the right amount of FLASH! Not overdone but certainly not cheap looking either.

I have been playing guitar for almost FORTY YEARS! I played electric for most of that. I felt it was time to get back to basics. I wanted a simple, yet effective, great sounding Acoustic! I didn't want to spend alot of money. Not because of my ability, but because I been playing electric for so long that I didn't know if I would actually use the Acoustic after a few days! Wasn't hard to figure out that great acoustics were mainly the one's with the $1000 and up price tags. I played many of the Gibsons, Martins, Guilds and Taylors. They all make wonderful high end guitars! But I wanted to spend $200 give or take a few bucks. So the REAL SEARCH begain. As I said, its not hard to find geat sounding guitars for a Grand! Just pick up ANY Gibson! But for 2 and under? After playing MANY junkers with No-Names that I kmow. I started sticking to names that I was familiar with and that represented QUALITY! I found that its difficult to hear the tone I was hearing for Two G's on a 2-hundred dollar guitar. BUT....I found a couple acoustics that were not bad! I liked the Yamahas for the money and the Taylor BiG Baby. But the Big Baby was already at $350! Then I found the Alvarez RD8. First off the looks of the guitar caught my attention. The OLD SCHOOL Sunburst looked immediatly like the color of Robert Johnsons sunburst. Old School BLUES came to mind immediatly. So I picked the guitar to play. It was way out of tune and it was LOUD in the store. So I bought it and took it home. The price was excellent w/OHSC. I figure I would return it if there was nothing there for me Tonally! At home, tuned up! The guitar sounds amazing! Definatly right up there with high end acoustics. And it has a very expensive FEEL to it! The Laminated Spruce top resonates like a Solid Top-for sure. Of you weren't told you would think it was SOLID SPRUCE! This guitar sounds EVERY bit as good if not better than EVERYTHING in the $700-$1100 dollar range. And as as MANY in the $1500-$2200 range! Thats saying A LOT for a guitar that could be bought for $119! I love it. Swear by it, And would buy another in a heartbeat if needed. I would and DO recommend it to ANYONE in search of a acoustic with great Tone!

This one [MINE] was perfect right out of the box! No sharp fret ends, which I found a lot of on guitars in the $350 and under price range. The action is very impressive on this one? I don't know how consistant Alvarez is! But if THIS RD8 is a indicator. Then they do very very good work!

THE ALVAREZ APPEARS TO BE ABLE TO WITHSTAND CONSTANT DAILY USE! That would also apply to LIVE playing! But this is a acousic guitar! You will need to take care of it in the weather. and watch for banging it up! Definatly buy a HSC for it!

No-OPINION here. my first Alvarez and I never dealt with them!

Absolutly love the guitar! I know that people, myself included have a tendancy to speak of this guitar in terms of dollars. I say, for the MONEY its a great guitar! Fact is......This is a GREAT GUITAR PERIOD! Has just the right looks. Comes with just the right Hard Shell Case! And the projection of this guitar is nothing short of UNREAL! The ACTION of the Alvarez right out of the factory is amazing. I did not have to do anything but TUNE this guitar! As I said earlier, I have been playing electric since I was Ten in 1966! The action on this acoustic isn't as good as a electric. But its MUCH closer than 97% of the acoustics I played/ And that includes the Gibson, Martins, and Taylors! I really wamted to buy a Tatlor since my last name is Taylor I felt it was only right. But I just could not over look the obvious! This Alvarez sounded better than the Big Baby!

My Father bought me my Alvarez in 82' ...I begged him for a guitar and not a cheap one. I promised him I would learn to play, and like most 12 year olds I played for 2 months and lost intrest. 5 years later I pulled it out of its case...suprisingly still in tune.
The laminated top still had the showroom finish as it does today 19 years later. Only now it has a few character marks. Rosewood fretboard 14 frets - Straight out all acoustic no electronics or pick ups...you gotta love it. I did learn to play ...6 years after I promised him if he bought me a real guitar. My Alvarez was more than any new guitarist could have hoped for. It came with a hard case...not airport luggage but sturdy enough. It (the case) has since been destroyed from various road trips to lessons and gigs and campfire sit-ins. I now use a gig bag for any transporting....but it mostly stays on the stand as a conversation peice. A beutiful addition to any room and man does it get played. a handful of picks with Alvarez stamped across them , a guitar strap and Mel Bays beginning guitar book was my package of 1982. I carried the guitar picks with me everywhere, it was the next best thing when I could not carry my guitar. (at least for a twelve year old)

I love to play classical on it and I love to play heavy metal power chords on it...Metallica and Godsmack.
My Father use to tell me anyone can bend the strings on an electric and add distortion and giggle the wha wha bar (what they called it in his day) ...but the acoustic forced you to play correctly...it would display all your mistakes and sound out your disrespect for music. I believe to this day he was on to something. My Alvarez has been in my possesion for 24 years now and next to my cousins Fender and my best friends Takamine it sounds proud and true and not only holds it's own next to them...it actually sounds better, cleaner and clearer than them. It may be the age of the wood, it may be the light gage Martin strings. (I prefer the elixirs) What ever it is My beginner's Alvarez not only is respected by other musicians more established than me it is the only sentimental possesion of mine that will always remind me of my Father keeping his promise to his son and everytime I play it, I remind myself that I kept my promise to him.

Starting out I did not know what action was.
It wasn't until I could play well I was bold enough to play others guitars..A freinds or in the music store. I then learned that my Alvarez was a bit more demanding than some of the other top models I played. However it was that demanding action from my beginners guitar that made the easy action on the better guitars even that much easier for me to play. In short..the action was not as great , but at the same time I didn'y know that so to me it was fine. Also the neck seemed a bit large for my hand at the age of twelve...mnaybe why I put it down for 5 years. hard to fit my hand around it and make the chords.

I would never use any guitar on a gig without a backup. If you play hard you never know what will happen.
My Alvarez is solid and has standed the test of time 24 years to be exact. I love it and would not trade it for the world...well at least not half the world...more sentiment than value.
I do not believe in luck or superstition, but I do believe in assigning value to things. My Alvarez is one of those things.
However it has never been refurbished and needs a new bridge and nutt...after 24 years and about 20 sets of strings my G sits lower to the fret board from cutting into the nutt and makes a buzz when playing cewrtain chords, but only if you play it hard. All else is fine. It is 24 years old and played everyday.

never needed it , called on it, or wanted it.

My Father passed away a year ago. As stated earlier in my review he bought me this guitar 24 years ago ...I had no input or knowledge of it until he brought it home as a surprise. I promised him I would learn and I did. I am fortunate to have learned enough to see him smile and even make him cry. He told me he was so dissappointed in me for putting it away for the 5 years after taking lessons for only 2 months. Then later in life he told me how proud he was to see me pick it up again and hear me play in front of an audience as well as I did without lessons. ...and that I had taught myself the rest of my music abilities without lessons. He would bragg to his friends about his son... That meant more to me than anything. We all want our parents to be proud of us and I know all parents want the best for there children. I suppose that is why he bought me an Alvarez. This guitar reminds me how Family will do everything to ensure the success and dreams of the ones they love. Its more than a guitar it's my Family.
There is no mistake in my ALVAREZ when I look at it on its stand, pick it up to play a song, and say..."Father, where ever you are this one is for you".
My Guitar is and always will be an Alvarez.