Avante AV-2 Baritone Acoustic Guitar

Desogned by Joe Veilette and Mike Tobias and farmed out to Korea
North American Spruce top with reinforced soundhole
laminated mahogany back and sides
mahogany neck
Scale length ? 705mm
Tuners ? Die cast, individual chrome Gotoh (lower end)
Nut/Width ? Bone 45mm
Fingerboard ? 16 inch radius Rosewood, black bound with white plastic side markers only.
Frets ? 22 medium
Bridge ? Rosewood with bone saddle/ 56mm (advertised as compensated on the bass side, but it doesn't seem to be)
Weight ? 2.2Kg
Finishes ? Gloss body, satin neck & fingerboard
truss rod adjusted at headstock (nice), allen rench included
plastic bridge pins
strap buttons already installed

Slightly longer scale, smaller than dreadnaogut body.
It came well packed, but no case included (fits most dreadnaught sized cases)

Replaced the the tuners with the higher quality Gotoh 510's which have an 18:1 gear ratio, which makes tuning a bit easier!

(tuned BEAdf#b)
Acoustically:
Has a deep sound but not over powerful. The tone is a bit dark which is nice, but that covered mid sound can tend to be over prominent. Not really a jangly strummer's guitar. For comparison, my Larrivee C-09 has a brighter top end, a more powerful bottom end, and greater projection. This is probably due to the top being strongly reinforced to handle the higher tension strings, so it should last for a while. The two strummed together do complement each other though.

Down to particulars: when all the strings are strumed, the sound remains balanced but for the lowest string, which does tend to get lost a little bit. I have the John Pearse .015-.062 Open F Tuning baritone set, but with the lower 2 strings or the Labella Medium set (.056, .080)which adds a bit of power to the bottom end. The two plain strings can be plucked over hard giving a bit of a "splatty" sound.

I replaced the plastic bridge pins first with a set of mahogany pins, and finally with the John Pearse brass pin set which improved the projection just a bit, but which helped to tighten and focus the tone (the low B string remains just a bit covered).

All said, strumming a "G" chord shape gives a rich, slightly different sound (it sounds a D chord), and playing an "E" shape will bring a smile to your face (sounds a B chord).

Open tunings are great on this instrument as it seems well designed for fingerstyle. If you have good mastery over your picking hand, you can well balance the lower strings with the upper. Walking bass lines nice and woody sounding.

Amplified:
Using a Rane AP-13 Dual Source preamp with 2 ART Tube EQ's, one for the Ribbon Transducer and one for the mic. And an SWR Blonde on Blonde powered speaker, Monster Cable Studio 1000 interconnects and Mogami 1/4" balanced cable.

Rather than order their electrified model, I had a Baggs Dual Source System installed after the fact. The main problem is that the "remote volume control" (which normally attatches to the edge of the soundhole) will not stay attatched to the thicker, tapered, unusually shaped soundhole. I ended up having to attatch it under the soundhole with velcro.

This is where the AV-2 shines through! The first thing you notice is the bottom end. It's huge when amplified. The theory I heard was that the reinforced top allows more of the string energy to be directly transferred to the UST. The microphone Baggs uses tends to emphasize that midrange (had similar issues with the Larrivee). I reversed the phase and the sound thinned out nicely. I'll experiment with a different placement than the factory recommendation (which helped with the Larrivee).

Dependng upon how you pick the instrument, it can sound like a deep acoustic, or with the rounded corner of a heavy pick, the covered tone can sound almost like a classical guitar. Used it Easter with a classical guitar and a bowed double bass. When the bass played up high, the AV-2 easily took over the bass part. This one also lends itself to funky "Tuck Andress" type fingerstyle.

The big surprise came when I got to hear it tuned to open A and played with a slide through a Fishman LoudBox. It sounds huge and dark with a MoonSlide.

Overall:
While the acoustic sound is a bit dark and covered and a little bit "contained," the amplified sound was powerful. To me, it lends itself more to fingerstyle and a supporting role when strumming. Sounds great for soloing, and 22 frets get's you well up into standard guitar range. Capo on the 5th fret get's you a slightly shorter scale "regular" acoustic with a slightly mellower tone.

The low B string takes a bit of "finesse" to get sounding in tune. For some reason, the .080 Labella sounds "truer" and more in tune.

Here's were things fall off just a bit. I would say buy this one with the intention of having it worked on by your favorite guitar tech.

While the body is very neat and crisp, the frets were uneven above the 12th fret which I didn 't notice at first with the higher action it came shipped with. When having the pickup installed, I had the guitar set up and asked to have the bone saddle filed down a bit. The playability was buttery, but there was noticeable buzz from the 12th fret up to the 18th. the 20th fret was filed too low, and the 21st partial fret was too high, and the 22nd partial fret was not seated well at all.

I ended up having the frets dressed and the 22nd fret replaced. Also (VERY IMPORTANT), make sure all of the nut's string slots are still cut deep enough to make the strings rest frimly on the redressed zero fret otherwise you will never get the open strings in tune with the fretted strings. If not, a litle emory paper will do the trick. With that problem fixed, the intonation is very good.

The finish on the body looks to be a thick poly. The neck is a matte finish and feels fast.

Once set up to your liking, it will feel great. Replacing the tuners does a lot to bring up the quality of the tuning/intonation, and makes a difference for quicker tuning, especially if you use open tunings. Also, the SG Gotohs had loose posts which rattled when the strings were off. The 510's are nice and tight.

The thing seems very solid and not delicate at all. The tuners were the weakest point of the hardware.

MusicYo is just the carrier, so there doesn't seem to be much of anything by way of customer support, though I did get a prompt response to my eamail about appropriate cases.

At $450.00, even with the p/u installation, setup, fret dress and replacement tuners, I think it's a great deal. Also have the above mentioned Larrivee C-09, a Taylor 612C, and interestingly, a Fender Bass VI which i transformed into a long scale bari electric.

If lost or stolen, I would look into a full fledged Veilette baritone 6 string or a Santa Cruz (as opposed to the Tacoma).

The tone takes some getting used to, but there is great potential for a useful instrument. If you have the money it is worth it to go higher end, but on a budget, and with a little work, it's a nice guitar.

This one was an eBay find in the mid-200's so cheap enough to allow installation of a nice dual internal mic system (condenser at the soundhole and piezo under the bridge) from K&K. I understand that the Avante's are being liquidated and that Alvarez bought the rights to produce or distribute the guitar under their name, so these are being sold "new" but stamped "used" to distinguish them from the "new" "new" versions. The construction is very high quality, although I agree that the top may be slightly overbuilt.

It's a beautiful-looking guitar, strikingly asymmetric soundhole and very useful cut-away design. Small but deep body, which projects outward well and sounds much louder to the listener then to the player. The neck is gorgeous and very easy to play, even with the long scale. I would rather not have had the "zero fret" immediately after the nut, but that's how they're made so. . .

The Avante has a rich and warm sound when played acoustically, and really blooms when mic'd. I recommend using John Pearse bell brass "kingpins" for the bridge pins for increased sustain, and Pearse Baritone strings, from .17, 19, .30W, .40, .50 and .62. The heavier gauge strings really make a big big difference. It sounds ridiculously good for any price and when I've played it in public venues people were astounded at the price I paid. It is a fingerstyle delight, with a very playable neck, even with its longer scale.

As might be expected with an eBay guitar, it needed a little extra setup with a minor neck adjustment, and a slightly higher bone bridge to really let the heavier gauge strings sing. The fit and finish of the guitar was flawless. It's just a beautiful instrument that really catches the eye, even before it's played.

The guitar does withstand a hard fingerstyle attack very well, and seems well-built and not finicky. I would use it without a backup (really, how many of us have two baritones!) but definitely would bring along an extra set or two of strings, since you can't get them at too many corner music stores.

No customer support that I am aware of, but there's nothing in it that can't be handled by anyone who repairs or adjusts acoustic guitars.

I've been playing for over 20 years, and have many nice acoustic guitars, but this is my first baritone. If it were lost, I doubt I'd ever find a guitar with this kind of price/performance kick ever again. I love the neck, the look, the sound, and the way it works for fingerstyle. If I were to tweak it more, I would probably ask a luthier to see if the top braces could be shaved a bit, but it's not high on my agenda. A buddy of mine just bought a similar guitar and he is going to put a brass nut and bridge on his, so we'll see if that's going to make a difference. Bottom line: if you find one, jump to get it and be prepared to have some very minor tweaking done - neck, medium-to-medium-heavy strings, bell brass bridge pins, and mic it. You'll love it.

This is a Baritone guitar, designed by Michael Tobias and Joe Veillette,and. It's tuned a fourth lower than traditional Spanish tuning; (B, E, A, D, F#, B). There are no bells and whistles on this model. It's similar in appearence to a Breedlove, without the fancy bridge, binding or marquetry. The soundhole is axymmetrical, with litle in the way of decoration. The finish is glossy. The top is scalloped braced American Spruce. The back and sides are Mahogany. It has a Rosewood fingerboard and bridge. It has a zero fret, which adds a little to it's sustain.It's a little thicker front to back than a typical dreadnought. The body is sized like a concert guitar (Think Martin 00 series.). It sports a 27 1/2" scale length. The bridge is a string through design, The lowest string must be strung from underneath the bridge, however, because it's a .055 guage bass string with a larger ball-end. The guitar has an attractive and interesting shape. The low score is due to initial mediocre setup, bare bones aesthetics, and lack of a strap button at the neck heel.

The tone is smooth, with a nice smokey character. There aren't a lot of harmonics, but it's not overly bassy either. The axe compresses a bit when I dig in. I did ihstall my own pickup in it. With that it gets plenty of bass thump. I use an outboard preamp to shape the tone and it sounds pretty good with that. I wlll say, with all that in mind, that it's a moderately good sounding instrument. Good for the price I paid, even with the p/u and preamp added.

The action on the model I received was too low, and it fretted out in a couple of places. Rather thn sent it back to MusicYo and risk another crappy settup, I took it ot a tech who did some other work on it. He had to level some frets and adjust the action. The overall fit and finish is nice. There's no excuse for there to be bad fit and finish to a guiter, nowadays. This is a Korean made axe, and the work coming from the peinsula has been good the last few years. The low mark was because of the substandard action and fretwork on the guitar.

It's pretty reliable, and durable. I've used it for recording, and a few gigs. It holds up well. I had to have it set up proplerly, but once that was done, it's been a good instrument to play. The mediocre score is for the original setup.

MusicYo is good as far as it goes, but I've had a few problems with my purchases. They generally make the customer whole, but I didn't want to fool with sending this axe back and forth.

After having a quality pickup installed and having the frets redressed, I'd rate this at about a seven. I spent a few dollars on this to get it to where it's a good gigging guitar, but given MusicYo's pricing structure, I feel that I got a guitar that's better than the price I eventually paid.
My pre-modification score is somewhat lower, mostly because of the fit and finish.

I'm just updating my previous review. I put some new La Bella strings on this guy and it is a world of improvement. The strings it came with were way too light a gauge. I used the lower (note) 3 strings from a set of La Bella Baritone Light gauge and the upper 3 from a set of La Bella Baritone Medium gauge....all from juststrings.com. This sounds very deep and cool, but the low B at .070 might just be a little too big, so I've ordered a custom selection of John Pearse strings at the following gauges:.015, .019, .030, .040, .050, .066. Anyway, if you decide to go for the Avante, order a custom set of these strings and you will be much happier with the sound. Spend the money and play with some string choices right off the bat so you get that issue settled. I also tried a couple of older pickups in the updated axe: my old Dean Markley Pro Mag single coil in the soundhole and a Dean Markley Artist transducer stuck just behind the bridge behind the 5th string. Then I ran these into 2 separate channels in my acoustic amp. Wow..! This sounds very big and very acoustic. Rivals the I-Beam Active in my Alvarez Baritone - and inexpensive. Be forewarned: if you are a beginning player and have not yet built up the strength in your chording hand, a baritone with heavier strings is going to put you to task. I play a lot of 12 string and bass as well, so it's no problem for me. Sounds so much better...I'll up the sound to an 8 & 1/2... rounded up....

Better just to check out the specs at the only place you can get them which is at www.musicyo.com This is a division of Gibson musical instruments. The axe is made in Korea, designed by Joe Veillette and Michael Tobias, originally built for Alvarez, now distributed under the name Avante. The body is deeper than most dreadnaughts, but not as wide. It has a nice body shape with a deep cutaway, is very light, and seems very sturdy. There is a zero fret in front of the nut which is fine because the action is great. It actually looks better in real life than the pictures on the website present. The tuners are not great, just adequate. I'd like to put on some Grover Imperials, my fav. - the jazz tuning keys with the stairstep design and 18:1 gear ratio. The neck is nice and wide and has a nice girth to it, which I'm hoping means it will hold up over the years to the pull of those heavy gauge baritone strings.

I already own an Alvarez YB-1 Baritone. I bought the Avante while it was on sale as a backup guitar and because some of my arrangements could really use the cutaway. The Avante cost $1300 less than the Alvarez, and doesn't have the quality of sound, particularly the nice, tight, deep lows of the Alvarez when played acoustically. But it will probably work better in a mix than the Alvarez due to its brighter, crisper mids tone. I installed an LR Baggs I-Beam in my Alvarez and that sounds cool, but I first tried a custom pickup I configured years ago in the Avante and I've got to say it sounds very nice. It consists of a Dean Markley Pro Mag (wood encased single coil) with a RadioShack modified PZM (greatly reduced boundary plate) suspended by piano wire under the Markley pickup. Very nice sound. Very much like a jazz archtop, but much more acoustic. I like it a lot as a second axe and I think it could blend nicely with my Alvarez baritone. I don't necessarily like all my guitars to sound alike or carry the same frequency spectrum. I'm giving it a 7 because it doesn't have the perfect, full sound acoustically, but it does sound great recorded or amped with a pickup scheme.

Excellent. No flaws here...well, maybe the frets could be dressed a tad more, but then I've never met an axe that couldn't be touched up here, except maybe for my trusty Les Paul. Nice finish...no pickguard,
which I like, but I have very good pick control...so I won't be letting any hard hitters or sloppy pickers mess with it. The action was great right out of the box. I need to put some slightly heavier gauge strings on it and will probably improve the bass somewhat.

Very solid construction. Maybe a bit too much reinforcement in the solid spruce top, and that might be deadening a bit of the bass resonance. But that may give it a long life because those heavy gauge strings could take a toll. Doesn't come with a case and none is offered, but it will fit in a standard dreadnaught case - I tested it in a stock Martin case. I'll probably pick up one of those Gator bags which are somewhere in between a gig bag and a hard case.

Don't know... Music Yo did respond within 24 hours to an inquiry I had regarding the shipping date. I did receive it promptly considering I placed my order on Thanksgiving day over the web. It was packed well and they even through in a guitar cord and the adjusting allen wrench. Course, it's not electric, but the cord will always come in handy.

It's a very nice sounding, well built baritone guitar for the money. If you've got the cash, get an Alvarez YB-1. But this guy won't set you back that much and will get you into the fabulous world of Bari-land....especially with a pickup ! If anyone else buys one and reads this, I'd be curious what kind of pickup experiments are performed. I've been playing for 30+ years and am a stickler for my sound...but that's always a personal thing. You can return 'em if you can't stand it, but when you see one of these babies in person, I don't think you'll let it go. Great for jazz, world, fusion, coffee-shop-instrumental-udu-and-cello accompanied electic tunes..my favorite.