Austin AU510 Branson Folk

Mine is the AU510TS- I think the TS has to do with the finish, on this guitar a kind of sunburst.

I bought this guitar new in late 2003, I suspect it was made in the same year. Made in China.

Spruce top, mahagony sides and back, maple neck, rosewood fretboard.
Internal "piezo" pickup.. The eq has 5 sliders on it: Volume, Bass, Middle, Treble, and Presense.. And a little hatch for the 9volt battery.

I got mine with a gig bag, but I think this was the dealer's doing and not Austin :) For the price, I think this guitar is made of the right stuff and nicely equipped.

Sound is very good- not quite as full as my other acoustic, which is a full dreadnought Yamaha folk guitar. I don't think it should be expected that any cutaway acoustic/electric sound as full as a full-dreadnought anyway. To my ear it is a tiny bit on the bright side, but not disturbingly so. I have yet to plug it into an amp to hear what the eletrics sound like, sorry!

The action on this guitar is great! Very good for an acoustic- feels almost like playing an electric for me. I am perhaps not the most technical judge of a guitar- but I know what checks I perform when I buy one: I play every chord I can think of, making sure that I can functionally play the guitar with it's style of neck, etc. On this guitar, I can play any chord I wish, with no buzzing and no muted strings- it's an easy guitar to play. I also check the intonation by ear to see how well setup the guitar is in the showroom. Maybe the guitar pros out there would laugh at this test of mine, but hey- it works for me.

Looking at the binding and general construction of the guitar, I am pleased.. I see no obvious flaws or screwups. Everything lines up smoothly and precisely. No loose hardware, no rusted anything, intonation is good, no buzzing. Finish is nice, the binding is nice too. The only small things I noticed are a tiny scratch in the finish right on the lip of the soundhole, and very *VERY* slight uneveness on the face of the guitar- it isn't even noticeable unless you hold the guitar at an angle in front of very bright light and look for it.. I'm super anal- I doubt anyone else would look for this or even care. For the price I payed for this guitar, I am not loosing any sleep over these two issues at all: the scratch on the soundhole could have happened at the store- there is no pickguard on this model. The other issue just tells me that perhaps the face of the guitar is hand sanded and not put on a belt sander at construction time. It takes great effort to even notice this slight imperfection, and it is a guitar after all, and not some crown jewel!

I think this guitar will withstand live playing. It is pretty lightweight, so I imagine it would be quite comfy on stage.. I don't imagine it would hold up to outright abuse, but as long as you don't drop it or smash it like a who concert, it'll work just fine. Hardware seems ample- I;ve had no problems as of yet. Finish seems good enough, and this guitar seems reliable and dependable.. Mine stays in tune good enough. Once again, I still have not plugged this guitar into an amp, so I don't know about the electrics, but they look ok. I'm guessing guitar electrics are generic anyway, with many different guitar manufacturers using the same guts, but thats pure speculation on my part. I'd use it on a gig without a backup as long as I had a hardshell case for it to and from the gig, and a guitar stand for it on stage when not in use. In a nutshell, I think it is constructed just fine, but it does feel lightweight, so I'd be carefull with it. By comparison, my fullsize folk Yamaha feels bulletproof.

Never had to deal with the company.

I like it! This is my everyday screwing around with guitar. It is easy and fun to play, and it was cheap so there was no buyer's remorse! I probably wouldn't enjoy playing it so much if it was a 2000 dollar Takamine, because then I'd be scared of it getting screwed up- you know what I mean? Seriously though, it sounds nice, has good action, and looks great. Very comfortable to play standing up or sitting down. A true value for the money in my opinion!

2001 and get this it was made in china haha. Its a metallic red limited edition i guess. Has a 4 band eq and piezo picup and the best is a battery slot in the eq. I guess it has a spruce top and mahogany sides and looks pretty good when you look in the sound hole, no glue mice and neat. Body style is 000 with a cutaway very easy guitar to play standing or sitting. It hsa fatter neck then my samick flat top and a thiner fretboard so it was a liitel tough at first but if you play electric allot its pretty east to switch between it and the electric with no problems. Im giving it an 8 cause i love it and i like how unique it is. For the price i dont know anyone who has a guitar that looks quite like it. Only others i can think off are some deans but i havent found a mettalic red one yet.

I play worship stuff for my church or at home and the guitar works great. I love the bassy sounds of a dreadnaught but i love the trebly high end sounds of a small size acoustic. Also i got sick of of playing my dreadnaught standing up and wanted a guitar a little more cofortable and more like an electric. It works great and its an east switch to my electric if i need too. I like the sound its just what im looking for, if your looking for a real good bassy acoustic sound look at a dreadnaught. The only other guitar ive compared it too, A/e guitars is a nice high end takamine and the both sound great but i tell ya takamine makes some awsome sounding guitars and i really cant compare them cause to me they are two very different instraments. Its a good guitar and i can get a good acoustic sound or i can plug it in to an effects pedal and distort it and use it fro a pretty good electric too.

The actos was great i havent touched it and it had almost perfect itonation, which i wasnt expecting. the action is the lowest of all my guitars and onec you get used to the thin neck its pretty east to play. Th efinis was great not a problem and the inlays were all good excep on the fretboard ther was one near the top. It has diamond like cross pearl inlays. One needed some finish around it but you cant tell cause the strings run over it.Other then that its a good solid guitar and just needed a litte glue clean up on the fretboard but i didnt mind , it gave me something to do. When i first get a guitar im picky about what it looks like.

I use it fro worship at church and it works great. Its takin som ebeating but its heald up great a few scratches fro me and other player but you cant see them uless you tile t the guitar in the the like, other wise it looks brand new. Just normal wear and tear stuff. Strap button i sgood but i wish the had put another one on atthe neck joint. Ill live though when i get time ill put one on. I use it all alone but we always have other guitars around. I used extra light strings but im a careful strummer and picker and i havent broken anything yet. Of cousre id keep something esle around in case.

Never dealt with the company and never had too, the store i got it from was great if i didnt like it just bring it back in good shape and get something else.

Ive only been play about 2 years, i have a samick acoustic, not a bad guitar. I have a canadian made quest strat and no nothing about it. My bro has a ne kramer strat which i use allot, pretty good for 85 bucks. Look at musicyo.com they'll suprise ya. Its a great looking guitar and i love it its pretty unique and everyone i know thinks its really nice. If your looking fro a nice small acoustic with a pick up fro a good price. Take a look you might like what ya see. I cant think of anthing id add to it except maybe a built in tuner but hehe im dreamin.

I bought my Austin 510 on the strength of the review by "Buddy" elsewhere on this site. Damn, am I ever sorry I did.

It's boxy, mushy, and clunky. The thin-line body gives all the resonance of a cigar box--a cardboard one. The action reminds me of rubber bands stretched to the limit. Now, the Austin 520 is a fine, affordable instrument--SO much better for the money than this mess. I have two 520s--one purchased used on Ebay with the electroncis ripped out that I repaired for a travel guitar. Wonderful choice--36 bucks.

The other 520 is just fine plugged in or not.

Notice that Buddy's review is for the ALVAREZ model of this critter--Which he identifies as the 515. Perhaps they're as good as he says they are--I certainly hope so. I like to think there's a cheap guitar out there worth three times the cost. Then again, mebbie I'm just a romantic. Buddy seems to be VERY knowledgable with no axe to grind (pardon the pun, okay?). But don't follow his advice on this one--at least not the AUSTIN 510. YOu want a good cheap ac/el? Get the model 520 Austin, the growup big brother of the 510. You'll be glad you did.

Still not convinced? Email me at crh@psu.edu; I'll sell you my 510 at a deep discount.

My Austin (Actually a sub-model of the Austin 510, called the 515) was made in 2001, by Alvarez, and was the Special Limited Edition model Alvarez Austin that celebrates Alvarez' 80th Anniversary.) Mine has a special *White-Metal-Flake* High Gloss finish, and has an incredibly beautiful Abalone Inlay around the Rosette and Abalone Inlaid Logo on the headstock. It has the usual 000 style grand auditorium thin-line body similar to my Martin SP00016TR, and the 14/20 fret setup on the fretboard. <p>

The manufacturer's specifications are as follows: Spruce Top, Fully Bound Mahogan Back and Sides, with Maple Neck, and Rosewood Fretboard. 3 Band EQ, Presence and volume control, with under saddle pickup, and exterior battery access. Available in, Black, Vintage Sunbursst, and Translucent, Wineburst, Purpleburst, and Blueburst High Gloss Finishes. ( Special Limited editions Include a Candy Apple Red Metal-Flake, Copper (color of a new penny)Metal-Flake, and White-Metal Flake. Each of the Special Limited Edition Models have Abalone Inlaid Rosettes, and Special Abalone Logo Inlays on the headstocks.<p>

I play mine thru one of three Amps. A crate CA-250D, which is a huge 250 watt version of Crates State-of-the-art, CA125D (the 125 watt, 2 speaker version.) A crate CA125D, which is the standard by which acoustic amps are judged, and a small pignose (don't scoff until you've played one ) Hog 20 rechargable amplifier. Whether I'm playing country or wailing out a "Jerry Garcia, Touch of Grey" solo the Little Alvarez Austin SCREAMS!! I love it... I have a number of other guitars, among them a Les Paul Custom, a $1,700 Takamine, a $3,000 Yamaha, and a $10,000 Martin.... What do I usually end up with? This little Alvarez Austin.... Try one if you can find it... They're kinda rare, but for the money... or for even *more* money, they're awsome little guitars! I eschewed inexpensive guitars until I played, then bought one of these... If you try it, you'll buy one..... One last word though... Throw those "factory strings away as fast as you can! I recommend replacing them with Martin SP Phosphor Bronze, Custom Lights. They make a world of difference in what's already a great guitar!

I'm sitting in my bedroom, too lazy to go upstairs to the studio, winding down before going to bed. I turn on the stereo and the Greatful Dead is doing "Touch of Grey'" or Bonnie Raitt is wailing out "The Dawing of the Day." I can't resist, my escape is sitting down with a guitar (I've got about 12 to choose from), and playing along. Invariably I reach for my Alvarez-Austin... Walking past my Martin, and my Les Paul. I pick it up, it's in tune because I have Martin SP Phosphor Bronze strings on it, and I plug it into my little Pignose Hog 20. (don't laugh, I've got a nice size bedroom, but with everything else in there, it fits nicely, and it will *scream." On this CD, I'll adjust the three band EQ in one direction, on the next, I'll tweak it a little in another direction... On Jerry's "Touch of Grey" solo hit the volume and let them *wail.*
You want a guitar for a reasonable price, you want a fully featured guitar that will deliver your sound? Try it, you'll like it!

It's unusual, but I took this out of the manufacturer's carton, replaced the strings, (which I always do). tuner her up and wailed on it... I have a luthier, I have the equipment, I have just about anything at my disposal... My publisher (I'm a songwriter) see's to that...<p>
Other than replacing the strings, I didn't do one thing to this guitar! It's action is great! The fit and finish of all of them are unbelieveable of the price! I bought my white special limited edition sight unseen because I'd played and loved the others. I'd do it again in a heartbeat... I'd even pay a lot more that I did.. The manufacturer wants to get them out now, and they're *very reasonably* priced. No, I don't work for them, like I said, I'm a songwriter... But, I'd do a commercial. This is a great guitar, I use it for gigs, favoring it over guitars costing 10 times what I paid for this one! And, I'd recommend that if you can find one, especially one of the limited editions, *buy it.* It's worth whatever you'd be asked to pay, and limited editions are almost always a good investment. IF you can only afford or just prefer one of the "regularly" colored or produced models get it. When word gets out, these are gonna go up. Remember Takamine?? Look where they are now. They went from manufacturing "Sigma" Martin's cheap line, to being the choice of suck artists as Garth Brooks, Clint Black, Bruce Springsteen, John Bon Jovi, and Steve Wariner.... I played soem of the early Takamine's... Makes me wonder where Alvarez Austin is headed!

It does withstand live playing. It's fit and finish are great and the electronics are incredible for it's price... It's right there with my Martin SP00016TR sound wise, and for action, and durability.
Mine's new, the line is relatively new, so I'm not gonna go overboard with this rating, in case there's a problem in the future, But, with what I've seen so far, I'm more than impressed.

Yes, I've dealt directly with the manufacturer. They've been very helpful, and rival Martin for customer support. No warranty assistance has been needed, or is expected. The warranty is for one year, but given my experience in 40+ years of playing 1: I've never personally filed for a factory warranty... 2: I only know one other person that has, and it was a "dead on arrival" electronics package with Ovation... In my experience, if it's OK when you get it, and you take care of it, you won't need warranty... If you ever have a problem, it's probably because of something that you've allowed to happen to the guitar that isn't covered by warranty anyway.

You name it, I got it. I've been playing for over 40 years and haven't ever voluntarily sold but a couple of instruments... If this were stolen, lost or damaged beyond repair, I'd definitely replace it with an identical one if I could find it. My second choice would be one of the other Limited Editions of the same model, or finally, one of the usual editions of the same model. As I said above, I reach over more respected, and more expensive guitars to play this one.. I love it's flexibility with the electronics, it's action, sound, and playability... Buy one, you'll love it.