#1
|
||||
|
||||
NGD: Alvarez AJ80CE Maple Jumbo
My recent search for a "maple jumbo under $1k" ended with my acquisition of a new Alvarez Artist Series AJ80CE. I took delivery today, and have spent the evening getting to know the guitar.
Construction, fit, and finish are nothing short of remarkable for a guitar at this price. Two very minor, nitpicking things would be a slightly rough perimeter on the pickguard, and a very slight edge (can't be seen, and just barely felt) where the cutaway binding meets the heel. All things considered, however, the build quality and attention to detail are remarkable! Playability is exceptional! All the fretwork is perfect, the neck angle is spot on, there is plenty of saddle, and the C-shaped medium neck profile combined with the 12" radius on the fretboard makes for easy and comfortable play. Tone is outstanding! The balance across the strings is excellent, with clear and well defined articulation. Also, as expected, the low-E and A strings pack a nice wallop. If this guitar suffers at all from having laminated maple back and sides I sure can't tell! Plugged-in the guitar sounds great through my Carvin AG-200 amp, and the impressive tone shaping tools on the Baggs StagePro (3 band EQ, phase switch, and notch) provide the ability to find a good, usable tone without an additional preamp. Appearance is stunning! Wow. Take a look below! Value is incredible. It is nothing short of amazing that a guitar of this quality is available at this price point...It's a good time to be an acoustic guitar player.
__________________
2017 Alvarez Yairi OY70CE - Sugaree c.1966 Regal Sovereign R235 Jumbo - Old Dollar 2009 Martin 000-15 - Brown Bella 1977 Gibson MK-35 - Apollo 2004 Fender American Stratocaster - The Blue Max 2017 Fender Custom American Telecaster - Brown Sugar Think Hippie Thoughts... |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
Amazing looking guitar.
- I'm in the market myself for a budget instrument, something to leave in an alternate tuning. I'll be checking them out if possible. Congrats !
__________________
"pouring from the empty into the void " |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
That's wild. I just tried one in a tiny, locally owned store today. Nearly came home with it, for all the same reasons. Didn't, only because I just got the Seagull Momentum and knew they were in the same price/quality bracket. Good luck!
__________________
1986 Martin Standard D-28 P Sitka/EIR 2010 Taylor DN5/ES1.3 Engelmann/Mah 2015 Larrivee Legacy OM-40 Sitka/Mah 2017 Martin Retro 000-15 All-Mahogany 2019 Taylor FLTD 512ce 12fret Cedar/Koa 2022 Yamaha FS-830 TSB Sitka/Lam.RW 2023 Larrivee OM-40R Custom Bearclaw/EIR 2024 Taylor Academy 20E All-Walnut Sm.Dread |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
Beautiful guitar! Enjoy!
__________________
Alvarez AP-70 Squire Contemporary Jaguar Kustom Amp (acoustic) Gamma G-25 Amp (electric) |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
WOW!
Loving that Maple! Always curious to find what you think of the placement of the strap button by Alvarez? They build some great acoustics at a fantastic retail price
|
#6
|
|||
|
|||
Congrats! Artist Series Alvarez have consistently impressed me. In fact, of the many former guitars I no longer own, the only one I sometimes miss is an Alvarez that I gave to a friend's kid when she was starting to play. She really took to it, so it was worth it, but I tell ya, that little guitar was a lot of fun.
Their strap button placement is odd, though. Enjoy that beauty! |
#7
|
||||
|
||||
Thanks everyone! I couldn't put her down last night - was up playing way past my bed time. ...What a great sounding, great playing, and fun guitar!
Quote:
As good as this guitar sounds plugged it, it will be a strong candidate for open mics, jams, and other situations where playing while standing might be called for. Thanks for pointing this out now (better to find out if it's an issue for me before a live situation. )
__________________
2017 Alvarez Yairi OY70CE - Sugaree c.1966 Regal Sovereign R235 Jumbo - Old Dollar 2009 Martin 000-15 - Brown Bella 1977 Gibson MK-35 - Apollo 2004 Fender American Stratocaster - The Blue Max 2017 Fender Custom American Telecaster - Brown Sugar Think Hippie Thoughts... |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
I love my Now D/C Alvarez AJ80. It my big curvy Blonde
You picked a good one, Ed.
__________________
~Dave ~Music self-played is happiness self-made |
#9
|
||||
|
||||
Quote:
Regarding the strap button location...though the placement on the heel is odd, it didn't seem to be too much of an issue for me. However, having the button there does create a sharp twist at the end of the strap. On the plus side, the heel end of the strap does not touch the guitar body like it does with the button in the more conventional location. My main strap is a Long Hollow Softie which is 3" wide and made of leather. Because I wear the guitar fairly high when playing with a strap (my band mates always said I looked like I was in the Beatles), I found the Alvarez to be much more comfortable with a narrower (2") canvas strap. More of an issue was getting the strap (any) onto the Baggs endpin jack! The jack is very wide, and a strap hole will not fit it well without modification. Here are a couple of additional observations about the Alvarez, now that I have put several more hours on it:
__________________
2017 Alvarez Yairi OY70CE - Sugaree c.1966 Regal Sovereign R235 Jumbo - Old Dollar 2009 Martin 000-15 - Brown Bella 1977 Gibson MK-35 - Apollo 2004 Fender American Stratocaster - The Blue Max 2017 Fender Custom American Telecaster - Brown Sugar Think Hippie Thoughts... |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
I had a couple of the previous generation cutaway Alvarez Artist Series maple jumbos. I had an AJ60SE that was a very nice guitar and an almost identical one with spalted maple (AJ418C) that was even better. Nothing wrong with Alvarez jumbos.
One of my Alvarez jumbos had the strap button on the heel cap. I'd prefer having it on the side of the heel, but I never had any kind of problem using it.
__________________
Goodbye. Last edited by Big*Al; 02-10-2018 at 12:17 PM. |
#11
|
|||
|
|||
For strap issues with an A/E is use the Planet Waves Cinch Fit. Check them out and see if it might work for you.
Nice guitar BTW. |
#12
|
||||
|
||||
One Month Follow-Up
I have owned enough guitars to fully appreciate the "honeymoon effect", and how it can influence our opinion of a new guitar. The newness of the guitar, its feel, its voice, the excitement of owning a "new thing", all these things often make us "over appreciate" the instrument during the first couple of weeks. With this in mind, and considering my glowing review of my new Alvarez jumbo, I decided early on that I would post this follow-up one month in. So...
I have been playing this guitar almost exclusively for the past month, and I completely stick with everything I said above. If anything, I find this guitar even more impressive than I did a week into owning it. The positive difference between my perceived value of this guitar, and what I paid for it is nothing short of jaw-dropping. This guitar is so good, and such an incredible value, it has caused me to completely re-evaluate my concept of the "required specs" for a guitar to be an "outstanding" guitar. Of course, I may have lucked in to an exceptional example, and YMMV.
__________________
2017 Alvarez Yairi OY70CE - Sugaree c.1966 Regal Sovereign R235 Jumbo - Old Dollar 2009 Martin 000-15 - Brown Bella 1977 Gibson MK-35 - Apollo 2004 Fender American Stratocaster - The Blue Max 2017 Fender Custom American Telecaster - Brown Sugar Think Hippie Thoughts... |
#13
|
|||
|
|||
Quote:
Glad you're still enjoying your guitar! Unfortunately when I got mine they still came with the Alvarez B Band system, not great plugged in but it does the job as an onboard tuner. |
#14
|
|||
|
|||
I spent a couple of very good years with an AJ60S.
It was, and I assume, still is a stellar guitar. It’s one of the few that I miss. Maybe another one, a 12-string will find me at the right time. You have what should be an amazing guitar on your hands.
__________________
A bunch of guitars I really enjoy. A head full of lyrics, A house full of people that “get” me. Alvarez 5013 Alvarez MD70CE Alvarez PD85S Alvarez AJ60SC Alvarez ABT610e Alvarez-Yairi GY1 Takamine P3DC Takamine GJ72CE-12-NAT Godin Multiac Steel. Journey Instruments OF660 Gibson G45 |
#15
|
|||
|
|||
Quote:
|