NGD: Alvarez Blues 51/TSB

[swissguy]

Originally Posted by HHP

You got her a nice guitar but you make her sleep on pallets?

LOL. That photo is at her boyfriend's place. I doubt she sleeps on that "bed"

BTW I still haven't seen the guitar any closer than the photos. I hope she brings it home next weekend.

[mickthemiller]

I just ordered the same guitar. It is confusing, as I found when trying to find info on the blues 51/tsb. I spotted the guitar at a very reasonable price and wondered why. I have come to the conclusion that this 14 fret 51/tsb is an older "artist series" model, hence the bridge, binding on neck and 14 fret to body. Seems the newer 51/tsb is part of the new series which is based more on 30s designs. When mine arrives I give you all the low down.

[roylor4]

Originally Posted by mickthemiller

I just ordered the same guitar. It is confusing, as I found when trying to find info on the blues 51/tsb. I spotted the guitar at a very reasonable price and wondered why. I have come to the conclusion that this 14 fret 51/tsb is an older "artist series" model, hence the bridge, binding on neck and 14 fret to body. Seems the newer 51/tsb is part of the new series which is based more on 30s designs. When mine arrives I give you all the low down.

Hey Mick, can you PM me when you get it? I have been jonesing for a 00 and the Alvarez Blues and Jazz stuff checks a lot of my boxes. I prefer a chunky neck profile and was considering a Farida, but Looburst (I think) told me they had a thinnish, more modern neck. Me and thin necks don't get along.

Thanks & hope you like it.

[5th Element]

Originally Posted by roylor4

Hey Mick, can you PM me when you get it? I have been jonesing for a 00 and the Alvarez Blues and Jazz stuff checks a lot of my boxes. I prefer a chunky neck profile and was considering a Farida, but Looburst (I think) told me they had a thinnish, more modern neck. Me and thin necks don't get along.

My Blues51 does not have a chunky neck. It's hard to measure accurately with strings on, but mine is only about 0.78" thick at the nut. It's also a very slight V. I was a little disappointed when I first got it, but it's working out OK — maybe a little fatigue sometimes, but no hand cramps.

The Blues51 is a very cool little guitar, IMO. I've been binging on it since I got it. Well enough made, it just needed the nut cut properly, and I swapped out the machine heads.

My favorite neck in my tiny acoustic collection is on my Tak dread. At ~0.84" full C, it's close to the necks on my Les Paul and '50s Baja Tele.

[TBman]

Those cool little guitars. I have the AP66sb. Nice to kick back with and noodle on...

[roylor4]

Originally Posted by 5th Element

My Blues51 does not have a chunky neck. It's hard to measure accurately with strings on, but mine is only about 0.78" thick at the nut. It's also a very slight V. I was a little disappointed when I first got it, but it's working out OK — maybe a little fatigue sometimes, but no hand cramps.

The Blues51 is a very cool little guitar, IMO. I've been binging on it since I got it. Well enough made, it just needed the nut cut properly, and I swapped out the machine heads.

My favorite neck in my tiny acoustic collection is on my Tak dread. At ~0.84" full C, it's close to the necks on my Les Paul and '50s Baja Tele.

Thanks for the info. Sounds a bit thin for me. My favorite profile is my RK 12 fret. It's so chunky, a Paige capo will not go past the 5th fret. Very baseball battish. My Alvarez and ac240 are a close second - I would be happy if it was similar to either of those.

[5th Element]

Originally Posted by roylor4

Thanks for the info. Sounds a bit thin for me. My favorite profile is my RK 12 fret. It's so chunky, a Paige capo will not go past the 5th fret. Very baseball battish. My Alvarez and ac240 are a close second - I would be happy if it was similar to either of those.

Heh, I briefly had an RK 12-fret 000 with one of those necks. I could play it, but couldn't wrap my thumb to fret. That thing was huge. If the guitar wasn't returned for other reasons, I might have adapted. No, my Blues51 is nothing like that.

[Dawgrit]

Not that this isn’t an ancient thread. But thought I would throw this out for people looking for info. The following link is for a video of a guy playing an Alerez 51. One of the commenters asked if it was a 14 or 12 fret. He said it was a 14 fret and that the “new version is 12 fret and arch back = a different better sounding guitar IMHO”. Plus you could see his guitar had the typical Alvarez bridge, not the block. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=U7h5gTVZRIM