Cost and worth to upgrade my Alvarez RD20S

[Ralph124C41]

hello,

I was wondering what you folks would think about the cost or even worth of upgrading my Alvarez RD20S. It was made in 2002 and it's a student model but it does have a solid spruce top but has the laminated mahogany back and sides. However it does have a good sound and has the thinner 1 11/16-inch nut width I like. So I do enjoy it ... which is always a main question I think.

A local luthier, who makes his own line of acoustics, has offered to do the following for me. I've struck up a good friendship with him in the past few years.

Install bone nut $25
Install bone saddle $25
Shave internal braces $40

I think he will also charge me about $5 to put on a set of strings if I provide them. I also asked him about the feasibility of reshaping my StewMac ebony bridge pins that seem too big for the guitar and I'm not certain if he said he could do that.

He also said he didn't know if shaving the braces would contribute noticeably to the sound of the guitar.

What do you folks think? Would any of these benefit my guitar? The prices seem very, very reasonable.

Thanks in advance.

[Lillis]

Those are actually nice sounding guitar’s. I would do the bone nut and saddle at which point he could replace the strings. I wouldn’t worry about the braces. Once he gets it set up correctly should play great. Oh and just buy inexpensive wooden bridge pins that fit correctly.

[emtsteve]

Yeah, nut and saddle maybe, but I don't think I'd put more than $50 into that one. You enjoy it now anyway.

I am an Alvarez fan as well and my suggestion is to put that $100 or so you're thinking of spending into one of the new MD60BG models - they are really, really good and only about $500.

[Ralph124C41]

Originally Posted by Lillis

Those are actually nice sounding guitar’s. I would do the bone nut and saddle at which point he could replace the strings. I wouldn’t worry about the braces. Once he gets it set up correctly should play great. Oh and just buy inexpensive wooden bridge pins that fit correctly.

Thanks. That is pretty much my thought. I got the bridge pins and I thought they would fit so I'm really not too certain about what size for my Alvarez as the bridge pins do seem to vary through the years and the models.

A few months ago he did a quick look at the guitar and didn't notice any major problems, such as a lifting bridge and belly bulge or depression. He did, moreover, do a quick (and free) deepening of the B string nut slot. I've kept it in a case with a Planet Waves soundhole humidifer which I try to refill twice a week, as I do with my other acoustics. About a month ago I put on a new seet of strings (I forget which brand, however) and the G string snapped while tuning it to standard C. Huh? So I will be putting on some new strings, maybe a set of DR Rares but I also have some other brands available in my guitarsenal.

[Ralph124C41]

Originally Posted by emtsteve

Yeah, nut and saddle maybe, but I don't think I'd put more than $50 into that one. You enjoy it now anyway.

I am an Alvarez fan as well and my suggestion is to put that $100 or so you're thinking of spending into one of the new MD60BG models - they are really, really good and only about $500.

Yes I've heard good things about that model ...but ... as I've posted before I just cannot bond with the wider 1.75-inch nut on that model or with other newer Alvarez guitars. As you can see I own four Alvarez guitars and all but the RD20s have the wider nut width and all are uncomfortable for me to play for more than a few songs. In addition, the AJ80 jumbo to me has the worst of two worlds ... a wider nut width and a fatter neck profile, so sadly that beautiful-looking and -sounding guitar gets rarely played.

Plus as I posted before I just completed an inventory of all of my gear and I now have 28 musical instruments, including seven acoustic dreadnoughts so I'm looking to get rid of some guitars, not add any.

[Earl49]

Make sure he gives you back the original unmodified parts. You may not like the change, and it would be good to be able to go back to the original condition.

I would not bother with shaving braces if you already like the tone. It's too risky and it will weaken the top. It is possible he could ream the bridge pin holes to fit your replacement pins. Or you could put your pins in a hand drill and slowly sand them down a bit with sandpaper until they fit better. Or just buy smaller ones that fit.

[Ralph124C41]

Originally Posted by Earl49

Make sure he gives you back the original unmodified parts. You may not like the change, and it would be good to be able to go back to the original condition.

I would not bother with shaving braces if you already like the tone. It's too risky and it will weaken the top. It is possible he could ream the bridge pin holes to fit your replacement pins. Or you could put your pins in a hand drill and slowly sand them down a bit with sandpaper until they fit better. Or just buy smaller ones that fit.

I agree on all parts. As I said I would buy the smaller ones if I knew where to buy them or what size I actually have. I don't have any caliper to measure them but maybe the luthier can do that for me and then I can do the actual slimming-down procedure to try to buy a replacement set.

(Btw, I think I mentioned before that I bought no less than three sets of "ebony" pins from three online sources ... and each set was plastic. Sigh.)

[Earl49]

I have replaced white plastic pins with ebony (Planet Waves) but only for cosmetic reasons. The OEM white plastic pins were plain and I wanted abalone dots on that guitar, plus I liked the look of ebony pins in an ebony bridge. The only other time I have replaced pins is when one broke, or was lost. I am in the "doesn't make a tonal difference" camp regarding bridge pins. YMMV. Saddles and nuts can be a different story....

[Ralph124C41]

Originally Posted by Earl49

I have replaced white plastic pins with ebony (Planet Waves) but only for cosmetic reasons. The OEM white plastic pins were plain and I wanted abalone dots on that guitar, plus I liked the look of ebony pins in an ebony bridge. The only other time I have replaced pins is when one broke, or was lost. I am in the "doesn't make a tonal difference" camp regarding bridge pins. YMMV. Saddles and nuts can be a different story....

I'm not concerned by a cosmetic change. I've replaced saddles a couple of times on other guitars but I used Tusq and some brass pins and I noticed a difference, especially the brass, but that was one I don't think would work well on this guitar. I could use the Tusq brands but again I don't know which of the two sizes to use or if any would actually fit all that well on this guitar.

Btw, I just got an email back from the Alvarez rep and he said he has no record of the pin size because Alvarez has not used since 2008 the factory that made this guitar. So I think I will just use what I have or maybe try the hand drill tactic. The rep, however, did say the bridge (and I guess the nut) were made of plastic and so bone should be an improvement.