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  #61  
Old 11-17-2017, 02:15 PM
DavidE DavidE is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mortimor View Post
After reading the comments in this thread and looking at baritone alternatives in the market, it looks like I really missed a good opportunity passing on this deal.

In any case, it's great to see people enjoying their new guitars so much!
They're also $299 from Guitar Center. And you can get the JC1 case for 25% off.


http://www.guitarcenter.com/Alvarez/...tric-Guitar.gc
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  #62  
Old 11-17-2017, 02:24 PM
Earl49 Earl49 is offline
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Musician's Friend and Guitar Center are the same company, or at least have the same corporate parent.
The only coupon I could find that worked for the case was only 15% off (code: holiday) but shipping was still free. The case arrives on Monday. When I did the STOTD there was no option to add a case to the purchase, or I would have done it then.
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  #63  
Old 11-17-2017, 02:28 PM
DavidE DavidE is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Earl49 View Post
Musician's Friend and Guitar Center are the same company, or at least have the same corporate parent.
The only coupon I could find that worked for the case was only 15% off (code: holiday) but shipping was still free. The case arrives on Monday. When I did the STOTD there was no option to add a case to the purchase, or I would have done it then.
GC has the 25% off right now.
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  #64  
Old 11-17-2017, 02:41 PM
AZLiberty AZLiberty is offline
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Here is a pic of the Baritone in the JC1 case




Nice snug fit at the lower bout, a touch looser than I prefer at the upper bout. I am about ready to cut the stupid lid strap though.
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  #65  
Old 11-17-2017, 02:57 PM
Brucebubs Brucebubs is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AZLiberty View Post
Here is a pic of the Baritone in the JC1 case.


Nice snug fit at the lower bout, a touch looser than I prefer at the upper bout. I am about ready to cut the stupid lid strap though.
Nice shot, I might be wrong but I think the reason the guitar is a little loose at the upper bout is because Alvarez changed the shape of the guitar - the JC1 case was originally made to fit the slightly bigger earlier jumbo ABT-60's.



I just ran a tape measure across the upper bout - I make it 12 1/2"
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2020 - Gibson Custom Shop Historic 1957 SJ-200
2021 - Epiphone 'IBG' Hummingbird

Last edited by Brucebubs; 11-17-2017 at 03:07 PM.
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  #66  
Old 11-17-2017, 03:28 PM
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devellis devellis is offline
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As I mentioned earlier, I’d been curious and decided to give this guitar a try. My expectations were modest despite all the positive reviews I’d heard. On one hand, I’d had some pleasant surprises with inexpensive guitars I’d bought previously, like the great Voyage-Air folding travel guitar that was far better than I’d expected it to be. But then, I’d also had some bargain disappointments, like the Godin 5th Ave which okay but never really floated my boat. But the risk was small with the Alvarez, especially because I got it with accumulated Amazon Points from other purchases rather than actually laying out fresh cash.

Well, as it happens, I’m very pleased. The ragtime blues stuff I like to play sounds great on it. Although it will take a bit of time to adapt my playing style to the instrument, the neck with its 1¾” nut and barely-there V is quite comfortable. The setup is quite good right out of the box. And the saddle is plenty tall should I ever want to bring the strings down closer to the frets. While it isn’t particularly loud when played with bare fingers, if I get a bit of nail on the strings, they respond very nicely. The 5th string (E, on this guitar) has an especially satisfying thud to it. Appearance, fit and finish are as good or better than anyone has any reason to expect from a guitar at this price. The Ablam on-lay (pretty sure it isn’t actual inlay) is attractive and not overdone, with a thin ring at the sound hole rosette, the headstock logo, and a decorative 12th fret marker being the only pearly bits. String pins are pretty cheapo but are the easiest thing on a guitar to replace except for the strings. I don’t know that I’ll bother unless they show signs of structural failure at some point. But it’ll be a cheap and easy fix if I decide to swap them out. Tuners are fine for now. There are certainly better options available but I'm trying to keep total cost down (zero, so far) on this guitar.

Now for the important stuff. Tone is very good, although I perhaps should reserve judgment about that until I get over the kick of hearing those tasty low-pitched notes. It’s hard to gauge what is actual tone appreciation versus the grin-factor of playing in a register I’ve never heard my fingers produce before. But I think the tone will stand the test of time. And, honestly, it does sound pretty darn nice despite my lack of any frame of reference for a baritone. Judged against guitars in general, putting aside pitch differences, it has a very pleasing voice and it’s great fun to play.

Along with tone, playability is critical. And this instrument does well in that regard, too. Action/setup, as I said, is fine as is. String heights are 5/64 and 4/64 on low and high B strings, respectively. Frets are nice and level. Spanning three at a time with a short straight edge and working up the neck didn't give me any rocking that would occur if fret heights were uneven. The fret ends didn't both me when playing, although if I rub them hard I can feel a bit of sharpness here and there (an easy fix, but probably not even necessary). The fat strings feel a bit weird after a standard guitar but less so than moving from a 6- to a 12-string, for example. It's a large body but the tight waist relative to the lower bout makes it sit fairly comfortably on the lap. So, I have to give comfort and playability high marks. Hopefully, that will remain stable. Given that the instrument shipped to me (and probably left China) nearly tuned to pitch and in only its flimsy triangular cardboard box and an inner plastic bag, I don't think it should lose its geometric integrity under normal household playing conditions.

So, bottom line, I'm pleased. Thanks to Wade the Enabler for tickling my itch to try a baritone. As usual, he was right about the Alvarez being a great way to get into that format for a very reasonable price. I'm going to enjoy having it around.
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  #67  
Old 11-17-2017, 04:04 PM
tippy5 tippy5 is offline
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Just ordered one. Thank you for the heads-up. At this price if the build QC is fine it will be a great lesson guitar for me.
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  #68  
Old 11-17-2017, 06:52 PM
Mortimor Mortimor is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DavidE View Post
They're also $299 from Guitar Center. And you can get the JC1 case for 25% off.
I have one on the way! It's great to get a second chance.

Now I'm just trying to decide if I should buy that case or not...
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  #69  
Old 11-17-2017, 07:25 PM
Brucebubs Brucebubs is offline
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For those who may be interested, here are pictures - inches and metric - of the string height at the 12th fret that works well for me - no buzzing - on my Alvarez ABT-60.

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1972 - Takamine D-70
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Last edited by Brucebubs; 11-17-2017 at 08:14 PM.
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  #70  
Old 11-17-2017, 10:10 PM
tippy5 tippy5 is offline
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love the double dots on a different plane. Sheesh what did I buy?
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  #71  
Old 11-17-2017, 10:28 PM
Brucebubs Brucebubs is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tippy5 View Post
love the double dots on a different plane. Sheesh what did I buy?
I wouldn't be alarmed - the build quality for the price is fine, it's the finish that I think is where they cut corners - mine has areas where the final coat almost started to run - like they hurried to finish it. But it plays well .... now I want to try a more 'upmarket' baritone.
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1972 - Takamine D-70
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2018 - Rickenbacker 4003 Fireglo
2020 - Gibson Custom Shop Historic 1957 SJ-200
2021 - Epiphone 'IBG' Hummingbird
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  #72  
Old 12-02-2017, 06:31 PM
DavidE DavidE is offline
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Home from vacation and picked up the guitar and case from my local GC today. Played it for a few and really like it so far. But I did find a good size ding/dent on the back of the headstock. I’ll contact GC about that tomorrow.
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  #73  
Old 12-02-2017, 06:55 PM
Reasley Reasley is offline
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Anyone that would still like to get one of these and missed the sale, there's an open box one for $230 that MF says will be available on 12/12 but you can reserve it now . . .
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  #74  
Old 12-02-2017, 07:02 PM
Mr Bojangles Mr Bojangles is offline
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I just bought a new ABT60 for $246.93 (sale price) from MF.
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  #75  
Old 12-02-2017, 07:45 PM
Reasley Reasley is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr Bojangles View Post
I just bought a new ABT60 for $246.93 (sale price) from MF.
I noticed that they had a "call for discount" icon -- is that how you got that price? Also, do you know if the electric version is on sale and, if so, how much?
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