UPDATE: Alvarez RD20S on its way ... It's here

Ralph124C41 · #1 12-10-2019, 05:01 PM

Hi

I don't need it but I couldn't pass it up.

I've ordered an Alvarez RD20S with a hardshell case for $99 plus the shipping and my state tax so about $130 total. I'm using one of those cash-rebate programs so I can eventually get $5 back.

Why? It was $99.99 with a case.

As you can see I'm a bit of an Alvarez freak but this older model (one made for students but with a solid top) has the narrower 1 11/16-inch nut width which I prefer.

Also I had the store staff do the "paper" test on the bridge to see if it was lifting at all and I was assured it was not. I've run into problems with these old Alvarez guitars and in fact I still have an email from the Alvarez customer service guru who did confirm that some of these models had problems with the way they were constructed leading to lifting bridges on many of the models. The one I ordered (the same model) from a private seller on eBay had the problem and I've encountered two or three online which seemed to have the same problem.

Of my three Alvarezes the only one that is a bit of a disappointment to me is the AD-30 which seems to have both a chunkier neck than I like and also just doesn't sound as good as I expected. I've put one of those D'Addario Sound Ports in it too but I don't know how much of an improvement it offers. I've had it on my $10 ToneRite for almost two weeks so it sounds a little bit better but I think this is as good as it is going to get. It already has the stock bone nut and saddle.

Ncbandit · #2 12-10-2019, 06:06 PM

Congrats!! Post some pics when you receive it.

TBman · #3 12-10-2019, 06:27 PM

Posted in wrong thread,

Ralph124C41 · #4 12-10-2019, 08:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TBman

Posted in wrong thread,

Where should it be posted then? I've seen similar posts here, both about new and old guitars after they have been received and sometimes when they are on the way, as mine is.

Ralph124C41 · #5 12-13-2019, 10:56 AM

It just arrived. It was inside a brown Alvarez case, which would fit my other two Alvarez dreadnoughts instead of the cheaper cases I have for them. ALso inside was a triangle Fender heavy pick and a no-name capo. It's not adjustable so I won't be using it. But it was free. So now I have six capos.

I'm letting it warm up but so far I am very impressed. Very impressed. The strings are old but are not as dead as the Guitar Center sales clerk told me. The action seems a little high but I'm certain all it needs is a neck tweak. It does pass the "paper test" for the bridge, which as I said seems to be a concern.

I'm taking it to my luthier friend later today for a quick eye test. I'm also bringing him a set of five (yes, I lost one) brass bridge pins for him to somehow use.

No pics yet as I will wait for the evaluation. And the last time I tried to post some pics I needed some help to get them here.

Now for the sound ... really, really good. In fact I would say it easily sounds better than my Alvarez AD30 and my Mitchell. And that is with these old strings on it and without any type of a setup.

So, stay tuned ...

Peepaw · #6 12-13-2019, 11:04 AM

Teaser

Ralph124C41 · #7 12-13-2019, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peepaw

Teaser

I didn't mean to do that but I was so happy to get such a good-sounding guitar for so little.

Btw, I contacted Alvarez and it was made in December 2002 and I think it was made in the Farida factory in China. The Alvarez rep said some of the guitars were sold under the Farida name but that confuses me because AFAIK (and Wikepedia) the Farida brand was not launched until 2004.

So I don't think a 17-year-old guitar would benefit much from my ToneRite would it?

John Arnold · #8 12-13-2019, 12:40 PM

Quote:

So I don't think a 17-year-old guitar would benefit much from my ToneRite would it?

Depends on how much it has been played recently. I have gotten results using a ToneRite on much older guitars.

Ralph124C41 · #9 12-13-2019, 12:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Arnold

Depends on how much it has been played recently. I have gotten results using a ToneRite on much older guitars.

that's true. In fact just because it's 17 years old doesn't mean it has been played that much. It looks in very good condition. I just mean I have always thought a ToneRite is best used for a new or seldom-played guitar but I can certainly try it and see what happens. It won't kill the already pretty-much dead strings anyway.

Ralph124C41 · #10 12-14-2019, 09:28 AM

Update: Sorry no pics yet. I got back from my luthier pal who gave it a quick look-over and he said it seemed structurally fine. No lifting bridge, no loose braces, etc. I did find two grooves on the top of the guitar but they did not extend past the gloss finish. He said it has light-gauge strings which are old and tarnished ... yet still sound pretty good as the bass string still has some "life" in it. He said the bracing appears strong enough for me to put mediums on it, my preferred gauge.

Just to be safe and to help protect a cheaper older guitar I may put some light-gauge strings on it or, as I have done before, put mediums on it put tune down to E flat or even D and use a capo. I've done that before and I rather like the effect.

I asked what he would recommend and he said just to change the strings. If I like, he said he could shave the braces for about $20 or so but he couldn't guarantee it would really make much of a difference.

I could also change out the nut which he said appears to be some sort of higher-grade plastic. The nut, moreover, is not the stock plastic but seems to be Tusq.

I may have him change the nut and one reason is that I don't like the string spacing as the high E seems to me to be ready to go over the edge. He said the string is positioned correctly but it is up to me.

It has some kind of plastic bridge pins, apparently the same as on my other Alvarezes. As I said in another post I am slowly changing these over to bone or some kind of wood.

He also was impressed with the quality of the Alvarez hard shell case. it does not have the name of the manufacturer, as is posted on my other Alvarez case, the one for my jumbo. That is actually a TKL case.

TBman · #11 12-14-2019, 09:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ralph124C41

Where should it be posted then? I've seen similar posts here, both about new and old guitars after they have been received and sometimes when they are on the way, as mine is.

You misunderstood my post.

I had posted something then realized that I was in the wrong thread, so I removed what I wrote. Senior moment for me,

Congrats on the guitar!