The Avalon Alumni Thread

[silverspear]

bringing up this thread, in case there are new owners!

[Dr Tone Control]

Avalon guitars were up and running again a few weeks later
All seems well now there, I am currently buying a guitar from them

[Dr Tone Control]

Originally Posted by silverspear

bringing up this thread, in case there are new owners!

I have several Avalons, I feel lucky to be able to easily find Avalons for sale since I live in the UK

I have owned various Goodall and Bourgeois Guitars, and I'd say my Avalons are in the same level for sound, playability and appearance. Enough so to induce me to sell all of those except one Goodall, and buy more Avalons.

I have also owned quite a few Larrivees, all my Avalons are at least one level up from those, although I have kept an SD-60 and a BT-60 because of the amazing sound of the 12-fret dread

As far as I can tell, Avalon has now become more of a "Custom shop" lutherie

[cliff_the_stiff]

A member of this forum recently traded with me- I traded away an exceptional Taylor for an Avalon Ard Ri L1-330 Jumbo. I am really impressed with the Avalon.
I have played it nearly exclusively for three days now.
I love it. The tone, the neck. The sight of it.
The book match top, back, and sides is aligned beautifully.
The ebony bridge and peghead are polished ebony instead of gloss finished, that is an unbelievable detail.
the countergrain no warp neck...
This instrument is a head above any Taylor or Martin I have ever put my hands on.
In fact, I think it’s as good or better than any guitar I have ever played over 25 years.
I want to write Avalon and thank them.
As well as Tom who traded with me and bill from the fretted buffalo- who evidently sold it to Tom-
This beautiful guitar has found its perfect long term home!

[silverspear]

Originally Posted by cliff_the_stiff

A member of this forum recently traded with me- I traded away an exceptional Taylor for an Avalon Ard Ri L1-330 Jumbo. I am really impressed with the Avalon.

I have played it nearly exclusively for three days now.

I love it. The tone, the neck. The sight of it.

The book match top, back, and sides is aligned beautifully.

The ebony bridge and peghead are polished ebony instead of gloss finished, that is an unbelievable detail.

the countergrain no warp neck...

This instrument is a head above any Taylor or Martin I have ever put my hands on.

In fact, I think it’s as good or better than any guitar I have ever played over 25 years.

I want to write Avalon and thank them.

As well as Tom who traded with me and bill from the fretted buffalo- who evidently sold it to Tom-

This beautiful guitar has found its perfect long term home!

Thanks for sharing your experience!

[TJE"]

[QUOTE=cliff_the_stiff;6297825
This instrument is a head above any Taylor or Martin I have ever put my hands on.
In fact, I think it’s as good or better than any guitar I have ever played over 25 years.
I want to write Avalon and thank them.
As well as Tom who traded with me and bill from the fretted buffalo- who evidently sold it to Tom-
This beautiful guitar has found its perfect long term home![/QUOTE]

I custom ordered an Avalon Pioneer(their 'entry level' model) 12 string from their factory/workshop in Belfast, Northern Ireland last year as y dream

The customer service in terms of communication about the build progress was exemplary.

The fit and finish on the guitar is perfect with no flaws, which is impressive as I understand their guitars are completely hand made. The materials used -- Spruce and Indian rosewood appear to be of very high quality.

For a 12 string it is very easy to fret.

It seems quite heavy compared with some acoustics I have tried - but OTOH I have knocked it off it's stand a couple of times with no ill effects.

Regarding tone: to my ear it is quite different from some high end American makes I have tried like Guild or Martin. Not better or worse, just different and maybe a bit more complex(no offence) - which would gel with other peoples comments about the distinctive 'celtic' sound of these Irish made guitars like Avalon/Lowden etc.

Regarding sound, rather than describe it in words, I would suggest that people who are thinking of trying or ordering one should take a look at the various Youtube videos of people playing Avalons.

I guess the only real criticism is I don't like the gold coloured Gotoh tuners and the white sycamore binding(although it's beautifully done), together they are a bit flash(but that's personal taste)

[TBman]

Any new owners?

[MBee]

I'm about to be a new owner. I just purchased a NOS A-body yellow cedar/walnut Ard Ri. Should be here next week sometime. I'm excited, to say the least!

[boombox]

Originally Posted by MBee

I'm about to be a new owner. I just purchased a NOS A-body yellow cedar/walnut Ard Ri. Should be here next week sometime. I'm excited, to say the least!

Welcome to the Avalon Club! They make beautiful looking and sounding guitars. My Legacy L32C is the longest owned guitar in my collection - just celebrated 10 years with it!

[JTmusic]

Just chiming into this thread as a longtime Avalon player.

I used to own one of their made-in-Korea Silver Series spruce/hog dreadnoughts, between maybe 2003-2007, and I now have an Ard-Rí L2 310 (spruce/amazaque) since 2020. I made a video about it recently, along with a few of my Matons.

They're also building me something very, very special at the moment...

[jdiener]

I had played Lowdens for 20 years. Had more than a dozen of them. My
Aussie Blackwood Cedar Avalon I got last summer is about all I play now. My Lowdens are going up for sale ! Amazed to find a guitar I like so much.
I also have a Jeffrey Yong monkeypod I got a few months which is stellar.