Alvarez AJ60SC

Hondo · #1 04-30-2006, 06:19 AM

I just came across this model while looking for a jumbo. It says the top is solid, but doesn't say whether the back and sides are or not.

Does anyone know?

johbren · #2 04-30-2006, 06:30 AM

Hello I just purchased one of these guitars after checking them out for quite some time. The top is solied engellman spruce and the back and sides are laminated maple. In my opinion they are a good buy and sound great in their price range just my .02

Malcolm · #3 04-30-2006, 07:05 AM

I also have an Alvarez and receive comments on it's tone all the time. I think that is the one thing you can count on with any Alvarez - great tone.

LisaS · #4 05-01-2006, 08:12 PM

Just got the 12-string version of it a couple weeks ago...great tone, solid feel, stays in tune.

Berek Halfhand · #5 05-02-2006, 06:30 AM

I have been looking at these too. I liked the feel of it and the live tone, but have not had a chance to plug it in. Does yours have a pickup? If so, what do you think of it?

I am almost tempted to buy without the built in pickup and electronics and add the K&K mini Western myself. But then you lose the onboard volume and tone control, built in tuner, etc.

It would be nice if there was a belt clip version of the Baggs Para DI or something similar.

-berek

Antonio Salieri · #6 05-02-2006, 07:00 AM

My wife has the 12s with the electronics, and the electronics are pretty sophisticated and work really well. I usually avoid giving detailed advice on guitar forums (think of a blind man telling Micheangelo that he missed a spot), but can say without reservation give the Alvarez system a listen.

Joe F · #7 05-02-2006, 07:48 AM

An AJ60SC was my first acoustic electric several years back. Oustanding guitar at a great price. Big sound, good electronics, good playability. I just couldn't ever get completely comfortable with the jumbo size body when playing standing up. I wish I hadn't sold it though.

vbluguitar · #8 05-02-2006, 11:26 AM

I just played a friends this weekend... I have heard better from alvarez... far better. I just was not impressed. The electronics are nice though.

guitpic · #9 05-02-2006, 01:07 PM

I got an AJ60S(non cutaway) this year. I had a K&K Pure Western Mini installed.

To me, it's a great guitar...especially for the money and the K&K really works well.

I just got my second Alvarez this weekend. An MD60C with electronics. I would have to say I've been impressed with Alvarez of late.

Andromeda · #10 05-02-2006, 02:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by guitpic

I just got my second Alvarez this weekend. An MD60C with electronics. I would have to say I've been impressed with Alvarez of late.

I just got back from my local music store that sells low end Martins and Alvarez guitars. There were a couple of Alvarez that were very inexpensive which played great and had great tone. I too am impressed with Alvarez. They didn't make low end guitars like this years ago. I own some high end guitars and its funny I find myself having GAS for a low end Alvarez.

LesPaul1968 · #11 01-24-2013, 02:12 AM

I have the 12-string version, the AJ60SC-12 Nat, which I had played a while back, alongside many of the other 12 and 6-string guitars, including the ones which you had to have an employee standing over you for fear you might breathe too hard upon it during the 1 or 2 minutes you were allowed to play it. I was sold.

Poor, but totally sold on it.

I didn't buy it then, but hearing/feeling it during the same sitting as the several other multi-thousand dollar guitars that same day, clearly showed me the task at hand. Finding a used one! Cause, I'm poor like that.

Did it win the taste-test. No, it failed. But every other guitar which came out ahead of it literally cost more then my car. But the really important part of this Pepsi Challenge for me was how closely it failed. It didn't fail miserably, it barely failed. The difference was small. Really small. And even if I had several grand to throw around, the difference was slight enough that I would still have chosen the Alvarez, and spent the rest on another guitar, and also floozies&booze. Cause I'm irresponsible like that.

Oh, and yes, it's a solid top. At this price! Get outta here!

So I waited. And waited. And finally found one for just a fraction of what they sold for new. I can only assume it had recently been set up, because the action was stupidly low, with no buzzing, and the intonation was correct. It is, for whatever reason, the most perfectly configured instrument I own now. I don't know if they come that way from the factory, but I am sure in love with it.

Since then, I've read a bit about it, and some people claim these specific models, and a few others from Alvarez, are some of the best deals/value in recent guitar history, in terms of quality/craftsmanship/materials vs. cost. I am no luthier, but despite my limited experience with anything to do with guitars aside from playing them, that seems fairly easy to believe. But what do I know? I'm pretty stupid like that.

And when I had questions, I wrote to them and they responded immediately, even sending me a few accessories FREE!

So how on earth could I possibly not be as pro-Alvarez as anyone can be without actually being an employee? I LOVE my guitar, and if I saw another one at the same price I paid for this one, I'd buy another. And I've been looking too. So far, nothing. But sooner or later one of these will show up on Craigslist or Ebay, and I'll be ready. Mainly, because I've been laying off the booze&floozies and saving up. Cause now I'm more responsible like that.

Unfortunately, that is all the info I have about them. I know absolutely nothing about their previous models, or current models. Are they better? Worse? I'd sure like to hear from users who own older and newer models.

Seems like a fairly safe bet though, that if my model is this good, why would the others from those same years, or earlier/recent models be any less of a great bang for the buck scenario?

Mine even has a few dings and scratches, thank God! It's wonderful to get the romance phase of the relationship over with quickly. That silly part of your man-on-guitar erotic love-affair where you wash your hands before playing it, least you get a microscopic drop of grease on the precious pristine prize while it's shiny from the factory. Isn't it so much nicer when it looks like it's been on the road for a few years? That's the guitar version of a gang member having "street cred". Cosmetic ugliness is like a badge of honor. And the icing on the cake? They sell for cheaper when they are like that!!!! Talk about a win/win!

I can't say anything about the electronics, but I hear they are very good. I've recorded with it using various small and large condensers, and I am thrilled about how it records acoustically. I have not ever used the electronics live. Oh, one thing though, unlike many other electric-acoustics, these have an auxiliary input! WIN! Don't like the sound of their pickup? Well, then add another, and you can still use the same volume and tone controls, and don't have to do any modifications, aside from installing the newer pickup. Why doesn't everyone do this? Or do they? I'm sorta ignorant like that.

So in conclusion ladies and germs, to end this long rant, I could not possibly recommend this "AJ" line with any more sincerity, as a brilliant and world class recording and live guitar. The only people who can possibly find fault with this model are the you-know-who-brand snobs and the million-dollar handmade boutique guitar aficionado's who can hear the subtle differences between two slightly different types of clothing pins being dropped on a hard surface, in the springtime, in France.

Hope that helps anyone who was wondering about these models. I know I'm adding to my future bidding competition, on Ebay, by writing this, since I do very much want another. But the principles, ethics, and customer service of the Alvarez company so impressed me that I felt this should be put out there.

Thanks Alvarez.

Neil K Walk · #12 01-24-2013, 07:02 AM

IIRC the back and sides are laminated maple and the top is solid Engelmann.

My advice would be to look around. I was not impressed. A few years back I looked at both 6 and 12 string configurations. Washburn had a similar offering in flamed maple that I preferred based on unplugged tone. A friend of mine has the non-cutaway, non-electric version but had it fitted with a piezo and it's very trebly, even in comparison to my K&K Pure Western-equipped Larrivee OM-03R. I've also been more impressed by the Yamaha LL6X which is in the same price range. Another friend had an all-white Yamaha LL6XDN Dave Navarro signature model (which I can't recall was maple since the finish opaque white) that also left a better lasting impression than the Alvarez AJ60S. Also, it would behoove you to check out Eastman guitars.