To celebrate our 60 years, we have made available two very special OMs which are limited to 60 pieces each.
The MF70 Diamond Black and MF70 Diamond Shadowburst are superbly made, all solid, Sitka/Rosewood instruments, and elegantly dressed for the occasion. They feature premium abalone diamond inlays in the fretboard, abalone purfling and rosette and unique 12th fret inlay, specially designed and will only ever be used for this limited run. Also, exclusive to these models, is a special soundhole label, and each guitar is numbered. They are limited to 60 pieces each, with a small amount available in lefthand version too. Stunning guitars, wonderfully responsive and rightly limited to help celebrate our 60th birthday!
Making a guitar from all-solid wood delivers strong tonal benefits, and we approach the design of Masterworks to embrace all of them. Top thickness, brace weight and tapering, back design and wood choice all count, and when each is considered as a part of the sum total of the instrument’s voice, great articulation and quality of tone is achieved.
Our FS6 bracing system is a forward-shifted, scalloped X allowing for a slightly larger soundboard area around the bridge. This helps generate more vibration, which is heightened by AAA soundboards and premium components throughout, culminating in powerful voicing, inspiring articulation and instant response.
All Masterworks ship with our durable AFC30 Flexicase.
All of our solid tops are selected by our team and graded independently of our suppliers. If it isn’t worthy, it isn’t used. Our laminated backs and sides are uniquely constructed with Mahogany as our middle layer, and our inner and outer layers are always matched.
Artist Elite guitars strike the right balance between strength and vibration, crafting a voice to both inspire and give players “tools in the tone.” Alongside this approach to development lies our respect for sourcing, preparation and nurturing the wood we use to make our guitars. No matter how considered design may be, it can only be as good as the wood we use to realize them.
Our all-solid wood tops, backs and sides, as well as the mahogany used for our necks, go through a curing process developed over years to create stability, strength and tonal benefits. Depending on the wood and its use, this process takes many months or even years for some of our models.
After months-long seasoning, we perform an extra drying stage in thermo-kilns to further enhance wood stability and improve resonance. We call this process ATR—Advanced Tonal Response. ATR™ is a form of torrefaction—oxygen controlled, vacuum curing at special temperatures to remove more moisture and volatiles such as saps and sugars from the wood.
This does two things:
ATR™ makes our wood more stable when exposed to adverse dry or humid climates. While we can’t stop the effects of dryness or moisture saturation that can damage guitars, ATR™ goes a long way in helping our guitars become more resilient. Guitars will move or change according to the environment they are in and are more likely to move within the first two years from their production. A guitar usually becomes drier as it ages; this is one of the reasons why players often like the sound of an older guitar. ATR™ advances the natural, post-build drying process so the wood behaves as if it were more mature, stable, and resonant from the first day it is used.
The effects of ATR™ are also audible in the instrument. The biggest difference is the clarity and separation between notes and the overall response of the guitar. As the top is drier, it’s also quicker, more resonant, more open, even louder. New guitars can sometimes take time to reach this state as the wood dries over the years. ATR accelerates this effect to deliver a more sophisticated and complex voicing from day one.
Our caring approach to development comes from one unwavering goal: To deliver the best guitars in the market at every price point—instruments of a truly remarkable value that offer an unparalleled player experience.
Thank you for choosing Alvarez.
Compare the MF70 Diamond Shadowburst
To celebrate our 60 years, we have made available two very special OMs which are limited to 60 pieces each.
The MF70 Diamond Black Top and MF70 Diamond Shadowburst are superbly made, all solid, Sitka/Rosewood instruments, and elegantly dressed for the occasion. They feature premium abalone diamond inlays in the fretboard, abalone purfling and rosette and unique 12th fret inlay, specially designed and will only ever be used for this limited run. Also, exclusive to these models, is a special soundhole label, and each guitar is numbered. They are limited to 60 pieces each, with a small amount available in lefthand version too. Stunning guitars, wonderfully responsive and rightly limited to help celebrate our 60th birthday!
Making a guitar from all-solid wood delivers strong tonal benefits, and we approach the design of Masterworks to embrace all of them. Top thickness, brace weight and tapering, back design and wood choice all count, and when each is considered as a part of the sum total of the instrument’s voice, great articulation and quality of tone is achieved.
Our FS6 bracing system is a forward-shifted, scalloped X allowing for a slightly larger soundboard area around the bridge. This helps generate more vibration, which is heightened by AAA soundboards and premium components throughout, culminating in powerful voicing, inspiring articulation and instant response.
All Masterworks ship with our durable AFC30 Flexicase.
All of our solid tops are selected by our team and graded independently of our suppliers. If it isn’t worthy, it isn’t used. Our laminated backs and sides are uniquely constructed with Mahogany as our middle layer, and our inner and outer layers are always matched.
Artist Elite guitars strike the right balance between strength and vibration, crafting a voice to both inspire and give players “tools in the tone.” Alongside this approach to development lies our respect for sourcing, preparation and nurturing the wood we use to make our guitars. No matter how considered design may be, it can only be as good as the wood we use to realize them.
Our all-solid wood tops, backs and sides, as well as the mahogany used for our necks, go through a curing process developed over years to create stability, strength and tonal benefits. Depending on the wood and its use, this process takes many months or even years for some of our models.
After months-long seasoning, we perform an extra drying stage in thermo-kilns to further enhance wood stability and improve resonance. We call this process ATR—Advanced Tonal Response. ATR™ is a form of torrefaction—oxygen controlled, vacuum curing at special temperatures to remove more moisture and volatiles such as saps and sugars from the wood.
This does two things:
ATR™ makes our wood more stable when exposed to adverse dry or humid climates. While we can’t stop the effects of dryness or moisture saturation that can damage guitars, ATR™ goes a long way in helping our guitars become more resilient. Guitars will move or change according to the environment they are in and are more likely to move within the first two years from their production. A guitar usually becomes drier as it ages; this is one of the reasons why players often like the sound of an older guitar. ATR™ advances the natural, post-build drying process so the wood behaves as if it were more mature, stable, and resonant from the first day it is used.
The effects of ATR™ are also audible in the instrument. The biggest difference is the clarity and separation between notes and the overall response of the guitar. As the top is drier, it’s also quicker, more resonant, more open, even louder. New guitars can sometimes take time to reach this state as the wood dries over the years. ATR accelerates this effect to deliver a more sophisticated and complex voicing from day one.
Our caring approach to development comes from one unwavering goal: To deliver the best guitars in the market at every price point—instruments of a truly remarkable value that offer an unparalleled player experience.
Thank you for choosing Alvarez.
Compare the MF70 Diamond Black Top
In the small town of Kani, nestled in the hills north of Nagoya, Japan, lies the renowned K. Yairi guitar factory. They have been crafting guitars here for over 80 years.
Alvarez and Yairi have enjoyed an uninterrupted 55-year partnership in producing exquisite guitars, made by hand, from naturally seasoned woods with an unwavering commitment to quality and design. Every neck is spoke shaved by hand, braces are carved, and tops are tuned to perfection. The attention to detail and quality of the build are impeccable.
Compare CY75ce
Kazuo Yairi and his loyal team of luthiers created an incredibly efficient and innovative workshop. Being able to work with such a lineage of master builders is very rare. Some of the luthiers have been at Yairi for over 50 years. Their skills and experience are shared with younger luthiers to form a multi-generational team who have chosen guitar building as their livelihood and dedicated their working lives to the craft. Our guitars are the result of the close collaboration between Alvarez & Yairi—a sharing of knowledge and an obsessional approach to excellence.
2024 is an exciting year as we introduce a new voicing and tonal response in our Honduran and Masterworks Series. This voicing is designed to widen the tonal palette, and to bring a more robust, clear bass response and a compelling openness to the guitar.
In the small town of Kani, nestled in the hills north of Nagoya, Japan, lies the renowned K. Yairi guitar factory. They have been crafting guitars here for over 80 years.
Alvarez and Yairi have enjoyed an uninterrupted 55-year partnership in producing exquisite guitars, made by hand, from naturally seasoned woods with an unwavering commitment to quality and design. Every neck is spoke shaved by hand, braces are carved, and tops are tuned to perfection. The attention to detail and quality of the build are impeccable.
Compare the FY70ce
Kazuo Yairi and his loyal team of luthiers created an incredibly efficient and innovative workshop. Being able to work with such a lineage of master builders is very rare. Some of the luthiers have been at Yairi for over 50 years. Their skills and experience are shared with younger luthiers to form a multi-generational team who have chosen guitar building as their livelihood and dedicated their working lives to the craft. Our guitars are the result of the close collaboration between Alvarez & Yairi—a sharing of knowledge and an obsessional approach to excellence.
In the small town of Kani, nestled in the hills north of Nagoya, Japan, lies the renowned K. Yairi guitar factory. They have been crafting guitars here for over 80 years.
Alvarez and Yairi have enjoyed an uninterrupted 55-year partnership in producing exquisite guitars, made by hand, from naturally seasoned woods with an unwavering commitment to quality and design. Every neck is spoke shaved by hand, braces are carved, and tops are tuned to perfection. The attention to detail and quality of the build are impeccable.
Compare the DY70ce
Kazuo Yairi and his loyal team of luthiers created an incredibly efficient and innovative workshop. Being able to work with such a lineage of master builders is very rare. Some of the luthiers have been at Yairi for over 50 years. Their skills and experience are shared with younger luthiers to form a multi-generational team who have chosen guitar building as their livelihood and dedicated their working lives to the craft. Our guitars are the result of the close collaboration between Alvarez & Yairi—a sharing of knowledge and an obsessional approach to excellence.
In the small town of Kani, nestled in the hills north of Nagoya, Japan, lies the renowned K. Yairi guitar factory. They have been crafting guitars here for over 80 years.
Alvarez and Yairi have enjoyed an uninterrupted 55-year partnership in producing exquisite guitars, made by hand, from naturally seasoned woods with an unwavering commitment to quality and design. Every neck is spoke shaved by hand, braces are carved, and tops are tuned to perfection. The attention to detail and quality of the build are impeccable.
Kazuo Yairi and his loyal team of luthiers created an incredibly efficient and innovative workshop. Being able to work with such a lineage of master builders is very rare. Some of the luthiers have been at Yairi for over 50 years. Their skills and experience are shared with younger luthiers to form a multi-generational team who have chosen guitar building as their livelihood and dedicated their working lives to the craft. Our guitars are the result of the close collaboration between Alvarez & Yairi—a sharing of knowledge and an obsessional approach to excellence.
In the small town of Kani, nestled in the hills north of Nagoya, Japan, lies the renowned K. Yairi guitar factory. They have been crafting guitars here for over 80 years.
Alvarez and Yairi have enjoyed an uninterrupted 55-year partnership in producing exquisite guitars, made by hand, from naturally seasoned woods with an unwavering commitment to quality and design. Every neck is spoke shaved by hand, braces are carved, and tops are tuned to perfection. The attention to detail and quality of the build are impeccable.
Kazuo Yairi and his loyal team of luthiers created an incredibly efficient and innovative workshop. Being able to work with such a lineage of master builders is very rare. Some of the luthiers have been at Yairi for over 50 years. Their skills and experience are shared with younger luthiers to form a multi-generational team who have chosen guitar building as their livelihood and dedicated their working lives to the craft. Our guitars are the result of the close collaboration between Alvarez & Yairi—a sharing of knowledge and an obsessional approach to excellence.
In the small town of Kani, nestled in the hills north of Nagoya, Japan, lies the renowned K. Yairi guitar factory. They have been crafting guitars here for over 80 years.
Alvarez and Yairi have enjoyed an uninterrupted 55-year partnership in producing exquisite guitars, made by hand, from naturally seasoned woods with an unwavering commitment to quality and design. Every neck is spoke shaved by hand, braces are carved, and tops are tuned to perfection. The attention to detail and quality of the build are impeccable.
Kazuo Yairi and his loyal team of luthiers created an incredibly efficient and innovative workshop. Being able to work with such a lineage of master builders is very rare. Some of the luthiers have been at Yairi for over 50 years. Their skills and experience are shared with younger luthiers to form a multi-generational team who have chosen guitar building as their livelihood and dedicated their working lives to the craft. Our guitars are the result of the close collaboration between Alvarez & Yairi—a sharing of knowledge and an obsessional approach to excellence.
The AD60LCE is a powerful, solid-top left-handed Dreadnought offering instant response with lots of projection. The Dreadnought design generates ultimate air volume and drives the top to achieve a broad and dynamic tonal palette.
The FS6 forward-shifted bracing pattern allows for a larger soundboard area to heighten vibration, which is aided by a high-quality North American Sitka top and premium components throughout, all working together to deliver an engaging playing experience.
The AD60LCE also features a cutaway for access to higher frets and is fitted with the fantastic LR Baggs Stage Pro with Element pick up for an unfailing live performance.
Our multi-award winning Artist Series represents our commitment to quality and design, making it one of the finest solid top guitar lines in the world today.
Artist Series feel right and are exciting to play; whether you are strumming hard or picking lightly, the guitar will do what you ask of it. For a more focused sound with fewer overtones, choose a mahogany top. For a more open projection, go for Sitka. For warmth and response to a lighter touch, choose a Cedar top.
All of our tops are selected by our team and graded independently of our suppliers. If it isn’t worthy, we won’t use it. While top quality improves as you move up the Artist Series models, all are stiff and finely grained.
After 55 years of making guitars, continual improvement through the use of emerging technologies, processes, and materials is still at the heart of our culture. Alvarez guitars are constructed correctly in every sense, from raw material preparation to construction and manufacturing processes.
Our tonewoods are carefully cured; our components such as neck blocks and wood joints are carefully designed. The painting, sanding and polishing techniques we use are continually researched and developed, and our tone is impeccably crafted and married to a stable, consistent and lively soundbox.
This caring approach to development comes from one simple goal: To deliver the best guitars in the market at every price point, instruments that are truly amazing value and offer a fantastic player experience.
The term “solid top” refers to the guitar’s soundboard being made of solid wood rather than laminates. However, even when the guitar top is made of solid wood, the tone of the instrument only improves significantly when the whole guitar is built correctly to optimize the energy a solid soundboard can generate. Artist Series is built to do exactly this.
Each model is designed to get the best out of its components, and for them to work together to produce balance, lively projection and great response. These components include our FS6 bracing design, which allows the soundbox to sing and brings uniformity across Dreadnought, Grand Auditorium, OM and Parlor body sizes. This means the voicing has a similar character, but the individual tone is more purely influenced by the size and shape of the guitar.
Our bi-level bridge is designed to heighten string tension and improve sustain and response. Real bone nut and saddle, premium tonewoods, and our crafted attenuated finish all further the quality of construction and positively impact the performance of the instrument. Artist Series gloss models have a clear deep shine from a finish that is applied as thinly as possible to optimize tone. The personality and voicing of Artist Series is open, dynamic and instantly responsive.
Thank you for choosing Alvarez.
The AG60LCE is an elegant and versatile left-handed Grand Auditorium offering instant response with lots of projection for strumming and true clarity for fingerstyle. The Grand Auditorium’s narrow waist helps to accentuate trebles while the wide lower bout generates plenty of air volume for bass response, creating a dynamic and broad tonal landscape.
The FS6 forward shifted bracing pattern allows for a larger soundboard area to heighten vibration, which is aided by a high-quality North American Sitka top and premium components throughout, all working together to deliver an engaging playing experience.
The AG60LCE also features a cutaway for access to higher frets and is fitted with the fantastic LR Baggs Stage Pro with Element pick up for an unfailing live performance.
About Artist Series
Our multi-award winning Artist Series represents our commitment to quality and design, making it one of the finest solid top guitar lines in the world today.
Artist Series feel right and are exciting to play; whether you are strumming hard or picking lightly, the guitar will do what you ask of it. For a more focused sound with fewer overtones, choose a mahogany top. For a more open projection, go for Sitka. For warmth and response to a lighter touch, choose a Cedar top.
All of our tops are selected by our team and graded independently of our suppliers. If it isn’t worthy, we won’t use it. While top quality improves as you move up the Artist Series models, all are stiff and finely grained.
After 55 years of making guitars, continual improvement through the use of emerging technologies, processes, and materials is still at the heart of our culture. Alvarez guitars are constructed correctly in every sense, from raw material preparation to construction and manufacturing processes.
Our tonewoods are carefully cured; our components such as neck blocks and wood joints are carefully designed. The painting, sanding and polishing techniques we use are continually researched and developed, and our tone is impeccably crafted and married to a stable, consistent and lively soundbox.
This caring approach to development comes from one simple goal: To deliver the best guitars in the market at every price point, instruments that are truly amazing value and offer a fantastic player experience.
The term “solid top” refers to the guitar’s soundboard being made of solid wood rather than laminates. However, even when the guitar top is made of solid wood, the tone of the instrument only improves significantly when the whole guitar is built correctly to optimize the energy a solid soundboard can generate. Artist Series is built to do exactly this.
Each model is designed to get the best out of its components, and for them to work together to produce balance, lively projection and great response. These components include our FS6 bracing design, which allows the soundbox to sing and brings uniformity across Dreadnought, Grand Auditorium, OM and Parlor body sizes. This means the voicing has a similar character, but the individual tone is more purely influenced by the size and shape of the guitar.
Our bi-level bridge is designed to heighten string tension and improve sustain and response. Real bone nut and saddle, premium tonewoods, and our crafted attenuated finish all further the quality of construction and positively impact the performance of the instrument. Artist Series gloss models have a clear deep shine from a finish that is applied as thinly as possible to optimize tone. The personality and voicing of Artist Series is open, dynamic and instantly responsive.
Thank you for choosing Alvarez.