player opinions

Alvarez AJ60S

Alvarez AJ60S

  1. Name: Big Al

  2. Band: Contemporary Choir

  3. Model Year: 2005

  4. Price Paid: $359

  5. Performance

  6. Jumbo maple acoustic guitar. Laminated sides and back, solid Engelmann Spruce top. Set-up is close to perfect. Great neck. Very comfortable Jumbo shape. In installed a Baggs i-Beam active pickup. Very nice.

  7. Performance Rating: 9

  8. Sound Quality

  9. People who hear me play it often comment on the great sound. Very good projection and cut. Very balanced tone. Very different than a Dread. It responds well to a light touch and sounds sweet with metal fingerpicks. The sound can get a little tubby on bass notes if I dig in too hard, so I have learned to control myself a little. There are a couple of slightly less than perfect notes on the low E string that don’t ring out as well as others, but I’m picky. I made a bone bridge saddle for it that helped with that.

  10. Sound Quality Rating: 7

  11. Construction

  12. Craftsmanship, fit and finish are flawless. The woods are less than spectacular, grain-wise, kind of bland, and the three-piece neck is not color-matched all that well, but not as bad as the Taylors were when they had finger-jointed necks. Summary: very nicely made with not-so-pretty wood. Overall I'm pleased.

  13. Construction Rating: 8

  1. Name: MadGuitrst

  2. Band: -----

  3. Model Year: -----

  4. Price Paid: $300

  5. Performance

  6. This guitar plays very nicely. It has a jumbo body and has a 24 3/4" scale, which makes it somewhat different from most acoustics. It feels different because of it’s body size, and may be too bulky for some smaller people. It is another price vs. performance winner. I have found nothing in the $300 range that comes close. A cut below the Martin DM and Guild D4, as it uses all laminated woods and odd wood cuts for the neck etc., but a small cut in overall playability, for about 1/2 the price. A 7 out of 10 overall and a 10 out of 10 for the price. This is a great second guitar for something different, or for playing out, and would be an amazing beginners guitar if it isn’t too big for the beginner (not a guitar for younger/smaller people.)

  7. Performance Rating: 7

  8. Sound Quality

  9. This guitar has a nice, balanced sound. It has a nice amount of bite to it, but lacks a little bit on the low end for a guitar of this size. Tonally, the Maple wood goes well with the larger body size. It isn’t as resonant as some of the more expensive guitars, but it projects VERY well. Overall sound quality ratings would be about the same as the performance ratings.

  10. Sound Quality Rating: 7

  11. Construction

  12. This guitar is made from all maple wood laminates. Even the neck is made of a few pieces. But it is very tight and put together well. Workmanship is good (very good for the price) with a nice finish and appearance and a good setup. The frets could have been polished better as they are slightly gritty when bending strings, but they are cut and seated nicely. The guitar feels strong and solid, but the materials are obviously not like that of a higher quality guitar (multi piece neck.) You can’t feel it, but you can see it. For the price you can’t complain, and unless you plan on abusing it, I don’t think there would be many problems. A 6 out of 10 overall (7 for workmanship, 5 for materials) and 8 out of 10 for the price.

  13. Construction Rating: 6

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  1. Average Ratings
  2. Performance: 8
  3. Sound Quality: 7
  4. Construction: 7
  5. Ratings Key
  6. 10: Excellent
  7. 0: Useless
  8. Company
  9. Alvarez

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