ALVAREZ ARTIST

AF30CE

ARTIST 30 SERIES FOLK, NATURAL SATIN FINISH, ELECTRONICS

KEY FEATURES

• Series Alvarez Artist
  
• Top Wood Solid A Sitka Spruce
  
• Back & Sides Wood Mahogany
  
• Shape Folk/OM w cutaway
  
• Neck Mahogany, 50/50 Semi gloss finish
  
• Bracing System FST2
  
• Bridge Techwood
  
• Fingerboard Techwood
  
• Nut & Saddle Real Bone
  
• Tuner Chrome, Die Cast
  
• Binding Black ABS
  
• Strings D'Addario EXP16
  
• Pickup / EQ  SYS250

DIMENSIONS

• Overall Length (mm) 1015
  
• Body Width (mm) 390
  
• Body Depth at Heel (mm) 96
  
• Body Depth at Base (mm) 106
  
• Scale (mm) 630
  
• Scale (inches) 24 13/16"
  
• Number of frets 21
  
• Nut Width (mm) 44.45
  
• Nut Width (inches) 1 3/4"
  

PRODUCT MATERIALS

• Series Alvarez Artist
  
• Top Wood Solid A Sitka Spruce
  
• Top Finish Natural/Satin
  
• Back & Sides Wood Mahogany
  
• ADDITIONAL DETAILS
  
• Neck Joint Dovetail
  
• Neck Meets Body 14th Fret
  
• Number of Frets 21
  

The AF30 is Alvarez’s entry-level solid top but it’s anything but entry-level in terms of quality, tone and finish.

After 50 years of making guitars, continual improvement through the use of emerging technologies, processes, and materials is still at the heart of Alvarez’s culture. Alvarez guitars are constructed correctly in every sense, from raw material preparation to construction and manufacturing processes. Alvarez’s tone woods are carefully cured; their components such as neck blocks and wood joints are carefully designed. The painting, sanding and polishing techniques they use are continually researched and developed, and their tone is impeccably crafted and married to a stable, consistent and lively sound box.

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.

Alvarez believes their multi award winning Artist Series is one of the finest solid top guitar lines in the world today and demonstrates their commitment to design.

The term “solid top” of course refers to the soundboard of an acoustic guitar being made of solid wood, rather than being laminated. However, just because the top is solid, it does not necessarily mean the sound automatically benefits from this feature. 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 if its components, and for them to work together to produce balance, lively projection and great response. These components include their FST2 bracing system, bi-level rosewood bridge, real bone nut and saddle, great quality tone woods and thin finish.

FST2 is a forward shifted X brace design, this means the axis of the X is closer to the sound hole and therefore creates a larger soundboard area allowing for more energy and vibration to be harnessed. Both the X braces and asymmetric tone bars are carefully scalloped. The scalloping design was the result of years of continual development in their Yairi workshops.

The Artist Series sound and personality is open and powerful. FST2 also creates very good balance so both the treble and bass registers are clearly present and balanced in relation to each other.

Artist Series feel right and are exciting to play; no matter if 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 power, go for Sitka. For warmth and response to a lighter touch, choose a Cedar top.

All of their tops are selected by their team and graded independently of Alvarez’s suppliers. If it isn’t worthy, they won’t use it. Top quality improves as you move up the Artist Series models but all are stiff and finely grained.

Along with a more angled headstock, their bi-level bridge increases string tension by making the break angel of the strings from the saddle to the top more acute. Improved string tension adds to their sound, feel and response, which are also heightened by the use of real bone nuts and saddles.

Artist Series also demonstrates Alvarez’s great finishing capabilities; the gloss models have a clear deep shine from a finish that is applied as thinly as possible, again to help optimize tone.