Alvarez Laureate Series Acoustic Guitars | Their Best Guitars Ever?

Alvarez have a reputation of making some incredibly well built guitars at a great price point to cover any player, their new Laureate Series might be their best yet! Incorporating some incredible materials like all solid woods and updated bracing, along with some classic designs, these are a must for acoustic players to check out. Keiran takes all 3 new models for a spin, runs down the specs and give his thoughts.
Gear used:
Alvarez Laureate LD70e Daybreak - gtrgtr.uk/AlvarezLD70eDaybreak
Alvarez Laureate LF70e Daybreak - gtrgtr.uk/AlvarezLF70eDaybreak
Alvarez Laureate LP70e - gtrgtr.uk/AlvarezLP70e
Shure SM27 - gtrgtr.uk/ShureSM27
Shure KSM32
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Chapters
0:00 - intro
1:04 - Alvarez Laureate specs
9:35 - LD70e sound demo
11:39 - LF70e sound demo
13:37 - LP70e sound demo
15:22 - closing thoughts
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[@theapplepaul]

All sounded great, the jumbo body and small body actually sounding better than the dread to me. A lot of guitar for the money. They have that Alvarez sound. Really enjoyed the playing, especially on the last sound clip.

[@py1te]

Beautiful series great job Alvarez. Nice review and playing too.

[@iggyclubb]

Keiran, I just heard about the Laureate Series, got on the google machine and it served you up. Very much enjoyed your presentation and demonstration. Liked, subscribed and notified. I will be looking through your channel for more gems. Thanks, Iggy

[@clappersox]

very nice indeed, sound great!

[@edwardgarner1299]

In my 50+ years of playing, I've owned several "high-end guitars" valued between $20,000 - $4,600. My $20,000 guitar stands above all else but based on sound, playability and construction, the two Alvarez models I recently purchased (a $2,800 Alvarez/Yairi FYM66HD and the newer $1,449 Alvarez LF70e) easily outshine my 4 other more expensive guitars. I was immediately impressed by the sound of the LF70e, especially at the price point, but additionally surprised and thrilled to find that the sound and sustain has remarkably deepened the more I play it.

[@guitarguitaruk]

Good to hear you have had a great experience with the Alvarez model! I've personally only had my hands on a few Yairi models but was blown away when I tried them!

[@kamarienedwards1757]

I’m stuck in between the fym66hd, lf70e, and the ld70e. How do the two om compare since you have them both?

[@michaelkrailo5725]

I have another one on the way. I had to return the first one because the fret plane was wonky no matter what the truss rod setting and the D string was set too low on the saddle and buzzed all over. The sound is so good though overall, I had to get another one. The feel of the neck is really comfortable and you can just tell that this guitar will surely open up over time. LD70e Daybreak

[@DjNikGnashers]

That is quite shocking, as they are very expensive guitars. How did that leave the builder in that state ? I think they are good guitars but would expect it to be absolutely perfect, checked by quality control several times before it left them and got delivered to the customer. My Lowden could not have been any more perfect, stunning build quality and perfectly set up.

[@michaelkrailo5725]

@@DjNikGnashers The second one (PLEK'd) played better in the middle of the neck on up to the higher frets, but down low had unacceptable buzz on A and D strings. I can safely say these guitars have a high returnability factor. Both of them are going back. The same fret rocking issues were on the second one and again loosening the truss rod all the way was not enough to coax some relief in the fret plane. The final thing I thought about doing was trying a lighter gauge of strings but instead I just tuned down a half a step and that fixed the buzzing issues. The sound of this guitar is really good and I hate to send it back, but I would only be able to play it tuned down. That could be an advantage for someone that play's that way all the time. I like to play in various different tunings and open G or E would put more tension on the strings, so I had to return it. I really liked the feel of the neck on this guitar, so it's not all bad. I suppose you could get the setup work done on it to correct most of the issues. It could have just been a bad batch of serial numbers as well.

[@DjNikGnashers]

@@michaelkrailo5725 Thanks for the update. You could forgive one odd friday afternoon guitar slipping through, but the fact both have fret level issues does seem to indicate a common theme. It would put me off even considering one, no matter how good they sound. I'd think 'if they can't even get a basic thing such as level frets correct, what else have they not got correct' ?? Plenty of small luthier builders out there, which I'm sure will sound just as good if not better, and smaller builders usually take extra care to ensure everything is as perfect as it can be, as every sale counts.

[@michaelkrailo5725]

@@DjNikGnashers I would say that the only other issue with these guitars are sharp fret ends. That's a minor thing though, and can easily be dressed up. I wish there were more local guitar shops in my area so I could just pull the one that plays good off the shelf and buy it, but it's slim pickins around here. They look beautiful, and the abalone is of higher quality along with the tone woods, and I really like the feel of the neck. If you get one without fret work issues, you will be very happy with it.

[@DjNikGnashers]

@@michaelkrailo5725 I have already found my perfect brand sir. My Lowden is everything I could ever wish for. Amazing balanced tone with overwhelming natural harmonics, which rings like bell. And the highest quality build I have ever seen.

[@scottmoreau5630]

Be nice to hear the pickup.

[@johnjones-uc3ni]

If a company wants to build guitars in production that is consistent with bench made guitars, invest in quality assurance. I've read several, too many complaints in fact for a new release guitar series. Don't put out guitars with sharp frets sticking out!