Alvarez Laureate Acoustics - Boutique Builder Quality Without the Boutique Price Tag!

[@cliffordgwekwe9853]

The parlor takes the cake for me. Good work and nice playing Ben

[@davidbarclay54]

Best acoustic demos online. Really helpful to hear strumming and picking styles.

[@nedludd3641]

Mercy sake's alive, that boy got chops!

[@tedtownsend5080]

I’d like to see a comparison of the AP70E with the LP70E. How about it Ben?

[@BlueBeeMCMLXI]

His balls have dropped. He's no boy.

[@jacobreece1971]

Say what you want, but at the end of the day, really good imports are a blessing. These would be 3k minimum if they were made in the states. The same goes with the epiphone. Is $1500 a lot? Yes, but those are not $500 guitars they are on a level similar to premium Japanese brands. Nobody freaks out about a $1500 premium Ltd when the counterpart is 3k. Post covid is the world we live in. Inflation, at least in America, is an alll-time high. Parts, manufacturing, wage increases, shipping costs, and everything is more expensive. What $700 got 6 years ago doubled in today's money.

[@pepmasters-999]

Inflation in the US was 29% in 1778, 20.5% in 1917, and 10% in 1981 in the first term of Reagan. It is currently 3.5%. Please explain the all-time high bit please?

[@stoneysdead689]

Right, right- but try doing all this explaining you're doing right now to a potential buyer- see if he doesn't assume you're full of it and walk off. Then do the same thing with an American made Gibson or Martin- he buys it without need of your explanations or excuses. Resale matters- tremendously- especially once you're spending a over a G. You'll never get even half of that money back when you sell your Alvarez- in fact, you better put in the listing that this isn't your usual Alvarez- otherwise teenagers are going to be showing up expecting to buy a 300 dollar guitar to play in their new cover band.

[@pepmasters-999]

You claimed inflation in America is at an all-time high. I'm pointing out that it's not. Nothing more, nothing less. I don't care about your hypothetical teenagers turning up to buy some hypothetical listing.

[@stoneysdead689]

@@pepmasters-999 LOL- Calm down junior- I wasn't even talking to you. Don't be so eager to prove your point that you start arguing with someone who agrees with you. Inflation is not at an "all time high" in the US- it's not even very high anymore. It was, for a while- but the ppl on the right have worked overtime trying to convince everyone things are really bad- and tons of Americans have bought it. If you look at the numbers- things are actually pretty good. Unemployment is very low, wages are growing at the same rate as inflation, and the Feds are fixing to cut interest rates hopefully- making loans affordable again.

[@pepmasters-999]

@pepmasters-999 Ah, sorry, Mr Dead, old chap. Took a scan and in my haste thought you were replying to me. That's what you get for reading things in a hurry. My mistake.

[@johncardill9431]

Blown away every time by Bens playing!😎

[@jonathanb1471]

Ben is an amazing player and I love the humour in his demos. The new single from his duo Smith and Brewer is amazing, can’t stop playing it!

[@piero_75]

Amazing playing on that parlour, hats off!

[@davidhirst1661]

They're actually AAAA solid Sitka tops.

[@dasninjastix]

Love your playing Ben, phenomenal as always. I have an Alvarez Artist Elite with a cedar top that sounds massive, ultra resonant. These sound (and look) great, but their less expensive stuff is excellent value as well.

[@lhvent]

Great dmo, Ben. I can hear some Stephen Stills in there.

[@lhvent]

I have been playing Alvarez Guitars for 12 years now. Chris Meikle has done an amazing job elevating the Alvarez product line.

[@naturalrestingface1884]

Ben gets all Stephen Stills finger style on us! Wonderful! I like these axe's

[@JackR845]

Nice bluegrass playing Ben! Love my MD70BG, only thing I'd change is the Indian laurel fretboard so these look incredible!

[@dobster5819]

The fingerboard is Ebony.

[@JackR845]

@@dobster5819 I was talking about my MD70BG

[@Mike-j-R]

Another brilliant video from the guys at Andertons and beautiful playing by Ben. PLEASE (note caps for emphasis) do a comparison video between the Alvarez Laureates and a few Martins. I'd particularly like to hear the Laureate Folk OM next to a Martin 00028 (or an OM if closer in tone)

[@davem3008]

These guitars sound awesome... could listen to Ben noodling for hours, great job 👍

[@mickhaslam3847]

Ben is a joy to watch and listen to

[@OkinawanPride13]

15:20-16:45 absolute masterclass!

[@StevenAMckayAuthor]

I LOVE Ben's playing, does he have any albums out? I could listen to him all day even though I mostly listen to extreme metal!

[@andertons]

Check out his website bensmithguitar.com

[@StevenAMckayAuthor]

@@andertons thanks! 🤘🏻

[@jez6345789]

The Dreadnaught and the Parlour were the stand out for me and reckon with a couple of years under their belts they will sound up there with the best nice playing and good work Alvarez showing that far east manufacture does not mean cheap beginner guitars.

[@mrtelechi]

Superb playing and beautiful sounding guitars.

[@mwaythos]

These guitars would seem to be excellent for folk, blues, and beyond.

[@plexihead136]

Why don’t Anderson’s stock Eastman guitars? Amazing value and up there with Martin

[@Big.E]

Awesome guitars and awesome playing as always Ben :+)👍

[@kaeruemkui2654]

Quality guitars, really good performance . 😊

[@pepmasters-999]

Another fun review from Ben. These guitars have decent specs. Have a little nagging scepticism, but they sounded good enough. I'm kind of on the fence as to whether they represent value.

[@rowbags3017]

Lovely guitars and stunning playing! 😎

[@Shovel-om7kn]

Paradiso!! Ben’jamin Blue Grass, guitar definitely sounds good.

[@jimgodofbiscuits]

This is hopeful. Where are they made? My first guitar i purchased with my own money was a cheap rd8 but it was ok. But when I went to higher end local shop stopped selling alvarez due to problems with neck to body construction. I ignored them and ordered one on line even though off shored builds. They had thinner tops then too. When I got it the neck on the body had nearly a quarter inch bend. The top had dropped down. I hope they are past that now but thinner top still worries me.

[@colej3360]

Any chance of a video of Ben demoing some good options for 1/4 and 1/2 sized guitars you’d recommend for children from 4 to 6 years old or so? Nylon strings maybe? Cheers!

[@kingstumble]

I have owned a few different Alvarez models and one thing they have in common is volume. They are bloody loud!

[@kylebaker8619]

I currently have a martin D18 and used to have a martin D28. Honestly the Alvarez dreadnought is surprisingly great compared to the Martin's. NOT getting rid of my martin but dang, Alvarez has a great alternative

[@tbeau6663]

The Parlour does it for me....... Another one for the wish list.

[@allanshort8264]

Great sounding guitars, like Eastman with fantastic tone at a sensible price. Why so many Americans choose to use Anderton's TV to bang the drum for overpriced Taylor and Martin and Gibson with their quality control issues is beyond me when you can get better sounds for less money.

[@Hyde92]

What a player!!!!

[@ChrisA-hu5pz]

Great Job Ben.

[@chrisstanford3652]

Specs on parlor are 24” even, 610 mm short scale

[@brockrutledge9241]

Alverez in the early 2000's were really good then around 2007ish they vanished around the Indianapolis area i grew up in

[@johnjones-uc3ni]

If you find a good one then these guitara can be outstanding for the money. But regardless of the sekect parts, they are still production guitars. Which means you need to play a few to get a great one. Every review I read about this series has complaints about sharp frets. Quality control has to be better. But the demand exceeds the ability to ensure all guitars are up to standard.

[@stevenbird1431]

Awesome Demo!!! I’m not sure you can make a guitar sound bad Ben 🤔

[@ralfybaby]

Very nice. Would like to see this pitted against a FG5 ....

[@picksalot1]

The acoustic/miced sounds are pretty good. The Piezo Pickup sound is typical, overly bright/thin, and not something I'd use. EQ the very high frequencies down and add some lows to get a more natural sound.

[@Adrenasport]

It's not a piezo. It's the lr baggs hifi. Which is comparable to the k&k pure mini

[@picksalot1]

@@Adrenasport To clarify: The LR Baggs Hifi system is described as ".. a non-invasive pickup design that pairs dual bridge plate sensors...." and on their site they are described as "Prewired bridge plate transducers". The "K&K Pure Mini Acoustic Guitar Pickup" is described on Amazon as a "Pickup with 3 piezo heads."

[@Adrenasport]

@picksalot1 trust me Same thing. A piezo goes under the saddle. A transducer goes under the Bridgewater. K&k has 3, lr baggs has 2. I installed the hifi in one of my guitars and have it in two. The lr baggs anthem has a piezo and under saddle mic or tru-mic.

[@mikeellis4345]

That parlour guitar sounds a lot 00 ish to me. Nice !!

[@reubenrinaldi7091]

Is there a reason these guitars are so much heavier than all the other guitars in the store? Is this a good or a bad thing?

[@TVsBen]

Hey @Andertons I think there's a correction that needs to be made. Ben said the scale length on the parlor is 25 inches and that it's only a half inch shorter than the others (which are 25.5). The Alvarez website says the scale length on the parlor is 610 millimeters, which works out to 24.01 inches. I'm having a hard time finding a parlor sized guitar with at least a 24.75" scale length. I know there are a couple of affordable options, but I'm looking more upscale.

[@Gordon6500]

Is the last demo in dadgad tuning?

[@PhilJakes]

the OM is 25' scale

[@brandonward9294]

freaking a that parlor 🤯😳

[@michaelkrailo5725]

The two i tested had serious flaws in the fret work. If you are lucky and get a good one then of course you will be happy with the sound. The crazy thing is the second one was plek'd and still had buzzy frets on the lower frets. The first one played great at the lower frets, but had issues in the middle. I cannot recommend any of these guitars you have been warned. BTW, i tested the dread. Very sharp fret ends as well.

[@souvikmitra6198]

Where they are manufactured?

[@shabbatwithjosh]

He said the parlor was 25" scale length. Other sites are saying 24". Anyone know for sure?

[@dadtheinhaler9713]

Alvarez website says 24”

[@andsoistopped]

Interesting they’ve moved away from the usual K Yari bridges.

[@johnjones-uc3ni]

The bridges used by alveraz in the past look like Yairi bridged but are not direct coupled like the Yairi.

[@chrisstanford3652]

🎶🎵🤗 Ordering a parlor🌹

[@SomeRandomGuyOnYouTube]

I got a Laureate from Andertons a few months ago. Very nice sounding and playing guitar, but the spruce top has started to discolour in a rather ugly way, with the wood darkening but "fingers" of pale wood remaining near the binding. Looks horrible.

[@akwamarsunzal]

I don´t need another guitar, let alone another acoustic lol Just cannot not watch Ben and his amazing playing!

[@denmar355]

Amplified sound has significantly less piezo quack, which is a good thing! A great guitar through a quacky piezo system just sucks the tone out of a good guitar. For the money these look promising.

[@smartmammal9926]

Case?

[@isadorealire5722]

Softshell case. But the case is very nice and offers more protection than most soft cases. I am confident using these cases to tote my Yairis around.

[@wardettinger6177]

Seems he's more bad ass on a dreadnought

[@pepmasters-999]

Most people sound more bass ass on a dreadnought. But more fun on a parlour.

[@BaldyBaeby]

Like others said, the fretwork is a real problem and the guitar is brand new. I blindly bought the LF 70e, fortunately it sounds phenomenal.. unfortunately there are 6 fret higher than the others + sharps frets. A couple hundred more so it doesn't buzz anymore. Should've bought the Yamaha fsx5 made in Japan. Flagship product with a couple more hundreds to put on it.. that's my last Alvarez product ever. My 2 Alvarez had fretwork to do. I'm done with them.

[@PJ-ff5jy]

I’d like to see these against Auden guitars.

[@whatsupchicken]

The guitar sounds great, you sir play just slightly above the amazing level, but the plugged in sound is the same shat as almost any other piezo or whatever system... for me.

[@stoneysdead689]

Beautiful sounding guitar- but there's no way I'm paying over a G for a freakin Alvarez. If I'm spending that kind of money on an acoustic, it's either a Gibson, a Taylor, or a Martin. Why? Because when I want to sell it, I would prefer not to lose most of what I paid. I'm sure they sound just as good, but they won't sell just as good- and we all know it. In fact- when you go to sell this Alvarez, you'll most likely have to explain to them what it is, show them the prices of them, etc.- because they'll never believe you. In the average players mind, Alvarez is a budget instrument.

[@cjgsicknote]

I think for most modern musicians they don't actually think in terms of resale value, they want a quality instrument that will work for them without having to pay 3k. For a collector or home enthusiast maybe so but I'm not taking my 3k martin to local gigs to play for anyone unless it's the grammys and that ain't happening anytime soon, so if you're looking for something that plays and sounds as good as a martin for much less money then these are great along with eastmans, takamine, yamaha, blueridge etc. For the money you're talking for martin, taylor and gibson I'd rather but an atkin, bourgeois or collings boutique level acoustics. There's always an alternative opinion man.

[@stoneysdead689]

@@cjgsicknote Ok genius- let's get this straight right from the start- I am a modern musician, I make my living playing music. Second- when did I ever say a single word about Takamine, Yamaha, or Blueridge (whoever the hell they are)? I didn't- I said I wouldn't buy this Alvarez for over a G- I own a Takamine, I own a Squier- 3 of them actually, I own an Epiphone- which is what I play when gigging 9 times out of 10. That said- once I'm paying 1000 bucks- I'm not buying some freakin import. That's stupid- you can buy a good used Gibson or Martin for that kind of money. You'd own a better guitar, with a better resale, for the same amount of money.

[@cjgsicknote]

@stoneysdead689 what you so angry for 🤣🤣. I don't agree with you, simple as that!. You can say whatever you like and stamp your little feet all day, doesn't make an excrement of a difference to me.

[@stoneysdead689]

@@cjgsicknote When you sell this guitar you're going to have to say "It's an Alvarez, but..." all I'm saying is once I'm spending a G- I don't want any "but's" involved. If you're comfortable with that that's your business- I don't care. What I got angry about is you mischaracterizing what I said- ppl like you are so eager to make a point- which is usually not even your own, it's something you picked up watching KZbin vids and think makes you sound good- that you don't even read what you're responding to. My problem is not budget or import guitars- it's paying 1200 bucks for one.

[@cjgsicknote]

@stoneysdead689 hahahah cry more you absolute nobody. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@AltCtrlSpud]

i am racist against obese women :D

[@SnaketheJake87]

Say what you want, but Alvarez fell off bad. If this is one of their china made guitars, it’s a piece of shit, full stop.

[@Whitty43]

I own high end guitars, Cole Clark and Maton are my primarily gigging guitars and I also have an Alvarez mdg70 and the Alvarez is every bit as good as my cole Clark build quality wise which cost me £3999