GSWJ - JP Reviews the Alvarez Laureate Dreadnaught

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Love to all.

[@anthonyb2334]

I’m an old guitar geek, love guitars and have owned around 200 different ones in the past 50 years. Over the last 10 years I’ve really come to appreciate Alvarez. They build quality instruments. I’ve owned a few, and was thrilled to see this review. Thank you for the video

[@user-fj4oz8hu9h]

Ok I got my LD70e. Beautiful guitar! The wood and craftsmanship are AAA top notch. Have to say the fret edges were very sharp and the action was too high. Frets were surprisingly very level though. My first time playing the D’Addario XS strings. They are great. Overall this guitar’s tone is super sweet. Very responsive to a light touch, but can get very loud when you dig in. Gig bag is not for me. Ordered a Crossrock hard shell case. I moved the strap hardware from back of neck heal to the side where I like it. Now that I have everything dialed in and I have been playing this guitar all evening, I have to say I am super impressed! Thank you Alvarez for making such a great guitar for us folks on a working man’s salary!

[@biganttony6786]

I love it. Might get one. I have a '78 Alvarez-Yairi my Dad bought new and he gave it to me when I was 14. I'm 42 now and its sit by my favorite chair, and I still pick it up every day.

[@GraemeCampbellMusic]

I’m still gigging with my Masterworks MD60EBG, such good guitars

[@lhvent]

Chris Meikle is a visionary. He has always been someone who thinks outside the box.

[@theapplepaul]

Thank you for introducing the guitar gems that might otherwise be overlooked. Sounds incredible.

[@abates226]

Love it! Can’t wait to see the next one!

[@CameraLaw]

Lovely instrument. Ever since you introduced me to Chris by playing at his factory (?), I’ve been watching Alvarez’ videos. Well worth everyone’s time. The thought that went into this line of guitars is no secret … Chris discussed all the elements in great detail in the run up to the launch, which was secret. Chris loves learning about guitars and doesn’t mind building several different models in development. The bridge alone was a labor of love that when through several iterations. Thank you for the introduction. (Of course, as I’ve done before, JP, I have you to thank for the ‘89 DY-90, which I found for a bargain price on Reverb, that I play.)

[@chappo5410]

Hi from Australia JP came on your youtube for a review of my Yamaha FGX 3 guitar last year then checked your songs and live videos. You are such an amazing guitarist and love your videos😀

[@FrankJamesMusic]

Wow! Great Guitar! Love your show JP..

[@leebodean1493]

Nice guitar. I bought a yairi stage guitar on your recommendation and couldn't be happier with it. Your a hell of a player. Keep up the good work.

[@panayotiscanellopoulos8696]

JP always guides us to extremely good (and affordable) choices! Because of you, I purchased my lovely Epiphone Excellente but now.... you just picked up the PERFECT Rosewood Dreadnought! I wish I could have the money to buy it! Thanks a lot JP!!! Greetings from Athens , Greece!

[@thomaspoddig6392]

Thanks for reviewing JP. I have been eyeing one since they came out and you may have just nudged the needle enough to purchase.

[@josejcastaneda5826]

I was waiting for the review on this one! I was split between this Alvarez and the A5R from Yamaha. Deep full voice!

[@1deadtoe707]

Try to play both instrument before you buy.

[@stephenandkayleemusic]

From my experience I prefer the Yamaha A5R pickup and the Alvarez unplugged.

[@muzishian]

Good Lord, my reaction was just like yours when you chuckled about 10 seconds into playing that guitar. What a fantastic sounding guitar! The high-mids just sparkle and the sustain is incredible. I am unlucky to be a left-handed player, but fortunate enough to have a left-handed Yairi Baritone (YB-70) that was custom built for an online Alvarez retailer in Texas (Musician Madness) for one of their Alvarez runs. According to the retailer, it took nine months to build and boy, is it a fantastic instrument as well. I couldn’t agree with your assessment of Alvarez more. They make premium guitars affordable. Hopefully they will make one of the Laureates in a left-handed version.

[@garytudor4655]

Thank you, JP. I just purchased one of these Alverza LD70e(Daybreak Sunburst) but now I have to wait till it arrives next week. Come on Wednesday!!! Thank you for your video because it helped me to decide on this guitar. I enjoy watching your videos and seeing you play your guitars.

[@richardeckert1050]

I recently purchased the Alvarez Dreadnaught model that was used as the template for this Laureate series. It is really, really good. Punches way higher than the pricing. Alvarez has found a great recipe.

[@luckyrocks1]

Thanks!

[@Big.E]

Blooming awesome

[@patcampbell9766]

Dam J.P. now I want one of those, you did it again lolol.

[@ralfybaby]

Always good to see JP review another great guitar. It sure looks the biz. I love that faint sunburst effect. As always I wonder whether to get a guitar like this or wait until I can afford the Yairi DYM60 that I dream of. I would like to see this pitted against a Martin special style rosewood (the musician's friend/guitar center special) dread, which is the cheapest Martin US built rosewood dread. For now I continue to play my MD60BGs of which I own 2 thanks to JP's review of that in the "which one is the Martin?" videos ...

[@NTKHZN]

Love the shirt JP 😂.

[@stevebernard221]

Put it up against a Boucher in a comparison vid....that would really showcase how good they may be.

[@michaelkrailo5725]

I didn't want to say this, but it is what it is. I just got mine in and it has an incredible tone out of the box and plays awesome sounding open chords. The frets are visually sharp on the edges but mine was not interfering with the playability and even if it did, that is really easy to dress up the fret ends with the tool used for doing just that. The fret board has perfectly straight edges unlike someone else that had a wavy one. My big issue with the one I got is that the neck cannot be adjusted to flatten out no matter what the truss rod setting is. This is a deal breaker in and of itself but to add insult to injury, every fret has fret rock using a standard fret checking tool. That clearly means that the frets were leveled with the guitar having a bow in the neck to start with. I'm not sure how else that can happen otherwise. Believe me I tried to adjust the neck flat and check it with a slotted iLuz straight edge and it will not flatten out. So it looks like I'll have to return this one. It's really sad though, because the workmanship on every other aspect is really good, I just got a lemon. I further took off all the tension from the strings and was able to get the neck to flatten out. Then, checking for the fret rocking again, it was clearly worse with the neck nice and flat. So this guitar is going back to Sweetwater for sure as this is completely unacceptable. It's very difficult to buy guitars through the internet, at least Sweetwater does handle returns easily, I'm just a little upset right now because I have yet to fully accept any online guitar. This is not my first return. I'm going to miss the smell of the rose wood in this one. The overall tone was really good, so if you do happen to get a good one, you will be very happy. I recommend only purchasing at a store that you can actually play the guitar and check everything is up to par.

[@rogerd9150]

Wow! Sounds amzing. Too bad I already have too many guitars.

[@gui-texzan7477]

John hinted at a new Alvarez Yairi that may be released in a couple of weeks. I hope its the Yairi DYM74 (Redwood top/EIR back and sides). I have had one on order for about two months and would love to hear him play it.

[@charliewelch328]

Sweet!!

[@entemen]

No worries JP. You're right, you can review any freaking guitar you want. I have the OM Daybreak and it plays and sounds great.

[@jpobrien5418]

I need that shirt lol!!😂

[@uvp5000]

Ha! I was thinking the same thing.

[@howabouthetruth2157]

$1399 US is a killer deal for this gem!!!

[@seanhallahan14]

So glad you did this! I'd been waiting. Chris' Laureate story is such a great one. I need another guitar like a hole in the head and came so so so close to buying the Laureate parlor. Couldn't possibly justify another dreadnought. Not sure if you'd mentioned the thin finish. Nitro?

[@howabouthetruth2157]

I highly doubt it has a nitrocellulose lacquer finish for this amazing price. Nitro is still by far the most difficult finish to apply to a guitar. But seeing as it sounds so great, who really cares? Nitro is still the best though, as you probably already know.

[@briguy345]

I'm also looking at the parlor but I'm waiting for more reviews to come out. It's been two months, where are they??? Just the andertons one.

[@brianredmon378]

I bought the Alvarez LF70e Laureate 70 Folk/OM model and sent it back to Sweetwater. Everything about it was fantastic until I felt frets protruding, on the edge of the fret board. The edge of the fret board was a wavy line. I was so disappointed because I was waiting in anticipation to get one. I also contacted Alvarez, nothing but crickets, never heard back.

[@abates226]

I want this guitar.

[@alansummers2090]

Now I have to go buy one. I was going to buy the rd328

[@richfiryn]

You should get the RD328 too because you know you want one.

[@WysteriaGuitar]

That's a Noble Laureate!

[@calebbhawkins]

I played one of these in Natural finish at Sweetwater and it hands down beat the crap out of a Yamaha FG9 in rosewood. It wasn’t even close. I play short scale guitars so this isn’t totally my bag. But it’s cool to see Alvarez making instruments at this price that compete openly with much pricier options.

[@howabouthetruth2157]

If ya check all of the comments under this video, there are at least several, where guys bought this model, had to return them due to several issues. I guess it's a model where it's highly advised to have the ability to play and inspect in person before buying. NOT simply "ordering one online". Every one that was returned in these comments were purchased from Sweetwater. I guess this proves that the folks at Sweetwater are NOT "pre-inspecting every instrument" as they claim.

[@kyd2868]

How do you think this compares to the MD60BG?

[@alanfloyd3205]

It that a Tim Gagnon painting on the floor?

[@callawaycass5148]

I'm a sucker for sleeper guitars, but I also think John would make anything sound good.

[@stewart_92]

Have you experienced a sensitivity to buzzing on these models? If you really dig in it feels like the frets buzz a bit

[@pawwalton2157]

The strap button location makes it look cheap! Why? Everything else looks great. That's the first thing I would fix.

[@chrisclarke3670]

Great review, you were high on the Yamaha LL16D as well; what are your thoughts between those two?

[@howabouthetruth2157]

Both are great guitars, but this Alvarez is the better guitar. it costs about $220 more than the LL16D, but it has the LR Baggs system pre-installed, so that's always a plus too........and makes this Alvarez model a killer deal. If I were you, I would definitely spend the extra $$ and go with this Alvarez.

[@mitchmalloy3468]

I had an LL16 and this to my ear crushes it. It has way more low end and sounds more open and old. I much prefer it and I’m a huge Yamaha fan. Don’t tell them though they might start bothering me. 😂

[@howabouthetruth2157]

@@mitchmalloy3468 I agree with ya 100% Mitch. To my ear, this Alvarez totally eclipses the LL16D. It's noticeably more powerful. And the fact it already has an LL Baggs hi-fi system pre-installed is simply the icing on the cake.

[@mitchmalloy3468]

@@howabouthetruth2157 Well you are obviously a musical genius. :)

[@exroyalcanadian]

Do you still play your Epiphone Excellente?

[@isadorealire5722]

Are the pins slotted?

[@eagleheadterraceia2803]

How do feel critically about the base response? Are you good with it?

[@JPCormier]

Absolutely. Thundering bass.

[@garfield8900]

John, I was looking at an Alvarez Yairi online and noticed it was assembled in China. Have you played one of these and is the quality up to par? thank you for your reply! Phil

[@howabouthetruth2157]

An actual YAIRI made in China? May I ask: how much is it priced for? Because I know the genuine article: the Yairi's handmade in Japan with spoke-shaved necks are NOT cheap. ????????????????

[@johnjones-uc3ni]

If you read online that any Yairi guitar is assembled is China then you either misread the article or the article was written by someone who didn't do their research.

[@randysmith85]

Hey jp,I have the yairi dym60hd just seeing if the neck is similar to the yairi

[@kurt8805]

I have the same Yairi as you and have had two recent Alvarez, and still own one. All modern Alvarez necks are the same. 1 3/4" nut instead of the Yairi's 1 23/32" nut and rounder in the first 4 fret area where the Yairi has a slight V. The Alvarez will feel a little fuller in that area. I have no problems switching between the two necks even though I can feel the difference and I'm very picky about neck profiles. The Akvarez doesn't feel as big as two Eastmans I've had but it fills up the palm more than Martin's current Modified Low Oval neck if that helps you.

[@kurt8805]

The Alvarez neck profile does have a slight V in the first 2-3 fret area. I don't feel it in my palm when playing but I can feel it when I run a finger across the back of the neck from one side of the fretboard to the other. Still rounder than the Yairi's slight V.

[@DanFuzz2009]

Well, they are selling it for 2k$ CND and more for the little I could see

[@abates226]

Back is bookmatched, according to their website. Just no trim, but it is in two pieces.

[@nicholascowie5944]

You've got it tuned down a semi tone I think

[@kurt8805]

Seems like most of the ones I've seen pictures of have less than AAAA grade tops as advertised. Grain runout, for example.

[@davidhirst1661]

Sounds amazing! Although John you're such a good player you could get a tune out of a banana.

[@lefthandpath1587]

Hey JP - now that you've played both the factory built Laureate Dreadnought LD70e, with its carefully selected wood, and the handbuilt Yairi Honduran DYM60HD - what do you reckon the difference is, in terms of playability and sound quality? Asking as the Alvarez guys posted a video comparison of the DYM60HD to another of their factory dreadnoughts - the MD60BG dreadnought. At the end , they conclude the sound quality difference between the two is only about 5 to 10%. (kzbin.info/www/bejne/i5iogqJ9mZqlaJI), for 3x the price on the Yairi

[@robmaclean1878]

Another great review-$2100 plus tax for us Canadians.

[@abates226]

Seems to need a setup. I hear buzzing. I think.

[@gimpyjwilliams]

guitar sound perfect, check your speakers lol

[@kurt8805]

I agree. A lotta buzzing going on.

[@stevebernard221]

Under $1500 USD!!!!!

[@SibeDad]

Yes, $2000 + in Canada...now try and find one😎

[@stevebernard221]

​@SibeDad yeah, you'll need to order I'd say.

[@chrisb8193]

@@SibeDadSeriously?

[@abates226]

Actually, I think your twelve-feet cutaway is probably even better. Fuck.

[@mandohat]

Can you come to my house and just play guitar?

[@bobnolin9155]

Speaking of the boom in guitar-quality, I'm wondering if this is due in part to the "Covid Effect" selling a ton of guitars in 2020-22. Thanks for the video - you convinced me to get one in natural. UPDATE: I am in love. I seem to have a guitar from the same litter as yours: S/N 23123597. Yours is 23123601. To me, this guitar is of the same quality as a Collings I once owned and had to sell to make rent. Love your playing!

[@weed491]

It does sound good ,but they must be using lead weights somewhere in the guitar, I looked a bunch of them and all of them are over 5 pounds, which is very heavy for a dread acoustic guitar.