Alvarez Guitars is now shipping the Artist Series Shadowburst finish guitars, including the new AD60CESHB.
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This new guitar was first unveiled at the winter NAMM event, along with the company’s extensive line of acoustic guitars which cover a wide variety of shapes and wood configurations. This announcement marks the availability of the Shadowburst finish Artist Series models.
Alvarez describes this new finish as their high-end version of the popular edge-burst style, having what they call a “rich gradient of balanced color”. This special finish was previously only available via their premium Masterworks line of guitars, so this release is the first time Shadowburst is used on more affordable instruments.
Alvarez Head of Development and Senior VP of St. Louis Music Chris Meikle had this to say, “Getting our Artist Series Shadowburst models to consumers is a milestone moment for us. A shadowburst finish takes a greater amount of production and time than other finishes. We’ve worked hard to hone the process and are proud to deliver such a quality finish at the Artist Series price point.”
The company went into further detail on the Shadowburst finish, stating that it is an edge burst finish that gives a deep gradient of balanced color over the top grain with a mirror-like glassy shine. They mentioned that it took them years to develop the finish and application technique, resulting in a thin application that still retains quality, ensuring that this cosmetic addition do not negatively affect tone. According to them this feat is rarely found among imported instruments.
The Alvarez AD60CESHB specifically sports conventional wood configuration with its solid A+ Sitka spruce top, and mahogany back & sides. The top is supported by forward shifted scalloped X bracing. The body follows a dreadnought with cutaway shape which also implies that it comes with built-in electronics. Speaking of electronics, Alvarez went with LR Baggs for this guitar, to be specific, the StagePro EQ and Element pickup, which is a side mounted pickup+preamp system with 3-band EQ, phase inversion, and Garrett Null notch filter controls.
The guitar’s mahogany neck has a 50/50 semi gloss finish and topped by a rosewood fingerboard. It has a scale length of 25.5″. and a nut width of 1.75″, both of which also follow conventional acoustic designs. The neck meets the body at the 14th fret via a Dovetail joint. Other features of the neck include Real bone nut and saddle, Ivory ABS binding, premium die-cast tuners, rosewood headstock plate and a special 12th fret inlay. The bi-level bridge is also crafted from rosewood to match the headstock plate and fingerboard. Other features include
The MSRP for the Alvarez AD60CESHB acoustic-electric guitar is $699. You an visit Alvarez Guitars for further details.
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