Alvarez - AP66 SHB

About the Artist Series
Our award-winning Artist Series represents our commitment to quality and design, making it one of the finest lines of solid-state guitars in the world today.

The Artist Series feel great and are exciting to play; whether you strum hard or pick lightly, the guitar will do what you ask of it. For a more focused sound with fewer overtones, choose a mahogany top. For a more open projection, opt for Sitka. For more warmth and response to a lighter fingerboard, choose a cedar top.

All our tops are selected by our team and graded independently of our suppliers. If it's not worthy, we won't use it. Although the top quality improves as you ride the Artist Series models, all are stiff and fine grained.

After 55 years of making guitars, continuous improvement through the use of emerging technologies, processes and materials is still at the heart of our culture. Alvarez guitars are built right in every sense, from the preparation of the raw materials to the construction and manufacturing processes.

Our tonewoods are carefully dried; our components such as neck blocks and wood joints are carefully designed. The painting, sanding and polishing techniques we use are continually researched and developed, and our sound is impeccably engineered and married to a stable, coherent and lively soundbox.

This caring approach to development stems from a simple goal: to provide the best guitars on the market at every price point, instruments that offer truly incredible value and provide a fantastic playing experience.

The term 'solid top' refers to the guitar's top being made of solid wood rather than laminate. However, even when the guitar top is solid wood, the sound of the instrument is only significantly improved when the whole guitar is properly constructed to maximise the energy that a solid top can generate. Artist Series is designed to do just that.

Each model is designed to make the most of its components and for them to work together to produce balance, lively projection and excellent response. These components include our FS6 bracing design, which allows the soundbox to sing and provides consistency between Dreadnought, Grand Auditorium, OM and Parlour body sizes. This means the voicing has a similar character, but the individual tone is more purely influenced by the size and shape of the guitar.

Our two-level bridge is designed to increase string tension and improve sustain and response. Genuine bone nut and saddle, premium tonewood and our handcrafted muted finish enhance the build quality and have a positive impact on the instrument's performance. The brilliant Artist Series models have a clear, deep brilliance from a finish applied as finely as possible to optimise tone. The personality and voice of the Artist Series are open, dynamic and instantly responsive.

Thank you for choosing Alvarez.