Alvarez AF30 - Overview and Best Prices

Alvarez AF30 Review
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  • 3 Prices - New from $329.99 >
  • From Alvarez's 2020 Artist series
  • Made in China
  • 6 strings
  • 24.803"'' scale
  • 14.96" Fretboard Radius
  • Solid A Sitka Spruce top
  • African Mahogany back
  • African Mahogany sides
  • Mahogany, 50/50 Semi gloss finish neck
  • Techwood fretboard
  • Bridge pickup: (/)
  • Techwood bridge
  • Acoustic Alvarez Set neck
  • 21 Medium frets
  • Chrome, Die Cast tuners
  • Side-By-Side Comparison
Show Specs
Alvarez AF30 Specifications
Alvarez AF30
General
Brand: Alvarez
Year: 2020
Configuration: N/A
Strings: 6
Made in: China
Series: Artist
Colors:
Left-Handed Version: No
Body
Type: Hollowbody
Body Material: Solid A Sitka Spruce
Sides Material: Mahogany
Back Material: Mahogany
Bridge: Techwood
Neck
Neck Joint: Set
Tuners: Chrome, Die Cast
Fretboard: Techwood
Neck Material: Mahogany, 50/50 Semi gloss finish
Decoration: ABS Dots
Scale Size: 24.803"
Shape: Acoustic Alvarez
Frets: 21 Medium
Fretboard Radius: 14.96"
Nut: Bone
Nut Width: 44.5mm (1.75'')
Electronics
Pickups: ( / )
Hardware
Strap Lock: No
Hardware Color: Chrome

Our Scores and Tone Evaluation

Playability 73
Sound 84
Build quality 65
Value for money 84
Overall Score 74
Tone Evaluation
  • Heavy Metal
  • Hard Rock
  • Jazz
  • Blues
  • Funk
  • Country
Strengths & Weaknesses
Alvarez AF30
  • Expensive Wood
  • Bone Nut
  • Bone Saddle
  • Solid Top Wood
  • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
  • No Locking Tuners
  • Made in China
  • No Top Brand Pickups
  • No Electronics
  • Laminated Side Wood
  • Laminated Back Wood
  • No Compound Radius Fretboard
  • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • No Strap Lock

Price Overview

Its average competitor's price is $440, which means that the Alvarez AF30 is around 25% cheaper than the competition. This takes into account all instruments of the same category in our database with 6 strings and Fixed bridge that are made in China.

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User Reviews & Feedback

Not all instruments are created equally. That's why it's important to have different opinions. Here's what our users who have played this instrument say. If you've played it before, help others by voting below!

Weight

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Hand Size Comfortability

After taking into account the neck profile, scale size, fretboard radius, and nut width, we can conclude that the Alvarez AF30's construction favors people with relatively small hands.

Nevertheless, this comes down in the end to personal preference. Make sure you test this guitar—or another one with similar characteristics—before buying.

Big Hands
Small Hands

Beginner Friendliness

The Alvarez AF30 meets 4 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, which means that it's not bad for beginners, but it could be better. This takes into account the type of frets, scale length, nut width, bridge type, fretboard radius, and neck profile to determine the easiest combination for new players to get used to.

New Player Friendliness

Alvarez AF30
  • Comfortable shape
  • Easy-to-use bridge
  • Tall frets
  • Comfortable neck
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Narrow nut
  • Short scale
  • Soft Strings
  • Locking tuners

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Playability

Scale Length

Scale length is the distance the strings will span between the bridge and the nut. It can tell you a lot about the overall playability and tone of the instrument. A longer scale length means longer distance between frets, brighter tone and more string tension—which means lower action, but more difficult bending of the strings.

Here's the Alvarez AF30's 24.803" scale length compared to other common sizes:

Alvarez AF30 Scale Length Comparison
Alvarez AF30's scale length (at the top) compared to other popular sizes

This scale is longer than most Gibson guitars. It's still considered a long scale, but much shorter than the more standard 25.5" scale.

A shorter scale length guitar has a few advantages. One is that it is easier to play because the strings are under less tension. This can be helpful for beginners, or those with smaller hands.

More with the same scale length:

Neck Profile

Alvarez AF30 Neck Profile
Alvarez AF30's neck profile

The neck profile tells you the thickness (neck depth) and shape in cross section. Every difference will completely change the feeling and comfortability of the neck. This is a highly subjective thing, but most players indeed prefer certain types of necks (like Cs and Ds) because they feel nice in most hands.

It has a D type neck. It's similar to a C shape, and it's one of the most common shapes right now. It's a bit flatter and thinner, even though sometimes it has a bit more shoulders. It's a fast type of neck that is comfortable, and shredders love it.

Fretboard Radius

When it comes to fingerboard radius, personal preference will dictate which one is better for you. However, most people seem to agree that a more curved (lower) radius will make it easier to play chords while a less curved (higher) radius is better for soloing and bending.

The Alvarez AF30 has a 14.96" fingerboard radius.

Here's an image comparing this fretboard radius to other popular choices:

Alvarez AF30 Fretboard Radius Comparison with Fender Stratocaster and Gibson Les Paul
Alvarez AF30's fretboard radius compared to others

Compound radius fingerboards give the best of both worlds. Unfortunately, the Alvarez AF30 has the same radius across the board.

More with the same fretboard radius:

Playability compared to main competitors

Alvarez AF30
This model
24.803'' Scale Length
D Neck Profile
1.75'' Nut Width
14.96'' Fretboard Radius
25.5'' Scale Length
C Neck Profile
1.732'' Nut Width
15.748'' Fretboard Radius
25.3'' Scale Length
C Neck Profile
1.772'' Nut Width
15.748'' Fretboard Radius
24.803'' Scale Length
D Neck Profile
1.75'' Nut Width
14.96'' Fretboard Radius
25.6'' Scale Length
C Neck Profile
1.732'' Nut Width
15.748'' Fretboard Radius

Nut Width

Alvarez AF30 Nut Width
Alvarez AF30 Nut Width

The Alvarez AF30 has a nut width of 44.5mm (1.75''). This is within the most common range of nut widths for a 6-string guitar. It offers a good balance of string separation at the nut. It's the size that most guitarists prefer as it gives them just enough space to play open chords without muting the strings, but without spreading the strings too wide and making bar chords difficult to perform.

Frets

It comes with nickel silver frets, so they won't last as long as stainless steel frets. If you use your instrument a lot, you might need to replace the frets after a few years. But this is unlikely as most people change instruments before this happens.

Fret Size

Alvarez AF30 Fret Size Comparison
Alvarez AF30's fret size (in orange) compared to other popular sizes

Finally, let's talk about fret size. Some people prefer tall frets because it's easier to press the strings and perform bends since there's less friction against the fretboard. On the other hand, some people like shorter frets because they like to touch the fretboard when playing, or because they got heavy hands and tend to press too much on the string and alter the of the note pitch accidently.

The Alvarez AF30's frets are Medium size. With medium frets, you can feel the fretboard more than with jumbo frets, but it's still easier to press the strings cleanly than with small frets; notes might change their pitch just slightly if you press hard on the fret. Also, if you need to do some fret leveling after years of playing, you'll have some room to sand them down without having to replace them.

Playability Score

Bending & Vibrato Ease 80
Chord Playability 70
Solo Playability 70
Playability 73

Tone

The type of wood and even the shape of the body will have a lot of influence in the final tone of an acoustic guitar. Here's we'll talk about what kind of tone you can expect from its specs.

Wood

Spruce wood pattern used for guitar building
Spruce Top
Mahogany wood pattern used for guitar building
Mahogany Back, Sides, Neck
Richlite wood pattern used for guitar building
Richlite Fretboard

Spruce Top: This wood has a light color with tight grain patterns. It's very stiff but relatively light. It's known for producing a well-rounded tone with a broad dynamic range.

Mahogany Back, Sides and Neck: This is the type of wood found in many top-of-the-line guitars, so that's a positive point for the build quality. This red-looking wood Mahogany is found in Africa and Central America and has great sustain and a warm tone due to its high density. The downside about this type of wood is that it's relatively heavy.

Richlite Fretboard: It's very similar to Ebony, but it is much cheaper to make. The main reason is that it is made from resin-infused paper. It is very durable and soft, so it's often used for fretboards and tops.

Pickups

This acoustic guitar doesn't come with preamp pickups, so you won't be able to connect it directly to an amplifier. Instead, you'll need to use an external microphone.

Sound Score

Sustain 75
Versatility 90
Tuning Stability 70
Sound 84

Build Quality

Country of Origin

Knowing where the instrument is produced is a good way to know how well it's built. Some manufacturing countries are known for having higher quality standards. For example, most expensive instruments are made in the US or Japan, but there are some exceptionally great countries—like South Korea—that are building a good reputation.

The Alvarez AF30 is made in China. So you can expect lower build quality when compared to others made in Korea, Japan or the United States. Guitars made in this country are meant for mass production, which translates into less attention to detail and quality control. This doesn't mean the product is made poorly at all. Chinese products have a bad reputation since long ago, but they've definitely improved a lot the last few years.

Bridge

Techwood: The advantage of fixed bridges is that they don't require any kind of set-up. This makes it extremely easy when changing strings because you don't need to adjust anything besides tuning the guitar. Also, the fact that the bridge is directly attached to the body will help to increase sustain. The disadvantage is the lack of versatility since you can't create the same vibrato effects as with tremolo bridges.

Nut Material

Another important thing to analyze is the nut material, as it's one of the most important aspects that can affect the sound and playability of your guitar. A well-cut nut will make sure it stays in tune and will make it more comfortable to play.

In this case, the Alvarez AF30 has a Bone nut. This material is one of the highest quality you can get. It provides excellent sustain and tune stability if cut well. The only disadvantage is that it's an organic material, so it's not consistent. Two different bone nuts, even if made from the same bone, will probably sound slightly different. However, bear in mind that this is only relevant when playing open strings.

Build Quality Score

Quality of materials 74
Features 65
Quality Control 55
Build Quality 65