@jerseychicadee That strap looks great with the guitar. 😀
Zager has a couple guitars in that same price range as the Alvarez... just saying. 😉
You know, I really looked at the Zagers, but in the end decided against it. It's kind of odd that this guitar builder has been around since 1969 and yet I've hardly ever heard of them. Plus, in the video they had of the parlor I noticed the high E string was super close to the edge of the fret board. I had a guitar like that once and it was super annoying how easy it was to roll or push the string right off the fretboard just playing it normally, not bending it or anything like that.
Also, reading the reviews someone had said that these were made in Indonesia and there was nothing really special about them. Zager does seem to represent that they are made here in the US, but I think they just do a set up on them here after they ship from Indonesia. The parlor I was looking at was about the same price as the Alvarez. In the end the Alvarez won out because of the solid mahogany and the case and the tone.
By the way, I don't think I won the drawing for the Zager. 😐
Just an update: I received the Alvarez case I ordered off of eBay and it's perfect.
I've played the bluegrass all solid model and it's crazy good! Can't believe they can build instruments of this quality for the price. Really brilliant guitar
Keep on Picking 🙂
Yeah, I agree. You can't beat these Alvarez' for the price. My little parlor sounds excellent and is so comfortable to hold.
I do. In the navy 1970's I took up guitar for something to do at sea, there were a couple of good players on board who taught me to play along with basic chords. For some reason all I remember is us playing Roger Miller songs King of the Road, Dang Me, You Can't Roller Skate in a Buffalo Herd. I ended up with early 1970 something Gibson B-45 12 string, which I still have but it's pretty much destroyed being in storage & used as a toy by kids. So in 2004 I decide to start from scratch and bought a Zager ZAD-20 online because it claimed EZ Play method set up and free lessons with purchase. Gave up after about a year with little progress, although my wife said I was a good plucker, she liked Ode to Joy. Finally retired in 2009, moved, and took if up guitar again. Did some research on the ZAD-20 learned it was possibly a Sigma, set up & rebranded by Denny Zager (who was 1/2 of Zager & Evans of "In the Year 2525" fame. I still found it difficult to play so I set it up myself using some online instructions, went through a couple of saddles with aggressive sanding creating fret buzz, scared myself silly with the truss rod adjusting, etc. Got it the way it was comfortable for me and noticed it sounded pretty good. More recent research revealed it has a spruce top and mahogany sides & back. Started with CGO in Mar put on some Woodtone country strings & now the ZAD-20 plays nice and sounds good. BUT I mostly play my Alvarez AC65HCE, I bought this after I spoke with a family friend who plays & sings solo in local clubs. I was struggling with clean chording on the Zager, he said go to classical electric, you eliminate the problems of fret buzz, narrow string spacing etc. Went to the local Guitar Center and found that I could hardly get by hand around a classical neck. Discouraged I went to Google again. Learned that Alvarez made what they called a hybrid classical electric, the AC65HCE. It is nut width is right in the middle of acoustic at 1 7/8" (1 3/4" nut acoustic and a classical 2" nut) perfect fit for me. Sounds great unplugged, I have a small 10 watt Fender amp, with the LL Baggs EQ & pick up in the Alvarez its clean, I'm getting ready to campfire for family & friends, looking for a battery powered combo 2 channel amp, 30/40 watts or less. Still play the ZAD-20 switch back & forth based on the song & the conditions of my fingers. Love the Alvarez & like the ZAD-20.
