Alvarez Dana Electric Guitar For Sale (2024 Update)

I am an intermediate player. I was looking for a parlor guitar in part due to the guitar lessons on Active Melody, where the instructor, Brian, uses a similar model, which sounds fantastic. I bought a "scratch and dent" to save some money, but it is verydifficult to see the blemishes. MF described the cosmetic blems perfectly, but they were much more minor than I expected. My wife could not find them. The set up was perfect right out of the box. I put on new strings when it arrived, and have not put the guitar down since (about a week ago). I use it mainly for finger picking, and it sounds great. It is amazing to be able to purchase such a beautiful instrument for so little. I have several more-expensive guitars, including a 15-year old Martin D16GT and a newer Seagull S6, but I am drawn to this Alverez's warm sound and projection. It is also easier to play than the Martin. I had a bit of trouble finding a case that fits, but eventually bought the Luna LLFP. It much more sturdy and padded than the standard gig bag, and the guitar fits nicely. It is also much lighter than a hard shell, and about half the price. (But the case also arrived with a nasty chemical smell inside, but I guess this will fade.) In summary, I am very happy with the Alverez AP70, and I would highly happily recommend it to my friends. I wish I had this one when I was just starting out.rabbitt

Bought this model to get back to playing after a bad accident stopped me playing at a time when I owned a seriously expensive guitar. Didn’t want to spend too much in case I couldn’t get back into playing but I can’t praise this guitar too highly. The tone is outstanding and it’s playability is second to none. The guitar is set up perfectly, no need to have it set up at your expense as with a lot of guitars out there. The build quality is superb and as it sits it the stand encourages you to get it off and play it. This model belies the price you pay because in my opinion it it a 400 to 500 pound guitar in all respects. It is delivered ‘mummified’ in bubble wrap to ensure safe passage and was delivered as promised. Can’t thank PMT enough for their advice. Great people to deal with. Need to get back to playing now.Mal H.

I wanted a small, inexpensive guitar that sounded good and played well. I pick up and play a guitar every night while I watch TV. The Takemine dreadnaught I was primarily using was carelessly broken and unremarkable. After reading about this AP70 and listening to Alvarez promotional and YouTube videos, I decided to buy this. It seemed like the thing to do, especially because of the low price and apparent sound quality; it seemed like the best value. It was on back order and wasn't supposed to ship until Feb 9, but I was pleasantly surprised when I received it on Feb 2. It was packed well and mostly in tune already. The construction quality is fantastic, and the sound was pretty good, but not as good as I expected. One of the other disappointments was that it wouldn't stay in tune and the intonation seemed off. After close inspection it seemed that there were not enough wraps of string around the tuners, the quality of the strings used were sub-par and more of a medium than a light gauge, making it difficult and frustrating to play. I immediately replaced the factory strings with Elixer bronze 80/20 nanoweb strings and that made all the difference in the sound, intonation, stability and playability. It's now an enjoyable instrument to play and a great value, in my opinion.The Deeski

I have used this one exclusively for recording many tracks that using steel string. It sounds loud; sustain, warm, ringing. Bass is so full and warm ; trelbe is singing and all 6 strings sound very seperation. You can search on youtube Thong Do and listen for yourself too many duo tracks that I record with this.Tom

A little bit about myself, I have been playing guitar from the seventies in various cover bands. now I mainly play worship. Whenever I purchase a new guitar I like to know where its made. I personally own Gibsons (USA), Fenders (USA), Tacamine (Japan), and a Godin and Seagull (Canada). I try to stay away from guitars made anywhere else. Well, that has ended, after finding out that this guitar was made in China, I was quite hesitant to say the least. After playing her, the best way to express myself is to say the guitar connected with me and I enjoyed playing her. USA manufactures have something to be concerned about after China can put out a quality instrument at such an affordable price.The variation in sound is amazing, you have the bass and volume from the size of the instrument and you have the highs from the solid sitka top and maple sides and back. I wanted a jumbo acoustic for a variation of sound from my Tacamine. I shopped around for every brand of acoustic, and quite frankly the prices where on the expensive side and turned me to looking at this gem of an acoustic. After reading the quality of materials used on this guitar, I was quite impressed. From a bone nut and saddle, to the woods used and not to mentioned the LR Baggs electronics. My only complaint is it is hard to see the string letter when tuning, extremely minor con. The tuners look like Grovers but do not have the name embossed on them. In closing, if you are looking for a jumbo acoustic, this guitar is certainly worth to take a close at. Happy shopping.Carl

My #1 acoustic is a really nice carbon fiber, but it's a really short (24") scale. I wanted something a lot less expensive and with a longer, if not necessarily full, scale. I played everything I could find in the $200-$400 range, Yamahas, Ibanez, Fender, Alvarez, Gretsch, Recording King, etc. Played dreads and realized I'm just not comfortable wth them anymore, although they sounded really good. And then with the 000 and smaller options, I just thought most of them sounded thin. Saw this one on sale and played it and it was a pretty easy call. A much bigger sound than you'd expect from a guitar of this size. While the upper bout is really small, the lower bout is pretty good size, so this is really more like an 00 than a parlor. In any case, sounds quite good for what it is. Played around with strings and settled on Martin Retros (Monels), which true to form, sound good with mahogany. The tuners aren't great – I may replace those at some point. Even though it's not quite full scale, I can comfortably play a capo farther up the neck than I can with my shorter scale carbon fiber. Bottom line, it's not a high end guitar, but it's the best of the low-end guitars I'd played and I'm really happy to have it as a #2. Oh, I bought it in spite of the electronics, not because of them. I basically just unhooked the battery and took out the battery and bag and taped the wire down – it was bouncing around inside the body and I just didn't want to mess with it. I'll leave the rest in place and put that back in if I decide to sell this someday.Ray

I've owned and played guitars since about 1989… but I'm probably somewhere between "novice" and "experience" if I'm honest. I own a number of guitars, and including this Alvarez, three of them are acoustics. My first acoustic is a Charvel 625c that I bought decades ago. I also own a Martin D17, and have spent a great deal of time with my dad's Martin 1980s D35. With this context, I am saying that this Alvarez AMP660ESHB is easily my favorite acoustic guitar. I had been interested in a small-body acoustic for a while, and last month, I noticed that my local Guitar Center had a used Eastman E10ooss/v in store. I had heard great things about these Eastmans (this model in particular looks amazing), and had been interested in trying one in person. So my daughter and I made the pilgrimage to the store and spent nearly two hours in the acoustic guitar rooms. I will say, that Eastman seemed like a nice guitar… and it was even prettier in person. But the real stand-out guitar in that room was this Alvarez. I was prepared to spend $1k+ on the Eastman, but the Alvarez could not be ignored. So what made this guitar stand out? First, the feel of the AMP660ESHB is ridiculous (in a good way). No other guitar that I handled in that room felt even close. While the body of the guitar is a high-gloss finish, the neck is a wonderful smooth satin. I have guitars with various levels of glossy necks, and my Martin D17 takes the satin finish to an opposite extreme that is almost unfinished. This Alvarez neck sits beautifully in the middle. Feel is subjective… but this neck just feels awesome. The setup of this guitar out of the box was brilliant. The folks at Alvarez appear to really have taken their time dialing this one in before sending it out the door. Low action, and fit/finish are top-notch. What really nailed it, though, was the tone. I had not expected such a small body, even with a solid-mahogany top, to sound so clean, full and warm. My favorite sound.ErinBoy

I attempted to buy this guitar a couple of times at two different Guitar Center locations. Both times an employee had to retrieve the guitar from the back, and I got to tune it up. Both times, playing the guitar was an amazing experience until I found a flaw-direct from the manufacture. Unfortunately, Guitar Center employees were unable or unwilling to resolve the issue in a satisfactory fashion. First, I tried the model in Pittsburgh, only to discover that the discrete sound hole EQ had become detached from the guitar and was rattling around inside. The Guitar Center employee made an impromptu fix, but the fix was shoddy enough that it seemed likely to be a recurring problem. Second, I tried the guitar in Cincinnati. If there had been no glaring issues, I would have happily plopped down my money and been a very happy camper. Indeed, as I played the guitar, I was certain I was about to take the guitar home. As in Pittsburgh, the guitar was not on display, and an employee had to fetch one from the back. Although he said they had two guitars in stock, he returned with only one, and when I asked to see the other one, he claimed he could not find it. The guitar played magnificently and was beautiful to look at. Unfortunately, the 13th fret on the high E was dead. I'm not saying it was uncomfortable or that there was a tiny bit of fret buzz or that playability could have been better. The note would not ring out at all. To make matters worse, the employees "solution" to this particular flaw was to attempt to upsell a set up to me. Worse, I think this particular employee may be the manager of that store. Although it's possible that he simply did not understand the severity of the issue or that he simply felt too busy to be bothered, I found his suggestion that I pay $80 for a setup shocking. Indeed, I was flabbergasted that he would make such a suggestion while Guitar Center still owned the guitar because this was not a question of personal taste or comfort but of the instrument working as an instrument should. Bottom line: The guitar looks like a well made, quality instrument that is absolutely gorgeous to look at and play. But BEWARE: my limited experience with this guitar model led me to flaws each time I played one and suggests there may be significant quality control issues. And apparently, Guitar Center employees may not be empowered enough or capable of making it right. If, like the other reviewers, you're not as unlucky as I seem to have been, you'll find a great guitar. I think…Les

Specs: cutaway, all solid, short scale, OM, Plus very nice bling. Extra deep body Very nice bass thump, Sitka walnut combo works well. Baggs electronics just right. An absolutely fine guitar. Spend a bit extra for a Hardshell case to class up package.B Strummin

I was shopping for a 12 string at local music stores. I have to admit that I often do this and end up buying on line to save money. I'm retired and have to watch my budget. I played many different guitars in the $1500 and down price range. Martin,Taylor,Ibanez,Takamine,Mitchell and others. I was leaning towards the Martin until I played this guitar. The sound is very clear and articulate with better bass than the others I played. The action is low but no buzz anywhere on the fretboard. The neck is wide enough to playing finger style but also easy to chord. Easily transition between this and my 6 string. Fit and finish is excellent with no noticeable flaws anywhere. In my open, you won't find a better guitar for the price.Tmax

I did quite a bit of research in finding an all-solid wood guitar with nice features at a reasonable price before purchasing a MGA77CEAR. I'm really happy with it so far, using it mostly for playing during church worship services. It has nice projection and resonance and is easy to play. The beveled armrest and Paua abalone purfling are nice touches. Also received great customer service from American Musical Supply during the purchasing process.Jonathan B.

This is an outstanding example of a well designed, well built, no frills acoustic dreadnought. At the price point it retails at, it is a great value. Mine came to me used in excellent structural and cosmetic shape. It has a gritty low end, clear mid range and sparkly trebles. It is very playable, up and down the neck, and mine came with perfectly set action and neck relief. There is plenty of room on the saddle, should I ever need to lower the action. I like the understated, satin finish much better than the heavily lacquered ones that seem to be the norm. And I actually prefer its unbound fret board. Not sure how it stacks up to other dreadnoughts, size-wise, but this feels easier to hold and get your right arm around, compared to another I owned previously. I did swap out the plastic bridge pins with bone, and did need to dress the fret ends a good bit, but otherwise have no other negatives to point out. I'm very happy with this Alvarez AD30 and it looks to have shoved my other acoustics aside in the playing order.smsdba

As a beginner on a budget, it was important to me that I find a good guitar at a decent price. After doing some research, I decided on the Alvarez AD30 Dreadnought. Suffice to say, this guitar has surpassed my expectations. It sounds great, it looks great, and it’s comfortable to play.Sam R.

Overall: I can't compliment this guitar enough. Looks, feel, and sound blow me away. I've been in love with this guitar since day 1, if you are in the market for a small body finger-picker, look no further.Jeffrey

This unit was great right out of the box. The action was a little high but I plan to get that adjusted and does not take away from the guitar one bit. I have been playing it every day for the last 2 weeks and it seems to play with better quality each and every time. Just like a car, you have to wear it in a bit. I am an intermediate player who was looking for a nice mid-level guitar. I am not at the playing skill to justify a Martin, Taylor, Guild etc… so this was a perfect fit and suits my needs perfectly! I would recommend this to anyone looking for a quality medium level guitar as you grow in your skill level.Beenabopper

I played guitar for several years then quit due to work and starting a family. I purchased this guitar as an open box a few weeks ago and started playing again. The guitar looked brand new, it was a grade 2 but the pick guard film was still on it, I peeled it off and it looks brand new. This guitar plays fantastic! Beautiful construction, very thin and smooth finish, and just a sold/consistent sound. I tuned it the day it arrived and haven't had to adjust it since, I play about 3 hours each day. The action is a little high for me as I haven't been playing long and my fingers are tender, I'm having it adjusted today. It's exactly what I expected from an Alvarez, way more guitar than the price represents!Jake

This guitar is made in China, but the quality is pretty good. as mentioned earlier, it is very resonant and loud. My Taylor 814 jumbo isn't as loud as this. Out of the box, it was almost unplayable due to the very high action. The bridge saddle is made of bone…very sweet sounding, however, it is pretty high. There were no shim inserts under the saddle to make it lower, so the saddle itself needed to be shaved down a bit to get the proper string height. Luckily I know how to do all these things, but other buyers may find spending for a tech adjustment unappealing on a new guitar. I feel a new guitar never comes out the box perfect, but by adjusting it to your requirements…will make it perfect. Bottom line is, this is a sweet sounding guitar with great electronics, but you might need to tweak it to perfection. I bought the restock….and it was as good as a new one.RickW

I have come to like this guitar quite a bit, but I had to spend several hours carefully sanding down the bridge saddle, filing the grooves in the nut, and adjusting the truss rod to make it even marginally comfortable. If you are not confident doing this, bring it to a local luthier. The neck width is still fairly wide (40mm E-to-E string spacing vs 45mm on my standard classical), and my hands are fairly small for a guitar player, so I am not able to wrap my thumb around easily to the low E string as I am used to doing on an electric or steel string acoustic. The intonation is quite good, which makes the access to the higher frets worthwhile, at least after you've dealt with the high action. I had previously tried a similarly priced Cort, and its intonation was terrible (it also had lousy action). I play this through a quite ordinary 50 watt solid state guitar amp, and it sound good on the clean channel.A T Hun

I usually don't write reviews for products, but considering how little reviews there are for this guitar I figured to give it a go. Been playing guitar for just shy of 10 years, haven't really been an acoustic player but to my ears this guitar is well rounded. its got a good mid range punch, but it is very balanced. it does seem a little harsh in tone when compared to my buddys Yamaha dreadnaught's warm tone, it may be just because the strings haven't been broken in or the guitar itself hasn't been broken in. though they are completely different guitars. it did need a little truss rod set up out of the box to reduce some string rattle but after that its playing like a champ. the fretboard could be a little bit smoother but for the price of this guitar I cannot complain. the wide neck makes fretting chords and fingerpicking a breeze. overall this is a great guitar with great value.alaw

Even though advertised as including gig bag, instrument arrived without gig bag. Poor fit and finish on neck, back and sides of guitar. Advertised as "gloss finish," the customer service representative told me matter-of-factly that this guitar has a natural, matte finish. That would not bother me, except for the fact that the "matte" finish feels more like "unfinished"- it is very rough, with large bumps underneath that look like sawdust trapped in the finish. This is all over the sides, back, and the neck/fingerboard where the neck joins the body. These are not random rough patches; this seems almost like it was a feature. There are tearouts in the wood where the side pieces are joined together. The neck joint has a gap between the heel and the body. The finish at the neck joint appears to be cracked underneath the surface. I have another Alvarez Artist Series guitar (ABT60); the fit and finish on that instrument is perfect. I was trusting that another guitar of the same line would share that quality. Sadly, it does not. The customer service rep seemed unperturbed by this information, and asked me "so, what do you want to do about it?" Given the option of returning the guitar at my own expense, I was informed that if I wanted a refund, that would be honored, minus their original shipping cost. That would mean I would be out too much money. I could also exchange it for another product of similar price, or apply the credit towards a more expensive. For what a return would cost me, I may just keep it and try selling it locally on CL. I will not be buying any more instruments over the internet, it's too easy to get burned like this.Paul

Recommended by the staff, for its sound and build quality who took the time to play several similar guitars side by side for comparisonReviewed by Andertons Music Co.

So there are people out there who think BC Rich sold out with this Stranger Things themed release. Whether that is true or not it doesn't take away from the fact that this is a great quality guitar. The neck is the high point for me. This is the best bolt on neck I've ever played. I would say it's better than a actual 85 Stealth NJ series neck that I own. Frets are silky smooth, not sharp at all. The paint overall is great and I don't see any imperfections. Could the crackle be better? Yes… is it bad? No. If you want a better crackle buy the run of 200. Only complaints are that the pictures were advertised with a run of 200 and now it's 2000. Takes away from the collector value. The electronics are horrible. But that was to be expected, the Floyd rose is cheap. The pros outweigh the bad which isn't a big deal. Great 80s themed guitar. Also the gig bag it came with is really nice.. Worth the buy.Nick

This thing is killer. Fantastic attention to detail. Even if you are not into Stranger Things it is still well worth the money. The Red Crackle finish is awesome and there were only 1000 made with (the other 1000 are the black finish). Also comes with a very nice B.C Rich gig bag which fits it perfectly. Dont bother spending 5K on the Custom Shop version as this will be the one to have.Kevin

Excellent quality! Neck and frets are perfect, pickups sound great clean or high gain, and quality control is on point! No neck dive or anything either! Oh, and can't forget how awesome the crackle finish is!!!! I personally like this better than my old 87' USA BCR gunslinger. My only complaint is it was advertised to come with a FR 1000 and came with a special. They've since fixed this and the bridge works great either way. This guitar is a game changer for this company! Get it while you can!!!!!Josh

excellent value for money, looks and feels far more expensive than its price tag. for finger style it is very responsive but when played more robustly it gives full range across all strings.mark B.

Church music is alright but, it lacks sound or volume. I played on a least inexpensive Alvarez guitar and sounded loud. The guitar is nice looking and the 12th Fret is in tune.Rp