1981 Alvarez 5056 Dreadnought Guitar

This is a customer's old Alvarez and, let's be frank -- it's a great guitar. The owner has it via his father-in-law and while it'd been beaten-on over the years, it went "back to rights" just fine. This one has spiffy bling by way of vine inlay down the neck and marquetry-style purfling and rosette details.

Sound-wise it sits between a D-18 and D-28 and the overall vibe of the tone is late-'60s Martin. If I had a blind test with this compared to an old '60s Martin D-18 or D-28 it might be pretty hard to tell. It's close. It handles like a '60s Martin, too, with a similar neck profile though a little thinner front-to-back. 

Repairs included: neck reset, bridge reglue, fret level/dress, new Gotoh Kluson-style tuners, setup, etc...


Top wood: solid spruce

Back & sides wood: ply rosewood

Bracing type: x

Bridge: rosewood

Fretboard: rosewood

Neck wood: mahogany


Action height at 12th fret: 3/32” bass 1/16” treble (fast, spot-on)
String gauges: 54w-12 lights

Neck shape: medium C/soft V

Board radius: 12"

Truss rod: adjustable

Neck relief: straight

Fret style: medium


Scale length: 25 5/8"

Nut width: 1 11/16"

Body width: 15 3/4"

Body depth: 4 7/8"


Condition notes: two repaired hairline cracks below the bridge, plenty of light usewear throughout, pickwear around the soundhole, etc -- otherwise in good order, though.












Comments

Unknown said…
Hi! I'd be interested in buying this guitar, is it for sale?

Thanks,
Mary Kay
Nancy Yearout said…
I’ve got the same guitar in better shape than the one you describe. Original case. I’m interested in selling it. From what my research has revealed it looks like it is pretty valuable-four figures and up. Serial number is 47120. Advice would be appreciated

mike@mkyphotography.com