Alvarez 5021

Purchased new on 3/7/73, this guitar has a beautiful transparent finish that only got better with age. It's a dreadnought with standard Alvarez tuners that still show no signs of slipping. The neck is just wide enough to chord and play solos without your fingers getting all over the place. Made in Japan, it has a solid spruce top, no electronics. I believe the neck is mahogany and the fingerboard is ebony.

The sound of this instrument is amazing. Rich, full...really massive for a dreadnought. I've honestly never heard anything to match it in the acoustic world. I play folk, rock, folk-rock, blues, and a bit of country and the sound is perfect for all of them.

Factory set up was perfect. Thanks to carpal tunnel, I put this guitar down about 6 years ago and after successful surgery, had it set-up and re-strung by a pro for a grand total of $57.54. The first time I played it after it spent 6 years in the closet, the action, tuning keys, etc. were right on the money. It's still the easiest playing 12 string I've ever had my hands on and that includes every brand on the market.

I played this guitar on stage for over 20 years before having to give it up for a while. The reliability and durability are superior. Hardware will last forever, finish is still good despite years of abuse, strap buttons are solid (but I don't use a strap), and it's very dependable. I use it and a 6 string Takamine on gigs and have never needed a backup for either one.

Never had to contact customer support and to me, that says a lot for a guitar that was built in 1973--35 years ago.

I've been playing for 45 years. I use a '73 Gibson SG, a '90 Japanese Fender Telecaster, a 1938 Gibson J-50, a Takamine acoustic/electric, this Alvarez 5012 12-string, and an Ibanez Artcore ES-335 knock-off. I use a Music Man 2-12 65, a Music Man RD50, and a new Berhinger that does so many things I haven't figured them all out yet. Judging from what this guitar is bringing used, I'd most definitely replace it with the same model if it were stolen. Compared to other 12 string acoustics, it is most definitely the best I've ever played. Without a doubt.

It has the regular features you would expect on a 12 string, but it has an adjustable bridge, and it is a bit bigger than a regular dreadnaught acoustic. I have no idea what tuners they are, but they stay in tune forever. The neck is just a tad bigger than a 6 string, but its no challenge to make chords.

It sounds amazing, you can get a wide range of tones, just by where you pick. I love how full sounding this guitar is.

I bought the guitar used, so no idea how it was setup from the factory but it was setup really good from the store where I bought it. The intonation was a bit off when I got it, but you're not going to playing up high enough to notice it on a 12 string. The finish is really nice a transparent on top and a stain on the sides and bottom, and has some designs around the soundhole.

I would gig with this in a second, but I always gig with backups.

I've never dealt with them directly, but they don't list this guitar on their website. No idea about the warranty.

I've been playing guitar for a year and a half, and I own a Line 6 amp, and a Kimaxe Heavy Metal Start.
If it were stolen, I'd replace it if I could find the same model again. I love how full it sounds, the big body gets annoying. Its the best acoustic I've ever owned and probably will stay that way.
I wish it had a second strap button.

I purchased this guitar sometime in the Spring of 1973. It was manufactured 3/1971. I stole it for $75 at a local flea market. I have played this guitar ever since and it has always pleased me with its tone and sound depth. The finish is very glossy except for the neck which is satin. The top is natural Spruce with mahogany sides, back and neck. Fingerboard is rosewood as well as the bridge which is adjustable. The action is fairly low but the strings do not buzz. The tuners are open but stay in tune month after month. The neck is wide and easy to fret but then I have large hands. This guitar has spent most of its life in the closet with ocassional debuts in the living room. It has been bumped and banged around and has very few real dings. It has really been durable with no structural flaws anywhere. All in all this has been a very good guitar.

The souncd of this guitar is very full and rich. The bass is fair with finger picking and overal very muted while a pick brings out the bright tone that this guitar is capable of.

The action is adjustable at both the neck and the bridge. Currently it is fairly low and has no buzz what so ever. It frets easy for a 12 string guitar. The finish is generally good and the fit is great it now has a very few small nicks from many years of use.

I can't really account for daily playing but it has been carried in campers over many miles and played around the campfire and has never had any problems. It stays tuned forever!

Never had any or the need of same.

I have ben plunking on guitars since around 1964 and have owned a couple of older cheap guitars and this one is by far the best.

I bought this guitar brand new in 1972. My very first. I paid $200.00 for it. Dreadnought body with a solid spruce top, solid mahogany back, sides and neck, rosewood fretboard with abalone inlays and a nice, understated "A" logo in abalone on the headstock. No electronics whatsoever. Whoever would want to ruin an acoustic with all that electronic crap is beyond me... just put an omni mic on it and you're good to go through any decent P.A. system. The tuners are no name open backs, but they hold tune forever, once you get past the "new string stretch". This guitar is unbelievable. The tone has done nothing but get better over the years. The trebles are bright and clear, when needed, and the bass can rattle windows... not really, but it has a very clean, fantastic tone.

This guitar can rock, do blues, gospel, country, bluegrass, jazz... anything you could possibly imagine. The tones that can be had from this 12 string are better than guitars costing well over $2,500.00, and I've had a few of those myself. I've sold those and kept this one. Think about it. Not because it was the first guitar I ever purchased, but the tone and action. If you can find one in good shape, BUY IT NOW! You will be so glad that you did.

I have owned this guitar since 1972 and have never had it touched by any luthier, nor have I ever had it adjusted by anyone, other than myself when I lowered the bridge for a little better action along the higher frets and to relieve cramping from bar chords. Absolutely no buzzing on any frets and the fretboard has held up quite well over the years. The neck is HUGE, and I like that in a 12 string. Seeing as I have huge hands and long fingers, I can reach multiple frets at the same time (eat your hearts out you little midgets), the size is perfect for me. The only flaws with this guitar are what I have done to it. Small scratches on the back, of course... I do play it, and, for lack of a better term, small divots above the pick guard from my strumming it up above the soundhole to achieve more bass tone when needed. Other than that it still is absolutely beautiful for a "plain jane" 12 string.

Dear god, this guitar is probably older than most of the people who are reading this, but it has withstood the test of time already. I have always kept it in it's original hardshell case, unless playing it (duh) and with exception to the small scratches and the "divots" mentioned earlier. The guitar is built to last. I have dropped it... no problems and no marks. Accidentally banged it into things... no problems and no marks. This guitar was a gift from heaven and I've been the lucky person that received it!

Alvarez used to have a lifetime warranty, but they have now changed that to a "limited lifetime" warranty to the original purchaser only. And you had better keep the receipt from your purchase, because they will not honor any warranty whatsoever without that (see their website at www.alvarezgtr.com for info). I couldn't begin to guess what happend to my receipt over the years, but I no longer have it, and as far as that goes, I haven't needed to use the warranty in all these years, so who cares about the receipt. In all honesty, I wish I would have kept it for sentimental reasons, but... what the hell!

Sheesh... like I've said... I've been playing solid since 1972 and the tone and action on this 12 string will beat anything out there... BAR NONE. I've owned Taylor's, Martin's, Gibson's, Gretch's, Ovation's... you name it, I've probably owned one and sold it. This is the one 12 string that I've kept. Not for the fact that it was my first guitar, but for the tone and action. I own an actual 1959 Les Paul, a Fender American Strat, a Yamaha N-700 (try to find that model which is also another acoustic beauty), a cheapy Carlo Robelli VMA (which is unbelievable for the price), a Fender Twin amp, a Crate GFX 212, a Crate BX50 (I know its a bass amp but its great for the acoustics) and a Digitech GNX3. If you find one... buy it... If you have one... then you're a lucky person. If it were stolen, I would search until the ends of the Earth to find another one. If you're so conspicuously unintelligent to lose a guitar, which is beyond my comprehension (how can you lose a guitar?) then you never deserve to own any instrument at all.

Bought this new in 1973,think I paid around $170 for it with a real cheap case. Made in Japan, very nice spruce top with nice tight gain that has aged nicely. Neck is very straight and I've only had to adjust the truss rod 3 or 4 times in all these years and I do keep it tuned to pitch. The heads are cheap but adequate, I think i would really like to put some mini Schallers on it someday, cheap heads are probably the low point of this guitar. Love the neck.

Sound is very clean and somewhat bright but not very loud, I don't want to say it doesn't have much bottom since it does sound fairly balanced but it's not as loud as my other acoustics, but that may be the nature of a 12 string. It does have a nice pleasant tone.

Action is nice and low and extremely consistant all the way up the neck, It plays like guitars that cost 4 or 5 times as much, no buzzing, and no fatigue no matter how long you play it. Adjustable bridge is a little cheesy, it buzzed when I lowered it down but I wrapped some fishing monofilament aroound the lose screws and that worked fine, not the most sophiticated bridge or heads. Top is very nice.

I've had this 30 years and it has held up extremely well, I don't anticipate any problems and I use light gauge strings and keep it tuned to pitch, I don't think I'll ever have a problem with the neck.

Neer dealt with the company but I don't think I'll ever have a reason too either. Can't remember what the warranty was but I'd be surprised if it was lifetime.

Been playing for about 37 years but skipped a few years in between, also have a Strat and an Ovation Balladeer, both bought new in 1973. Use a 65 watt Pignose with the Strat with a 12" speaker in it but it doesn't do it justice, probably will get a Fender amp soon as that's the sound I like.

This Japanese-made,Alvarez 5012 12-string, Serial #46181, was made sometime in the early to mid-'70s. I bought it used, without a case, in a music store in Old Town Mall in Reno, for $150, in the Spring of 1977. The library is where the store used to be.
It has an adjustable bridge and 21 frets. It looks like a solid spruce top. No electronics. I don't know what kind of wood it is, but my guess is mahogony, since it looks more like the dining room table that the Maple Blossom banjo. Whatever it is, it has held its gloss finish very well over the years. The dreadnought body is topped off by a well-finished head, with very durable silver open tuners mounted. The neck itself is fat, like many old 12's, but it is no problem to adapt to it.

I play folk, country, a little bluegrass, and some stuff you can't define. The sounds from this guitar are adaptable to everything I play. It strums well, though I usually play with Alaska Piks and do quite a bit of picking.
I used light strings for a long time, and tuned up to standard with no problems at all. Light strings are touchy, though, and feel king of mushy compared to the GHS True Mediums I use on the Epi 6. So, recently, I switched to medium strings and tuned down a whole step. I was surprised at the difference! It is like a different guitar. It projects well, it is louder and more distinct, and the lower tones come out like they were meant to. Also, the lower tuning fits my voice better, and that is without the rum...
I can play soft and delicate, I can play loud and forceful, I can muffle passages, and I can articulate as well as ever.

The action is very good, but better down low. It is not a high priced guitar, and the action is one of the few places you can tell, and then you have to be picky. The finish has held up well. It looks like a pampered piece. Everything fits and the workmanship is superb.

I used it in sleazy bars in the '70's. Moved it all over the States and took it to Germany for 3 years. I never had a problem with it.
I did have the trunk arm in a rental car go through the top once. I was lucky to get a master to fix it. That was 10 years ago.
It is as dependable as they get. I have used it in many gigs all by itself. Now, if I ever do gigs again, I will have the 12 and 6 there for different songs.

N/A.

I have been playing since 1964, when I was a camp counselor at Camp Mowhawk, England. I have an Epiphone FT-350-BL from 1976, a Deering Maple Blossom from 1999, and a Hofner banjo-guitar from 1984.
If the Alvarez were lost or stolen, I would be sad. But I would probably go for a Taylor, Tacoma, or Guild. I could never find myself walking through a music store and find an Alvarez 5012 calling to me like that again. It only happens once like that. You can never go back.

Early-mid 70's model with adjustable bridge, a rather fat neck (I like that on a 12 string) decal around sound hole. Open tuning machines. I had a pair of Barcus Berry Hotdots (eat yer heart out!) installed in the late 70's by a VERY good luthier in Lexington KY, and they give me a very accurate amplified sound (although they need a bit of boost for volume). I bought it for $65 from a pawn shop in Carleston, SC in the late 70's. It had one tuning key broken and a string peg missing. The kid that had received it for Christmas a year earlier had pawned it for drug money. He lived in my nieghborhood, and I had tuned it for him the day he got it (although he had already broken a string). Bought a hardshell case with it for $5, and it still works great, although a girl at church that borrowed it to take her Takamine on a trip decorated it with nail polish. Carried it on two submarine patrols. Abandoned it in the attic 86-99. Wife sez if I ever sell my guitars, I can't sell this one.

I'm not a talented musician. I strum for praise and worship sometimes, and entertain myself. I love the sound of this ol' girl. Elixer extra lights last about six months on her. The amplified sound is the acoustic sound, only louder. PLEASE BRING HOT DOTS BACK!!! A Washburn WA10 is OK for practice, need to go throught the PA for real work. Oly a little bass roll-off needed.

It must be built tank-tough. I've banged it, dropped it, taken it on two submarine patrols. The intonation is perfect. When the luthier installed the Hotdot, I had asked him to do an intonation job if it was needed. He said it was not needed. For a twelve, it stays in tune very well. I've worn some fingerboard away playing lots of open cords, but the frets have held up. Although it cramps my hand, the action actually feels softer than any six string that I have ever played. The finish shows only dings and belt scratches. The top has bellied a bit, but not enough yet to affect the action hieght.

Front strap button about broke my neck once because it held so well when a drunk grabbed the guitar's neck to steady himself. Back button replaced with a jack. Has never let me down, but I don't play for a living. Sound continues to improve. If the little snot that had it first had not gouged the neck with some kind of capo (might have been a Shub with no rubber button), it would look fairly unused. Dry or humid does not seem to affect it.

I've been playing off and on for ~30 years. I wish I had bought it from the original owner the first night he owned it. (I'm sure he would have sold it for $20 so he could go get high). I have a Hohner HW420 that I love to look at and play but don't particularly like the sound of. I have an Alvarez AD60C on order. If it were stolen (how do you LOOSE a guitar?), I would watch eBay and the pawn shops for another like it, there are a ton of them out there. I love its classic looks, sound, and smooth playability. I love the way it sounds amplified. I hate the damage done to it by the previous owner. I had played it the night the kid got it, and about six months later I asked what happened to it. One of his friends said he had pawned it, so I knew it would be at the closest shop and that he would have taken about anything for it. I went to the shop and they said they had only given $30 for it. I was happy to double their money.

I wish I had a couple more Hotdots.

I'll add that I bought the new Alvarez because of my love for this old one and the reviews on this site.

Model 5021...12-string dreadnaught, made in 1973.
Spruce top, mahogany sides and back. No electronics.

I've benn playing on/off for nearly 20 years...Mostly rock & folk music. I have yet to find an acoustic 12-string that sounded quite as full when unplugged. Decent highs but very nice sounding lows...rich and bright.

Bought used and action was perfect, no setup necessary. Finish has stood the test of time. Aside from your normal dings and dents that come with age this guitar could be sold as new.

What can I say...? This thing was made in '73 and still looks & sounds as if it just came from the factory(and I dare say it sounds better having aged. If I had the nerve to have a pickup installed I think this would be a fine on-stage instrument. Impossible to say though.

Never had to deal with the people at Alvarez...

This is primarily a sit-at-home or around the campfire guitar, as Ovation has become my choice for playing live. However, I have had this ax for 5 years and I will have it forever. A 12-string with such great action and such a beautiful sound is a treasure. I think it will only get better with age.

1984 Guitar, 12-string, with a lovely appearance. Has a pickup of unknown origin.

Sounds really good for a dreadnought 12-string. I would have expected this type of sound to come out of a Jumbo.

Nice smooth, close action (a little difficult to play barre chords on for an amateur) but very nice, playable guitar.

This sucker has been around for 17 years, and still looks like a brand new guitar. It is really impressive looking. It came with the original softshell case, which was a junker, but I bought a hardshell case for it and nobody would know that it wasn't brand new.

I've been on the Alvarez site, but there wasn't any info on their historical models...a bit of a disappointment, but I don't really care, the guitar is beautiful and sounds great and has obviously stood the test of time. It's a winner in my book.