Alvarez AMP660ESHB Parlor Acoustic-Electric Guitar Shadow Burst

Parlor guitars offer so much to the player in terms of size, ease of playing, and great compression, but Alvarez's AMP660EHSB offers something a little different. This “modern” parlor has a 14th fret neck joint rather than a 12th, and a solid headstock rather than a slotted one. These two changes give the parlor shape a very elegant vibe, while its longer scale length increases string tension and helps drive the soundbox a little more to generate extra volume and sustain. The discrete SYS100 soundhole active pickup with tone and volume control and help make this an all-around fantastic little acoustic-electric guitar. As a bonus it has a stunning finish.

Case sold separately.

Parlor Guitars offer so much to the player in terms of size, ease of playing and a great compression. This AMP660EHSB offers something a little different and is a guitar we call a “modern” Parlor. This model has a 14th fret neck joint rather than a 12th and a solid headstock rather than a slotted. The changes give the Parlor a very elegant vibe and due to the longer scale length which also increases string tension and helps us drive the soundbox a little more to generate more volume and sustain. This is an all-around fantastic little acoustic-electric in a stunning finish. 

Alvarez Artist Series
After 50 years of making guitars, continual improvement through the use of emerging technologies, processes, and materials is still at the heart of Alvarez's culture. Their guitars are constructed correctly in every sense, from raw material preparation to construction and manufacturing processes. Their tone woods are carefully cured; components such as neck blocks and wood joints are carefully designed. The painting, sanding and polishing techniques used are continually researched and developed, and tones are impeccably crafted and married to a stable, consistent and lively sound box.

This caring approach to development comes from one simple goal: To deliver the best guitars in the market at every price point, instruments that are truly amazing value and offer a fantastic player experience. Alvarez believes their multi-award-winning Artist Series is one of the finest solid top guitar lines in the world today and demonstrates our commitment to design.

The term "solid top" refers to the soundboard of an acoustic guitar being made of solid wood, rather than being laminated. However, just because the top is solid, it does not necessarily mean the sound automatically benefits from this feature. The tone of the instrument only improves significantly when the whole guitar is built correctly to optimize the energy a solid soundboard can generate. Artist Series is built to do exactly this.

Each model is designed to get the best out if its components, and for them to work together to produce balance, lively projection and great response. These components include their FST2 bracing system, bi-level rosewood bridge, real bone nut and saddle, great quality tone woods and thin finish. FST2 is a forward-shifted X brace design, meaning the axis of the X is closer to the soundhole and therefore creates a larger soundboard area, allowing for more energy and vibration to be harnessed. Both the X braces and asymmetric tone bars are carefully scalloped. The scalloping design was the result of years of continual development in their Yairi workshops.

The Artist Series sound and personality is open and powerful. FST2 also creates very good balance so both the treble and bass registers are clearly present and balanced in relation to each other. Artist Series feel right and are exciting to play; no matter if you are strumming hard or picking lightly, the guitar will do what you ask of it. All of Alvarez tops are selected by their team and graded independently of suppliers. If it isn’t worthy, they don’t use it.

Top quality improves as you move up the Artist Series models, but all are stiff and finely grained. Along with a more angled headstock, the Alvarez bi-level bridge increases string tension by making the break angel of the strings from the saddle to the top more acute. Improved string tension adds to your guitar's sound, feel and response, which are also heightened by the use of real bone nuts and saddles.