Alvarez Artist Elite AED90CE Electro-Acoustic Guitar in Natural

Here's what Alvarez say about the Alvarez Artist Elite Dreadnought Cutaway & Bevel Spruce top Macassar Ebony back Natural LR Baggs SPB:

The AED90ce is a serious dreadnought with great character and rich tone. Its AA North American, solid Sitka spruce top and Macassar ebony body give the player lots of volume and low-end with clear trebles. Aesthetically, the guitar radiates quality from its premium tonewoods and ebony bevel armrest. This is a striking guitar with a high-end vibe and big voice.

The FS6 forward-shifted bracing pattern allows for a larger soundboard area to heighten vibration, which is aided by a high-quality North American Sitka top and premium components throughout, all working together to deliver an engaging playing experience.

This cutaway model allows for easy access up the neck and is fitted with the LR Baggs StagePro Bronze. The StagePro Bronze is a small-footprint side-mounted EQ incorporating the renowned LR Baggs Element under-saddle pickup. This is a low-profile unit with a large backlit tuner, volume, bass and treble controls and phase. The battery box is built into the end pin jack compartment for easy access with a simple push to open and change batteries.

About Artist Elite Series

Alvarez Artist Elite is our series of solid-top guitars with a custom style vibe made with premium materials and appointments. Exotic woods, bevel armrests and wood bindings give the series a rich aesthetic, enhanced by a flawless gloss finish, radiant and thinly applied, to increase response.

Artist Elite features tonewoods such as African Mahogany, Macassar Ebony, East Indian Rosewood, Acacia and Flamed Maple, framed in Ebony, Rosewood or Maple binding. We craft a slim armrest on our Grand Auditoriums with a slightly thicker bevel on the Dreadnought for more comfortable playing experience. All Elites are cutaway, acoustic-electric models, fitted with the LR Baggs StagePro Bronze.

The StagePro Bronze is a small-footprint side-mounted EQ incorporating the renowned LR Baggs Element under-saddle pickup. This is a low-profile unit with a large backlit tuner, volume, bass and treble controls and phase. The battery box is built into the end pin jack compartment for easy access with a simple push to open and change batteries.

Our Approach to the Build

All of our solid tops are selected by our team and graded independently of our suppliers. If it isn’t worthy, it isn’t used. Our laminated backs and sides are uniquely constructed with Mahogany as our middle layer, and our inner and outer layers are always matched. 

Artist Elite guitars strike the right balance between strength and vibration, crafting a voice to both inspire and give players “tools in the tone.” Alongside this approach to development lies our respect for sourcing, preparation and nurturing the wood we use to make our guitars. No matter how considered design may be, it can only be as good as the wood we use to realize them. 

Our all-solid wood tops, backs and sides, as well as the mahogany used for our necks, go through a curing process developed over years to create stability, strength and tonal benefits. Depending on the wood and its use, this process takes many months or even years for some of our models.

After months-long seasoning, we perform an extra drying stage in thermo-kilns to further enhance wood stability and improve resonance. We call this process ATR—Advanced Tonal Response. ATR™ is a form of torrefaction—oxygen controlled, vacuum curing at special temperatures to remove more moisture and volatiles such as saps and sugars from the wood. 

Two Benefits

• ATR™ makes our wood more stable when exposed to adverse dry or humid climates. While we can’t stop the effects of dryness or moisture saturation that can damage guitars, ATR™ goes a long way in helping our guitars become more resilient. Guitars will move or change according to the environment they are in and are more likely to move within the first two years from their production. A guitar usually becomes drier as it ages; this is one of the reasons why players often like the sound of an older guitar. ATR™ advances the natural, post-build drying process so the wood behaves as if it were more mature, stable, and resonant from the first day it is used.

• The effects of ATR™ are also audible in the instrument. The biggest difference is the clarity and separation between notes and the overall response of the guitar. As the top is drier, it’s also quicker, more resonant, more open, even louder. New guitars can sometimes take time to reach this state as the wood dries over the years. ATR accelerates this effect to deliver a more sophisticated and complex voicing from day one.

Listen & Compare

Specifications

• Top Wood: Solid AA Sitka Spruce
• Back and Sides Wood: Macassar Ebony
• Top Colour: Natural/Gloss
• Back & Sides Colour: Natural/Gloss
• Armrest: Ebony Bevel
• Headstock Facia: East Indian Rosewood
• Bridge Pins: PPS Synthetic Bone
• Shape: Dreadnought
• Neck: African Mahogany
• Pick Up/EQ: LR Baggs StagePro Bronze
• Bracing: FS6
• Bridge: Bi-Level Indian Rosewood
• Inlays: MOP & Arylic
• Fingerboard: East Indian Rosewood
• Nut and Saddle: Bone
• Tuner: Chrome Closed Gears
• Strings: D'Addario XTAPB1253
• Neck Meets Body: 14th
• Number of Frets: 21