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Alvarez AF60CK???


hawkeye21

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I don't know what either the AF60ck or the AD60ck sound like, but I can tell you that they are both made out of all laminated woods. 'Figured' refers to the fact that the wood has a very showy grain pattern (as opposed to a more standard straight pattern). I do not know what DAO is, nor do I know what tonal qualities it posesses.

 

The only experience that I have had with Alvarez guitars was playing an MF-80c and a used dread--both had nice tone, but I can't speak specifically about the ones you are interested in, unfortunately.

 

I'd suggest looking into the LaSido companies--Seagull, Norman, Art & Lutherie--Takamine, Wahsburn, etc...just play as many guitars as possible until you find one that suits you best.

 

Good luck!

 

Tom

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Its a typo, its koa wood. I have the parlour sized one and its a pretty good guitar, very playable. One thing I have to say is that every koa wood guitar (acoustic) I ever played has nearly the same sound. Very mid-rangy with lite high end and bottom.

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As far as I have been able to determine, the AF/AD60s are laminate tops (I have not seen anything that says that they are solid tops, so I must assume that they are not).

 

I thought that 'DAO' was a typo. As far as Koa is concerned, it has a rather 'tight' or restricted sound--heavy on the midrange and light on the trebles/bass (granted, I have never had the pleasure to play a koa topped guitar that has opened up, and the few that I have played had dead strings). It's not for everyone (I'm not much of a fan, but I still want to hear a koa guitar that has opened up), but you may like it. Try it out and see for yourself:) !

 

Tom

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From the Alvarez website:

 

AF60CK

 

Body Style Cutaway Folk

Back/Sides Figured Dao

Top Figured Dao

Finish Natural

Soundhole

Rosette White Pearl

Body Binding White/Black Multi-layer

Fingerboard Rosewood

Fingerboard Inlay 12th Fret Diagonal

Tuning Machines Nickel Die Cast

Bridge Rosewood

Electronics System 600T

 

I think that Dao is technically a Phillippine wood, Paldao. I doubt it's solid, because paldao is mostly used for veneer (laminates). There's a lot of BS on e-bay, etc. about this being koa. That's utter crap. You could not build a guitar out of figured koa for anything like the price of the alvarez guitar. Believe me, regardless of what you have may been told, this is not koa!!!

 

 

From a woods site:

 

Paldao

 

Sengkuang

 

Family: Anacardiaceae

 

Other Common Names: New Guinea Walnut (New Guinea, Australia), Lamio, Dao (Philippines), Damoni, Dorea, Loup (New Guinea and Papua), New Guineawood (United States).

 

Distribution: Widely distributed in Southeast Asia and the Southwest Pacific Islands.

 

The Tree: A large tree reaching a height of 120 ft with clear straight boles 65 to 80 ft in length above high buttresses that may reach 20 ft; trunk diameters 6 to 7 ft above the buttress.

 

The Wood:

 

General Characteristics: Heartwood varies from light brown, grayish, greenish yellow to reddish brown often with irregular dark brown to nearly black banding; sapwood wide, pinkish, or grayish. Grain straight to interlocked and irregular; texture moderately fine to coarse; lustrous; without distinctive odor or taste; with decorative figure if quarter cut.

 

Weight: Basic specific gravity (overdry weight/green volume) varies with species 0.45 to 0.54; air-dry density 35 to 42 pcf.

 

Mechanical Properties: (2-in. standard)

 

Moisture content Bending strength Modulus of elasticity Maximum crushing strength

 

(%) (Psi) (1,000 psi) (Psi)

 

Green (34) 10,500 1,350 4,600

 

12% 14,600 1,820 7,200

 

Green (7) 8,540 1,400 4,300

 

12% 11,800 1,660 6,700

 

Janka side hardness 830 to 1,130 lb at 12% moisture content. Forest Products Laboratory toughness 334 in.-lb for green material (5/8-in. specimen).

 

Drying and Shrinkage: Tendency to wrap and twist on drying (D. dao), but D. mangiferum is reported to be easy to season. No date available on kiln schedules. Shrinkage green to ovendry: radial 3.9%; tangential 7.5%.

 

Working Properties: Easy to work, glues satisfactorily, and takes a good finish and polish, veneers well.

 

Durability: Heartwood is nondurable and is not resistant to termite attack.

 

Preservation: No information available.

 

Uses: Furniture and cabinetwork, paneling, decorative veneers (walnut-like in appearance), gunstocks, flooring, joinery.

 

Additional Reading: (7), (9), (17), (34)

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I've played an AD60CK, and it had a decent sound for what it is and the price range. Tone as described above. I do think this is a guitar that you would definitely want to play the one you're going to buy, before you buy.

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