Alvarez Review: RD10

History:

Purchase: I bought this guitar about 3 years ago at a shop in Seattle. I paid about $175.00 for it, and in the under $200.00 range, it was the best guitar available. I had played bass in a band during my high school/college years and I wanted to learn how to play guitar. I thought an acoustic was a pretty good place to start.

What I Like About This Alvarez RD10: The guitar does have a very nice bright sound and seems to be made very well. In this price range, it is almost impossible to find anything buit this well. It has a lifetime guarantee, which was one of the selling points for me. I didn't know much about the Alvarez name when I bought the guitar but I have since found out that it is a very good one. This guitar stays in tune very well, which is an important consideration for a beginner lacking the ear skills to discern such things.

What I Do NOT Like About The Alvarez RD10: When I bought my guitar, the action was set by the factory very high, which may be why it sounded so good in the store. It was so high that I found it very difficult to play. I ended up bringing it to a shop and they lowered the action considerably and made this guitar much easier to play, especially for a beginner. The problem with doing this is that the sound isn't quite as good as it was before, as it has a bit of a low end buzz that doesn't sound right. Once I get stronger, I will probably have the action adjusted again.

Alvarez RD10 Quality Rating: This is a very well put together guitar. It looks to be much more expensive than it really is, and it seems to be a very rugged guitar, able to take a lot of punishment without even so much as getting out of tune.

Review Summary: For a beginner who wants to learn how to play, I would recommend this guitar highly. Once you become more of an accomplished player, it might be a good idea to upgrade to a better guitar, however. For a beginner's guitar, I don't think there is a better value in the market. That said, once you are no longer a beginner, you will probably want to invest in a better and more expensive guitar, because of the sound and increased playablity found in higher end guitars.

Rating of this Alvarez product: 4

This Alvarez RD10 Acoustic Guitars Review Submitted By: Rick in New Hampshire

Review Date: 2003-01-28