Alvarez Guitars Catalog
12-String Guitars
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The twelve-string guitar has a rich but delicate sound. The strings are arranged
in six pairs in a combination of octave and unison tunings. It's played in the same manner
as the standard guitar, as far as chords and scales and picking and strumming.
Nowhere is the Alvarez steel truss rod and magnesium U-channel more necessary
in the neck than in a twelve-string guitar, because of the doubled string tension.
The truss rod extends through the entire neck and heel and inner block, and is adjustable
through the sound hole. The dovetailed heel helps keep the neck from pulling up
in response to string tension.
The necks are solid Nato mahogany that has aged for at least two years to prevent
warping. Well-seasoned wood means stability: the frets will stay in place
and won't work loose or cause buzzing.arez Artist Series guitars have unusual woods and unusual inlays. Even the bridges and saddles are special: tight-grained rosewood to transmit stronger vibrations from the strings to the top of the guitar, dense saddles to withstand string pressure without abrading--the little extras that tell people you're serious about your music.
Sidebar 7
Dionisio Aguado (1784-1849) was Spain's most famous guitarist when he went to France to meet and play with Fernando Sor. They differed greatly in technique.
"I could never abide guitarists who play with their fingernails," said Sor.
Yet Aguado thought otherwise: "I prefer to play with the nails because the resulting sound is clear, metallic, and sweet. They enable very fast runs to be executed with great clarity."
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Sidebar 8
Aguado on the guitar:
"It has a particular character; soft, harmonious, melancholy; sometimes it borders on the majestic, although it cannot rival the grandeur of the piano.
"On the other hand it offers a delicate charm, and its soundss can be modified and combined to give it a very mysterious character. It may be the best means of suggesting the illusion of an orchestra in miniature."
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