Alvarez AJ-80CE-12 String Cutaway Acoustic-Electric Jumbo Guitar Natural
The AJ80ce 12-string Jumbo is a powerhouse guitar of incredible value, and this 12-string model truly sings.
Like all Artist Series guitars, their jumbos are designed to offer a rewarding playing experience. In this model we use our FST2 bracing system which works so well with the amount of air volume a large guitar body produces. The forward shifted pattern with asymmetric scalloped tone bars allows the venation to escape while adding enough stiffness to achieve great clarity, separation and even volume across all six strings.
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 Series
Alvarez Artist Series represents their commitment to quality and care. Their goal is to create an instant bond between you and your guitar through meticulous design in bracing, voicing and overall construction. Every component—from their bi-level bridge to their solid bridge plates and neck blocks—is carefully considered to deliver the best response possible from solid-top construction.
Artist Series guitars are responsive with impressive projection and balance that make them both rewarding and inspiring to play.
With a huge selection of body shapes and wood configurations, Artist Series has a guitar for everyone. For a more focused, woody tone, choose a Mahogany top. For a broader, more open projection, choose Sitka. For a warm response to a lighter, melodic touch, choose Cedar.
Alvarez's Approach to the Build
All of their solid tops are selected by their team and graded independently of their suppliers. If it isn’t worthy, it isn’t used. Their laminated backs and sides are uniquely constructed with Mahogany as our middle layer, and our inner and outer layers are always matched.
Artist 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.
Their all-solid wood tops, backs and sides, as well as the mahogany used for their 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, they perform an extra drying stage in thermo-kilns to further enhance wood stability and improve resonance. They 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.
This does two things:
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ATR™ makes their 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.
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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.
Their caring approach to development comes from one unwavering goal: To deliver the best guitars in the market at every price point—instruments of a truly remarkable value that offer an unparalleled player experience.
Thank you for choosing Alvarez.