GSWJ - JP Reviews the Alvarez Laureate Dreadnaught 

Ok I got my LD70e. Beautiful guitar! The wood and craftsmanship are AAA top notch. Have to say the fret edges were very sharp and the action was too high. Frets were surprisingly very level though. My first time playing the D’Addario XS strings. They are great. Overall this guitar’s tone is super sweet. Very responsive to a light touch, but can get very loud when you dig in. Gig bag is not for me. Ordered a Crossrock hard shell case. I moved the strap hardware from back of neck heal to the side where I like it. Now that I have everything dialed in and I have been playing this guitar all evening, I have to say I am super impressed! Thank you Alvarez for making such a great guitar for us folks on a working man’s salary!

I’m an old guitar geek, love guitars and have owned around 200 different ones in the past 50 years. Over the last 10 years I’ve really come to appreciate Alvarez. They build quality instruments. I’ve owned a few, and was thrilled to see this review. Thank you for the video

I’m still gigging with my Masterworks MD60EBG, such good guitars

I love it. Might get one. I have a '78 Alvarez-Yairi my Dad bought new and he gave it to me when I was 14. I'm 42 now and its sit by my favorite chair, and I still pick it up every day.

Chris Meikle is a visionary. He has always been someone who thinks outside the box.

Lovely instrument. Ever since you introduced me to Chris by playing at his factory (?), I’ve been watching Alvarez’ videos. Well worth everyone’s time. The thought that went into this line of guitars is no secret … Chris discussed all the elements in great detail in the run up to the launch, which was secret. Chris loves learning about guitars and doesn’t mind building several different models in development. The bridge alone was a labor of love that when through several iterations. Thank you for the introduction. (Of course, as I’ve done before, JP, I have you to thank for the ‘89 DY-90, which I found for a bargain price on Reverb, that I play.)

I was waiting for the review on this one! I was split between this Alvarez and the A5R from Yamaha. Deep full voice!

Love it! Can’t wait to see the next one!

JP always guides us to extremely good (and affordable) choices! Because of you, I purchased my lovely Epiphone Excellente but now.... you just picked up the PERFECT Rosewood Dreadnought! I wish I could have the money to buy it! Thanks a lot JP!!! Greetings from Athens , Greece!

Wow! Great Guitar! Love your show JP..

I recently purchased the Alvarez Dreadnaught model that was used as the template for this Laureate series. It is really, really good. Punches way higher than the pricing. Alvarez has found a great recipe.

Hi from Australia JP came on your youtube for a review of my Yamaha FGX 3 guitar last year then checked your songs and live videos. You are such an amazing guitarist and love your videos😀

Nice guitar. I bought a yairi stage guitar on your recommendation and couldn't be happier with it. Your a hell of a player. Keep up the good work.

Blooming awesome

Thanks for reviewing JP. I have been eyeing one since they came out and you may have just nudged the needle enough to purchase.

Sweet!!

Put it up against a Boucher in a comparison vid....that would really showcase how good they may be.

Good Lord, my reaction was just like yours when you chuckled about 10 seconds into playing that guitar. What a fantastic sounding guitar! The high-mids just sparkle and the sustain is incredible. I am unlucky to be a left-handed player, but fortunate enough to have a left-handed Yairi Baritone (YB-70) that was custom built for an online Alvarez retailer in Texas (Musician Madness) for one of their Alvarez runs. According to the retailer, it took nine months to build and boy, is it a fantastic instrument as well. I couldn’t agree with your assessment of Alvarez more. They make premium guitars affordable. Hopefully they will make one of the Laureates in a left-handed version.

Love the shirt JP 😂.

Dam J.P. now I want one of those, you did it again lolol.

Always good to see JP review another great guitar. It sure looks the biz. I love that faint sunburst effect. As always I wonder whether to get a guitar like this or wait until I can afford the Yairi DYM60 that I dream of. I would like to see this pitted against a Martin special style rosewood (the musician's friend/guitar center special) dread, which is the cheapest Martin US built rosewood dread. For now I continue to play my MD60BGs of which I own 2 thanks to JP's review of that in the "which one is the Martin?" videos ...

Wow! Sounds amzing. Too bad I already have too many guitars.

I played one of these in Natural finish at Sweetwater and it hands down beat the crap out of a Yamaha FG9 in rosewood. It wasn’t even close. I play short scale guitars so this isn’t totally my bag. But it’s cool to see Alvarez making instruments at this price that compete openly with much pricier options.

No worries JP. You're right, you can review any freaking guitar you want. I have the OM Daybreak and it plays and sounds great.

That's a Noble Laureate!

So glad you did this! I'd been waiting. Chris' Laureate story is such a great one. I need another guitar like a hole in the head and came so so so close to buying the Laureate parlor. Couldn't possibly justify another dreadnought. Not sure if you'd mentioned the thin finish. Nitro?

$1399 US is a killer deal for this gem!!!

I need that shirt lol!!😂

John hinted at a new Alvarez Yairi that may be released in a couple of weeks. I hope its the Yairi DYM74 (Redwood top/EIR back and sides). I have had one on order for about two months and would love to hear him play it.

I want this guitar.

I'm a sucker for sleeper guitars, but I also think John would make anything sound good.

I bought the Alvarez LF70e Laureate 70 Folk/OM model and sent it back to Sweetwater. Everything about it was fantastic until I felt frets protruding, on the edge of the fret board. The edge of the fret board was a wavy line. I was so disappointed because I was waiting in anticipation to get one. I also contacted Alvarez, nothing but crickets, never heard back.

Now I have to go buy one. I was going to buy the rd328

Hey jp,I have the yairi dym60hd just seeing if the neck is similar to the yairi

It that a Tim Gagnon painting on the floor?

How do you think this compares to the MD60BG?

John, I was looking at an Alvarez Yairi online and noticed it was assembled in China. Have you played one of these and is the quality up to par? thank you for your reply! Phil

Great review, you were high on the Yamaha LL16D as well; what are your thoughts between those two?

Sounds amazing! Although John you're such a good player you could get a tune out of a banana.

Do you still play your Epiphone Excellente?

Are the pins slotted?

How do feel critically about the base response? Are you good with it?

The strap button location makes it look cheap! Why? Everything else looks great. That's the first thing I would fix.

Back is bookmatched, according to their website. Just no trim, but it is in two pieces.

If you had to pick one guitar. . Yahama FG-5 or Ephiphone master build excellenta???? I'm about to drop the dime on one of these two guitars. Would really like your thoughts. I can’t play them before i order. I'd really like your thoughts. Im just a poor working busker, so i don't have time nor money to toss around. My thoughts are that the Epi looks better, but the Yahama is a better built guitar. Would you agree?

You've got it tuned down a semi tone I think

Well, they are selling it for 2k$ CND and more for the little I could see

Hey JP - now that you've played both the factory built Laureate Dreadnought LD70e, with its carefully selected wood, and the handbuilt Yairi Honduran DYM60HD - what do you reckon the difference is, in terms of playability and sound quality? Asking as the Alvarez guys posted a video comparison of the DYM60HD to another of their factory dreadnoughts - the MD60BG dreadnought. At the end , they conclude the sound quality difference between the two is only about 5 to 10%. (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-UgEQoGd5r20.html), for 3x the price on the Yairi

Another great review-$2100 plus tax for us Canadians.

Seems to need a setup. I hear buzzing. I think.

Under $1500 USD!!!!!

Can you come to my house and just play guitar?

I start getting suspicious whenever reviews are positive with a "blow your face off guitar." Not a single negative review on this channel that i've seen.

Actually, I think your twelve-feet cutaway is probably even better. Fuck.

Speaking of the boom in guitar-quality, I'm wondering if this is due in part to the "Covid Effect" selling a ton of guitars in 2020-22. Thanks for the video - you convinced me to get one in natural. UPDATE: I am in love. I seem to have a guitar from the same litter as yours: S/N 23123597. Yours is 23123601. To me, this guitar is of the same quality as a Collings I once owned and had to sell to make rent. Love your playing!

It does sound good ,but they must be using lead weights somewhere in the guitar, I looked a bunch of them and all of them are over 5 pounds, which is very heavy for a dread acoustic guitar.