This is a beautiful small-bodied guitar with a Shadowburst AA Solid Western Red Cedar soundboard and Macassar Ebony back and sides, with Macassar Ebony binding and bevel armrest. No doubt one of the most beautiful travel guitars we have seen, but again, these diminutive instruments are no longer just for travel.
The LJE95 also sounds fantastic, with more volume and body to its tone than you would expect. The voicing is achieved through a modified FS6 bracing pattern and some light graduating of the top to enhance vibration. The tone is slightly darker than its Sitka/Pau Ferro cousin, but still instantly responsive. You can play any style of music on this guitar, but it really shines with a lighter approach or fingerstyle. Another great feature is that the fretting does not feel tight on space for a small guitar, with a full-size nut width at 1.75.
This first-class LJ is also fitted with a pro pickup system for those who wish to use a smaller guitar on stage. The LR Baggs VTC with element pickup has an end pin mounted pe-amp and soundhole console for tone and volume and sounds superb. It ships with our AGB-15 Deluxe gig bag, so you are ready to roll!
About Artist Elite
In conceptualizing Artist Elite, our goal was to produce a collection of guitars beyond comparison. This incredible line of guitars is the culmination of years of R&D that allow us to develop custom style instruments from amazing tonewoods with a truly radiant vibe. Artist Elite guitars look amazing, sound rich and offer a level of fit and finish rarely attainable at such price points.
Master Luthiers around the world have been crafting bevel-edged armrest guitars for many years. The feature makes the guitar more comfortable to play while adding a finesse to the instrument, allowing the maker to engage their skill and craftsmanship.
After 55 years of making guitars, continual improvement through the use of emerging technologies, processes, and materials is still at the heart of our culture. Alvarez guitars are constructed correctly in every sense, from raw material preparation to construction and manufacturing processes.
Our tonewoods are carefully cured; our components such as neck blocks and wood joints are carefully designed. The painting, sanding and polishing techniques we use are continually researched and developed, and our tone is impeccably crafted and married to a stable, consistent and lively soundbox.
The term solid top refers to the guitars soundboard being made of solid wood rather than laminates. However, even when the guitar top is made of solid wood, the tone of the instrument only improves significantly when the whole guitar is built correctly to optimize the energy a solid soundboard can generate. Artist Series is built to do exactly this.
Each model is designed to get the best out of its components, and for them to work together to produce balance, lively projection and great response. These components include our FS6 bracing design, which allows the soundbox to sing and brings uniformity across Dreadnought, Grand Auditorium, OM and Parlor body sizes. This means the voicing has a similar character, but the individual tone is more purely influenced by the size and shape of the guitar.
Our bi-level bridge is designed to heighten string tension and improve sustain and response. Real bone nut and saddle, premium tonewoods, and our crafted attenuated finish all further the quality of construction and positively impact the performance of the instrument. The personality and voicing of Artist Series is open, dynamic and instantly responsive.
This caring approach to development comes from one simple goal: To deliver the best guitars in the market at every price point, instruments that are truly amazing value and offer a fantastic player experience.
KEY FEATURES
Top Wood: Solid AA Western Red Cedar
Body Finish: Shadowburst/Gloss
Back and Sides Wood: Macassar Ebony
Armrest: Macassar Ebony
Neck: Mahogany, 50/50 Semi gloss finish
Bridge: Bi-Level Indian Laurel/Rosewood
Inlays: Paua Abalone & Mother of Pearl
Fingerboard: Indian Laurel w/12th Fret Inlay
Nut and Saddle: Real Bone
Tuner: Premium Die cast
Binding: Macassar Ebony
Bridge Pins: PPS Synthetic Bone
Strings: D'Addario XT Light
Bracing Systems: FS6 Tapered Tone Bars
Accessories: AGB-15LJ 15mm Duo-Foam Deluxe
Neck Joint: Dovetail
Number of Frets: 20
Pickup / EQ: LR Baggs VTC Element System
DIMENSIONS
Overall Length (mm): 941
Body Width (mm): 362
Body Depth at Heel (mm): 90
Body Depth at Base (mm): 104
Scale (mm): 600
Scale (inches): 23 5/8
Number of Frets: 20
Nut Width (mm): 44.45
Nut Width (inches): 1 3/4
