A sharp barking voice makes it a perfect pre-war blues machine .
on the interior explains some of the lean toward a modern tonal sensibility . And the slightly arched back allows it to sit comfortably against your body .
With the first chord , I thought , “ What a cannon !” For a relatively small box , the Alvarez can really project ! It has a sharp , barking voice , as well , which makes it a perfect pre-war blues machine . The guitar
was set up with slightly higher action than a lot of pickers might prefer . But the upside is that the little extra space between fretboard and strings meant I could readily delve into bottleneck slide — a task for which the Alvarez ' s voice is ideal . Slide sounds good in open D , but the extra string tension from open E made the Delta00 really sing as I played through Tampa Red ’ s “ Boogie Woogie Dance .”
Back in standard tuning , the crisp clarity in the Delta00 ’ s tones helped the guitar articulate treble and bass without getting mushy , which also made bluegrass crosspicking and G runs sound great . And while the Delta00 ’ s basic voice is not especially complex in these settings , it ’ s far from thin . I tried out
Big Bill Broonzy ’ s “ Hey , Hey ”— a blues fingerpicking staple — and generated plenty of thumping bass without ever sounding boomy .
In general , the Delta00 has a tight , midrange-based tonal focus . For some strummers that may mean inadequate low-end “ boom .” But again , it ’ s the trebles and mid-based clarity that make
A sharp barking voice makes it a perfect pre-war blues machine .
the guitar an ideal candidate for bluesstyled fingerpicking , and this quality also translates well to more modern , midrange-centric musical settings .
Room to Roam String spacing at the bridge is 2 1 / 4 ", which makes the Delta00 comfortable for fingerpicking . The 1 3 / 4 " spacing at the nut , meanwhile , provides lots of space for the fretting hand . The satin finish on the mahogany neck feels fast , although the neck shape and size may make this guitar a little more challenging to play for those with smaller hands . And while the Delta00 ’ s 24 13 / 16 " scale should feel just a little looser than a longer scale guitar , it was slightly stiffer than I would have imagined . That said , it ’ s not really an issue unless you like to bend up a whole step or really fly around the neck .
Our review guitar was equipped with an L . R . Baggs VTC Element active pickup — an under-saddle piezo pickup with endpin preamp and soundholemounted volume and tone controls . The Baggs does a good job of capturing the Delta ’ s essential voice . I ran the signal through a Schertler Jam 150 and dialed down the VTC tone control about 75 percent to minimize some of the piezo “ quack ,” which yielded a very acceptable amplified sound .
The Verdict This Delta00 is a nicely executed , wellbuilt instrument for those who want to get a good sounding and authentic feeling fingerstyle or pre-war blues box at a more affordable , low-mid price . The back-shifted bracing does seem to tilt the tone toward more modern , and perhaps less authentically vintage , midrange-heavy tones . As such , it may have less appeal for players seeking a fullsounding , bass-heavy strumming guitar . But with onboard electronics that make this guitar gig-ready , Delta00 should provide players with less-strict definitions of “ vintage correct ” with plenty of proper blues attitude .
CLICK HERE TO WATCH A REVIEW DEMO of this acoustic .
Bone nut
Alvarez Delta00EDLX / SHB
$ 745 street alvarezguitars . com
Tones Playability
Build / Design Value
1 3 / 4 " string spacing at nut
PROS Excellent build quality . Accurate electronics .
CONS Strummers might want more bass . premierguitar . com PREMIER GUITAR SEPTEMBER 2016 159