NAMM 2015: Alvarez unveils 1965 and Grateful Dead Series guitars

NAMM 2015: Alvarez Guitars is celebrating its 50th anniversary by unveiling two new guitar models that salute the company's very first year of existence. First up is the appropriately named Alvarez 1965 Series.

From press release: The 1965 Series are made with premium North American, solid Sitka tops, beautiful Acacia back and sides, and with handcrafted Paua Abalone purfling. Available in Standard and Slope Shoulder Dreadnought, OM & Parlor, in a flawless Shadowburst finish. MSRP: $749.00. MAP $499.00.

“We want every guitarist and Alvarez enthusiast to be able to join us in this 50 year celebration,” says Chris Meikle, Head of Development at Alvarez and Senior Vice President of St. Louis Music. “Very often commemorative guitars are so expensive that they’re out of reach to the everyday player. Our goal with the 1965s was to create a line with beautiful appointments and tone, but make them as accessible as possible.”

The Grateful Dead are also marking their 50th anniversary, and Alvarez Guitars is celebrating the milestone by releasing a commemorative, limited edition signature guitar series that utilizes iconic Grateful Dead artwork to capture their vintage aesthetic.

“We’ve been really blessed by our partnership with the band over the years,” says Chris Meikle, Head of Alvarez Development and Senior Vice President of St. Louis Music. “Creating a guitar worthy of the Grateful Dead’s 50th anniversary was very important to us. We wanted to create something that was, of course, very playable with great sound, but was also fully ‘tattooed’ with Grateful Dead artwork, which presents a lot of challenges.”

Meikle and his team learned how to silk and screen print the tops of the guitars using a combination of traditional and modern techniques, innovating a process where the guitar top actually becomes a part of the artwork itself, the grain coming through the paint. Since each top is unique natural wood pattern, every Grateful Dead series guitar becomes a true, one of a kind collector’s piece.

The Alvarez Grateful Dead Series come in two models, the AFGD65 Flag and Montage. Each model features a solid A grade Western red cedar top, screen printed under a flawless satin finish. Other appointments include custom mother of pearl inlays, a rosewood fingerboard and bi-level bridge and 12th fret lightning bolt inlay. Both models are constructed using the Alvarez FST2M hand finished, forward shifted, scalloped bracing system for optimal performance and response.

For more information, visit Alvarez Guitars.