Alvarez Laureate LF70e Herringbone Blacktop

Laureate LF70e Herringbone Blacktop | Alvarez | Musicmaker Dublin

Some acoustic guitars are built to be admired. Others are built to be played until your fingers give up. The Alvarez Laureate LF70e Herringbone Blacktop manages to be both, and rather spectacularly at that. With its dramatic gloss black spruce top, solid East Indian rosewood back and sides, elegant herringbone detailing and beautifully considered construction, this is an acoustic that combines vintage sophistication with a genuinely exciting musical personality.

The Laureate Series represents Alvarez getting properly obsessive about the finer details of guitar building. We're talking hand-selected tonewoods, carefully chosen internal components, individually finished bracing and a level of attention usually associated with considerably more expensive instruments. The result is an acoustic that feels alive in your hands, with the kind of responsiveness that makes you want to play just one more tune. And then another. You know how it goes.

At the heart of the LF70e is a solid AAA North American Sitka spruce top, paired with solid East Indian rosewood back and sides. It's one of the great acoustic guitar combinations, delivering a wonderfully broad tonal palette. Spruce brings clarity, sparkle and impressive dynamic headroom, while rosewood contributes deep, rounded bass, shimmering trebles and a rich harmonic character. There's plenty of complexity in the sound, but crucially, individual notes retain their definition. Even busy fingerpicked arrangements have room to breathe.

The Folk/OM body shape gives the LF70e a beautifully balanced voice and a comfortable playing feel. It's more compact than a dreadnought, making it particularly inviting for fingerstyle guitarists, songwriters and anyone who appreciates an acoustic that sits naturally against the body. Don't mistake those slightly smaller dimensions for a lack of power, though. This guitar has an impressive amount of projection, with enough authority for confident flatpicking and energetic strumming.

A huge part of that lively response comes from Alvarez's hand-finished FS6 forward-shifted bracing. The quartersawn Sitka spruce braces are carefully shaped and sanded to help the soundboard vibrate freely, encouraging sustain, dynamic sensitivity and excellent tonal balance. It's the sort of detail you won't see when you're admiring the guitar on its stand, but you'll certainly appreciate it when you start playing.

Alvarez has also taken a distinctly traditional approach to the bridge. Rather than using the company's familiar bi-level design, the Laureate features a beautifully shaped single-level ebony bridge, inspired by acoustic guitars from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Combined with the ebony fingerboard, real bone nut and saddle, and premium open-gear tuners, it gives the LF70e a wonderfully cohesive, vintage-inspired feel.

And then there's the finish. Oh, that finish.

The gloss Blacktop soundboard makes a striking contrast against the natural rosewood back and sides, while the herringbone purfling, ivoroid binding and delicate abalone appointments provide just the right amount of visual drama. It's elegant rather than flashy, although you'll probably catch yourself staring at it when you should be practising. Entirely understandable.

When it's time to plug in, the LR Baggs HiFi pickup system is ready to bring that rich acoustic voice to the stage. Its dual bridge-plate sensors capture the guitar's natural resonance and playing dynamics, producing a detailed amplified sound without the intrusive appearance of a large side-mounted preamp. A lovely solution for players who want premium acoustic tone with practical live-performance capability.

The Alvarez Laureate LF70e Herringbone Blacktop is a serious instrument for players who appreciate fine craftsmanship, expressive tone and a touch of vintage elegance. From delicate fingerstyle pieces to full-bodied acoustic arrangements, it's beautifully equipped for the job. And with an included Alvarez Flexicase, it's ready to accompany you well beyond the comfort of your living room.

Features

• All-Solid Tonewood Construction: Premium Sitka spruce and East Indian rosewood deliver a rich, responsive acoustic voice with impressive harmonic depth.

• AAA North American Sitka Spruce Top: Carefully selected solid soundboard offers excellent clarity, projection and dynamic range.

• Solid East Indian Rosewood Back and Sides: Produces deep bass, sparkling trebles and beautifully detailed overtones.

• Folk/OM Body Shape: Comfortable proportions with balanced projection and excellent note separation.

• Hand-Finished FS6 Bracing: Forward-shifted, scalloped Sitka spruce bracing is carefully sanded to optimise soundboard response.

• Bench-Made Construction Approach: Hand-selected internal components reflect Alvarez's meticulous Laureate Series building philosophy.

• Traditional Single-Level Ebony Bridge: Vintage-inspired design provides excellent energy transfer and complements the guitar's classic styling.

• Premium Ebony Fingerboard: Smooth playing feel with clear articulation and a refined appearance.

• LR Baggs HiFi Electronics: Dual bridge-plate sensors capture natural acoustic resonance for detailed live amplification.

• Real Bone Nut and Saddle: Quality components support sustain, clarity and consistent string response.

• Premium Open-Gear Tuners: Traditional styling with precise, dependable tuning adjustment.

• Herringbone and Abalone Appointments: Elegant vintage detailing with premium decorative inlays.

• Gloss Blacktop Finish: Dramatic black spruce soundboard contrasted with natural gloss rosewood back and sides.

• Alvarez AFC30 Flexicase Included: Protective case for storage, rehearsals and travelling.

Specifications

• Brand: Alvarez

• Model: LF70e Herringbone Blacktop

• Series: Laureate

• Instrument Type: Electro-Acoustic Guitar

• Body Shape: Folk / Orchestra Model (OM)

• Top: Solid AAA North American Sitka Spruce

• Back and Sides: Solid East Indian Rosewood

• Bracing: Hand-Finished FS6 Forward-Shifted

• Neck: African Mahogany

• Neck Meets Body: 14th Fret

• Fingerboard: Ebony

• Bridge: Traditional Single-Level Ebony

• Headstock Plate: Ebony

• Bridge Pins: Ebony

• Scale Length: 635mm (25")

• Nut Width: 44.45mm (1 3/4")

• Number of Frets: 21

• Nut Material: Bone

• Saddle Material: Bone

• Fingerboard Inlays: Premium Abalone

• Binding: Ivoroid

• Decorative Detailing: Herringbone Purfling

• Tuners: Premium Open-Gear

• Pickup System: LR Baggs HiFi

• Pickup Type: Dual Bridge-Plate Sensors

• Strings: D'Addario XSAPB1253

• Top Colour: Black

• Top Finish: Gloss

• Back and Sides Colour: Natural

• Back and Sides Finish: Gloss

• Overall Length: 1015mm

• Body Width: 390mm

• Body Depth at Heel: 96mm

• Body Depth at Base: 108mm

• Number of Strings: 6

• Included Case: Alvarez AFC30 Flexicase

• Orientation: Right-Handed