Alvarez AD70CE Artist Series Dreadnought Acoustic-Electric Guitar – Black

The Artist 70 raises the stakes — rosewood back, sides, fretboard, and bridge paired with a solid A+ Sitka spruce top, FS6 scalloped bracing, real bone nut and saddle, and LR Baggs StagePro Bronze electronics, finished in a deep gloss black that makes a statement before you play a note.

Who This Guitar Is For

The AD70CE Black is the guitar for a player who has thought carefully about what they want from an acoustic-electric and arrived at a short list of things that matter: tonal quality that rewards the investment, electronics that don't fight the natural character of the instrument, and a look that doesn't fade into the background on stage. The rosewood body is the key upgrade over the Artist 60 tier — rosewood back and sides produce a wider dynamic range, with accentuated highs and lows that give the guitar a more complex, resonant voice compared to mahogany. Paired with the solid A+ Sitka spruce top treated through Alvarez's FS6 forward-shifted scalloped bracing system, the result is a dreadnought that projects powerfully, responds well to both strumming and fingerpicking, and opens up with playing time. The LR Baggs Element pickup and StagePro Bronze preamp preserve that voice when amplified — no artificial coloring, no unwanted quack, just the guitar coming through a PA or amp with its character intact. The all-black gloss finish adds an intentional visual dimension that works equally well at a coffeehouse, a church stage, or a festival set.

Key Highlights

• Solid A+ Sitka spruce top — independently selected by Alvarez, applied with a thin gloss black finish that provides deep shine while preserving tonal vibrancy
• Rosewood back and sides — extends the highs and lows beyond what mahogany delivers, producing a broader, more complex tonal spectrum with natural sparkle in the trebles
• Rosewood fretboard and bi-level rosewood bridge — consistent tonal character from nut to saddle, with the bi-level bridge design increasing string break angle for better tension and response
• Mahogany neck with dovetail joint at 14th fret — stable, resonant neck construction with a comfortable semi-gloss feel
• FS6 forward-shifted, scalloped X-bracing — moves the brace axis toward the soundhole to increase the vibrating soundboard area and improve projection, balance, and dynamic range
• Real bone nut and saddle — improves sustain, intonation accuracy, and string resonance in measurable ways over synthetic alternatives
• LR Baggs Element undersaddle pickup — film sensor reads soundboard movement for natural, accurate acoustic translation without unwanted artifacts
• LR Baggs StagePro Bronze preamp — side-mounted, low-profile unit with large backlit tuner, volume, bass, treble, and phase controls
• Battery access built into the endpin jack compartment — one-push tool-free battery change
• Premium die-cast tuners — reliable tuning stability with a refined look
• Ivory ABS binding — clean visual definition between top, back, and sides
• All-black gloss finish — deep, uniform black on the top that reads as confident and stage-ready under any lighting
• Ships with D'Addario XTAPB1253 coated light strings

Why You'll Love It

Great Fit For

• Serious gigging musicians who want professional LR Baggs electronics and a tonewood step up from the Artist 60 tier
• Players who have tried rosewood guitars and know what that body material does to the tone — more sparkle in the highs, more depth in the lows
• Singer-songwriters who want an all-black stage guitar that photographs well and holds its own against electric guitars in a mixed band setting
• Players stepping up from a laminate or mid-range solid top who want a meaningful jump in tonal quality and construction
• Rock, blues, folk, pop, and Americana players who want a dreadnought voice with stage-ready character
• Anyone who has researched LR Baggs separately and understands what that pickup system costs on its own

Sound, Feel, and Use

Rosewood back and sides produce one of the most distinctive acoustic guitar voices in the industry — a sound with prominent, clear bass, articulate mids, and bright, extended trebles that ring out with sustain. Paired with a solid Sitka spruce top, the combination yields a guitar with wide dynamic range that responds proportionally to how hard you play. Strum lightly and the guitar feels open and balanced; dig in and it projects with authority. The dreadnought body amplifies all of this — the large air volume delivers natural loudness and low-end punch that smaller body shapes simply can't replicate. Alvarez's FS6 forward-shifted scalloped bracing is designed to let the soundboard take full advantage of the tonewood combination by reducing the dampening that comes from bracing placed too far from the soundhole. The result is notably even balance between bass and treble registers — neither dominates, and both carry with clarity. The cutaway gives comfortable access to upper positions without meaningfully reducing the body's acoustic output. The thin black gloss finish on top is applied specifically to avoid dampening the wood's natural vibration — it looks deep and polished while still letting the top breathe. Plugged into the StagePro Bronze, the guitar sounds like itself. The LR Baggs Element's film sensor reads whole-soundboard movement rather than individual string vibration, which means you get the full tonal character of the rosewood body translated to the PA rather than a simplified version of it. Phase control helps manage feedback in difficult live environments, and the backlit tuner keeps you on pitch between songs without reaching for a separate pedal.

Specifications