Alvarez Masterworks MG60ce Grand Auditorium Acoustic-Electric Guitar – Shadowburst
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Quantity: | |
Add to Cart | |
;){kind=link}
All-solid AAA Sitka spruce over African mahogany delivers open projection, strong woody mids, and sparkling trebles — the LR Baggs HiFi dual bridge plate sensor system captures every nuance with professional-grade transparency.
Alvarez Masterworks MG60ce Grand Auditorium Acoustic-Electric Guitar – Shadowburst
All-solid Masterworks construction, the LR Baggs HiFi pickup system, and a stunning Shadowburst gloss finish — a Grand Auditorium built for players who want professional tone in every setting.
Who This Guitar Is For
The MG60ce is the Grand Auditorium guitar for players who have graduated past entry-level instruments and want something that genuinely performs at a professional level — unplugged, on stage, and in the studio. Alvarez built the Masterworks Series with one clear objective: all-solid tonewoods throughout, premium components, and electronics that actually do the instrument justice. The solid AAA Sitka spruce top is individually selected and graded by Alvarez's own team, not their suppliers, ensuring consistent tonal density and quality. African mahogany back and sides complete the all-solid construction, delivering the strong woody midrange and warm low end that make the spruce top's natural brightness land in a balanced, musical way rather than reading as thin or harsh. Alvarez describes the sonic identity of this guitar precisely: clear and defined bass frequencies, strong woody mids from the spruce and mahogany pairing, and sparkling trebles that the Grand Auditorium body naturally accentuates through its wide lower bout. The FS6 forward-shifted bracing maximizes soundboard vibration for open, immediate projection. The LR Baggs HiFi dual bridge plate sensor system — a step above the standard undersaddle pickups found in the Artist Series — captures all of that with studio-quality fidelity. The Shadowburst gloss is clean and understated, letting the spruce grain and mahogany character do the visual work without heavy ornamentation. This is a guitar with something to say and the construction to back it up.
Key Highlights
- Solid AAA Sitka spruce top — individually selected and graded by Alvarez for exceptional tonal density, projection, and dynamic range
- Solid African mahogany back and sides — all-solid construction throughout for deeper resonance, better sustain, and tonal improvement over time
- LR Baggs HiFi dual bridge plate sensor system — non-invasive, studio-quality preamp voiced to capture the instrument's natural voice with transparency and accuracy
- FS6 forward-shifted scalloped X bracing — opens up the soundboard around the bridge for powerful, instant voicing and impressive projection
- Cutaway Grand Auditorium body for clean upper-fret access without sacrificing structural integrity or tonal balance
- Shadowburst gloss finish — a deep, flawless graduation applied thinly over the AAA spruce top to preserve resonance and highlight the natural grain
- East Indian rosewood fingerboard and headstock facia — premium natural materials at every point of contact with the player
- Bi-level Indian rosewood bridge — increases saddle downward pressure for better response, sustain, and energy transfer to the top
- Bone nut and saddle throughout for accurate intonation and natural tone transfer
- Ebony bridge pins and premium open gear tuners — Masterworks-level appointments from headstock to bridge plate
Spruce and Mahogany — A Purposeful Pairing
Alvarez specifically chose Sitka spruce over African mahogany for the MG60ce to achieve a defined tonal personality: the AAA spruce top delivers open projection and sparkling trebles, while the solid mahogany body adds strong woody mids and a warm, grounded low end. This is not a guitar that skews bright or dark — it is designed to be balanced across the full frequency range, with each register present and defined without crowding the others. The all-solid construction means that balance deepens and improves as the guitar is played in over time.
LR Baggs HiFi — Beyond the Standard Pickup
The HiFi system is a genuine step forward from the undersaddle transducers found in less expensive acoustic-electrics. Dual bridge plate sensors mount non-invasively to the bridge plate, capturing top vibration directly without modifying the instrument's acoustic integrity. The result is amplified tone with better string-to-string balance, broader dynamic range, and a more natural relationship between how hard you play and what comes out of the PA. The studio-quality preamp is voiced to complement the sensors rather than impose its own color, making this a genuinely plug-and-play professional solution.
The Grand Auditorium Shape
Alvarez designed the MG60ce specifically around the strengths of the Grand Auditorium body. The narrow waist focuses the treble response and gives individual notes within chords their own definition and space, while the wide lower bout generates enough air volume for genuine bass presence and projection. It is a shape that handles fingerstyle work with clarity, strumming with authority, and chord melody with the note separation that complex arrangements require. Versatility is the Grand Auditorium's defining quality, and the MG60ce delivers it in a Masterworks package.
Great Fit For
- Experienced players ready to step into a professional all-solid Grand Auditorium with premium electronics
- Performing musicians who need a pickup system that captures their acoustic tone accurately in live settings
- Singer-songwriters and fingerstyle players who want tonal balance and note separation across all six strings
- Recording musicians who want an acoustic-electric that translates honestly whether mic'd or running direct
- Players upgrading from an Artist Series guitar who want to hear the tonal difference all-solid construction makes
- Anyone drawn to the spruce and mahogany combination for its balanced, broadly musical voice with strong mids and clear trebles
- Players who want a visually striking guitar — the Shadowburst on AAA spruce grain is genuinely beautiful in person
Sound, Feel, and Stage Performance
Unplugged, the MG60ce communicates quality immediately. The all-solid body resonates as a unified acoustic structure — top, back, and sides working together rather than a solid top vibrating against laminate panels — and the difference in depth and complexity of tone is audible. The AAA spruce top opens up with energy and projection, and the mahogany body rounds the response into something warm and full without losing the clarity and note definition that spruce brings. Bass frequencies are clear and defined rather than boomy or indistinct. Mids are strong and woody in a way that serves chord work, melody playing, and accompaniment equally well. The Grand Auditorium body's inherent brightness in the upper register gives the guitar a presence and shimmer that carries naturally in any acoustic setting.
The FS6 forward-shifted bracing keeps the top's response lively and immediate — the guitar speaks instantly without requiring a heavy touch. The hybrid soft V to C mahogany neck profile is comfortable across hand sizes and playing styles, and the 25.5" scale gives you standard tension and string feel. Plugged in, the LR Baggs HiFi system delivers the acoustic character of the guitar with a transparency that professional musicians who have spent time fighting piezo harshness will immediately appreciate. The Shadowburst graduation across the AAA spruce top — applied as thinly as possible to keep the wood acoustically active — catches stage lighting beautifully, adding visual presence without being ostentatious.
Specifications
There is a particular moment when you play an all-solid guitar for the first time after spending years on a solid-top instrument — when you realize the sound you were hearing before was the top talking, and what you are hearing now is the whole guitar. The MG60ce is that moment. The spruce and mahogany combination is warm and balanced in a way that rewards time with it, and the HiFi pickup means the experience does not change when you plug in. The Shadowburst on AAA spruce is understated and elegant — the kind of finish that looks intentional rather than decorative.
If you want to talk through how the MG60ce compares to other Alvarez models, what the HiFi system sounds like in a live or recording context, or whether the Grand Auditorium is the right body for your playing — we are here for it. Call or text us at 814-371-5666.