Twelve Strings, One Stunning Dreadnought
There's a particular kind of magic that only a 12-string guitar delivers — that shimmer, that natural chorus, the way a single strum fills an entire room. The Alvarez AD60CE Artist 60 12-String puts all of that in a beautifully finished dreadnought with a cutaway and stage-ready electronics. It's the kind of guitar that makes you want to play more, write more, and stay up too late figuring out chord voicings you didn't know existed.
Built around a solid A+ North American Sitka spruce top and laminated African mahogany back and sides, the AD60CE 12-String is constructed to project with clarity and warmth across all twelve strings. The Shadowburst gloss finish adds a striking visual presence — deep and dark at the edges, opening up toward the center — while the thin application keeps the top free to vibrate and respond the way a solid soundboard should.
Whether you're recording at home, playing a coffeehouse set, or rehearsing with a full band, this guitar is built to show up ready. The LR Baggs electronics mean plugging in is never a compromise, and the cutaway means the upper register is always within reach.
A Solid Top That Means Business
Alvarez hand-selects and grades their A+ Sitka spruce tops independently of suppliers — if a piece of wood doesn't meet their standard, it doesn't make it onto a guitar. The result is a solid top with a wide dynamic range, clear articulation in the treble strings, and a bass response that keeps the low-end chorus frequencies from turning muddy. A thin gloss finish on the top lets the wood do its work rather than dampening it.
Alvarez's FST2 bracing system — a forward-shifted X-brace design with carefully scalloped X-braces and asymmetric tone bars — positions the brace axis closer to the soundhole. This creates a larger vibrating area on the soundboard, which is especially important for a 12-string where the top is working hard to respond to doubled strings under higher overall tension. The scalloping design comes out of Alvarez's Yairi workshop development, applied here to deliver balance between treble and bass registers.
The Bi-Level Indian Laurel bridge steps down in height to steepen the string break angle over the genuine bone saddle — a thoughtful design detail that helps keep all twelve strings sounding clear and distinct rather than blurring together under the body.
Neck and Playability: 12 Strings Don't Have to Be a Workout
One of the real barriers to playing a 12-string is the neck. Alvarez addressed this with a mahogany neck that uses a soft V-to-C compound profile — thicker near the nut for comfort and support, gradually transitioning to a slimmer C shape as you move up the neck toward the 14th-fret body join. Players often find this compound taper makes barre chords and complex voicings significantly easier compared to a neck that stays thick all the way up.
The Indian laurel fingerboard offers a smooth playing surface with consistent response across the neck. The dovetail neck joint connects the neck at the 14th fret and is designed to improve tonal transfer from strings to body. Add a genuine bone nut — which improves string-to-string clarity and sustain versus synthetic materials — and you have a 12-string neck that feels considered rather than afterthought.
LR Baggs StagePro Bronze: Electronics Done Right
Alvarez fitted the AD60CE 12-String with the LR Baggs StagePro Bronze, a side-mounted EQ system incorporating the LR Baggs Element under-saddle pickup. The Element is a flexible film sensor that responds to soundboard movement rather than individual string attack — which means it captures the natural voice of the guitar rather than just the string signal. The result is an amplified tone that holds onto the character of the acoustic instrument.
The StagePro Bronze control panel is low-profile with a large backlit tuner, volume, bass, and treble controls, and a phase switch. The battery compartment is built into the end pin jack for tool-free access — a useful detail when you're on a stage between sets.
Product Features:
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Top Wood: Solid A+ North American Sitka Spruce with thin gloss finish
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Back & Sides: Laminated African Mahogany with semi-gloss finish
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Body Shape: Dreadnought with Venetian cutaway
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Bracing: FST2 Forward-Shifted, scalloped X-brace system
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Neck: Mahogany with soft V-to-C compound profile, semi-gloss finish
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Fingerboard: Indian Laurel with 12th fret inlay
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Nut & Saddle: Real Bone
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Bridge: Bi-Level Indian Laurel (steepened string break angle for improved clarity and sustain)
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Electronics: LR Baggs StagePro Bronze preamp with LR Baggs Element under-saddle pickup; backlit tuner, volume, bass, treble, and phase controls
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Strings: 12-string configuration
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Tuners: Premium Die Cast
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Binding: Ivory ABS
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Finish: Shadowburst Gloss (top) / Semi-Gloss (back & sides)
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Scale Length: 25.5" (648 mm)
Brand: Alvarez
Model: AD60CE Artist 60 12-String Shadowburst
SKU: AD60CE 12-STRINGSHADOWBURST
Condition: New
Since 1872, C.A. House Music has been helping musicians across the Ohio Valley find the right gear -- with real advice from a team that actually plays. We're your authorized dealer of all the big names in guitars, keyboards, band instruments, drums, pro audio, and more. With four family-owned and operated locations in Ohio and West Virginia (plus a full online store), you don't have to go far for instruments, lessons, rentals, and repairs. No matter your musical needs, our team of musicians wants to help you Play Music for Life.
