The Alvarez Artist LJ2 Little Jumbo is a solid-top travel guitar that costs from around £299 in the UK and comes with a deluxe gig bag. It is built to give a smaller guitar the jumbo shape’s weight in the bass,.
There are three versions worth knowing about: the plain LJ2, the LJ2E with an EQ and tuner, and the LJ2CE with a SYS250 pickup system.
What you actually get
The LJ2 has a solid A+ Sitka spruce top with arched mahogany back and sides, a mahogany neck with a 50/50 semi-gloss finish, and a bi-level bridge with a rosewood or pau ferro fingerboard. The nut and saddle are real bone, the tuners are die-cast, and it ships with D’Addario EXP strings. The bracing is Alvarez’s forward-shifted X design, which moves the X closer to the soundhole to give the top more freedom to move.
On the LJ2CE the scale length is 23 5/8 inches, the nut is 1 3/4 inches wide and the body is the same Little Jumbo shape. That nut width is a little wider than the Little Martin’s, which suits fingerpicking and larger hands.
Good for: players who want a solid spruce top and a bone nut at this price, and who like the deep, rounded body of a jumbo shape. Not for: anyone who needs the smallest possible guitar. The Little Jumbo is compact, but the body is deeper and wider than a Backpacker or a travel-size electric.
Which version to buy
- LJ2 (Andertons): the acoustic. From around £299, in natural.
- LJ2E (Andertons): adds an EQ and tuner. From around £339.
- LJ2CE Shadowburst (Andertons): the SYS250 EQ with a backlit tuner and a quarter-inch output, in a shadowburst finish with an engineered rosewood fingerboard. From around £359.
If you only play at home or round a campfire, the plain LJ2 is the sensible buy. If you want to plug in at an open mic or record straight to an interface, the extra for an electro model is small next to the cost of fitting a pickup later.
Check the LJ2 price at Andertons
How it compares
A solid spruce top is the feature that sets the LJ2 apart from the cheapest travel guitars, many of which use laminate. That is the main reason it is worth stepping up from a starter model. It sits between a budget compact and the Taylor GS Mini on price, and it is a more conventional guitar than the Martin Backpacker.
If you want the same idea in a smaller, bluesier body, our Alvarez Delta DeLite review covers it. For beginners weighing up a compact guitar, see whether travel guitars are good to learn on. The complete UK buyer’s guide compares every option on the site by budget.
FAQ
What does LJ2 stand for?
LJ2 is the Alvarez Artist Little Jumbo, a compact guitar with the rounded jumbo shape in a smaller body.
Is the Alvarez LJ2 a solid-top guitar?
Yes. It has a solid A+ Sitka spruce top with arched mahogany back and sides.
Does the LJ2 come with a gig bag?
Yes. It ships with an AGB-15 deluxe gig bag.
What is the difference between the LJ2, LJ2E and LJ2CE?
The LJ2 is the plain acoustic. The LJ2E adds an EQ and tuner. The LJ2CE has a SYS250 EQ with a backlit tuner and a quarter-inch output.
How much does the Alvarez LJ2 cost in the UK?
The LJ2 costs from around £299. The electro versions cost from around £339 and £359.
