1995 Alvarez-Yairi WY-1
When Kazuo Yairi began designing and hand-crafting guitars in the 1960’s, he was deliberately competing with Martin, Gibson, and Guild for the higher end guitar market in the U.S. This WY-1 model is an example of the quality and sound which he has been able to produce using the highest quality materials, the best Japanese craftsmen, and his own modifications of the best American designs. Today, the prices of the Alvarez-Yairi acoustic guitars range from $1200 to $4000 and beyond, with this WY-1 Cutaway Folk Acoustic Electric currently listing for $2,499.99.
Alvarez-Yairi guitars are made with extremely choice tonewoods which are naturally air-dried and sculpted with individually hand-shaped bracing and dovetail neck joints. Yairi's brilliant design innovations include an extended neck tenon for a wider range of rod adjustment and no neck/body irregularities. A unique coupled bridge design (visible in the pictures of the top) removes the forward pull from the bridge itself for greater stability and lighter bracing, leading to freer tone and outstanding clarity.
The rosewood back and sides of the WY-1 combine with its solid cedar top to deliver a full-bodied sound that's warm and inviting, while the 000 folk-style body with its rounded cutaway make it comfortable to play for hours. Features include a 14-fret mahogany neck, a 20-fret bound ebony fretboard with abalone diagonal at the 12th fret and side dot markers, a rosewood direct coupled bridge, a mahogany headstock with 2 maple and 1 abalone stripe in addition to the inlaid abalone A-Y logo, maple body binding with gorgeous herringbone purfling, a discreet abalone sound hole rosette, semi-gloss finish, a clear tear drop pickguard, and a factory Alvarez System 500 pickup system. Its dimensions are: 15-1/8" lower bout width, 1-11/16" nut width (43mm), 3-7/8" to 4-9/16" body depth, and a scale length of 25.5” (635 mm). This is one impressive-looking guitar.
Even more impressive is its playability and its consistently clear sound. The frets have relatively little wear on them, and the neck is surprisingly comfortable for my kind of small hands. The almost twenty years of seasoning of the quality solid cedar top make this about as resonant a guitar as I have played, with a strong bass and ringing trebles. The electronics work fine through the jack visible on the bottom of the guitar.
This guitar’s serial and neck block numbers indicate that it was made in 1995, the seventh year of Emperor Heisa’s reign (no, I’m not making that up). Like most 23-year-old guitars that have been played, there are a few dings; the cedar top is very mellow and responsive and thus is frequently used on classical guitars, but it's a bit softer than spruce so it bruises more easily as well. The finish is also rather soft, and some previous owner apparently tried to use some kind of harsh household cleaner on it, which slightly discolored portions of the top and back. In addition, I can't seem to find a wrench which fits the truss rod, and it looks like the nut at the end of the truss rod is actually missing. While the action currently is comfortable at 4/32" at the 12th fret low E, I have reduced the price by several hundred dollars to reflect this concern. Other than that, there are no cosmetic or structural issues with this guitar: the neck’s straight, the top’s flat, the tuners are tight, and there are no cracks in the top, back, or sides.
The original deluxe hard shell case is not quite perfect, but it has the original warrantee cards and so forth—including instructions as to how to set the combination lock. The hardware all works, the blue plush interior is intact and fits this guitar like the proverbial glove, and there is a discreet logo on the top. It looks cool, it’s solid as a rock, and it certainly provides outstanding protection for this valuable instrument.
Buyer pays a flat rate of $55 for insurance and shipping to the lower 48 states; shipping costs elsewhere will be negotiated as necessary. Payment by Paypal is preferred; cashier’s checks are acceptable, but checks must clear before the guitar will be shipped.
I have tried to be perfectly clear and accurate in describing this instrument, so its return will not be accepted unless it can be shown that it was egregiously misrepresented in this listing. Please check out the pictures and ask any questions you might have before offering to purchase it.
Thank you for your interest in this excellent guitar.
Payments by Paypal, cashier’s checks, money orders, or personal checks are acceptable, but all payments must clear my bank before the guitar will be shipped. I will CONSIDER reasonable offers, even including installment payments and trade-ins, but generally since I already attempt to price my guitars very competitively, unusual deals must be unusually sweet.
From henceforth [that's how retired English teachers talk], insurance and shipping to the lower 48 states is $55 due to constantly rising shipping costs unless a specific listing says otherwise; shipping costs elsewhere will be negotiated as necessary. I have sold guitars to Russia, Japan, Australia, and over 50 other countries, as well as almost every state in the USA. Since some of my guitars travel thousands of miles, I take care to use lots of packing materials, protect the neck inside the case, and of course de-tune the strings.
I make every effort to describe and illustrate each guitar and case with scrupulous accuracy. However, many of my instruments are well-played vintage items which are many years old, and I am not a luthier. One should assume that any guitar will require some set-up to satisfy your personal requirements, and that not every flaw or ding will be seen/recognized/described in the listing. Thus the return of an instrument will not be accepted unless it can be shown that it was egregiously misrepresented in this listing. Please read the listing carefully, check out the pictures, and ask any questions you might have before offering to buy.