The Acoustic Guitar Forum

The Acoustic Guitar Forum (https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/forums/index.php)
-   Classical (https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=46)
-   -   Thinking about an Alvarez Yairi CY-118 (https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=613219)

TiffanyGuitar 04-18-2021 03:30 PM

Thinking about an Alvarez Yairi CY-118
 
I would be interested in the forum's thoughts on this model? I am mainly a steel string guy, but I strum, flat pick and play fingerstyle. I had a Taylor nylon years ago (didn't keep it long - it felt very dead to me) and then had an Alvarez Yairi CY-116 - liked it, but it had been played very hard and not taken care of very well, so we ultimately parted ways. There are times I miss the classical feel and sound, so I have been thinking about getting another one. This Yairi seems to be in good shape.

MoePorter 04-20-2021 03:50 PM

They can be excellent! If the price is ok they are always worth checking out. My Cy 118 is a bit cleaner sounding than my Cy 132 - I go back & forth over which one is better... My Cy 117 is very different the the others & very warm but not precise if that makes any sense...My Cy 140 is my best one by a lot, but it has incredible sustain and requires a different playing approach. They are all well built of excellent materials & flashier looking than the Takamines if that counts..Mine date from '75 to '92 and the materials are on par with current luthier builds costing many times more...

TiffanyGuitar 04-20-2021 06:12 PM

I went ahead and bought it. I will post when it arrives. Based on seller's description, it sounds like it has spent most of its life in its case and very lightly played.

Red_Label 05-02-2021 11:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TiffanyGuitar (Post 6695969)
I went ahead and bought it. I will post when it arrives. Based on seller's description, it sounds like it has spent most of its life in its case and very lightly played.

How is your new CY118? I remember playing a few back in the mid-1990s and liked them a lot! I was leaning towards buying one when I found a new, beautiful CY140 that sounded punchy, loud, tight, and responsive. (I really liked the Ramirez headstock too, since that was as close to owning a 1A as I was going to get in those days!) So I traded in my beloved Takamine TC132SC for the CY140 and lived, breathed, and slept that guitar until an ulnar nerve issue forced me to give up my 4-6 hour daily classical practice, and gigging an hour or two's worth of standard repetiore here and there. So I traded the CY140 off on a matching black pair of Fender strat/tele and went back to standing and playing in rock and country bands, because standing and playing electrics with a relaxed, "hanging" right arm was not part of my entire right arm going numb issue. Years later I found out that a crushed C6 neck disc was tge real cause of my issue. Wish I'd have known that back then! Would probably still be gigging classical repetoire.

Anyways... until years later when I got back into nylon strings and bought a $4K Breedlove Masterclass... the CY140 was by far the nicest classical that I've ever had. It was good enough to play churches and recital or wedding halls without amplifivation. And even today... many nice nylon strung guitars later... I still think about tracking down another CY140, a CY118, and a CY127 for a sweet little Yairi collection. Those were the three guitars that I drooled over every day in a Yairri sales brochure (which I still have today in worn-out, aged condition). Would buy or trade happily into another Yairi classical if I stumbled on another one. I rank the CY series right there with any other well-made, mass-produced instrument.

TiffanyGuitar 05-03-2021 05:49 AM

It is very nice. It came in safely and more or less matched the advertised description. I have it strung with normal tension strings right now. I will probably try some hard tension next time. Ii was a bit rusty on changing the wiggly squiggly nylon strings, but restringing it went fine. I will do a bit better next time. The only thing I am not crazy about is the case. Yairi cases just seem very flimsy to me. The handle is very funky too. never seen one like this one. I have noticed that their cases are funky. But, that is not a big deal overall.

I am not a great classical player, but it is nice to have it as a something to mix things up.

Red_Label 05-05-2021 11:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TiffanyGuitar (Post 6706743)
It is very nice. It came in safely and more or less matched the advertised description. I have it strung with normal tension strings right now. I will probably try some hard tension next time. Ii was a bit rusty on changing the wiggly squiggly nylon strings, but restringing it went fine. I will do a bit better next time. The only thing I am not crazy about is the case. Yairi cases just seem very flimsy to me. The handle is very funky too. never seen one like this one. I have noticed that their cases are funky. But, that is not a big deal overall.

I am not a great classical player, but it is nice to have it as a something to mix things up.

Very nice. You've got a great guitar, and a pretty one! Love the burled maple and beautiful rosette, binding, and other fancy trimmings on those 118s. I vaguely remember the hard case for my CY140 having a delicate tolex covering, but I actually kept my case inside a larger gig bag type of soft case, made to further protect and insulate the hard case and guitar. I didn't buy that because I had concerns about the OEM hard case, but because I live in MT and I was hauling it around to gigs and other things in our brutal winter cold, and wanted that additional insulation so I could be taking it inside and outside with minimal warm-up time before being safely able to pull the guitar out of the case. Was a pain in the rear always getting in and out of two cases though. But it was by far the nicest guitar I'd ever owned up to that point, so I wasn't taking chances. Anyways... enjoy your new guitar! :)


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 09:54 PM.

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Copyright ©2000 - 2022, The Acoustic Guitar Forum

vB Ad Management by =RedTyger=