Can Anyone Tell Me About This Guitar?

[yairiluvr]

I own a few of these old CBS models, all mine are made by Kazuo Yairi but, I'm not sure about yours~ reason being is that all of mine note that they were made by Kazuo Yairi.

What (if any) are the numbers found on the heelblock?

Also, these had solid tops, but the back and sides are laminates.

yl

[Magnumb]

the number punched on the heelblock is 290. The top on mine appears to be laminate. the side and back must be too but look solid, feel heavy and sturdy.

[yairiluvr]

Well, I might be wrong~ but, none of mine have those kind of numbers. Mine are all marked, as are the majority of older guitars made by Kazuo, with the Emperor's code on the heelblock. Usually it has at least 6 digits, and being an early CBS MW model, it should begin with 44, 45 or 46.

And, if the top is laminate.. I really don't think it was made by Kazuo as I've never seen any of his (even low end) models with laminated tops. Even the few early ALVAREZ (Alvarez BY KAZUO YAIRI) models that Kazuo made, had solid tops.

There were many Japanese factories available to make guitars back in the early years, it could be from one of the other factories that also made Alvarez (among others) guitars.

Are there any other markings inside? Handmade stamp? Where made (town)? If Nagoya is noted, it won't be Kazuo either. Gifu? Possibly~ There was also Terada, Kasuga, etc.

I've got a couple odd brands from the late 60's early 70's that are quite nicely made...one is a NAGOYA brand acoustic, never saw another one and from what I found inside, I believe it was made by Sadao Yairi, possibly for export. Both him and Kazuo made quite a few "brands" for export only (not sold in Japan). Barnes and Mullins is one~but, those do list the luthier on the label.

Good luck!
yl

[Magnumb]

i never thought mine was a k. yairi, and in the quoted articles it states that he worked on classicals. there was a little piece of paper that fell out where i could just make out the shapes of stylized japanese, but it crumbled before i could preserve it. no other stampings or labels i could see, mine has been through alot. i think even in those years they had entry level and upscale models across their line and suspect mine was a lower echelon model. When I take it in to be looked at maybe the luthier can tell me more about materials used.

[yairiluvr]

Originally Posted by Magnumb

i never thought mine was a k. yairi, and in the quoted articles it states that he worked on classicals. there was a little piece of paper that fell out where i could just make out the shapes of stylized japanese, but it crumbled before i could preserve it. no other stampings or labels i could see, mine has been through alot. i think even in those years they had entry level and upscale models across their line and suspect mine was a lower echelon model. When I take it in to be looked at maybe the luthier can tell me more about materials used.

Of the labels I posted below, there are both classical and acoustic (dread or OM size) made by Kazuo Yairi, I have a couple of others that are also very similar to what you have. Y1040, Y1045, Y1050 and Y1055. Too bad about the piece of paper, might have had some revealing info on it.

Regards,
yl

[Magnumb]

I have a piece with writing on both sides but cant get a photo of it with the equipment i have... not able to get a pic clear enough at close range.

[yairiluvr]

Originally Posted by Magnumb

I have a piece with writing on both sides but cant get a photo of it with the equipment i have... not able to get a pic clear enough at close range.

you find a way to get a clear pix, I can get it translated (I'm assuming it's in Japanese?)~

yl

[Magnumb]

thank heaven for all-in-ones! here ya go!

,

I don't know if you can decipher anything on this, but i don't know if there's any more inside or not...

[yairiluvr]

Originally Posted by Magnumb

thank heaven for all-in-ones! here ya go!

,

I don't know if you can decipher anything on this, but i don't know if there's any more inside or not...

I'll send the pix off and see what he finds~ it does kind of look like maybe a receipt?

Will post back when I get the translation~
yl

[sneaky]

I`ll get my wife to read it when she gets back.
The Masterworks I got...but don`t got yet...has some characteristics that resemble the old Suzukis I have...the headstock, tuners and heel look very familiar from the pics even though they`re not great...will take better ones when it arrives. Very curious to see what the hang tag says too...might offer more insight into who actually made it, and I can`t really see if theres anything at the base of the pink label since it`s not in the pic. For the price of a coupld of pizzas I figured it was worth a shot and hey...since I bought an old guitar that had "hand made in Nagoya" on the lable for 21 yen...yes, thats right I paid 21 yen on line...and it turned out to be all solid wood, extremely well made and has become a favorite...I won`t pass judgement on a guitar `til I have it in my hands. But I love these old mysterious MIJs, my 21 yen guitar has a signature that nobody can read completely, I`ve been told it says...made by Hirate junior and he named the guitar...NARURYU...RYU meaning dragon...but the rest has stumped the panel here. So looking forward to getting another old oddball MIJ.

[sneaky]

OK...she says...the top bit, which is one side of the same piece of paper yeah... the kanji says..."strong"


lower bit she says the sounds are ...ya- bi-na-... but she can`t say what it means without know what preceded it, so she`s giving you the sounds but not the meaning with out more.

[Magnumb]

Thank her for me Sneak, I guess the really stylized stuff is another language? Its intriguing, the mystery deepens. Maybe if the guitar stays with the luthier, he'll be able to retrieve enough to make sense of it...
For now I have to congratulate you on your tenacity. I had stopped digging- my only source was the internet, and had bought another guitar... lo and behold, I can find no relevant history on it either...
discussed in another mystery thread... Korean made Applause and no internet evidence of it existing... at least this company still exists and I've emailed their info link to find out more...

[sneaky]

the Japanese use Kanji, derived from Chinese characters...I`ve been told when Chinese people come to study in Japan they sometimes see a Japanese Kanji and can guess the meaning because they are very close...same thing applied to me, when I took Spanish in university I could guess the meaning of certain words because they were on one or two letters away from French which I grew up speaking along with English.
So...the Japanese use two other forms of writing...hiragana and katakana...
katakana...was developed for sounds not found in the Japanese language...like my family name for example...it`s French...so it breaks down to BO-DE-N phonetically. Both Hiragana and Katakana can be used above Kanji...hey...there are THOUSANDS of Kanji, no one knows tham all expecially since, like every living language, they are in constant flux and change...I also studied Linguistics...so the one I think you think is stylized is the Kanji character...the other, more simple and smaller characters are hiragana. I had a private student who sent her son to study in London England...for a while the e-mails he sent his mom were Kanji but gradually they became hiragana and katakana...he was forgetting his Kanji because he wasn`t seeing them on a daily basis, so he used the easier hiragana and katakana characters, hiragana and katakana are taught to children in elementary school before they attempt Kanji later. I read an article on the written word in national geographic a few years ago and they said there are over 15,ooo Kanji...don`t know how close to the truth that was but gives us some idea why nobody knows them all. OH yeah...still waiting for the CBS masterworks to arrive.

[sneaky]

well, the guitar just arrived and what an utter and complete POS it is too. I have the tuners soaking, the guitar looks to be in unplayed condition...and I think I know why. This is no Yairi, it is all plywood and I don`t hink I`m gonna waste a new set of strings on it...gonna keep the tuners off `cause they`re in very nice condition. So...we know there was more than one factory building the Masterwork guitars...the only thing on the hang tag is guitar care and on the back they say...`studio` concert guitar...steel strings ACC.64. The guitar will look nice hanging on a basemant wall somewhere...or maybe my brother in laws eldset daughter would like it, nice size for her. Not even worth taking it outdoors to snap pics.

[Magnumb]

Originally Posted by sneaky

well, the guitar just arrived and what an utter and complete POS it is too.

Sorry to hear that Sneaky... I guess CBS Masterworks is a real misnomer... no wonder they're so obscure. I hope you didn't pay a whole lot for it... I'm glad I didn't, but still a little miffed... I probably could have lowballed but I travelled for an hour each way by bus and didn't want to leave empty handed. It looked long disused and dirty but I guess that hid a multitude of sins... still pretty after getting cleaned up, but useless. I'm biting the bullet and not putting anything into it... wasted a set of strings, but think i have a set of pull-offs around somewhere and I'll nail it to the wall to remind me not to think with my heart... I turned around and bought another guitar right away, and its a better deal- an applause that had an obscure history, but enquiries to a dealer revealed it had a much higher retail price than I had imagined. a couple of temp shock cracks in the finish, but it sings with a fresh set of Daddy 12's on it. Sliding off my lap with the deep bowl tho.
Get back on the horse and try again!