Yairi afficionados?

fitness1 · #1 09-22-2010, 06:08 PM

I just picked up a CY140 that I was told was a late 70's.......serial is 53501. I'm curious if it really is that old, it's in pretty incredible condition if it is!!

Also I thought I'd heard that some of these earlier ones were solid Braz and not laminate, or am I dreaming?

This one is so light I'd have a hard time believing it was laminate. The back tap rings almost as good as the top too

I just got it a couple of hours ago and polished the body out with 3M Hand Glaze and threw a fresh set of ProArte's on it. It sounded very nice with the old (I mean REALLY old) strings on it. Just has a couple of 1/2 inch long nail marks on the top, and a couple of dimples on the back and that's it.....the case is really clean as well.
Neck angle and relief are perfect and there's plenty of saddle left!!

Just curious if anyone can offer any info....

Thanks!

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fitness1 · #2 09-22-2010, 06:45 PM

Oh yeah, and I think there are some Star Wars characters hiding in the grain......I wonder if that makes it worth more????

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sneaky · #3 09-22-2010, 08:51 PM

so I guess you mean K. Yairi?...the bit of label I can see in the pics looks more like a K. than an S. Yairi. If so, send them a mail with pics I bet they would help you since Kazuo is still alive and kicking. My old Yairis are S. Yairis...Sadao aka Sada...and he is no longer with us. Love my old Yairis, got em from 1961 to 1971...fabulous guitars in every way.
From an interview with K. in one of my Japanese books he says he returned from luthier training in America in `64 so by the late `70s he`d been building for several years already. His real early models are very collectable these days in Japan, but that one you have sure is a beauty too. There were many outstanding builders of nylon string guitars in Japan, some of which are quite obscure and I have stumbled onto some of their guitars purely by chance. Love my old nylon strings.

flagstaffcharli · #4 09-22-2010, 09:23 PM

Good grief! That is beautiful. Those pictures could get a guy in trouble.

Play2PraiseHim · #5 09-23-2010, 04:17 AM

One my few guitar regrets is that my small hands could not get used to the wide neck of my Yairi CY140. I really miss that guitar. I tried for over a year to adjust to it. I have never played a bad example of Yairi CY116 or CY140 or any Yairi guitar for that matter. These guitar, laminate or solid, or highly underrated in my opinion. I also like their Conquistador model which ws the predecessor to the CY140. It had the ornate carved headstock. I believe that all Yairi clasicals made before 75 or 76 were solid wood. But I am not 100% sure.

I see why these usually last a few days on Elderly Instruments site when they have a used one . Nice guitar. I hope you keep this one.

fitness1 · #6 09-23-2010, 04:36 AM

well, I found a link to date the Yairi's hidden on the Alvarez site....

http://www.alvarezgtr.com/technical.php

as it turns out, the seller (G.C.) had it wrong.....it's a 2008, not a '78

Makes MUCH more sense given the condition. And, amazingly enough, it's a laminate....but it's SO light!!!

they were using the first two numbers of the serial, not the first two numbers on the neck block.

at any rate, I'm very happy with this one.....woke up early this morning just to get a chance to play it some more

Brent Hutto · #7 09-23-2010, 05:29 AM

I was just going to mention that it's almost certainly a current-vintage Alvarez/Yairi as yours is the spitting image of my guitar teacher's CY140. Maybe just a touch wilder grain on the back of yours. The "lamination" process of these does not involve heavy, thick stuff like we usually think of when we see that term.

They are quite light and responsive, my teacher's sounds (dare I say) slightly better than my 1976 M. Sakurai which is solid EIR and cedar. Maybe not quite as boomy but more projecting. He uses it as his performace/concert/recital guitar and I think it acquits itself admirably. He'd had to spend a fair chunk of change for a handbuilt guitar to truly better his Alvarez/Yairi, so-called laminate or not.

fitness1 · #8 09-24-2010, 09:20 AM

Whoa Nellie....

I just spent about an hour and a half with the mic in front of this one, holy cow it sounds incredible through my system with just the C3000B in it's face.

A good part of my frustration with other classicals was the inability to mic well....this one has just enough of the spruce like treble snap and string definition to make it very, very pleasing, while retaining the warmth of the cedar.

After a couple of dozen classicals (most much more pricey) I may have found my answer!!!

I'll have lots of time after golf season to record with it, so I'll post something soon...

Play2PraiseHim · #9 09-24-2010, 12:36 PM

Looking foward to it.

815C · #10 09-24-2010, 06:55 PM

I had a Yairi classical when I was a guitar student at North Texas back in the 70s/80s. I don't even remember what I did with it - guess I sold it somewhere along the way. It was an AWESOME guitar. Wish I still had it.

Rosco NZ · #11 09-25-2010, 06:25 PM

I was leaning heavily towards a K-Yairi CY118, but the store has now closed down! The lower strings had more volume than most other makes I have tried and altogether a very nice sound. Easy to play as well. I keep peering through the shop window and it is still there!

Rosco

sneaky · #12 09-26-2010, 04:43 AM

in some of my Yairi catalogs they use what they call...special laminate...maybe thats what yours is made of.

DJ in FL · #13 09-30-2010, 06:27 PM

What a beauty and bet it will sound GREAT!
Good pickup for sure when you got that!

jimbro · #14 10-27-2010, 11:25 AM

Geez, what a freaking GORGEOUS guitar! I'm with you on the Yairi's!!

dawhealer · #15 11-02-2010, 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brent Hutto

I was just going to mention that it's almost certainly a current-vintage Alvarez/Yairi as yours is the spitting image of my guitar teacher's CY140. Maybe just a touch wilder grain on the back of yours. The "lamination" process of these does not involve heavy, thick stuff like we usually think of when we see that term.

They are quite light and responsive, my teacher's sounds (dare I say) slightly better than my 1976 M. Sakurai which is solid EIR and cedar. Maybe not quite as boomy but more projecting. He uses it as his performace/concert/recital guitar and I think it acquits itself admirably. He'd had to spend a fair chunk of change for a handbuilt guitar to truly better his Alvarez/Yairi, so-called laminate or not.

I have a 1976 CY-130 and a 1976 M. Sakurai #5 (mine and Brent's may very well be made from the same tree) and I'd have to agree about the reponsiveness of the Yairis. My Sakurai is more boomy than my Yairi, but the Yairi also projects more.

Jose Ramirez and luthiers of what is known as The Madrid School have been using laminates in their classical and flamenco guitars for years. Their laminates are responsive and about as far from "plywood" as you can get.

The Japanese luthiers learned very well from the Spanish luthiers.