THE YAIRI RESURRECTION

[DaveKell]

For the few of you who remember and have been following this saga, indulge me while I bring others up to speed briefly. This is about a guitar willed to me last year by a dying friend. He came from a wealthy family and amassed a collection of fine acoustics. His favorite, and the one he had the longest, was this 1982 Yairi DY90 he directly commissioned Kazuo Yairi to build. A little over a year ago I was in a very serious wreck on an Illinois freeway and in the pics I'll post you'll see the horrible damage this guitar incurred in the wreck. There was more damage than the pics can show, like a broken top brace, but these will give you an idea. I was sickened to nearly vomiting when I retrieved the guitar the next day from a responding fire department. The chief warned me he had looked at it and thought it was a total loss.

Fortunately, a member of this forum told me of a friend of his in Kansas City, Missouri he described as a good restoration expert. I've since renamed him, formerly known as Ed Basnett, as The Guitar Restoration Wizard. I don't know how else to describe a guy who over the course of several months brought this guitar totally back into existence with an even better sound than it had before! It is the sound that should be reserved for the gods. He did all this through the soundhole and preserved all the original wood. The ONLY place any "scars" are visible is the repairs of the top that had a number of splits. I defy anyone to find any trace of the horribly broken through and crushed back and sides. I've never in my 66 years of life been more pleased with the work anyone ever did for me than Ed Basnett, a guy who works out of his garage without any business presence. Infinite thanks to Gilbert Stevenson for turning me onto his friend!

I've never been more bonded with a guitar. We both share scars from a wreck we could have died in but both came out as survivors. My scars are much more apparent then the guitar's! I definitely wish my spine surgeon had accomplished as successful outcome as The Restoration Wizard!



Here is the restored guitar...

[Willie_D]

Holy Wow! Amazing repairs.
Keep the music playing!

[jaymarsch]

Fabulous! Repairing instruments at that level takes talent, patience, and expertise. Nice job on that one for sure. Congrats on getting your Yairi back up and running.

Best,
Jayne

[merlin666]

That looks fantastic. I assume he "fixed" the sides and back and put a new top on, or is the top still original and repaired? Did your fancy lawyer get you that big pay you expected?

[rumble]

Very nice and amazing restoration. May both you and the guitar continue to share in your friends joy. I would venture to say it might likely sound even better now.

[DaveKell]

Originally Posted by merlin666

That looks fantastic. I assume he "fixed" the sides and back and put a new top on, or is the top still original and repaired? Did your fancy lawyer get you that big pay you expected?

No new top, all original wood. The splits in the top show up somewhat in the restored pic but from 5 feet away you don't notice them at all. This restoration vastly exceeded my expectations. All I wanted was the guitar back in playable condition. Only a bonafide wizard could have delivered the guitar into my hands with the sound improved and the damage nearly non existent to the closest scrutiny. I've known some talented craftsmen in my life but Ed Basnett heads up the list!

[rmp]

That is some amazing work.

[Slim Zooms]

Hi there

Congratulations on your Yairi resurrection!
Fantastic work by your repair guy. If the guitar only sounds half as good as it looks it'll sound amazing.

Keep on strummin'

Slim

[Edgar Poe]

What a tremendous rebirth by Gilbert.
You need to post his contact information.

Ed

[Tube Sound]

A feat of microsurgery. It's a wonder it can be restored to that degree at all, much less through the sound hole. Finding Ed through Gilbert was like the guitar gods reaching out to embrace you. The feat itself reminded me of this 1880 sand art bottle completed by Andrew Clemens, one grain of sand at a time. You are blessed.

[Turp]

That restorer is an artist!

[merlin666]

Originally Posted by Tube Sound

A feat of microsurgery. It's a wonder it can be restored to that degree at all, much less through through the sound hole. Finding Ed through Gilbert was like the guitar gods reaching out to embrace you. The feat itself reminded me of this 1880 sand art bottle completed by Andrew Clemens, one grain of sand at a time. You are blessed.

Nice. I was at the Kanile'a Ukulele factory tour last week, and they are now doing some of their most delicate custom inlays with sand from a local beach instead of shell, wood, or other materials.

[Peepaw]

Man he did some nice work. Seeing the first pictures, it would seem to be totaled for sure.

Thanks for sharing, that made me smile.

[TRose]

I’ve read about this guitar and your accident on the forum. I’ve been waiting for this thread.
First, I’m glad you survived. I hope you are well on your way to a complete and full recovery from your injuries.
Second, the repair is nothing short of miraculous. Holy Moly. I’m amazed.
Thanks for sharing.

-Tom

[DaveKell]

Originally Posted by TRose

I’ve read about this guitar and your accident on the forum. I’ve been waiting for this thread.
First, I’m glad you survived. I hope you are well on your way to a complete and full recovery from your injuries.
Second, the repair is nothing short of miraculous. Holy Moly. I’m amazed.
Thanks for sharing.

-Tom

Gilbert is not the restoration guy but the one who told me about him. Since I’m not taking the liberty of posting his phone number , I’d suggest getting on Facebook and searching for Ed Basnett. You can message him in there if you need repair work.