1974 Alvarez-Yairi DY-57 Very Good, Hard, $795.00
When Kazuo Yairi began designing and hand-crafting these 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 DY-57 “Winchester” model is an example of the quality and sound which he was 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.
This guitar (serial # 8994) has an additional number imprinted on the neck block (499123), which according to The Blue Book of Acoustic Guitars indicates that it was made in September of 1974, the 49th year Japanese Emperor Showa had been in office (No, I’m not kidding). The last 3 digits are presumably a production number for that month. It has a dreadnought style body with a solid Canadian spruce top and mahogany back, sides and neck. There is ivoroid/wood marquetry binding or purfling on the body and rosette in a really nice pattern, a tortoise tear drop pick guard, an ebony bridge with white black-dot pins, a 14/20-fret ebony fingerboard with pearl dot inlay and a 25.5” scale, and a mahogany headstock with rosewood overlay set off by the inlaid Yairi logo and the chrome Grover Rotomatic tuners. This is one impressive-looking guitar.
Even more impressive is its playability and its huge sound. The frets have surprisingly little wear on them, and the neck is surprisingly comfortable for my kind of small hands, measuring 1 11/16” at the nut. The 43 years of seasoning of the quality solid spruce top and mahogany back and sides make this about as resonant a guitar as I have played recently, with great big bass and clear ringing trebles.
Like most 43-year-old guitars that have been played, there are a few dings on the headstock and elsewhere. It appears the bridge has been carefully re-set, and the top seam and a crack at the soundhole have been professionally glued and cleated. Other than that, there are no structural issues with this guitar: the neck’s straight, the top’s flat, the tuners are tight, and there are no other cracks in the top, back, or sides. The action is set up at a fast and comfortable bit under 3/32” at the 12th fret low E, and I’m sure you’ll find it hard to put down.
The vintage hard shell case is structurally perfect: the hardware all works (it’s even pretty shiny—and there’s a key!), and the plush interior is intact and fits this guitar like the proverbial glove. I feel sure it’s not original to this guitar, but it looks good and 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 buy it.
Thank you for your interest in this cool 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.