1990 Alvarez-Yairi GY-1 Very Good, Hard, $995.00
When Kazuo Yairi began designing and hand-crafting 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 GY-1 model co-designed by Jerry Garcia is an example of the quality and sound which he has been 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 $5000 and beyond, with this GY-1 Cutaway Acoustic Electric listing for about $1700 in 1996 when it was discontinued—about the same price as a Martin D-28 at the time.
Alvarez-Yairi guitars are made with extremely choice tonewoods which are naturally air-dried and sculpted with individually hand-shaped bracing and dovetail neck joints. Yairi's brilliant design innovations include an extended neck tenon for a wider range of rod adjustment and no neck/body irregularities. The beautifully figured rosewood back and sides of the GY-1 combine with its solid spruce top to deliver a full-bodied sound that's warm and inviting, while the dreadnought style body with its rounded cutaway make it comfortable to play for hours.
GY-1 features include a 14-fret mahogany neck, a 20-fret bound ebony fretboard with varied abalone inlays at the position markers, a rosewood bridge with white abalone-dot pins, a bound rosewood veneer headstock overlay with an abalone “tulip” inlay in addition to the inlaid abalone A-Y logo, five-stripe body binding and sound hole rosette, a tortoise tear drop pickguard, and a factory Alvarez PR-400 N3 Ducer pickup system (3-band EQ plus volume, apparently featuring a separate pickup for each string). Throw in the gold die-cast tuners, and this is one impressive-looking guitar.
Even more impressive is its playability and its consistently clear sound. The frets have very little wear on them, and the neck is surprisingly comfortable for my kind of small hands. The label says this guitar was made in 1990—before the first official year of production—and this date is confirmed by the number on the neck block (0205 309), which indicates it was the 309th guitar made in May of the second year of Emperor Heisa’s reign (1990, and no, I’m not making this up).
The twenty-five years of seasoning of the quality solid spruce top make this about as resonant a guitar as you will find, with a strong bass and ringing trebles. All of this is purely acoustic; I don’t have speakers or an amp, so I haven’t tried the electronics through the jack visible on the bottom of the guitar. It already had such a big sound that the once or twice I needed amplification—you know how loud those banjo players like to play—I set up an Oktava MK 012 microphone for it and blew ‘em all away.
Unlike most 25-year-old guitars that have been played, there are very few dings and very little playwear, just some buckle bruises on the back and such, and a missing toggle cap on one of the equalizer controls. Other than that, there are no cosmetic or structural issues with this guitar: the neck’s straight, the top’s flat, the tuners are tight, and there are no cracks in the top, back, or sides. My luthier has checked it out, set it up with the action at 3/32” at the 12th fret low E, and says it is absolutely ready to roll for a long time to come.
The thermoplastic Freedom hard shell case is not quite structurally perfect. While the hardware all works and the plush interior is intact and fits this guitar like the proverbial glove, there is a loose inside retainer strap—no biggie. It looks decent, it’s solid as a rock, and it certainly doesn’t detract from the outstanding protection the case provides 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; cashiers and personal 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.
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.