Private | |
Industry | Musical instrument manufacturing |
---|---|
Genre | Guitars |
Founded | 1965; 54 years ago |
Founder | Kazuo Yairi |
Headquarters | St. Louis, Missouri, United States |
Products | Acoustic, classical, acoustic bass & baritone guitars Ukuleles |
Number of employees | over 750 world wide |
Website | alvarezguitars.com |
According to luthier Dale Unger, the digits after the dash in the serial number are the year the guitar was completed. SERIALIZATION ALVAREZ YAIRI Alvarez Yairi guitars can be dated by the number stamped onto the back of the heel. The number is based on the Emperor of Japan at the time the guitar was built. The first two numbers represent the. Alvarez began this series of serial numbers with 1 and ended with 12. If the first number of your serial number is '1,' your banjo was produced in 1989. If it is '2,' your banjo was produced in 1990, and so on.
Alvarez is a guitar brand founded in 1965 by owner and distributor St. Louis Music[1]. Alvarez manufactures acoustic and acoustic-electric guitars,ukuleles and basses, including classical guitars, and for a time solid and hollow-body electric guitars and basses.
- 2Series
History[edit]
In the late 1960’s, St. Louis Music's founder, Gene Kornblum, met Kazuo Yairi, a Master Luthier in Japan who produced handmade concert classical guitars. Together, St. Louis Music and the Yairi factory started to design and develop steel string acoustic guitars and imported them into the United States. The guitars took the brand name of St. Louis Music's Spanish guitar line “Alvarez”. Similar instruments were also sold under the factory brand of “K. Yairi” in Europe and other parts of the world.[2]
From 2005 to 2009, the brand was owned by LOUD Technologies, which also owns Mackie, Ampeg, Crate and other music-related brands. In 2009, Mark Ragin (owner of US Band & Orchestra and St. Louis Music) brought the management and distribution of the guitars back to St. Louis Music. As early as 2011, SLM senior vice president Chris Meikle has acted as Alvarez head of development[3], overseeing the redesign of Artist Series and other models[4]and rolling out new instrument lines such as the 2014 Masterworks Series, [5] the Alvarez 50th anniversary 1965 Series[6], Alvarez-Yairi Honduran Series[7] and the Grateful Dead Series.
While many of its models are produced in China, the top-tier Alvarez-Yairi instruments are handmade at the Yairi factory in Kani, Gifu-Japan, part of the legacy of Kazuo Yairi, the late master luthier.[8] Every Alvarez guitar undergoes a full set up and inspection in their guitar shop in St. Louis, Missouri. [9]
Series[edit]
Alvarez Guitars manufactures many models of guitar which are categorized by price point and specialty into series.[10]
Regent Series[edit]
Alvarez considers Regent Series a high quality entry-level line of guitars designed to give younger players and players new to the instrument a positive learning experience.[11] In 2018 Alvarez released the Regent School Series designed specifically for students. The nut width is slimmer than the standard size and the neck has been custom shaped to be comfortable for smaller hands.[12]
Artist Series[edit]
Alvarez has stated that its goal with Artist Series is to deliver pro level guitars at excellent value through the close attention to detail.[13]Alvarez Artist Series has won several awards, including a 5/5 rating in Acoustic Guitar Magazine and a nomination for best guitar series from The Music and Sound Retailer.[14]In 2017 Artist Series began adding new key features and models including armrests [15], travel guitars like the Delta DeLite and LJ2[16], and ATR (Advanced Tonal Response) system[17].
Masterworks Series[edit]
In 2014 Alvarez introduced the Masterworks Series featuring all solid wood construction and high end appointments such as gold tuners, ebony bridge pins, mother of pearl inlays and maple or koa binding.[18] In 2019 Alvarez introduced bluegrass focused Masterworks models, the MF60OM and the MD60BG, that feature construction that emphasizes response when playing with a plectrum and flatpicking.[19]
Alvarez-Yairi Series[edit]
Alvarez Yairi guitars are a handmade flagship series, crafted in the Yairi factory in Kani, Japan.[20]Alvarez Yairi have been the guitar of choice for many professional touring musicians including Jerry Garcia, Bob Wier, Ani DiFranco, and Joe Bonamassa.[21]Alvarez Yairi take the name of master luthier Kazuo Yairi(1932-2014) who partnered with St. Louis Music in the late 1960's to bring Alvarez Guitars to the market.[21]Kazuo Yairi inspired many innovations that are still used in Alvarez guitars today, including the Direct Coupled Bridge, careful selection of tonewoods, and manual carving; a practice that he referred to as 'listening with your hands'.[22]In 2017 the Alvarez team discovered a lost cache of Honduran Mahogany that Kazuo Yairi had purchased and stored on a plot of land near his factory in the mid 1970s.[23]Tonewood that has been naturally seasoning for this amount of time is coveted by luthiers around the world, and this discovery led to the release of the Yairi Honduran line of guitars which debuted in 2018.[23]
Alvarez Artists Past & Present[edit]
References[edit]
- ^'History Of Alvarez Guitars – Why Are They So Good?'. PMT Online. 2018-11-07. Retrieved 2019-06-17.
- ^'History Of Alvarez Guitars – Why Are They So Good?'. PMT Online. 2018-11-07. Retrieved 2019-06-17.
- ^'People'. onlinedigeditions.com. Retrieved 2019-06-17.
- ^'MSR 2013-Q4'. Viewer.zmags.com. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
- ^'Alvarez Announces Masterworks Series'. Premierguitar.com. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
- ^'Archived copy'. Archived from the original on 2015-07-11. Retrieved 2015-07-11.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^acousticguitar.comhttps://acousticguitar.com/alvarez-winter-namm-2018/. Retrieved 2019-06-17.Missing or empty
|title=
(help) - ^'Archived copy'. Archived from the original on 2015-12-09. Retrieved 2015-07-11.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^'Best Acoustic Guitars Under $400'. Mason Music. 2017-02-13. Retrieved 2019-06-17.
- ^'Alvarez'. House of Musical Traditions. Retrieved 2019-06-17.
- ^'Regent Series'. Alvarez Guitars. Retrieved 2019-06-18.
- ^'Alvarez Introduces Regent School Series'. St. Louis Music. 2018-03-07. Retrieved 2019-06-18.
- ^'Artist Series'. Alvarez Guitars. Retrieved 2019-06-18.
- ^'The Wonder Wall'. Alvarez Guitars. Retrieved 2019-06-18.
- ^'Alvarez Debuts New Armrest Models for Artist Series'. Alvarez Guitars. 2017-01-20. Retrieved 2019-06-18.
- ^'Alvarez Unveils the Ultra Compact Delta DeLite'. Alvarez Guitars. 2017-01-21. Retrieved 2019-06-18.
- ^'Alvarez Implements ATR™ (Advanced Tonal Response) System'. Alvarez Guitars. 2017-02-15. Retrieved 2019-06-18.
- ^'Alvarez Announces Masterworks Series'. www.premierguitar.com. Retrieved 2019-06-18.
- ^'Alvarez Now Shipping Masterworks Bluegrass Model MD60BG'. St. Louis Music. 2018-11-05. Retrieved 2019-06-18.
- ^'Yairi Series'. Alvarez Guitars. Retrieved 2019-06-18.
- ^ ab'History Of Alvarez Guitars – Why Are They So Good?'. PMT Online. 2018-11-07. Retrieved 2019-06-17.
- ^'Kazuo Yairi - obituary'. Daily Telegraph. 2014-03-26. ISSN0307-1235. Retrieved 2019-06-18.
- ^ ab'Alvarez Introduces New Honduran Mahogany Yairi Guitars'. Alvarez Guitars. 2018-04-01. Retrieved 2019-06-18.
Further reading[edit]
- Acoustic Guitars: The Illustrated Encyclopedia. New York: Chartwell Books. 2011. ISBN978-0-7858-3571-4.
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alvarez Guitars. |
Showing slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES} - Yairi
Alvarez Yairi Serial Number Lookup
Showing slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES} - Yairi
You Serial Numbers
S.Yairi Lefty Si 10120215 Yf35/Lh/N Acoustic
Small And Easy To Play. Good Condition. There Room Truss Rods. The Remaining Fret Around 80. 2.5-2.1Mm With String Height Of 12 Frets. No Position Where Sound Clogged Current General-Purpose Soft Case Included.0 bids$8.00 shippingEnding Oct 3 at 2:24PM PDT4d 17hFrom JapanNew ListingK.Yairi BLL-55CE Vintage Sunburst Used
Color: Sunburst. We are 'EastIsland Crew' from Japan.From Japan$165.00 shippingExcellent 1976 K.Yairi YW500R Acoustic Guitar RefNo 2503
Excellent 1976 K.Yairi YW500R Acoustic Guitar. Model No.: YW500R. Made in 1976. This applies only to products that originally have hard case. Truss Rod: Unknown. You can enjoy playing music. ◆Includings.From Japan$127.00 shippingAlvarez Yairi DY46 Right-Handed Acoustic Guitar 1981
Alvarez Yairi DY46 Right-Handed Acoustic Guitar 1981. Condition is Used. Shipped with USPS Priority Mail. professional set up plays and sounds amazing !0 bids$148.37 shippingEnding Oct 2 at 9:50AM PDT3d 12hBrand: AlvarezCustoms services and international tracking providedExcellent 1978 K.Yairi YW800 Acoustic Guitar RefNo 2441
Excellent 1978 K.Yairi YW800 Acoustic Guitar. Model No.: YW800. Model similar to Martin D45 type acoustic guitar. String height: 1 string 1.5 mm, 6 string 2.0 mm. Made in 1978. Number of frets: 20. This applies only to products that originally have hard case.From Japan$127.00 shippingK.Yairi H 5 25853 Classic
There Are Many Scratches On The Body.0 bids$8.00 shippingEnding Oct 3 at 2:24PM PDT4d 17hFrom JapanK Yairi 60855 Rf 65Rb Acoustic
0 bids$8.00 shippingEnding Oct 3 at 2:24PM PDT4d 17hFrom JapanS.YAIRI YD-304 1975 Jacaranda No truss rod Model MADE IN JAPAN
The body of back and side is Jacaranda. The condition of the neck is straight and there is no problem with the performance. Model number:YD-304. ★ Accessories Hard case.From JapanFree shippingBrand: UnbrandedS.Yairi Si170608057 Yf 3M/Wb Acoustic
0 bids$8.00 shippingEnding Oct 3 at 2:24PM PDT4d 17hFrom JapanExcellent 1976 K.Yairi Japan YW-1000 Acoustic Guitar RefNo 1146
Excellent 1976 K.Yairi Japan YW-1000 Acoustic Guitar. String height: 6 string 2.5 mm 1 string 2.1 mm. Made in 1976. This item is sold out everywhere in Japan and very hard to get it! Made in Japan. This applies only to products that originally have hard case.From Japan$127.00 shippingK.Yairi 46402 G 1F Acoustic
0 bids$8.00 shippingEnding Oct 3 at 2:24PM PDT4d 17hFrom JapanK.Yairi 48902 50 Resb Acoustic
0 bids$8.00 shippingEnding Oct 3 at 2:24PM PDT4d 17hFrom JapanK Yairi Yw 1000 Acoustic Guitar Limited Edition Series Collection Special
From JapanFree shippingK.Yairi Classical Guitar 38766 Yc8N Classic
Therefore Product Maybe Available Depending Timing Order.0 bids$8.00 shippingEnding Oct 3 at 2:24PM PDT4d 17hFrom JapanNear Mint Vintage Electric Guitar Acoustic K.yairi G-1F Ltd Alvarez Japan YSYG2
String height: 12 strings 2.5 mm 1 string 2.0 mm. Mint Condition Squier By Fender Erectric Guitar SQ BULLET w/TREM PINK From Japan. Even if you think to yourself, 'But the item I want is only available in Japan.'.From JapanFree shippingShowing slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES} - Make an OfferAlvarez Yairi Serial Numbers Lookup
- Alvarez Yairi DY46 Right-Handed Acoustic Guitar 1981+$148.37 shippingMake Offer - Alvarez Yairi DY46 Right-Handed Acoustic Guitar 1981
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- $850.00Make Offer - S. Yairi 1976 650S
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- S.Yairi Yairi acoustic guitar YD 401 serial 19692 Used case YAMAHAFree shippingMake Offer - S.Yairi Yairi acoustic guitar YD 401 serial 19692 Used case YAMAHA
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