3/31/2021 0 Comments Vintage Alvarez Yairi
Any search in forums to this same question will lead to numerous testimonials of satisfied musicians that have had one in their families for years and still love how it plays and sounds, or people that are quite content after getting a new one.
![]() Mike Inez of Alice in Chains used an Alvarez acoustic bass for their unplugged, but he wasnt rocking one for most of their other shows. Now we know that these guitars have been indeed used by professionals, you can attest to the quality of their sound by listening to those recordings, but does that mean every Alvarez guitar out there would be considered good And if so, how come they arent that popular To answer that, lets take a look at: A Brief History of Alvarez Guitars Alvarez was founded in 1965 by distributor St. Louis Music, a company that had been importing European violins to America since 1922. By the 60s the company had grown to be a major distributor of several types of musical instruments and accessories. During a trip to Japan, Gene met Kazuo Yairi, a Master Luthier that produced handmade concert classical guitars. Louis Music, and taking advantage of the industrialization that was sweeping the country, Kazuo started to design and develop steel string acoustic guitars at his own factory in Japan and importing them into the US and Europe. Thats when people like Clapton, Santana, and Graham Nash started using them since they were, and still are, quite a boutique product, at least if it was produced under the supervision of the Master Luthier himself at the japanese factory. At some point, the company decided to not only use Alvarez for the guitars made personally by Kazuo in Japan but also start producing other less-costly instruments in China, under the design specifications of the Master Luthier. This is where the big difference perhaps came for Alvarez Guitars. While Alvarez-Yairi guitars became quite well-renowned, as evidenced by the list of people that use them, the other models failed to catch up and have since been limited to rather a small production. Well, small if you compare it to industry behemoths like Gibson or Fender. When the company was most successful, in 2005, it got purchased by LOUD Technologies Inc., which also owns brands like Mackie, Ampeg, and Crate. While this allowed Gene Kornblum and Kazuo Yairi to enjoy their retirements, the new management perhaps didnt sit all too well with the luthiers back in Japan. I say this because, in 2011, the company was bought again by St. Louis Music, who continue to manage Alvarez guitars to this day. Now, what does this mean in regards to whether an Alvarez guitar will be any good for you Well, for starters, there is the difference of origin. An Alvarez guitar made in China will be significantly different from one made at the Yairi factory in Japan. ![]() This, of course, doesnt mean that the low-cost Alvarez guitars made in China will never be good.
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