Product: Alvarez Yairi 5059
Price Paid: US $89.00
Submitted
01/10/2003
at
10:02am
by
Rich
Email: Rdelta789 at aol<dot>com
Features
:
9
Purchased in 1977..Made in Japan - 1976...an era less receptive to Japanese products. Stereo-typed and concidered inferior to western products at the time I glanced over it on display at a pawn shop. The fret board inlays drew me back to it. That is when the aged solid spruce top caught my eye. Looking closer, I noticed the rosewood back and sides. Solid wood throughout. The "Made in Japan" stereo-typing was quickly vanishing. Priced at $99.00 I made a deal: $89.00 with a lay-a-way payment.
Once payed off it was mine. It might have a C.F. Martin name, but the solid materials - especially rosewood - made this guitar valuable to me. I would play it at home, not venturing out with a foriegn, inferior product. In private I admired the book-matching of the rosewood back, the deep gold aged spruce top, the ebony finger board, the delicutely cut mother-of-pearly inlays. Contempary musican's negative oppinions printed in magazines on Japanese brand guitars gave me ambivelant feeling on it. But this guitar has withstood the test of time and is now to me as valuable as a Martin or Guild. Alvarez is still around...without the help of companies like Fender.
Sound
:
10
Most consider my style as folk....finger picking and using a the most fexible picks I can find. No amps. For years playing only in my bedroom the tone was okay. It wasn't until friends started buying Yamaha, Epiphones (Japanese manufactored) that I ventured out of my home with it bringing an unexpectant value to the instrument.
Even with Bright Bronze strings I felt the tone was lacking in the confinds of my room. To my surprise when playing in a larger area with friends playing Fender acoustic guitars and a piano...This guitar cut through the assembled instruments! It was bright...defined...and was domineering. I had to play very mild not to stand out! Next time out was in a large church playing with Martin, Fender, and Yamaha guitar along with a flute, violin, a electronic keyboard. Same result: this guitar was bright, defined, and loud. Walking away that night was like the last outing. This guitar had all the characteristic I wanted in a guitar. So much so, that since these two experiences, I have considered buying a f-hole arch top or a classical guitar just to blend in better in a assemble.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
No Opinion
The action is medium from with no string to fret buzzing. Book-match is as good as any guitar that I have seen. After playing it for a quarter of century it has never giving me problems. This will be a family heirloom passing it down to my son who just started playing. The neck has stay true. No finish checking stress or stress cracks. Swapped out the black string anchors with ivory colors ones.
Reliability/Durability
:
10
(see above)
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
(Never contacted)
Overall Rating
:
10
Been playing for thirty-eight years and own other guitars - acoustic and electric. This is the one which I would choose if I could only have one on a deserted island. Famous American musicians, organized labor and marketing companies had in the past falsey stereo-typed Japanese guitars. Alvarez, Yamaha, and others with their disipline, higher standards and dedication to long term commitment is doing to the musical instrument products what they done to the automotive products. I can enjoy this product without guilt for the rest my life. One good thing from all the negative stereo-typing - the original price of this guitar. Without the under one hundred dollar tag, this teasure would not have been mine.
