Alvarez Yairi CY-130

what more can you ask for in a classical cedar top ,rosewood back and sides beautiful finish and i love the carving in the headstock it is what seperates this model from all the others it gives the guitar character . I love it!

for the money you could not find a better sounding guitar ! bottom line. With saverez stings my cy 130 sings. also being a 1976 the sound has mellowed to exude a warm rich mellow sound that only time can bring.

ive never changed a thing and would not it plays as well as some of the most expensive true spanish hand made models. it came with no flaws that i could detect and being 26 years old it has never seen a repair shop and i play it daily . only normal wear shows on the finish and thats my fault from over a quarter century of playing it.

this is a work horse guitar i would not be ashamed to pull it out in any circumstance .It also has plenty of volume so large rooms would not be a problem.Like i previously mentioned the only thing i`ve had to do to it in 26 years is polish it and put new strings on it .

i have never had to try to deal with the company and i dont remember what the warranty is on it but if i had to have it repaired i would probably just pay a good repair person to do the work anyhow .just the fact that it has never needed repair says alot for the company and the actual builder and designer.

ive played for 30 + years and i own 2 Taylor steel string guitars both top of the line so as you can see i love quality and my Yairi is no exception i will never trade it away or sell it i might buy another classical guitar some day but im still completely satified with what i have .If you ever have a chance to get one reasonable you will not regret the purchase and i hope you will also like the beautiful carved head stock it really sets the guitar apart from the other plain jane styles that are so common.

Made 1978 Japan, 19 frets, solid ceder top, no electronics, body high quality rosewood laminate, neck-mahogany, ebony fingerboard, lacquer finish, 664mm scale.

This is a nice loud classical. It has a sound that rivals many ceder tops in the $2000-$5000 range.

The action is standard height for D'Addario J46 highh tension strings. The top and back are bookmatched. The bridge is perfect. There are no factory flaws, but has a few dings after 20 years. None effect the sound.

The finish has survived 20 years of gentle playing at home and parties. It has been a remarkably reliable instrument.

I have never needed customer support. St. Louis Music would probably honor the lifetime warrantee in terms of problems with craftsmanship since I am the original owner. There has been no need to do so

I have been playing since 1971. I have some other classicals and a dreadnought. I would get another one if it were lost or stolen. It has great sound. I could do without the "conquistador" headstock carving, but it does not hurt the sound. There was a cy140 for sale at the same time in the same shop that I wanted, but it sold before I had the money, so I took the cy130. The only difference was the headstock in terms of quality.

This is a 1978 Japanese classical guitar with an ebony fretboard on a mahogany set neck that joins the body at the 12th fret. I believe that it has a solid cedar top with a book-matched solid rosewood back and sides--the woods are truly beautiful for this level of guitar and they have aged beautifully. The body shape is rather small, but it resonates well and is articulate. It has a Hot Dot (Dean Markley?) pick-up added by the previous, original owner that is passive and runs out of the strap knob at the guitar's base. It has a gloss finish and an ebony bridge saddle, and the tuners are very decent open tuners with a golden finish and pearl-like knobs. The neck is also typical of a classical--wide and flat with a reasonably thin neck. The one thing that is unusual and distintive about this guitar is the hand-carved headstock. It is supposed to be Spanish (hence the CY 130 Conquistador name), I guess, and while it really isn't too attractive, it has become endearing to me. I give this an "9" because despite features that are typical of a classical, the woods used are unbelievable for a guitar in this price range.

I really am not a classical player, but I wanted to get something a little mellower to play jazz and folky rock for my baby daughter. Bingo! I looked at a Yamaha APX-6NA, which was in the same price range, and this guitar completely blows it away acoustically. Plugged in may a different story. I really don't play this amplified much, but plugged into a Marshall 30 watt practive amp with lots of gain, this thing has absolutely searing distorted tone and you can play chords that aren't muddy at all. Not what it was designed for, but still.... Anyway, the acoustic sound is very resonant and sweet, on the mellow (vs. bright) side. I'll give it another 9, because I'm not sure how a real classical player would rate it, but it is fine by me.

I bought this guitar through eBay from the original owner, and not only was it in absolutely immaculate condition, it was even in tune when I took it out of the box. The workmanship on this guitar is outstanding, especially for the price, and the action is fine for a nylon string. Since I am happy with every aspect in this category, I'm giving it a "10". I realize that there are better made guitars out there, but I've have never seen one in this price range.

What can I say--this guitar is more than twenty years old, it looks brand new and it plays better than that. I really didn't buy this to gig, but when I went for a two week vacation in the mountains recently, this was the only guitar I took and I had no regrets.

I have the original paperwork, and the guitar has a lifetime warranty for the origianl owner which was never used. I really can't give a rating here, but I understand that they are a good company that takes great pride in their hand-crafted instruments.

I have been playing for over twenty-five years and have three very high quality steel string guitars (Taylor 614-C, Gibson ES-335, and a Fender Custom Telecaster), as well as a Yamaha beater. I never thought I could play a classical neck, and spent a lot of time checking out nylon string guitars with steel string-style necks. I finally just gave up and pulled the trigger on this one AND BOY AM I GLAD I DID. The neck has really stretched my left hand and the expressiveness of the nylon strings has given a new perspective to all my playing. I can't believe I was intimidated by this style guitar for so long. If you play jazzy/rocky/folky/bluesy/Latiney stuff with a softer edge, and particlarly if you fingerpick, GO GET A CLASSICAL GUITAR--YOU WON'T REGRET IT. As far as this particlar model, I just love it and it suits my purposes perfectly. I have never seen another, so I might not be able to get this same model (it was discontinued soon after this one was made), but I would definitely get a real classical if it was stolen, and I would start by looking at Yairi's.