Product: Alvarez Yairi CY-62 Nylon Classical Cutaway
Price Paid: 2500 (NLG)
Submitted
11/10/2001
at
10:51am
by
Anonymous
Features
:
10
Cutaway nylon classical, Japan 2001, solid cedar top, mahogany neck, burle mahogany back&sides, ebony fretboard, Yairi piezo pickup with onboard electronics. Nifty curved back for better projection and playing comfort. Yairi bridge, adjustable height per string. Stylish minimalist soundhole inlay. Standard tuners.
Sound
:
10
I suppose someone who has played a lot of expensive classical guitars ($3000 and up) all his/her life might have some criticisms of this guitar. But not me! This is an amazingly sounding instrument! Some adjectives that come to mind: full, rich, warm yet clear and penetrating. Strong but distinguished, tasteful basses. Never muddy. Great, even tone up to the highest positions. Great dynamic range. Colorizes strongly and beautifully with different playing techniques. Great sustain. Pickup performs beautifully as well. A good fit for playing classical, spanish, jazz, well anything except metal!
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
10
Actually, when I first tried it out at the shop, some of the strings didn't come through on the pickup. As it turned out, some of the bridge pieces had to be pushed in a little tighter. After that, there never was a problem.
Action: perfect. This thing plays itself, but still has a clean tone, no matter how hard you hit it. I tried lowering the bridge. Impossible. BTW the guitar has a flat fretboard, but the bridge is very slightly curved. Works out real fine.
Intonation: MARVELLOUS! Never ever saw a guitar that was set up so beautifully straight from the factory. Totally in tune all the way up the neck. The separate bridge pieces per string even allow some adjustment depending on string tension.
Reliability/Durability
:
8
Well, here's the downside. The laquer on this guitar is quite fragile. It's got some ugly scratches already. I even managed to damage it with a jackplug that accidentally touched the top just slightly too hard! This baby needs to be handled with silk gloves.
Then again, this is the kind of thing you can expect from a quality acoustic instrument. A sturdy, thick layer of laquer would definitely KILL the tone, which would be an unbearable pity. Real acoustic instruments are sensitive, living things. And just like some people, they wear the signs of age with dignity.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
No idea. The people from the shop were really nice. If I ever have a problem with this guitar, I'll probably take it to my personal luthier anyways ;)
Overall Rating
:
10
I've been playing for 20 years. All kinds of stuff, all kinds of bands, mostly plectrum style. I bought this guitar because I had the money, and people were rightly starting to bug me about the sound of my steelstring when playing Piazolla...
This guitar has definitely changed my perception of what a guitar is capable of. After just a few months, it has changed my playing and approach to music already. I still have to adjust my technique to nylon string tension and classical mensure, but this instrument is TOTALLY ADDICTIVE. Only problem: people *hate* me when I leave it at home! Even using classical technique comes naturally. If you're looking for a great classical guitar in the mid-priced range, try out a Yairi!
BTW here's a nice excercise in sadistic fantasies. Please fill out the next sentence.
People who STEAL INSTRUMENTS, should be...
