[quote=”robinbarbar”]Hi yl,

….thanx for ur post….but i still haven’t found one yet…looking for a blackone if u know anyone who is wanting to sell one….preferably with a sys 500 pick up sys inn it….thankyou….Robin.[/quote]

❓ Alzheimer’s must be sneaking up.. I really thought you got one!

I’ve seen quite a few go by on EBay in the last year.. a few nice ones. I’ll keep a watch for another.. and let you know if I find one. 😀

Regards,
yl

[quote=”pancitman”]I recently acquire a used Classical guitar from a surplus shop which sells all Japanese items, I need to know the Identity & value of this guitar, the labels says ( YAIRI GUITAR, hand made, Made in Japan, Yairi Gakki LTd. Nagoya, AD 250, CC 66L. Thanks[/quote]

Looking for help with your Yairi identification (or Alvarez, Alvarez Yairi)?

http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/Alvarez_AlvarezYairi_plus/

If you can post or e-mail me a photo (close and clear) of the label, I might be able to help you figure out what you have.

yl

send to [email protected]

[quote=”kerobertson”]I have a 1985 Yamaha LL55 acoustic guitar which was given by the Japanese government to the visiting Laos consulate. It is in very good condition with only some superficial scratches to the lacquer.
The guitar was never exported from Japan so I understand is hard to come by, many people have never even heard of the LL55!

It is hand crafted with a beautiful sound. Original MSRP is stated by Yamaha at being $4175.
I am trying to sell the guitar but I am unsure about where is the best place as I really need to sell where people have actually heard of it!!

Any advice would be much appreciated[/quote]

I have the catalog with this model listed, if you are still looking for info send e-mail to [email protected]

It is in Japanese, but I know someone that might translate info.. but, I don’t want to bother him unless you’re still looking for the info.

yl

[quote=”jiveye”]Hey everybody I’m Jiveye, I’m new to the site….I’m actually looking for some info on a guitar I have…. I just moved into a new apartment, and in this apartment was this beautiful 12 string acoustic alvarez ……model number 5018….. If anyone can help me find out anything about it , I seriously would appreciate it.

😕 Jiveye[/quote]

Another old post, but will post info for other members that may have the same question/model.

The 5018 Alvarez Cremona Sunburst is from the early 1980’s.. MSRP 1983 was $275, spruce top, mahogany back and sides, all laminates.

yl

I did more research this morning and now believe it is an old Sadao Yairi model 250, having a solid spruce top with laminated mahogany back and sides. Prior to 1967-68 he used this type label~ I found several other older (1961-63) Sadao Yairi’s, with the same label design, one was a model B2 the other was as yours a 250. Depending on overall condition, and the location the values vary. For example in Japan you will find these for less than $75. In the U.S., I’ve seen them go for between $65 and $300. It partially depends on the condition and partly on which model and tonewoods used. His Rosewood models go for more than the mahogany ones, and his later (1970’s) models go for more than his early ones.

—
If you can inspect the inside of the guitar, look for any other markings or numbers.. also, look inside and up towards the base of the neck to see if you find any numbers on it. Normally, Sadao Yairi would mark the inside (either on the back, top or bracings) with his name.

yl
—
http://yairiguitars.spaces.live.com/

[quote=”SB”]While off looking for information on the Shinko Guitar Company I ran across this blurb on S. Yari. Looks to be quality information.

Some of this info is correct, but not everything noted is accurate. I will try to “edit” and add corrections to the post.

Sadao or Sada Yairi was a guitar maker and guitar manufacturer from Nagoya, Japan who was active from the 1960s to the 1990s. He sold guitars under a number of labels including Sadao Yairi, Yairi Gakki, S. Yairi, and Sada Guitar. He also manufactured guitars for B&M (distributed in the UK) Lowden, Sherry-Brener and a few guitars for Alvarez of St. Louis Music during the early 1970s. During the early 1990s, he had a line of handmade guitars sold by Samick in S. Korea.

Sadao Yairi actually began much earlier than the 1960’s, starting his first “Factory” in 1935 at the age of 29. He also used the Yairi and son label, among Aria and others, besides the ones listed.

Information on Sadao Yairi is scant and a number of Japanese Sadao Yairi collectors confirm that Sadao Yairi’s guitar making history is shrouded in mystery especially after a 1990s statement by Kazuo Yairi, of Alvarez Yairi fame, that Kazuo and Sadao have no working relationship.

I don’t find the statement by Kazuo to be unusual, he was just clarifying the fact that they did not work together, and his instruments had no connection to the ones of Sadao.

The consensus is that Sadao and Kazuo Yairi are cousins who learned guitar making from Kazuo Yairi‘s dad, also named Sadao Yairi. The older Sadao, had worked as a guitar and violin maker at the Suzuki, Takehuru factory in Nagoya and then later opened his own business, Yairi & Son, which operated until about 1970-71. Nagoya is the major industrial port city in Aichee prefecture and one of Japan’s long established guitar making centers.

Sadao Yairi was related to Kazuo, not his cousin but, his Uncle. Both Kazuo Yairi’s father and Sadao worked at Suzuki Violin Co. prior to leaving and starting their own businesses. As stated prior, Sadao was the one that also made Yairi and Son (there weren’t TWO Sadao’s in the picture), he began the Yairi and Son models with his son Hiroshi, who actually made most of those models under his father’s supervision as is noted by the stamps on the label/backs of the guitars.

In the late 1960s Sada and Kazuo went their own way and began making guitars under their own label, with Sada establishing S. Yairi guitars in Nagoya and Kazuo Yairi starting up K. Yairi Guitars in Kani, which is about 30 minutes from Nagoya. Both Sadao and Kazuo made guitars for Alvarez/St. Louis Music Company in the early 1970s, but Kazuo ended up getting an exclusive contract with St. Louis Music. Kazuo’s guitars sold by SLM were first known as Alvarez by Kazuo Yairi and then Alvarez Yairi guitars.

In the early 1970s, Sadao had a number of guitar ventures including Yairi Gakki and S Yairi Guitars (gakki is the Japanese word for guitar). S. Yairi made guitars for B&M in the UK and for Lowden in the USA. Sadao also made some Alvarez guitars for SLM in the early 1970s. He went bankrupt in the late 1980s. As a result of the bankruptcy, he went to South Korea in the early 1990s and worked for Samick guitars, developing a short-lived line of handmade guitars labeled “Samick by S. Yairi”.

In the 1990s Kazuo Yairi published a statement that there was no working relationship between him and his cousin Sadao (probably because of the bankruptcy). I believe that Sadao Yairi passed away during the 1990s.

Sometime during the late 1990s/early 2000s, a Japanese venture started to manufacture low quality guitars using the S. Yairi name. These guitars are made in China and are not the same quality as S. Yairi guitars made during the 1960s to 1980s.

These “reissue” models of S. Yairi early guitars are under the supervision of his son, Hiroshi (74 years old). As to the quality, I can’t say since I do not own one. However, I have read that there were some issues in the beginning, but that those were corrected. UPDATE: Recently found information noting that of the reissued S. Yairi brand, only the high end models are made in Japan.
[/quote]

http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/Alvarez_AlvarezYairi_plus/

http://yairiguitars.spaces.live.com/