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The Alvarez partnership with the Yairi family of luthiers in Kani, Japan is a cherished part of our 50 year history. Kazuo Yairi’s influence can be seen and heard in every guitar Alvarez makes, from his innovations in bracing and instrumental architecture to his knowledge of tonewoods and their specific attributes and characteristics.
Alvarz Yairi guitars represent their flagship guitars, where each instrument is treated and prepared as a handmade work of art. Each brace is carved by hand, each neck is spokeshaved to perfection. Tonewoods of the highest grade are naturally seasoned for years to decades before being used in the production process.
The FY70CE features our FST2 bracing system, a very forward shifted X-brace design which was the result of years of research and development. FST2 features hand scooped scalloping to the main braces and asymmetric scalloping to the two tone bars. In this way, Alvarez optimizes the separation between each string and maximize balance and projection.
Alvarez takes the same deliberate approach to their finishes, which range from shimmering natural satin to breathtaking sunbursts and shadowbursts. Careful preparation and years of experience allow Alvarez's craftsmen to keep the finish thin which allows their high grade tops an excellent rate of vibration and movement.
Players love Folk/OM or OOO shapes for their wonderful balance across all strings, making them ideal for fingerpicking. The FY70CE has been carefully designed to take advantage of a folk shape’s best properties. It features a solid AA grade sitka spruce top, and is and fitted with the LR Baggs Stage Pro and Element pickup system,
The StagePro Element is a side-mounted preamp/EQ that offers easy battery access and a full chromatic tuner and three band EQ. Unlike common undersaddle pickups that are dependent on string compression for their sound, the Element Pickup was engineered to mirror the soundboard’s actual movement as you play, reproducing the natural sound of the guitar very closely.
Further innovation comes with the Direct Coupled Bridge. This system really shows off the craftsmanship of which these guitars are made. The DC Bridge means the pins actually go into the top of the guitar, taking the vibration to the heart of the soundboard and at the same time hugely increasing the break angle from the saddle to the top. This increased down pressure raises string tension, giving the guitar a very responsive feel and adding quality to its volume and sustain. Other presentments include hand cut and assembled pearl and ablone inlays, ivoroid binding, ebony fingerboard, ebony bridge and ebony bridge pins.
Like all Yairi Standard Series, this guitar is made from premium tone wood that has been seasoned naturally for 5 to 15 years in the perfect climate of Kani. Kani is in the prefecture of Gifu in the hills north of Nagoya. This wood preparation and environment for building guitars is very important to the structural integrity of the instrument and will help to ensure decades of stability and performance from your Yairi.
Experiencing an Alvarez Yairi is to experience the very passion that drives Alvarez. These are truly marquis instruments, and represent what’s at the heart of the Alvarez culture: Continual improvement and attention to detail that will give their players a lifetime of musical fulfillment.