Alvarez 5014, made in Japan in 1973. I recently found a 000-sized Alvarez for my friend Wolf. It’s a really nice little guitar that we both were impressed. These guitars were made in Japan for the US market and imported by St. Louis Music in Missouri, the guys behind Westone. According to Wikipedia and Alvarez own site it was the legendary Kazuo Yairi that founded the brand in 1965 to make cheaper Yairi guitars for the US market. This is a list of Alvarez Artist Series guitars (with 4 digit model numbers) that are no longer in production. Alvarez used 4 digit model numbers for pre-1999 Professional Series guitars. From 1999 they used two letter and two number model names.
INTERNATIONAL BUYERS WELCOME! When Kazuo Yairi began designing and hand-crafting guitars in the 1960’s, he was not trying to create a “mid-range” alternative to the best American guitars; he was consciously competing with Martin, Gibson, Guild, and the “boutiques” for the higher end guitar market in the U.S. This DY-70 “Maple Graphite” model is an example of the quality and sound which he was able to produce using the highest quality materials, the best Japanese craftsmen, and his own modifications of the most effective American designs. Today, the prices of the Alvarez-Yairi acoustic guitars range from $1200 to $5000 and beyond, and as A-Y players will tell you, they are well worth the money.
This guitar (serial #51314) has a large dreadnought style body with a solid spruce top and lightly stained flamed maple back and sides, while the neck and headstock is mahogany. There is full tortoise binding on the body and a multi-stripe and tortoise inlaid rosette, a clear pick guard, a “swoosh” graphite bridge with black abalone-dot pins, a 14/20-fret rosewood fingerboard with pearl dot and fleur de lis inlay and a 25.5” scale, and a graphite veneer on the headstock set off by the inlaid pearl Yairi logo and the chrome enclosed A-Y tuners. This is one impressive-looking guitar.
Even more impressive is its playability and its huge sound. The label inside is not dated, but the number imprinted on the end block (0711 198) indicates that it was the 198th guitar created in November of the 7th year of Japanese Emperor Heisa’s reign (1995, and no, I’m not kidding). Despite the 20 years of music, it’s in near mint condition: the frets have very little wear on them, the neck is surprisingly comfortable for my kind of small hands (measuring 1 11/16” at the nut), and the action is fast and comfortable—right at 3/32” at the 12th fret low E. The twenty years of seasoning of the quality solid spruce top and maple back and sides make this about as resonant as any guitar I have ever played, with big bass and clear ringing trebles, and of course the sound will only get better. All of this is purely acoustic; I don’t have speakers or an amp, so I haven’t used the Alvarez-Yairi System 500A electronics with the under-saddle pickup and the external jack. The once or twice I needed amplification—you know how loud those banjo players like to play—a sound guy set up an Oktava MK 012 microphone for it and I blew ‘em all away.
However, my tech has checked things out and pronounced this guitar’s electronics good to go. The included vintage hard shell case may or may not be original and is well-used but structurally perfect. The hardware is tarnished but it all works, and the plush interior is suitably fuzzy and fits this guitar like the proverbial glove. It looks very authentic and certainly offers more than adequate protection for this valuable instrument.
Buyer pays a flat rate of $55 for insurance and shipping to the lower 48 states; shipping costs elsewhere will be negotiated as necessary. Payment by Paypal is preferred; cashiers and personal checks are acceptable, but checks must clear before the guitar will be shipped. I have tried to be perfectly clear and accurate in describing this instrument, so its return will not be accepted unless it can be shown that it was egregiously misrepresented in this listing. Please check out the pictures on REVERB.com and ask any questions you might have before buying. Payment Payments by Paypal, cashier’s checks, money orders, or personal checks are acceptable, but all payments must clear my bank before the guitar will be shipped. I will CONSIDER reasonable offers, even including installment payments and trade-ins, but generally since I already attempt to price my guitars very competitively, unusual deals must be unusually sweet. Shipping From henceforth [that's how retired English teachers talk], insurance and shipping to the lower 48 states is $55 due to constantly rising shipping costs unless a specific listing says otherwise; shipping costs elsewhere will be negotiated as necessary.
I have sold guitars to Russia, Japan, Australia, and over 50 other countries, as well as almost every state in the USA. Since some of my guitars travel thousands of miles, I take care to use lots of packing materials, protect the neck inside the case, and of course de-tune the strings. Returns I make every effort to describe and illustrate each guitar and case with scrupulous accuracy. However, many of my instruments are well-played vintage items which are many years old, and I am not a luthier. One should assume that any guitar will require some set-up to satisfy your personal requirements, and that not every flaw or ding will be seen/recognized/described in the listing.
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