Several hundred guitars I have sold in the past are presented at Facebook.com/Victors.Guitar.Library.
Kazuo Yairi Y505A 1982
Beyond any doubt Kazuo
Yairi was one of the best Japanese luthiers. His classical and steel string
acoustic guitars have been, are and will be treasured by players all around the
world.
Thanks to Kazuo's
business philosophy, his terrific guitars have always offered exceptional value
for the money. This value was associated with the fact that over the years
Kazuo has hired and trained many younger luthiers, who were later making his
signature guitars. There have been many regular line models of guitars made
over the years by Yairi’s “factory” located in Kani (Gifu province), Japan.
Some models were made only for export. Great majority of Kazuo’s models have
never been distributed in USA or Europe.
Guitar you are looking
at was made in 1982 and it was a midrange alto model Yairi’s lineup of that
era. Nevertheless, it is a high grade beautifully sounding instrument. Quite
likely the only higher Yairi’s alto model of that era was Y10A.
Yet this guitar made in
1982 is of much higher grade than model Y505A made in 1989 and can seriously
challenge high end models made in 1990s.
This guitar being priced
50000yen in 1982 wasn’t a cheap instrument.
Just like all other Yairi
models, this guitar was significantly underpriced if compared with equal grade
guitars sold by most prominent Japanese luthiers. Such very modest pricing was
important part of Kazuo’s business philosophy, and certainly one of major
reasons for his international success.
Similar grade brand
new alto guitars currently made by Japanese makers are priced at $2500 level (solid
top Alto model made by Asturias).
This guitar produces
truly wonderful notes, very clear, glassy, yet very colorful trebles, somewhat
metallic basses, all very well separated, and all with very impressive sustain.
Despite its smaller (alto) body guitar, its volume is quite impressive
too.
The overall condition
of this guitar can be described as “excellent for its age”. It is fully
functional and easy to play instrument, while its entire body doesn’t bear any conspicuous
scratches or dents etc. and its fingerboard and frets remain in very good
condition. The only cosmetic imperfection is yellowing of the original varnish in
the very corner at the base of the neck. This certainly is not the damage, not
a sign of upcoming damage nor the sign of previous repair. This yellowing is
very common among (not only) Japanese vintage guitars. Tuners are brand new Gotoh
set that are matching the original ones.
Specifications:
Total length: 860mm
Body length: 415 mm
Upper bout width: 245 mm
Lower bout width: 330 mm
Waist width: 210 mm
Body depth: 105-108 mm
Top: AA Grade Solid
Cedar/lacquer
Back & Sides:
Indian Rosewood “laminates” /urethane
Neck: Mahogany
Fingerboard:
Ebony
Scale: 530 mm
Nut width: 52 mm
String spacing at the
nut: 43 mm
String spacing at the
bridge: 57 mm
Guitar is currently
strung with D'Addario EJ52 ProArte Alto Strings designed for alto tuning. If
you'd like to play it with regular tuning, you need regular classical guitar
strings.
Its current action is set
to 3.00 mm under E6 and 2.00 mm under E1, with practically no extra room on the
saddle. If you prefer higher action, you will need a higher saddle.
Guitar will be shipped
in brand new ¾ size thick padded Ortega gig bag.
Guitar
ensemble and guitar orchestra music has been developed and promoted by
Hiroki Nibori since 1957 and is gaining popularity among guitar players
throughout the world. Playing in a group is great fun. It is an excellent
opportunity to make new friends and learn from the more advanced players. One
of the most valuable aspects of playing in a guitar ensemble is that it gives
students the exposure of playing on a stage in front of an audience. When you
combine the sounds of alto, bass, and contra bass guitars with standard (prime)
guitars, a whole new world of sound comes alive. Even the beginner will find it
easy to pick up any of these guitars and enjoy a variety of new and exciting
musical styles.
An ALTO GUITAR is
usually tuned a 5th higher than a standard (prime) guitar. Its open tuning
notes sound the same as a standard guitar played on the 7th fret position:
B,E,A,D,F#,B.
BASS GUITAR is tuned
4th lower than standard guitar, one octave lower than Alto guitar: B,E,A,D,F#,B
CONTRA BASS GUITAR is
tuned one octave lower than standard guitar: E,A,D,G,B,E
Real Value of Japanese Vintage Guitars
The key to understand value of vintage Japanese
guitars is to acknowledge galloping price inflation (devaluation of Japanese
yen) during 1960s & 1970s. This inflation slowed down in 1980s.
During 1960s and most of 1970s model numbers
of Japanese guitars were strictly interconnected with their prices in Japanese
yen. By early 1980s and during following decades model numbers were no longer
strictly associated with their prices. Some Japanese guitar makers introduced
model names instead of model numbers. Others were still using model numbers
with addition of letters and/or other symbols.
It is then important to understand that two
Yamaha GC10 guitars made 10 years apart are two instruments of totally
different class. The same applies to any other Japanese
maker/brand.
The logical way to estimate the true class of
any given Japanese made instrument is to compare its price with the average
annual salary of wage workers in Japanese private sectors. This salary was: 450
600 yen in 1965 - 825 900 yen in 1970 - 1 868 300 yen in 1975 - 2 689 000 yen
in 1980 - 3 163 000 yen in 1985 - 3 761 000 yen in 1990 - 4 107 000 yen in 1995
- 4 082 000 yen in 2000.
Any guitar priced 100 000 yen in 1970
(labelled as No10 or No100) would be priced 200 000 yen in 1975 (relabeled to
No20, No200 or 2000), 300 000 yen in 1977 (labelled as No3, No30 or 3000) and
500 000 yen by 1985 (labelled as No50 or 5000).
Starting in 1977 Masaru Kohno introduced his
new models No40 priced 400 000 yen and No50 priced 500 000 yen. By early 1980s
Kohno started using model names instead of numbers and was steadily raising
their prices without changing model labeling. His very top model 50 became
model “Special”, and a decade later it became model “Maestro”. Naturally, all
other Japanese guitar makers were doing similar pricing (labelling) upgrades.
Knowing all of that, you can bet on that
Masaru Kohno No50 made in 1982 is practically the same grade instrument as
Kohno No20 made in 1972, or Kohno no 30 made in 1975.
In early 1970s the lowest Ryoji Matsuoka (all plywood)
model was 10, followed by (solid top) models 15, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 80 and
(all solid woods) models 100 and 150. Models 50, 60 and 80 were made with
non-solid figured Brazilian Rosewood (double) back and sides and top model 150
was the only one made with solid figured Brazilian Rosewood b/s.
In 1980 the lowest Matsuoka model was (all plywood)
20, followed by (solid top) models 30,40,50, 60 and all solid woods models
80,100,150 and 200. By 1990 the lowest Matsuoka model was M40 and the highest
was M300. By 2010 the lowest Matsuoka model was M50 and the top model was
M270.
You can bet that Ryoji Matsuoka model 50 from
1980 is of the same grade as model M100 from 2000, model 100 from 1980 is of
the same grade as model M150 from 2000, model 150 from 1980 is of the same
grade as M200 from 2000 and model 200 from 1980 is of the same grade as model
M300 from 2000.
It
is important to mention that if modern era luthiers are using 40+ years old
woods to make an “all solid” wood classical guitar, its price is minimum $8000.
All
vintage guitars made with Brazilian Rosewood are especially precious, including
those made straight grain varieties and those with non-solid b/s.
Because
response and tonal properties of Spruce soundboards are improving over time,
long seasoned Spruces are far more precious than long seasoned Cedars.
It
is not very difficult to find out what are current prices of such guitars made
by world’s leading luthiers.
P.s. If you'd like to check my "modest" playing skills click on the links below: