Opinions on Alvarez Yairi Guitars.

[Myfirstclassical]

I have been looking for a nice guitar to take classical guitar lessons. I'm pretty sure I want to go ahead and pay the extra money now for a good quality guitar that will probably serve me for many years. Of course becoming a good enough player to warrant buying a professional guitar would not be a bad problem to have either.

I have researched Alvarez Yairi guitars and have found some great things said of them. The model that has caught my attention because of the solid cedar top, solid indian rosewood back and sides and ebony fingerboard is the model CY95 that retails for $1999.00 and the model CY95CE that is a cutaway electrical version that retails for $2399.00.

As I am brand new to classical guitars, I would appreciate any experience anyone has on this guitar. I am going to check out a CY95 at a local store this weekend that I have been told offers some nice deals on their guitars. What would be a fair price to pay for the CY95 if I decide to buy it? Also, is it worth paying extra for the cutaway and electric pickup? I can see wanting to play up the neck, but they don't offer just a cutaway without the electronics.

I have also looked at the CY116 which is a cheaper model that has laminated burled mahogany sides and back. Any input on this model would be welcome also.

Thanks for any input you can offer.

[Sia]

Kazuo Yairi guitars (marketed by Alvarez in the U.S.), are great guitars for the money. I played several CY116, CY117 and CY118’s several years ago, and I found all them to be amazing for guitars for the price. I haven’t played any of the solid back/side Yairi’s but I would expect them to be just as good or better.

My daughter now plays my old 1992 CY116 with burled mahogany. It is a beautiful guitar, plays well and sounds great. Of course, I prefer my Kohno Professional J, but that’s 5 times more expensive and I can’t say that it sounds 5 times better.

I hope this helps.

[APERTURE]

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[RDS]

I purchased a new cy-116 in 1986. It is an excellent guitar. Lightly built with a big sound. I'm not sure about the cy-95 but it looks interesting. I would skip the electronics and the cutaway. If you decided to sell later on most "classical guitarists" would not even look at a A/E cutaway. You may also want to check out the Asturias guitars on this site (also made in Japan). Rick

[MegaBrawn]

I concur. It would be better to purchase a classical guitar with electronics or a cutaway.Both create the guitar to create a different sound not typical to regular classical guitars.

I can't really commend on Alvarwez guitars, but I recently purchased Asturias's Standard after alot of research and testing. I tested lots of other brands but was still attracted to the Standard. It's an excellent entry-level guitar.But that;s just my personal taste.

[Myfirstclassical]

Thanks a lot for the information. That makes sense about the electronics and cutaway. I'll stay with the traditional and save some money to boot. I'm still undecided and open to other makes as I have not made it down to the guitar store yet.