Price Paid for Alvarez Yairi DY57: N/A
Description of Alvarez Yairi DY57: Acoustic. Made in Japan. Built in 1977. Spruce top, mahogany back and sides, all solid. Dreadnought. Grover tuners. I bought this guitar from my uncle who is the original owner, he gave me a deal, but I would bet a comparable guitar would go for about a grand.
Tone of Alvarez Yairi DY57:
Comments about Alvarez Yairi DY57: Great lows and balanced highs, this guitar has a great sound. I am in the market for a new guitar, but the more I play other guitars, the more I like the sound of this guitar. Great projection, this is a sweet sounding guitar. It helps that it is 25 years old and well aged. It is a bear to play though, the action is pretty high and the neck is quite thick.
Quality of Alvarez Yairi DY57:
Comments about Alvarez Yairi DY57: Nicely made, no frills dreadnought. Pretty Yairi logo, I think this is one of the neatest manufacturers logos. Considering it is 25 years old, well played (abused) it is still in great condition, the frets are holding up well, no cracks anywhere, this was well built. (Custom scratches of course!)
Overall Opinions of Alvarez Yairi DY57:
Pros: Great Sound. Booming low tones. Excellent durability.
Cons: High action, painful to play for long stretches. No electronics.

Submitted by:
Don (gophsrule@go.com)
Playing Experience:
three to five years
Musical Tastes:
blues folk

Price Paid for Alvarez Yairi DY57: $300 USD (used)
Description of Alvarez Yairi DY57: Acoustic. Made in Japan. I bought my Yairi in 1980 and have been playing it ever since. Sold my other guitars because this is the only one I ended up playing. The tonal balance of this instrument is excellent. The neck is a little thick (at least in comparison with electric guitars) and can be somewhat tiresome to play for extended periods.
Tone of Alvarez Yairi DY57:
Comments about Alvarez Yairi DY57: Balanced tone. Solid bass (without booming) effectively anchors the bright clear highs.
Quality of Alvarez Yairi DY57:
Comments about Alvarez Yairi DY57: No flaws in workmanship worth mentioning - Yairi makes a good product. This model is not a show piece guitar with tons of abalone inlay, just a good solid instrument that sounds great.
Overall Opinions of Alvarez Yairi DY57:
Pros: I got lucky and got a tremendous deal on a very slightly used high quality instrument and have never, never regretted it. Better balanced tonally than other guitars I've played over the years. The excellent Grovers mean I don't have to tune the guitar every other song I play.
Cons: Not as pretty as a more expensive guitar. No rosewood back and sides. Not a high amount of inlay.

Submitted by:
Tim White
Playing Experience:
over ten years
Musical Tastes:
classic rock country folk

Price Paid for Alvarez Yairi DY57: approx $200 USD (used)
Description of Alvarez Yairi DY57: Datestamped 12/1975. Solid spruce top, either mahogany or redwood sides and back (previous information says mahog, repair guy says rosewood) Traditional dreadnought, pretty but plain soundhole design.
Tone of Alvarez Yairi DY57:
Comments about Alvarez Yairi DY57: Bought at a musical pawnshop in 1982, played it in the subways of Boston for the next 7 years and still play it to this date just for kicks. Sweetest sounding guitar I've ever played. Some folks have trouble with high action but maybe this one's just built differently, since it has the lowest action of all guitars I've ever tried. Using med-light strings (top to bottom) I can play the range between fingerpicked classical and rockabilly and even a bit of accoustic Led Zep with ease. Resonation is outstanding. It's definitely not the ""prettiest"" looking guitar out there, but it trades looks for sound quality and playability, and that's just fine by me.
Quality of Alvarez Yairi DY57:
Comments about Alvarez Yairi DY57: It's old. It is therefore flawed. But no splits, no cracks, no stains, no body warping, the neck has *never* needed adjusting. Bridge cracked eventually, got it replaced with a Martin bridge and it's better than ever now.
Overall Opinions of Alvarez Yairi DY57:
Pros: It's been assessed at around $700, so I'd say I got a danged good deal. The only other ""brand name"" guitar I owned was a Fender, and it was a junk model so it would be unfair to compare.
Cons: Honestly? Maybe if it had some mother of pearl inlay on the fret dots or something to make it look just a wee bit prettier. But I prefer function over fashion, and there are no cons, functionally.

Submitted by:
Roberta Ricciardi
Playing Experience:
over ten years
Musical Tastes:
classical classic rock folk

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