Tim:
This question comes up time to time on the Yairi Forum I belong to. Alvarez guitars are not all Yairis as not all Yairis are Alvarez. My 1970 Alvarez/Yairi 5070 is a copy of a Martin D-45 but with a 3 piece back (D-35 style)and IMHO, it can hold it's own in sound, feel and look to most guitars selling in the $2,500 - $3,000 range. Fortunately for you, because they are made in Japan, they are very undervalued so you can pick up a used one or even a new one for a very good price. I've played many a Taylor and Martin and Gibson in my days and the only ones I would trade my Yairi for would have costed me the price of a small house. I say, shop around, try them all and find yourself a soulmate grin


Steve West
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Now donating $1.00 to JPF for every sale to JPF members \:D