The WY1 is a benchmark model for Alvarez-Yairi. It was Originally designed for, and with Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead, hence where the “W” came from in the model number, and was a unique body size for Yairi when it launched.

It AA Western Red cedar top paired with Rosewood works for all playing styles and its body size being deeper than our stand OM’s, provides more air volume and projection while still being a very comfortable size.

The WY1 has an extended dovetail neck construction that maximizes the energy transfer between the neck and body. It also allows for a wider range of rod adjustment and decreases the risk of any neck/body irregularities.

Further innovation comes with the Direct Coupled Bridge. This system displays the craftsmanship with which these guitars are made. The DC Bridge means the pins actually go into the top of the guitar, taking the vibration to the heart of the soundboard and simultaneously increasing the break angle from the saddle to the top. This increased down pressure raises string tension, giving the guitar a very responsive feel and adding quality to its volume and sustain.

Like all Yairi Masterworks, this guitar is made from premium tonewood that has been seasoned naturally for 5 to 15 years in the perfect climate of Kani.

Kani is in the prefecture of Gifu in the hills north of Nagoya. This wood preparation and environment for building guitars is very important to the structural integrity of the instrument and will help to ensure decades of stability and performance from your Yairi.

Product Description

The Alvarez-Yairi Stage instruments represent the ultimate crossroads of old-world traditional craftsmanship and modern construction techniques. After 50 years of refinement, the Yairi luthiers have constructed a guitar that embodies the magic so many players seek and yet few have yet to find: the delicate balance of roaring power and subtle, shimmering detail.

The connection you’ll have with these instruments can only be described as telepathic. Every input, no matter how dynamic, practically leaps out of the guitar like an arc of electricity. The experience will change your perspective on what an acoustic instrument should be.

Alvarez WY1 Yairi Stage Folk Acoustic Electric Guitar Features

Solid AA Western Red Cedar
Cutaway Folk
Mahogany neck
D’Addario EXP strings
Deluxe Wood Case included

The luthiers in the Yairi shop have learned a few things in 50 years – most importantly, the magic is nothing if you can’t replicate it consistently, guitar after guitar. Part of that equation is a maniacal attention to detail. Another component is the use of modern construction techniques unique to Yairi instruments.

If you’re going to redefine the idea of balanced tone, you’ve got to experiment. The Yairi luthiers started by building dozens of prototypes, each using a different bracing pattern. Through almost two years of testing, they gradually narrowed the field until they had settled on what everyone believed to be the most responsive, loudest, best-sounding guitar they had ever built. The bracing technique used in that guitar is now known as ‘FSTII,’ short for ‘forward-shifted, type 2.’ This unique bracing pattern is now found in all Yairi Masterworks instruments, and is at the core of their vibrant, explosive tone.

Part of what makes Yairi instruments so responsive is the direct-coupled bridge. Under the top, there is an ebony block with a flange that pulls the bridge plate and top. When inserted into the bridge, the strings pull up on this block, which couples the strings directly to the bridge plate and top. Simultaneously, the strings exert down-pressure on the saddle and bridge, ensuring that it cannot be pulled off the guitar. The complete system could literally function without any glue, since the string tension pulls the block tight to the top while also holding down the bridge, increasing sustain, volume, and resonance while creating extremely clear articulation between the strings.

Yairi instruments also use an extended dovetail neck block. This adds support to the area between the body joint and the end of the fingerboard. Combined with a longer adjustable truss rod, this results in a significant increase in stability all the way to the sound hole. This in turn has a dramatic impact on tonal balance, and gives these instruments their immediate, punch-in-the-chest response when you really rip into them.

This perfect collision of innovation and tradition is what Yairis are made of. Uniquely expressive instruments that’ll give you the chills every time you pick them up, now and forever.