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My Yairi GuitarsAnd a few others~Arturo Huipe, Lo Prinzi, etc. |
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August, 2009 EMPEROR DATING CODEWhen was my Yairi made?By reading the number stamped on the heel block of your Yairi, you can tell in which year it was made. The first two numbers correspond to the year of the Emperor of Japan at that time. (See chart below.) The second two numbers refer to the month of production.
June, 2009 Request for info on Promo Photo of Paul McCartney/AYI have recently been asked to help search for this photo (not a saved file as shown), seems that some "person" has stolen the one Kazuo Yairi had!
So, if anyone knows or has one. Please post a comment here or e-mail me at yairi_luvr@comcast.net
Thanks so much!
yl
Link to pix:
June, 2009 Kazuo Yairi and Sadao Yairi CraftsmanshipI've recently found some interesting bits of info, translated for me by a friend in Japan~ so, I would like to thank Kiichiro-san here for being so kind, to take time out to do this for me.
 Will add info as time permits!These are rough translations found from old catalogs and brochures of both Kazuo Yairi and Sadao Yairi. Wording is slightly different, but for the most part it seems as though they both only wanted to build the best guitars they could!
Note!
All of my info has been taken from actual S. Yairi or K. Yairi catalogs, ads, brochures or interviews. So, be sure to click on the links to view original item.
1970-Sadao Yairi Manufacturing process
We decide the thickness depending on the quality of wood. That is why we can keep our original sound. Body is a resonant box. Braces are not only for stay but directly affecting frequency. Braces are also processed slowly on condition. In order to pursue high quality sound, coating should be thinner. Each cell is patiently filled up with the original Yairi wedge method. We repeat examining the work from body to tail end pin. Neck joins with the body by the dovetail groove. The work is examined by a factory head. Then basecoating and drying. Frets are embedded in the exact neck. Finishing is a thinner lacquer coating. Thick coating spoils the tone. Bridge that holds freqencies is a particular part. A finished work is finally examined by Sadao Yairi. When S. Yairi is engraved in the head, the work come to the world as alive guitar.Sadao Yairi We produce real handmade guitars so can't produce many. Would you like to make your own original guitar?
Yairi luthiers say that as they acuire expertise, they use many more tools. The more tools the better they finish even a smallest part. This straightness is the solid foundation to produce perfect Yairi products. Yairi luthiers give birth to their child by dint of using approximately 50 different tools. For instance, when they cut out a part of brace, they use a tiny 4-cm sized plane with maximum care. These tools are produced by themselves. They achieve their own expertise until they exhaust 5 to 6 commercial tools. These are handmade tools materialized over 20 years of their wisdom and hunch. In order to produce perfect beauty and tones, Yairi luthiers examine, design, and produce their own tools. Behind Yairi guitar, there are superb handmade tools. And, of all the tools, luthier's hands are finest tool. They choose, examine, and finish materials based on hardness, and dryness. They bear in mind that an instant carelessness spoils his work. Their hand craftsmanship turns into wonderful tools. For instance, a delicate roundness of a neck is achieved not by machine but by their expertise. In the brace production, well experienced luthier selects best material and process one by one, in four processes. They pay incredible pains and time consuming work. This is the remarkable advantage to Yairi's craftsmanship.Craftsmenship We wish to fill music hearts full of love! S. Yairi To produce an instrument means to work through human spirits. We, at S. Yairi have taken that approach. Craftsman’s affection finishes Yairi’s unique clear and warm sounds. One guitar is to be produced by one craftsman. S. Yairi started by a man who was fascinated with guitar. "Machine can produce parts as such. Nevertheless, quality of woods or weather changes affects shaping. Machine can’t do that." Such a stubborn confidence marks S Yairi. This approach hasn’t been lost over the years. One guitar is to be produced by a craftsman who loves guitar from the selection of materials to the finishing. S. Yairi believes that we produce guitars favored by professionals. A finished work is marked with the Yairi label, only after a complete examination on tones, balance, and finishing. We never compromise in our love for instruments. This is the reason that professional players trust and love professional guitar artisans. S. Yairi warrants their products unlimitedly. Guitar seasons and matures, tones and balance as we play on. S. Yairi create with a lifelong guitar in mind. That should be an elaborately produced one. Our brand S. Yairi is only granted for those products. S. Yairi certifies unlimited warranty. A guitar is a delicate instrument. It IS natural then, that the more delicate it stands, the more beautiful it sings. S. Yairi follows. You should maintain your instrument daily. When you don’t play except for many months, you don’t have to loosen strings. Stringing up and down affects reversely to the neck. You wipe the surface with a piece of cotton cloth and polish once a week with a particular wax. Solvent, namely, thinner, alcohol, benzene, sometimes do harm to the coating. This spoils not only its aspects but also the balance of dampness. Care for dampness Guitar production starts from the selection of materials. Strictly selected woods are left in the open air for approximately 3 years and then dried artificially to purge dampness. A tiny amount of moisture in woods chokes off the sound vibration. Therefore, please store your instrument in an airy dry place. Keep away from direct sunshine. You may put a drying agent or wet towel vice versa. Play everyday. It is most important to purge off any dampness in the woods. This is the knack of seasoning your instrument.Process and Care 1970's Warranty info
S. Yairi instruments have enjoyed undisputed recognition as Japan's finest since 1932. Sada(o) Yairi placed special emphasis on wood selection, hand construction, and hand-lacquering in order to create master instruments of matchless beauty and tone I will dedicate my life to the Guitar-both classical and Steel String. My guitar will be my calling card in all lands I do not understand it, but so it must be. SADA YAIRI, Spring of 1932 at the age of 25 SADA YAIRI instruments have enjoyed undisputed recognition as Japan's finest guitars since 1932 - the name "S.YAIRI" has been the most revered name for master quality, hand-made instruments in Japan for decades. SADA YAIRI's classical and steel string guitars are found in serious guitar studies the world over and master Yairi has gained worldwide acceptance as a guitar maker of uncommon brilliance. With the help of his son, Hiroshi Yairi, and a small staff of master luthiers, Sada continues his life work of producing instruments that will be passed on and cherished through the generations. SADA YAIRI instruments are priced from $ 280.00 and up, and offer a choice of mahogany, maple, rosewood and Jacaranda backs and sides - All with solid spruce tops. June, 2009 Sadao Yairi History ... continued...I've run across a copy from the Japan Music Trades magazine that included an interview of Sadao Yairi and his son Hiroshi. The time frame appears to be 1973. It lists Yairi Gakki MFG as his company. There's quite a bit of info, so for now I will only add some pertinent names and dates, etc. Will add info as time allows~
Sadao Yairi was born in 1908. In 1923 he entered the employment of Suzuki Violin Mfg., Co., Ltd. He worked there making violins until 1932 when he left to start his own business. In 1935 his son Hiroshi was born, and this was the milestone in his life to become independent. He rented two buildings, lived in one and the other became his first guitar "factory". He made only flat top steel string guitars at this time. In 1940 he saw one foreign made "gut" guitar and heard the sound it made and was completely fascinated with it. "This is a real guitar" and he began to study the gut guitar. "I wanted to made guitars as good as the foreign ones, but in those days I did not have the money to buy the machines." "It was also difficult to control the materials." Sadao Yairi spent most of his spare time towards this "new" guitar, working day and night. Yairi Gakki was successful and had reached the peak during the early 1940's. He had 7 workmen and the monthly produciton of guitars were around 100. The situation did not continue due to the war in Japan,Yairi Gakki had been completely shut down and all the equipment and workers ended up working for Kasuga Gakki Mfg. Co. in Kaizugun, Gifu. At wars end in 1945, Sadao left the Kasuga factory, and once again started out on his own. Starting from scratch it took him 5 years to get back on his feet. New workmen and tools were brought in, but they had no experience in making guitars, so he had to TRAIN them first. It was frustrating for him, in that it was easier for him to make the guitars himself than train the new workers. Once again he concentrated on steel string flat top guitars, slowly adding in the new "gut" guitars. By 1960 production of gut guitars had increased and made up half of the total production. Only in 1965 the production of gut guitars had made it into the main line. Monthly production reached 500 guitars and the factory was at full capacity. Sadao Yairi changed how he used his first name several times in his career...early models used Sadao, later you would find Sada, or S. Yairi.
April, 2009 Corrections to some questions and inconsistencies regarding Yairi historyI found info on several other sites that have inaccurate statements, so thought I'd start by posting it here with some corrections.
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Some of this info is correct, but not everything noted is accurate. I will try to "edit" and add corrections. Sadao or Sada Yairi was a guitar maker and guitar manufacturer from Nagoya, Japan who was active from the 1960s to the 1990s. He sold guitars under a number of labels including Sadao Yairi, Yairi Gakki, S. Yairi, and Sada Guitar. He also manufactured guitars for B&M (distributed in the UK) Lowden, Sherry-Brener and a few guitars for Alvarez of St. Louis Music during the early 1970s. During the early 1990s, he had a line of handmade guitars sold by Samick in S. Korea. Sadao Yairi actually began much earlier than the 1960's, starting his first "Factory" in 1932 after leaving Suzuki Violin Co. He also used the Yairi and son label, among Aria, Morris, Fender and others, besides the ones listed. Information on Sadao Yairi is scant and a number of Japanese Sadao Yairi collectors confirm that Sadao Yairi’s guitar making history is shrouded in mystery especially after a 1990s statement by Kazuo Yairi, of Alvarez Yairi fame, that Kazuo and Sadao have no working relationship. I don't find the statement by Kazuo to be unusual, he was just clarifying the fact that they did not work together, and his instruments had no connection to the ones of Sadao. The consensus is that Sadao and Kazuo Yairi are cousins who learned guitar making from Kazuo Yairi‘s dad, also named Sadao Yairi. The older Sadao, had worked as a guitar and violin maker at the Suzuki, Takehuru factory in Nagoya and then later opened his own business, Yairi & Son, which operated until about 1970-71. Nagoya is the major industrial port city in Aichee prefecture and one of Japan's long established guitar making centers. Sadao Yairi was related to Kazuo, not his cousin but, his Uncle. Both Kazuo Yairi's father and Sadao worked at Suzuki Violin Co. prior to leaving and starting their own businesses. As stated prior, Sadao was the one that also made Yairi and Son (there weren't TWO Sadao's in the picture), he began the Yairi and Son models with his son Hiroshi, who actually made most of those models under his father's supervision as is noted by the stamps on the label/backs of the guitars. In the late 1960s Sada and Kazuo went their own way and began making guitars under their own label, with Sada establishing S. Yairi guitars in Nagoya and Kazuo Yairi starting up K. Yairi Guitars in Kani, which is about 30 minutes from Nagoya. Both Sadao and Kazuo made guitars for Alvarez/St. Louis Music Company in the early 1970s, but Kazuo ended up getting an exclusive contract with St. Louis Music. Kazuo's guitars sold by SLM were first known as Alvarez by Kazuo Yairi and then Alvarez Yairi guitars. While I do believe that Sadao did do some work for Alvarez in the very early years, it does not mean that Sadao and Kazuo worked together. Sadao's factory was in Nagoya, Kazuo's in Gifu...separate factories, with different beginning years, 1932 and 1935. Both also made guitars for export under a variety of different labels. In the early 1970s, Sadao had a number of guitar ventures including Yairi Gakki and S Yairi Guitars. S. Yairi made guitars for B&M in the UK and for Lowden in the USA. Sadao also made some Alvarez guitars for SLM in the early 1970s. He went bankrupt in the late 1980s. As a result of the bankruptcy, he went to South Korea in the early 1990s and worked for Samick guitars, developing a short-lived line of handmade guitars labeled "Samick by S. Yairi". In the 1990s Kazuo Yairi published a statement that there was no working relationship between him and his cousin Sadao (probably because of the bankruptcy). I believe that Sadao Yairi passed away during the 1990s. Sometime during the late 1990s/early 2000s, a Japanese venture started to manufacture low quality guitars using the S. Yairi name. These guitars are made in China and are not the same quality as S. Yairi guitars made during the 1960s to 1980s. These "reissue" models of S. Yairi early guitars are under the supervision of his son, Hiroshi (74 years old). As to the quality, I can't say since I do not own one. However, I have read that there were some issues in the beginning, but that those were corrected, and are currently made in Japan. Update , recently found that only the high end S. Yairi reissue models are made in the Terada Factory, Japan.yl
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I'll also be upload a lot of photo's of older Alvarez models~ with model numbers and names listed (some have the year noted also).
). I've got several simlar models (minus the cutaway) several CY115's and CY116 models. 
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