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. During the early 1990s, he had a line of handmade guitars sold by Samick in S. He also manufactured guitars for B&M (distributed in the UK) Lowden, Sherry-Brener and a few guitars for Alvarez of St. He sold guitars under a number of labels including Sadao Yairi, Yairi Gakki, S. Sadao or Sada Yairi was a guitar maker and guitar manufacturer from Nagoya, Japan who was active from the 1960s to the 1990s. If you just google Yairi Gakki you get this article: There are people who pay an arm and a leg for those. A lot of Yairis get mistaken for Taylors. The next time you see an acoustic performance, look at the headstock.

They are all handmade and are pros dirty little secret. In that case, it could have been either by the Yairi import, or purchased by someone from Sadao and brought to America.īoth Yairis still make guitars, and a typical new Yairi acoustic goes in the $1200-$2500 range. If its 1972, it could have been one of the first runs of imports that didn't yet have the Alvarez moniker. Yours may be an Alvarez Yairi (it will have an 'A'with a 'Y' superimposed over it) or a Yairi (it will have just a 'Y'). They eventually went a little crazy with this principal, which lead to some significant warping of the tops of Yairis, thus decreasing the number of guitars in the market, but increasing the value of classic models. Yairi guitars were made with a new bracing formula that allowed their tops to be very thin, and, consequently, more resonant. Kauro entered into an importation deal with them, while Sadao chose to remain with the Japanese market exclusively. At Matsumoku's suggestion, they invetigated two brothers by the name of Sadao and Kauro Yairi making acoustics in Japan. As part of their business strategy, Electra partnered with the Matsumoku factory in Japan.Īt that same time, Electra/Alvarez were seeking to capitalize on the surge of acoustic rock acts by finding an acoustic line to import. In the 70's Alvarez guitars went under the brand name 'Electra,' and had become somewhat popular with prog-rock and arena rock bands for having onboard 'mpc' effects, largely due to an endorsement by Peter Frampton.

Louis Music Company in the 70's through the 90's, which makes Ampeg and Alvarez products.

They are extremely well made and quite expensive guitars. I happen to know quite a bit about Yairi guitars.

Yairi 730 guitar identification