A 12th fret Dreadnought really works for many players – some say it’s because the position of the bridge is right in the middle of the soundboard. Some say it’s that your fretting hand is closer, or even just the overall feel and string tension. Whatever it is, it certainly works.
The MDR70SB has a round and full tone with lots of clear bass frequencies and glistening trebles. Its response is instant, and its notes are clear and robust. When strumming, the FS6 bracing system and AAA Sitka top help deliver clarity and separation. The balance is clearly audible across all six strings.
The MDR is a beautifully finished instrument with a deep shine and thin poly finish. Traditional appointments come in the way of a slotted headstock, open gear tuners and pre-war style sunburst.
The projection and overall breadth of tonal reach in these guitars is outstanding, making it hard to put down for those players looking for a powerful open voicing and feel of a 12th Fret Dreadnought.
We created our Masterworks Series to be the best value all-solid guitar line available to players today. Their specification is incredibly high in relation to their cost and they perform as all-solid professional guitars should, with fantastic response and projection.
Nothing can really match a guitar made from all-solid wood. The deflection of the notes is quicker, the quality of the sound is better, you can obtain optimal response and the sound of your guitar only improves as it ages.
After 55 years of making guitars, continual improvement through the use of emerging technologies, processes, and materials is still at the heart of our culture. Alvarez guitars are constructed correctly in every sense, from raw material preparation to construction and manufacturing processes.
Our tonewoods are carefully cured; our components such as neck blocks and wood joints are carefully designed. The painting, sanding and polishing techniques we use are continually researched and developed, and our tone is impeccably crafted and married to a stable, consistent and lively soundbox.
This caring approach to development comes from one simple goal: To deliver the best guitars in the market at every price point, instruments that are truly amazing value and offer a fantastic player experience.
The term “all-solid” refers to the guitar top, back and sides being made of solid wood rather than laminated. However, even when the guitar is made of all solid tonewood, it only performs to its full potential when it is designed to get the best out of its materials and components. The tops we use in Masterworks are premium grades, which means we can make them slightly thinner to heighten vibration. The radius of both the top and back are also refined to help increase volume.
Each guitar is designed to get the best out of its components, and for them to work together. These components include our FS6 bracing system, bi-level bridges, real bone nuts and saddles, carefully seasoned tonewoods and a thin finish.
FS6 is a forward shifted X brace design. This means the axis of the X is closer to the soundhole, creating a larger soundboard area to harness more energy and vibration. Both the X braces and asymmetric tone bars are carefully scalloped, a design that was the result of continual development in our Yairi workshops. Our FS6 system brings uniformity across Dreadnought, Grand Auditorium, OM and Parlor body sizes, so that the voicing has a similar character, but the individual tone is more purely influenced by the size and shape of the guitar.
The Masterworks personality is open and powerful. FS6 also creates very good balance so both the treble and bass registers are clearly present and balanced in relation to each other. All of our tops are selected by our team and graded independently of our suppliers, then cured with care using traditional ovens and modern thermo-kilns.
Along with a more angled headstock, our bi-level bridge increases string tension by making the break angle of the strings from the saddle to the top more acute. Improved string tension adds to our sound, feel and response, which are also heightened by the use of real bone nuts and saddles.
We hope you can see and feel our unwavering attention to detail and that it inspires you every time you play our guitars.
Thank you for choosing Alvarez.
In 2018 we launched the MD60BG, our take on a Bluegrass styled Dreadnought with modern dynamics for players looking for that optimal full tone. The MD60BG has become one of our best-selling guitars, and our Rosewood version takes power and clarity to a new level.
The MD70BG’s response is instant, and its notes are clear and robust. The rosewood helps deliver sonorous bass frequencies complemented by shimmering trebles. When strumming, the FS6 bracing system and AAA Sitka top help deliver clarity and separation, and balance is clearly audible across all six strings.
These beautifully dressed guitars pay tribute to traditional Bluegrass instruments with open gear nickel tuners, classic inlays, premium tortoiseshell style pickguard and a flawless gloss finish.
The projection and overall breadth of tonal reach of this guitar is outstanding, making it hard to put down for those players looking for a powerful open voicing and instant response.
We created our Masterworks Series to be the best value all-solid guitar line available to players today. Their specification is incredibly high in relation to their cost and they perform as all-solid professional guitars should, with fantastic response and projection.
Nothing can really match a guitar made from all-solid wood. The deflection of the notes is quicker, the quality of the sound is better, you can obtain optimal response and the sound of your guitar only improves as it ages.
After 55 years of making guitars, continual improvement through the use of emerging technologies, processes, and materials is still at the heart of our culture. Alvarez guitars are constructed correctly in every sense, from raw material preparation to construction and manufacturing processes.
Our tonewoods are carefully cured; our components such as neck blocks and wood joints are carefully designed. The painting, sanding and polishing techniques we use are continually researched and developed, and our tone is impeccably crafted and married to a stable, consistent and lively soundbox.
This caring approach to development comes from one simple goal: To deliver the best guitars in the market at every price point, instruments that are truly amazing value and offer a fantastic player experience.
The term “all-solid” refers to the guitar top, back and sides being made of solid wood rather than laminated. However, even when the guitar is made of all solid tonewood, it only performs to its full potential when it is designed to get the best out of its materials and components. The tops we use in Masterworks are premium grades, which means we can make them slightly thinner to heighten vibration. The radius of both the top and back are also refined to help increase volume.
Each guitar is designed to get the best out of its components, and for them to work together. These components include our FS6 bracing system, bi-level bridges, real bone nuts and saddles, carefully seasoned tonewoods and a thin finish.
FS6 is a forward shifted X brace design. This means the axis of the X is closer to the soundhole, creating a larger soundboard area to harness more energy and vibration. Both the X braces and asymmetric tone bars are carefully scalloped, a design that was the result of continual development in our Yairi workshops. Our FS6 system brings uniformity across Dreadnought, Grand Auditorium, OM and Parlor body sizes, so that the voicing has a similar character, but the individual tone is more purely influenced by the size and shape of the guitar.
The Masterworks personality is open and powerful. FS6 also creates very good balance so both the treble and bass registers are clearly present and balanced in relation to each other. All of our tops are selected by our team and graded independently of our suppliers, then cured with care using traditional ovens and modern thermo-kilns.
Along with a more angled headstock, our bi-level bridge increases string tension by making the break angle of the strings from the saddle to the top more acute. Improved string tension adds to our sound, feel and response, which are also heightened by the use of real bone nuts and saddles.
We hope you can see and feel our unwavering attention to detail and that it inspires you every time you play our guitars.
Thank you for choosing Alvarez.
Solid Sitka with Solid Indian Rosewood is a combination that’s hard to beat when it comes to building a powerful, dynamic and charismatic instrument. The wood choice helps us deliver a resonant instrument suitable for a wide range of playing and musical styles.
The DYM70 never seems to run out of punch and its dynamic range is vast. Stroke it and it will whisper as quietly as you want it to; strum it as hard as you can and it will sing as loud as you need it to.
Everything is apparent in this guitar; bass, mids and trebles work together, never fighting each other, leaving the player free to approach the guitar from the song’s requirements rather than compensating for overly lively or underperforming response.
Like all Yairis, the DYM70 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, decreasing 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 helps to ensure decades of stability and performance from your Yairi.
The DYM70 is our line in the sand—from here on in, it’s the guitar that sets the standard for all our future development. From the outset it was this model that we built dozens of samples of, refining the construction and bracing along the way to find the sound we wanted. We believe this is one of the best guitars in the market, an unfailing instrument that delivers player satisfaction note after note.
Designing a guitar for legendary picker Brad Davis, one of the hardest-working guitarists in the industry, was no small endeavor. Brad’s style, technique and work ethic has earned him a GRAMMY® as well as collaborations with some of today’s best known artists, and he needed an instrument that could respond to the demands of life on the road and in the studio.
Brad worked personally with Alvarez Head of Development, Chris Meikle, to bring to life a guitar that was reminiscent of a vintage 1930s dreadnought, with all the power, punch and shimmering trebles guitars of that era had during the golden age of blues and roots music.
Chris and Brad designed a guitar that utilized perfectly seasoned tonewoods from the Yairi factory, a AAA Sitka spruce top with solid East Indian rosewood back and sides to capture the tonal colors and volume suitable for Brad’s music. Handmade in the Yairi factory in Kani, Japan, the Brad Davis Signature DYM70BD is made with all the expertise and knowledge Alvarez has to offer.
The DYM70BD is a truly stunning instrument, made and influenced by a truly inspiring player. Find out more about Brad Davis and listen to his inspiring music and playing at http://www.braddavismusic.com.
The Alvarez partnership with the Yairi family of luthiers in Kani, Japan is a cherished part of our 55-year history. Kazuo Yairi’s influence can be seen and heard in every guitar we make, from his innovations in bracing and instrumental architecture to his knowledge of tonewoods and their specific attributes and characteristics.
Alvarez-Yairi represents our flagship guitars, where each instrument is treated and prepared as a handmade work of art. Each brace is carved by hand, each neck is spokeshaved to perfection. Tonewoods of the highest grade are naturally seasoned for years to decades before being used in the production process.
The DY70CE-12SHB features our FST2 bracing system, a forward shifted X-brace design which was the result of years of research and development. FST2 features center, scooped scalloping to the main braces and asymmetric scalloping to the two tone bars. In this way, we optimize the separation between each string and maximize balance and projection.
We take the same deliberate approach to our finishes, which range from shimmering natural satin to breathtaking sunbursts and shadowbursts. Careful preparation and years of experience allow our craftsmen to keep the finish thin, allowing our high-grade tops an excellent rate of vibration and movement.
This DY70CE-12SHB 12-string delivers a powerful, shimmering wall of sound that will inspire and thrill players in search of the perfect 12-string experience. It has been carefully designed to take advantage of a dreadnought 12-string shape’s best properties. It features a solid AA grade Sitka spruce top, a rich shadow burst finish and is and fitted with the LR Baggs Stage Pro and Element pickup system.
The StagePro Element is a side-mounted preamp/EQ that offers easy battery access and a full chromatic tuner with three band EQ. Unlike common undersaddle pickups that are dependent on string compression for their sound, the Element Pickup was engineered to mirror the soundboard’s actual movement as you play, reproducing the natural sound of the guitar very closely.
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. Other presentments include hand cut and assembled pearl and abalone inlays, ivoroid binding, ebony fingerboard, ebony bridge and ebony bridge pins.
Like all Yairi Standard Series, 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.
Experiencing an Alvarez-Yairi is to experience the very passion that drives us. These are truly marquis instruments and represent what’s at the heart of the Alvarez culture: Continual improvement and attention to detail that will give our players a lifetime of musical fulfillment.
The Alvarez partnership with the Yairi family of luthiers in Kani, Japan is a cherished part of our 55-year history. Kazuo Yairi’s influence can be seen and heard in every guitar we make, from his innovations in bracing and instrumental architecture to his knowledge of tonewoods and their specific attributes and characteristics.
Alvarez-Yairi represents our flagship guitars, where each instrument is treated and prepared as a handmade work of art. Each brace is carved by hand, each neck is spokeshaved to perfection. Tonewoods of the highest grade are naturally seasoned for years to decades before being used in the production process.
The PYM70 features our FST2 bracing system, a forward shifted X-brace design which was the result of years of research and development. FST2 features center scooped scalloping to the main braces and asymmetric scalloping to the two tone bars. In this way, we optimize the separation between each string and maximize balance and projection.
We take the same deliberate approach to our finishes, which range from shimmering natural satin to breathtaking sunbursts and shadowbursts. Careful preparation and years of experience allow our craftsmen to keep the finish thin, allowing our high-grade tops an excellent rate of vibration and movement.
This PYM70 Parlor has a wonderful tone packed into its diminutive body, with clear shimmering trebles that are perfect for ragtime and bluesy picking. It has been carefully designed to take advantage of a parlor shape’s best properties. It features a solid AAA grade Sitka spruce top.
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. Other presentments include hand cut and assembled pearl and abalone inlays, ivoroid binding, ebony fingerboard, ebony bridge and ebony bridge pins.
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 helps to ensure decades of stability and performance from your Yairi.
Experiencing an Alvarez-Yairi is to experience the very passion that drives us. These are truly marquis instruments and represent what’s at the heart of the Alvarez culture: Continual improvement and attention to detail that will give our players a lifetime of musical fulfillment.
The Alvarez partnership with the Yairi family of luthiers in Kani, Japan is a cherished part of our 55-year history. Kazuo Yairi’s influence can be seen and heard in every guitar we make, from his innovations in bracing and instrumental architecture to his knowledge of tonewoods and their specific attributes and characteristics.
Alvarez-Yairi represents our flagship guitars, where each instrument is treated and prepared as a handmade work of art. Each brace is carved by hand, each neck is spokeshaved to perfection. Tonewoods of the highest grade are naturally seasoned for years to decades before being used in the production process.
The DY70CE-12 features our FST2 bracing system, a forward shifted X-brace design which was the result of years of research and development. FST2 features center scooped scalloping to the main braces and asymmetric scalloping to the two tone bars. In this way, we optimize the separation between each string and maximize balance and projection.
We take the same deliberate approach to our finishes, which range from shimmering natural satin to breathtaking sunbursts and shadowbursts. Careful preparation and years of experience allow our craftsmen to keep the finish thin, allowing our high-grade tops an excellent rate of vibration and movement.
This DY70CE-12 12-string delivers a powerful, shimmering wall of sound that will inspire and thrill players in search of the perfect 12-string experience. It has been carefully designed to take advantage of a dreadnought 12-string shape’s best properties. It features a solid AA grade Sitka spruce top, a rich shadow burst finish and is and fitted with the LR Baggs Stage Pro and Element pickup system.
The StagePro Element is a side-mounted preamp/EQ that offers easy battery access and a full chromatic tuner with three band EQ. Unlike common undersaddle pickups that are dependent on string compression for their sound, the Element Pickup was engineered to mirror the soundboard’s actual movement as you play, reproducing the natural sound of the guitar very closely.
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. Other presentments include hand cut and assembled pearl and abalone inlays, ivoroid binding, ebony fingerboard, ebony bridge and ebony bridge pins.
Like all Yairi Standard Series, 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.
Experiencing an Alvarez-Yairi is to experience the very passion that drives us. These are truly marquis instruments and represent what’s at the heart of the Alvarez culture: Continual improvement and attention to detail that will give our players a lifetime of musical fulfillment.
The Alvarez partnership with the Yairi family of luthiers in Kani, Japan is a cherished part of our 55-year history. Kazuo Yairi’s influence can be seen and heard in every guitar we make, from his innovations in bracing and instrumental architecture to his knowledge of tonewoods and their specific attributes and characteristics.
Alvarez-Yairi represents our flagship guitars, where each instrument is treated and prepared as a handmade work of art. Each brace is carved by hand, each neck is spokeshaved to perfection. Tonewoods of the highest grade are naturally seasoned for years to decades before being used in the production process.
The FYM70 features our FST2 bracing system, a forward shifted X-brace design which was the result of years of research and development. FST2 features center scooped scalloping to the main braces and asymmetric scalloping to the two tone bars. In this way, we optimize the separation between each string and maximize balance and projection.
We take the same deliberate approach to our finishes, which range from shimmering natural satin to breathtaking sunbursts and shadowbursts. Careful preparation and years of experience allow our craftsmen to keep the finish thin, allowing our high-grade tops an excellent rate of vibration and movement.
Players love Folk/OM or OOO shapes for their wonderful balance across all strings, making them ideal for fingerpicking. The FYM70 has been carefully designed to take advantage of a folk shape’s best properties. It features a solid AAA grade sitka spruce top.
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. Other presentments include hand-cut and assembled pearl and abalone inlays, ivoroid binding, ebony fingerboard, ebony bridge and ebony bridge pins.
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 helps to ensure decades of stability and performance from your Yairi.
Experiencing an Alvarez-Yairi is to experience the very passion that drives us. These are truly marquis instruments and represent what’s at the heart of the Alvarez culture: Continual improvement and attention to detail that will give our players a lifetime of musical fulfillment.
The Alvarez partnership with the Yairi family of luthiers in Kani, Japan is a cherished part of our 55-year history. Kazuo Yairi’s influence can be seen and heard in every guitar we make, from his innovations in bracing and instrumental architecture to his knowledge of tonewoods and their specific attributes and characteristics.
Alvarez-Yairi represents our flagship guitars, where each instrument is treated and prepared as a handmade work of art. Each brace is carved by hand, each neck is spokeshaved to perfection. Tonewoods of the highest grade are naturally seasoned for years to decades before being used in the production process.
We take the same deliberate approach to our finishes, which range from shimmering natural satin to breathtaking sunbursts and shadowbursts. Careful preparation and years of experience allow our craftsmen to keep the finish thin, allowing our high-grade tops an excellent rate of vibration and movement.
Alvarez-Yairi has its roots in classical guitars, and since the 1960s we’ve learned how to take full advantage of the seasoned tonewoods, structure and bracing of the classical shape, producing tone that has inspired some of the best players around the world. The Yairi workshop has been building concert classical guitars for nearly 85 years and are renowned around the world for their exquisite quality. The CY75 features a solid AA grade cedar top and is finished in a beautiful natural gloss.
Like all Yairi Standard Series, 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 helps to ensure decades of stability and performance from your Yairi.
Experiencing an Alvarez-Yairi is to experience the very passion that drives us. These are truly marquis instruments and represent what’s at the heart of the Alvarez culture: Continual improvement and attention to detail that will give our players a lifetime of musical fulfillment.
Playing a Baritone is an entirely different sonic dimension to a standard guitar shape. Playing in a lower register can renew older tunes and inspire brand new ones, and playing a Baritone is an experience every guitarist should have. The Alvarez Yairi YB70 Baritone is a fantastic instrument, tuned from B to B, with a solid AA grade sitka spruce top and finished in a beautiful natural satin.
Like all Yairi Standard Series, 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 helps to ensure decades of stability and performance from your Yairi.
Experiencing an Alvarez-Yairi is to experience the very passion that drives us. These are truly marquis instruments and represent what’s at the heart of the Alvarez culture: Continual improvement and attention to detail that will give our players a lifetime of musical fulfillment.