Sound Pure's Take

Condition: Used, Excellent

SP Luthier Notes: Setup Confirmed

From Other (Miscellanous Used/Vintage/Consign)

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 GYM70CESHB features our FST2 bracing system, a very 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.

Grand Auditoriums like the GYM70CESHB are perfect all-round instruments, adept at both strumming and fingerpicking and ideal for a guitarist needing a guitar that can do it all. The GYM70CESHB has been carefully designed to take advantage of the Grand Auditorium’s best properties and is fitted with the LR Baggs VTC system with Element pick up and soundhole console.

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.

KEY FEATURES

Top Wood: Solid AAA Sitka Spruce

Body Finish: Shadowburst/Gloss

Back and Sides Wood: Solid East Indian Rosewood

Bridge Pins: Ebony

Shape: Grand Auditorium

Neck: One piece mahogany, 50/50 Semi gloss finish, Extended neck joint

Bracing: Hand Carved FTS2

Bridge: Ebony Direct Coupled

Inlays: Abalone & Mother of Pearl

Fingerboard: Ebony with 12th AA Fret Inlay

Headstock Plate: Rosewood

Nut and Saddle: Real Bone / Tusq™

Tuner Gotoh 510's Gold with Ebony Buttons

Binding: Ivoroid

Bridge Pins: Ebony

Strings: D'Addario EXP16

Accessories: Deluxe Wood Case / US Only

Bracing Systems: Handcarved FST2 - Forward Shifted, Asymmetric Tone Bars

Neck Joint: Dovetail, Extended Neck Joint

Neck Meets Body: 14th Fret

Number of Frets: 20

Pickup / EQ: LR Baggs VTC Element System

DIMENSIONS

Overall Length (mm): 1028

Body Width (mm): 402

Body Depth at Heel (mm): 97

Body Depth at Base (mm): 118

Scale (mm): 648

Scale (inches): 25 1/2

Number of Frets: 20

Nut Width (mm): 44

Nut Width (inches): 1 23/32

ADDITIONAL DETAILS

Neck Joint: Dovetail, Extended Neck Joint

Neck Meets Body: 14th Fret

Number of Frets: 20

Warranty

This item is sold without the Sound Pure 3-year warranty (used / B-stock / dealer-exempt). Coverage terms for items in this category live in Terms & Conditions, Section 27.

Returns

Try Before You Buy: 48-hour audition. Program details →

Sound Pure Studios Control Room A — Durham, NC

Sound Pure Studios · Durham, NC

Come hear it in our control rooms.

Sound Pure is a working studio in Durham, NC — a 1,000 sq ft live room and two pro control rooms. Book a session to audition gear in a world-class acoustic space before you buy.