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Up for sale, a 1981 K. Yairi BY20 vihuela in near-mint, 100% original condition, complete with the original hardshell case. Master luthier Kazuo Yairi built some of Japan’s finest acoustic and classical guitars over the course of his decades-long career, utilizing premium tonewoods and construction techniques. This extremely rare Yairi was ostensibly a custom-built, one-of-one instrument, with no other examples known to exist; it’s a traditionally-built flamenco-style vihuela, featuring six courses tuned in unison (nylon strings), a baroque-style rosette, tapered friction tuning pegs, and ornate marquetry across the instrument.
Tonewoods include a cedar top, flame maple back/sides, mahogany neck, and an ebony fingerboard. Tonally, this guitar is gentle and chiming, with a warm, harmonically-rich wound strings and a smooth pluck in the upper registers. The unison nylon courses result in a sweet, ethereal quality very distinct to this instrument (and its five-course cousin, the baroque guitar), vocal-like and sonorous. This K. Yairi BY20 vihuela has been professionally setup here at Mike & Mike’s Guitar Bar with normal tension D’Addario strings and easy-playing action.
Neck Specs:
-Wood: Mahogany
-Shape: Classical-style D, measuring .825” 1st fret, .970” 9th fret
-Fretboard: Ebony (fretboard extension directly on the top)
-Frets: Slender, plastic, no wear
-Scale Length: 600mm (23.6”)
-Nut: 2”, bone
-Headstock: Brazilian rosewood/flame maple veneer (checkerboard inlay)
-Tuners: Tapered friction pegs, Brazilian rosewood
Body Specs:
-Wood: Cedar (top), flame maple (back/sides)
-Bridge: Ebony, bone saddle
-Label: “Hand Crafted by Kazuo Yairi,” signed by Yairi, dated 1981, model stamp
-Marquetry: Checkerboard purfling and centerline, Brazilian rosewood binding, top inlays, carved three-dimensional baroque-style rosette
The hand-polished satin finish highlights the tight figuring in the flame maple back and sides, and cosmetic wear on this instrument is limited to some minor marks on top behind the bridge and just a couple additional faint nicks on the body as a whole. The neck profile has a smooth, open-grain feel, with a couple tiny scuffs along the profile length that are imperceptible to the palm.
The original black tolex hardshell case is included.
Tonewoods include a cedar top, flame maple back/sides, mahogany neck, and an ebony fingerboard. Tonally, this guitar is gentle and chiming, with a warm, harmonically-rich wound strings and a smooth pluck in the upper registers. The unison nylon courses result in a sweet, ethereal quality very distinct to this instrument (and its five-course cousin, the baroque guitar), vocal-like and sonorous. This K. Yairi BY20 vihuela has been professionally setup here at Mike & Mike’s Guitar Bar with normal tension D’Addario strings and easy-playing action.
Neck Specs:
-Wood: Mahogany
-Shape: Classical-style D, measuring .825” 1st fret, .970” 9th fret
-Fretboard: Ebony (fretboard extension directly on the top)
-Frets: Slender, plastic, no wear
-Scale Length: 600mm (23.6”)
-Nut: 2”, bone
-Headstock: Brazilian rosewood/flame maple veneer (checkerboard inlay)
-Tuners: Tapered friction pegs, Brazilian rosewood
Body Specs:
-Wood: Cedar (top), flame maple (back/sides)
-Bridge: Ebony, bone saddle
-Label: “Hand Crafted by Kazuo Yairi,” signed by Yairi, dated 1981, model stamp
-Marquetry: Checkerboard purfling and centerline, Brazilian rosewood binding, top inlays, carved three-dimensional baroque-style rosette
The hand-polished satin finish highlights the tight figuring in the flame maple back and sides, and cosmetic wear on this instrument is limited to some minor marks on top behind the bridge and just a couple additional faint nicks on the body as a whole. The neck profile has a smooth, open-grain feel, with a couple tiny scuffs along the profile length that are imperceptible to the palm.
The original black tolex hardshell case is included.
