Bench-checkedBrand
Yairi
Type
Acoustic Electric Guitar
Yairi
Alvarez Yairi WY1 Stage Folk Acoustic Electric Guitar - Natural
Or around £78.97 a month over 12 months — spread the cost at checkout where eligible.
The WY1 is a benchmark model for Alvarez-Yairi. It was Originally designed for, and with Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead, hence where the “W” came from in the model number, and was a unique body size for Yairi when it launched. It AA Western Red cedar top paired with Rosewood works for all playing…
What we do before it ships
- Fretwork inspected for sprout and levelled where needed
- Fresh strings fitted and stretched so it holds tune out of the box
- Electronics bench-tested through a reference amp
- Nut slots checked for smooth, rattle-free tuning
- Photographed on the bench so you see the exact instrument leaving us
- Free insured UK delivery
- 30-day free returns
- 2-year Northgate warranty
- Workshop set-up included
01 — Full details
The WY1 is a benchmark model for Alvarez-Yairi. It was Originally designed for, and with Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead, hence where the “W” came from in the model number, and was a unique body size for Yairi when it launched.
It AA Western Red cedar top paired with Rosewood works for all playing styles and its body size being deeper than our stand OM’s, provides more air volume and projection while still being a very comfortable size.
The WY1 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 and decreases 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 will help to ensure decades of stability and performance from your Yairi.
Product Description
The connection you'll have with these instruments can only be described as telepathic. Every input, no matter how dynamic, practically leaps out of the guitar like an arc of electricity. The experience will change your perspective on what an acoustic instrument should be.
Alvarez WY1 Yairi Stage Folk Acoustic Electric Guitar Features
- Solid AA Western Red Cedar
- Cutaway Folk
- Mahogany neck
- D’Addario EXP strings
- Deluxe Wood Case included
If you're going to redefine the idea of balanced tone, you've got to experiment. The Yairi luthiers started by building dozens of prototypes, each using a different bracing pattern. Through almost two years of testing, they gradually narrowed the field until they had settled on what everyone believed to be the most responsive, loudest, best-sounding guitar they had ever built. The bracing technique used in that guitar is now known as ‘FSTII,’ short for ‘forward-shifted, type 2.’ This unique bracing pattern is now found in all Yairi Masterworks instruments, and is at the core of their vibrant, explosive tone.
Part of what makes Yairi instruments so responsive is the direct-coupled bridge. Under the top, there is an ebony block with a flange that pulls the bridge plate and top. When inserted into the bridge, the strings pull up on this block, which couples the strings directly to the bridge plate and top. Simultaneously, the strings exert down-pressure on the saddle and bridge, ensuring that it cannot be pulled off the guitar. The complete system could literally function without any glue, since the string tension pulls the block tight to the top while also holding down the bridge, increasing sustain, volume, and resonance while creating extremely clear articulation between the strings.
Yairi instruments also use an extended dovetail neck block. This adds support to the area between the body joint and the end of the fingerboard. Combined with a longer adjustable truss rod, this results in a significant increase in stability all the way to the sound hole. This in turn has a dramatic impact on tonal balance, and gives these instruments their immediate, punch-in-the-chest response when you really rip into them.
This perfect collision of innovation and tradition is what Yairis are made of. Uniquely expressive instruments that'll give you the chills every time you pick them up, now and forever.
Product Specifications
- Top: Solid AA Western Red Cedar
- Back and Sides: Rosewood
- Shape: Cutaway Folk
- Neck: One piece mahogany
- Neck Finish: 50/50 Semi gloss
- Bracing System: Hand-carved FST2M - Forward Shifted, Scalloped X
- Bridge: Rosewood, Direct Coupled
- Inlays: Abalone and Mother of Pearl
- Fingerboard: Rosewood with 12th Abalone Fret Inlay
- Headstock Plate: Rosewood
- Nut and Saddle: Real Bone
- Tuners: Gotoh Gold
- Binding: Ivoroid
- Bridge Pins: Ebony
- Strings: D’Addario EXP
- Electronics: LR Baggs StagePro EQ and Element Pick Up
- Accessories: Deluxe wood case
02 — From order to doorstep
01
Order placed
Confirmation email with your reference lands within a minute.
02
Workshop check
Bench inspection and set-up, usually the same working day.
03
Packed & dispatched
Double-boxed and handed to the courier with tracking.
04
Delivered
Free insured delivery, 1–3 working days across mainland UK.
03 — Buying with confidence
Bought from a UK company
Northgate Music Co. is a UK-registered retailer. Every order is invoiced with VAT and covered by UK consumer law.
30-day returns
Change your mind within 30 days of delivery and we arrange a free return collection, then refund to your original payment method.
Verified reviews only
We invite customers to review 14 days after delivery. Ratings appear here once verified purchasers have left them — we never publish placeholder scores.
04 — Questions about this product
Yes — we hold 2 in UK stock. Orders placed before 14:00 on a working day are picked the same day and dispatched with free insured tracked delivery, arriving in 1–3 working days.
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