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R

ramsale

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I have had the pleasure of messing around with a Yamaha LL400 accoustic and an Alvarez Yairi DY88 Fusion electric/accoustic, and they both are very fine instruments. They are light, lively, stay in tune and have tons of tone. If anyone is considering an accoustic in the near future, these would be some great models to think about, or compare with what's avalible locally. The Yamaha is a wonderful pure accoustic, that plays and sounds like it can compete with Martins and Taylors... The Yairi DY88 has been discontinued, but can still be found on eBay in the $400-$500 range. I picked up a factory "USED" one for $450, and they list at $1800 or $1900. No soundhole, single cutaway, and built-in pickup system make for a stage guitar with minimal feedback and a sound that's hard to beat... Great guitars, and they sound wonderful cranked up, too! Just thought I'd add my $.02
 
I was in the market for an acoustic last year and tried out a K Yairi, not sure what model but it had a three piece pecan(!!) back and pecan sides. Sort of grand auditorium sized. In the end I bought a Taylor 314 (special edition with koa back and sides) at what I thought was a real knock down price and am very happy with it. The Yairi was totally the bollocks though. I really did not want to put it down and I genuinely felt it made me play better. If it wasn't for resale values (you just never know when you'll have to) I would have gone for that, but at the end of the day the Taylors always going to retain more value.
But how about Pecan for an unusual choice of tone wood?! It sort of looked a bit like indian rosewood, but with more olivey streaking as opposed to purple.
 
A number of years ago, I saw a Taylor made from scrap pallets from the Taylor plant. Had a towmotor inlay on the fretboard. It was beautiful. They just wanted to see if they could do it. I think it was bookmatched oak or ash. Wild guitar. My Alvarez Yairi DY-88 is painted white, so I'm not sure what the wood looks like but a fine sound and neat ebony fingerboard...
 

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