K.Yairi YW-400, made in Japan 1973, natural finish. Kazuo Yairi launched his small company in 1965, building guitars totally by hand in  a workshop in the mountains of Western Japan. They weren't really at a production-level stage until about 1970, so this beautiful guitar is certainly an early example of their fine powers. The build references the classic Martin D-28 in design, with a square shoulder dreadnought shape and the classic spruce and rosewood combination. One of the things that makes K.Yairi stuff so good is that they mill, air dry and store their own timber on site, which means they can be extra choosey about what pieces they use for each guitar. This is made from some very tasty, tightly grained bookmatched spruce, and some lovely streaky dark rosewood, and it sounds magnificent. Obviously it's reasonably old, with the scars to prove it, which contributes somewhat to the rich bass and glorious complexity of the tone. There's a couple of repaired cracks in the top, so it's priced accordingly, but the repair is beautifully done and it's nice and stable. What a sound: loud, clear, balanced, bright and sweet up top, airy and vocal-like through the mids and expansively fat and fast down low. This definitely has a fun Dad's-old-guitar feel about it, but if your Dad was a low key genius and really knew his guitars. Majestic.

Model: K. Yairi YW-400 Dreadnought
Made: Japan; 1973
Serial: 2017
Finish: natural, gloss poly
Body: solid spruce top, laminate rosewood back and sides, square shoulder dreadnought shape
Neck: mahogany, rosewood fretboard, 25.6" scale, 12" radius, slim C shape
Weight: 
Mods: bridge re-glued, pickguard replaced, frets replaced, two cracks in the top repaired, see notes
Pickup: none
Accessories: basic hard case

Cosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. The headstock has dimples and scuffs on the end and edges, fading on the front and some holes from previous tuners and dimples on the back. The neck is clean and smooth in the hands, plenty of dimples and rub wear on the back but nothing too nasty. The back has widespread minor scuffs around the whole body, surface scratches in the elbow area and some dimples along the back and bottom edges. The sides have dimples and scuffs around the whole body. The front has two repaired cracks, one near the edge in the elbow area and one up from the bridge, as well as widespread dimples, small dents and scuffs around the whole body, plenty of pick marks around the sound hole and fade marks from a previous pickguard.
Overall: good condition (6.5/10)

Playing condition notes: Action is low, neck is straight, intonation is good. Setup with 12/54 strings.
Fret Life: 8/10, minor wear only