Alvarez WY1 - Overview and Best Prices

Alvarez WY1 Review
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  • From Alvarez's 2021 Yairi series
  • Made in Japan
  • 6 strings
  • 25"'' scale
  • 15.75" Fretboard Radius
  • Solid AA Western Red Cedar top
  • East Indian Rosewood back
  • East Indian Rosewood sides
  • One piece mahogany, 50/50 Semi gloss finish, Extended neck joint neck
  • Rosewood with 12th Abalone Fret Inlay fretboard
  • Bridge pickup: LR Baggs StagePro EQ and Element Pick Up (Preamp/Active)
  • Rosewood Direct Coupled bridge
  • Acoustic Alvarez Set neck
  • 20 Medium frets
  • Gotoh Gold tuners
  • Side-By-Side Comparison
Show Specs
Alvarez WY1 Specifications
Alvarez WY1
General
Brand: Alvarez
Year: 2021
Configuration: N/A
Strings: 6
Made in: Japan
Series: Yairi
Colors: Natural
Left-Handed Version: No
Body
Type: Hollowbody
Body Material: Solid AA Western Red Cedar
Sides Material: Rosewood
Back Material: Rosewood
Bridge: Rosewood Direct Coupled
Neck
Neck Joint: Set
Tuners: Gotoh Gold
Fretboard: Rosewood with 12th Abalone Fret Inlay
Neck Material: One piece mahogany, 50/50 Semi gloss finish, Extended neck joint
Decoration: Abalone Design at 12th fret
Scale Size: 25"
Shape: Acoustic Alvarez
Frets: 20 Medium
Fretboard Radius: 15.75"
Nut: Bone
Nut Width: 43.6mm (1.718'')
Electronics
Pickups: LR Baggs StagePro EQ and Element Pick Up (Preamp / Active)
Hardware
Strap Lock: No
Hardware Color: Gold

Our Scores and Tone Evaluation

Playability 77
Sound 84
Build quality 87
Value for money 73
Overall Score 83
Tone Evaluation
  • Heavy Metal
  • Hard Rock
  • Jazz
  • Blues
  • Funk
  • Country
Strengths & Weaknesses
Alvarez WY1
  • Made in Japan
  • Expensive Wood
  • Bone Nut
  • Top Brand Pickups
  • Electronics
  • Bone Saddle
  • Solid Top Wood
  • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
  • No Locking Tuners
  • Laminated Side Wood
  • Laminated Back Wood
  • No Compound Radius Fretboard
  • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • No Strap Lock

Price Overview

Its average competitor's price is $2250, which means that the Alvarez WY1 is around 2% cheaper than the competition. This takes into account all instruments of the same category in our database with 6 strings and Fixed bridge that are made in Japan.

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User Reviews & Feedback

Not all instruments are created equally. That's why it's important to have different opinions. Here's what our users who have played this instrument say. If you've played it before, help others by voting below!

Weight

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Tuning stability

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Neck speed (thickness)

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Neck access to high frets

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Neck profile shape

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Fret edges

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Pickups noise

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Pickups power

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Hand Size Comfortability

After taking into account the neck profile, scale size, fretboard radius, and nut width, we can conclude that the Alvarez WY1's construction favors people with relatively small hands.

Nevertheless, this comes down in the end to personal preference. Make sure you test this guitar—or another one with similar characteristics—before buying.

Big Hands
Small Hands

Beginner Friendliness

The Alvarez WY1 meets 4 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, which means that it's not bad for beginners, but it could be better. This takes into account the type of frets, scale length, nut width, bridge type, fretboard radius, and neck profile to determine the easiest combination for new players to get used to.

New Player Friendliness

Alvarez WY1
  • Comfortable shape
  • Easy-to-use bridge
  • Tall frets
  • Comfortable neck
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Narrow nut
  • Short scale
  • Soft Strings
  • Locking tuners

Videos

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Yairi WY1TS: A Guitar that Demands the Spotlight | Stage Series Folk/OM Acoustic Demo & Review
Mimi Fox Performs "Four on Six" on an Alvarez-Yairi WY1BR
The Long Awaited King of Japanese Acoustic Guitars...the @AlvarezGuitarsOfficial Yairi DYMR70SB!
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Alvarez WY1 Yairi Unboxing
GSWJ - Alvarez-Yairi DY1TS Review
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Alvarez Yairi FYM70CE Acoustic Guitar | guitarguitar

Playability

Scale Length

Scale length is the distance the strings will span between the bridge and the nut. It can tell you a lot about the overall playability and tone of the instrument. A longer scale length means longer distance between frets, brighter tone and more string tension—which means lower action, but more difficult bending of the strings.

Here's the Alvarez WY1's 25" scale length compared to other common sizes:

Alvarez WY1 Scale Length Comparison
Alvarez WY1's scale length (at the top) compared to other popular sizes

This is the scale found in most PRS guitars, and it's right between the length of most Stratocasters and Les Pauls.

The scale length will affect the separation of the frets, the string tension, and even the tone of the guitar. The longer the scale, the more separated the frets are, which makes it a bit harder to move fast on the fretboard. Also, the higher tension of the strings will make them feel stiffer, so bending will require more strength. However, a longer scale also allows you to lower the action of the strings and make them closer to the fretboard, which makes them easier to press. Finally, the tone will also sound brighter with a longer scale.

A 25'' scale makes all of this feel right between a Stratocaster (longer scale) and a Les Paul (shorter scale).

Don't forget that you can also affect the tension of the strings by changing your string gauge.

More with the same scale length:

Neck Profile

Alvarez WY1 Neck Profile
Alvarez WY1's neck profile

The neck profile tells you the thickness (neck depth) and shape in cross section. Every difference will completely change the feeling and comfortability of the neck. This is a highly subjective thing, but most players indeed prefer certain types of necks (like Cs and Ds) because they feel nice in most hands.

It has a D type neck. It's similar to a C shape, and it's one of the most common shapes right now. It's a bit flatter and thinner, even though sometimes it has a bit more shoulders. It's a fast type of neck that is comfortable, and shredders love it.

Fretboard Radius

When it comes to fingerboard radius, personal preference will dictate which one is better for you. However, most people seem to agree that a more curved (lower) radius will make it easier to play chords while a less curved (higher) radius is better for soloing and bending.

The Alvarez WY1 has a 15.75" fingerboard radius.

Here's an image comparing this fretboard radius to other popular choices:

Alvarez WY1 Fretboard Radius Comparison with Fender Stratocaster and Gibson Les Paul
Alvarez WY1's fretboard radius compared to others

It's a radius that makes playing single notes (and bending, vibrato, sliding, etc) easier than on a classic Les Paul guitar. However, it's still more curved than some baritone and 7+ strings guitars.

Compound radius fingerboards give the best of both worlds. Unfortunately, the Alvarez WY1 has the same radius across the board.

Playability compared to main competitors

Alvarez WY1
This model
25'' Scale Length
D Neck Profile
1.718'' Nut Width
15.75'' Fretboard Radius
25'' Scale Length
D Neck Profile
1.732'' Nut Width
15.75'' Fretboard Radius
25.5'' Scale Length
C Neck Profile
1.732'' Nut Width
15.748'' Fretboard Radius
25.6'' Scale Length
C Neck Profile
1.693'' Nut Width
15.75'' Fretboard Radius
25.6'' Scale Length
C Neck Profile
1.693'' Nut Width
15.75'' Fretboard Radius

Nut Width

Alvarez WY1 Nut Width
Alvarez WY1 Nut Width

The Alvarez WY1 has a nut width of 43.6mm (1.718''). This is within the most common range of nut widths for a 6-string guitar. It offers a good balance of string separation at the nut. It's the size that most guitarists prefer as it gives them just enough space to play open chords without muting the strings, but without spreading the strings too wide and making bar chords difficult to perform.

Frets

It comes with nickel silver frets, so they won't last as long as stainless steel frets. If you use your instrument a lot, you might need to replace the frets after a few years. But this is unlikely as most people change instruments before this happens.

Fret Size

Alvarez WY1 Fret Size Comparison
Alvarez WY1's fret size (in orange) compared to other popular sizes

Finally, let's talk about fret size. Some people prefer tall frets because it's easier to press the strings and perform bends since there's less friction against the fretboard. On the other hand, some people like shorter frets because they like to touch the fretboard when playing, or because they got heavy hands and tend to press too much on the string and alter the of the note pitch accidently.

The Alvarez WY1's frets are Medium size. With medium frets, you can feel the fretboard more than with jumbo frets, but it's still easier to press the strings cleanly than with small frets; notes might change their pitch just slightly if you press hard on the fret. Also, if you need to do some fret leveling after years of playing, you'll have some room to sand them down without having to replace them.

Playability Score

Bending & Vibrato Ease 80
Chord Playability 70
Solo Playability 80
Playability 77

Tone

The type of wood and even the shape of the body will have a lot of influence in the final tone of an acoustic guitar. Here's we'll talk about what kind of tone you can expect from its specs.

Wood

Cedar wood pattern used for guitar building
Cedar Top
Rosewood wood pattern used for guitar building
Rosewood Back, Sides, Fretboard
Mahogany wood pattern used for guitar building
Mahogany Neck

Cedar Top: This is a softwood that is commonly used for acoustic guitars. It's known for its warm tone with strong overtones. However, there are many species so the tone and look can vary a lot.

Rosewood Back, Sides and Fretboard: Since the ban of Brazillian Rosewood, this has become a rare and expensive wood. It's not usually used for guitar bodies because of this, and also because it's heavy. Instead, it's used mainly for fretboards. Sometimes it's also used for necks because it's an extremely hard wood (even harder than maple). Its tonality tends to favor warm tones.

Mahogany Neck: This is the type of wood found in many top-of-the-line guitars, so that's a positive point for the build quality. This red-looking wood Mahogany is found in Africa and Central America and has great sustain and a warm tone due to its high density. The downside about this type of wood is that it's relatively heavy.

Pickups

This guitar comes with pickups from one of the top brands: LR Baggs. So you can expect well built pickups with great sound that shouldn't need an upgrade anytime soon.

Sound Score

Sustain 80
Versatility 85
Tuning Stability 70
Sound 84

Build Quality

Country of Origin

Knowing where the instrument is produced is a good way to know how well it's built. Some manufacturing countries are known for having higher quality standards. For example, most expensive instruments are made in the US or Japan, but there are some exceptionally great countries—like South Korea—that are building a good reputation.

The Alvarez WY1 is made in Japan. You should expect a high-quality guitar with excellent quality control. It can be compared to guitars made in the US, which is why they're also expensive.

Bridge

Rosewood Direct Coupled: The advantage of fixed bridges is that they don't require any kind of set-up. This makes it extremely easy when changing strings because you don't need to adjust anything besides tuning the guitar. Also, the fact that the bridge is directly attached to the body will help to increase sustain. The disadvantage is the lack of versatility since you can't create the same vibrato effects as with tremolo bridges.

Nut Material

Another important thing to analyze is the nut material, as it's one of the most important aspects that can affect the sound and playability of your guitar. A well-cut nut will make sure it stays in tune and will make it more comfortable to play.

In this case, the Alvarez WY1 has a Bone nut. This material is one of the highest quality you can get. It provides excellent sustain and tune stability if cut well. The only disadvantage is that it's an organic material, so it's not consistent. Two different bone nuts, even if made from the same bone, will probably sound slightly different. However, bear in mind that this is only relevant when playing open strings.

Build Quality Score

Quality of materials 81
Features 85
Quality Control 95
Build Quality 87