Signed in as:
filler@godaddy.com
Research Library - Vintage Alvarez Guitars
Alvarez Guitars
Research Note: We are focused on researching the Alvarez 5021 12-string model guitar, as this is the instrument we have recently acquired and offer for sale. The information below contains a lot of general vintage Alvarez information which applies to a variety of models, but our research examples are mostly focused on the 5021 model.
Summary of Findings: Key Features for Establishing Vintage Dating
This page includes all of our research on vintage Alvarez guitars. Details and source citations are found in the report below. This section summarizes the primary features that we were able to determine for use in estimating the vintage production year (or year span) for these guitars. This is not all-inclusive but may provide a framework for a starting point when analyzing a vintage Alvarez.
Key findings:*
*These are only estimates based on the numerous examples in research we were able to identify. This is not a definitive dating guide but may help establish a basis for a rough analysis of a vintage instrument.
Headstock:
Logos:
"Alvarez" with no logo: 1971-1973
"Inverted A" logo only (no words/name): 1974-modern
"A-Y" logo (Yairi models only): 1974-modern
"Inverted A" AND "Alvarez" - modern
Tuners:
Interlocking 6-per-side, open back (12-string models): 1971-1974
Separated 6-per side, open back (12-string models): 1974-1977
Enclosed tuners, 2 mounting screws (opposite corners): 1978-modern
Truss Rod Adjustment:
Adjust at the headstock: 1971-1977
Adjust at the soundhole: 1978-modern
Body Design Features:
Rosette patterns:
"X and Diamond" pattern with black and red: 1971-1981 (and possibly newer)
Wider yellow band with ornate black scripting: Beginning 1975 (possibly earlier)
Black and white interlocking bands: 1979 to modern
Labels:
"Lute Player" label: 1971-?
"Eagle" label (grey, tan, or blue): 1971-mid 1980s
Inspector stamp (MIJ models only) "G. Yamada:" mid 1970's-mid 1980's
Bridge Design:
Adjustment screws: 1971-1977
No adjustment screws: 1978-modern
History of Alvarez Guitars:
In 1965, the St. Louis Music (SLM) Company partnered with a famed Japanese Master Luthier named Kazuo Yairi. Yairi already had a factory in Japan and was producing classical-style guitars that were known to be of high quality and easy to play. SLM and Yairi partnered up and began producing original designs for an array of steel-string guitars that appealed to both classical players and the rise of contemporary western music styles (Glynn, 2018). SLM named the new guitar line after it's Spanish guitar line - Alvarez. These guitars went into production and quickly became popular across a global distribution.
Production was done under essentially two categories: "Alvarez-Yairi" and "Alvarez." The Alvarez-Yairi guitars were labeled specifically, and were made in Yairi's original Kani, Japan factory. The other guitars were produced both in the Yairi factory and other factories in Japan, but also used Yairi's designs. These were labeled simply "Alvarez." The difference was that the Alvarez-Yairi guitars were all made by hand, and the Alvarez guitars were a combination of factory machining and handmade techniques. Also, the Yairi guitars all had solid wood tops, but the Alvarez (non-Yairi) models ranged from laminated wood to solid, depending on the model and year (Quora, 2023). Note: This citation comes from an unverified source in an online forum, however we have also seen numerous examples of both solid and laminate top vintage Alvarez models from the 1970's online. We believe this data point to be accurate, however it is likely that most Alvarez (non-Yairi) guitars from this period are likely laminate tops. Close inspection of the top material is essential to determine the construction of a particular guitar.
The "Yairi" (or Alvarez-Yairi) line of Alvarez guitars has always been made at Yairi's original factory in Kani, Japan and represent the most expensive guitars made by Alvarez (Hoang, 2021).
Famous Alvarez Players:
The first Alvarez Yairi-designed guitars arrived in the US in 1970 (Beattie, 2022) and became a massive hit. Artists like Crosby, Stills & Nash, Johnny Cash, and Paul McCartney owned and played these instruments in the 1970's, which added to their popularity in that decade.
Mike Rutherford, guitarist for GENISIS famously played an Alvarez 12-string on tour and in the studio from 1976 until 1984. He owned and played several that were manufactured during these years, beginning with a 1976 model (Genesis: A Gear Revelation Wiki, 2024). He discussed the guitar on an interview in 1977:
“I’ve got an Alvarez guitar, which no-one seems to have heard of. It’s got a similar feel to a Martin, and it costs a hundred quid. It’s my favourite guitar – beautiful action, lovely sound. Better than any Gibson I’ve found…” (Mike Rutherford, Beat Instrumental, August 1977)
Labels and Markings:
There were several variations of the manufacturer labels between the 1970's to present, but they typically include blank spaces for Model Number, Serial Number, and Inspector, as well as the country of origin (although the earliest labels may not have some of these blanks). Many guitars have this information factory stamped into the blanks, and sometimes even a date of manufacture on the label itself. We have also found many examples online of the same labels that were left blank for some of these stamps, which adds to the challenge of identifying specifics of a particular guitar.
See photo gallery at the bottom of this page for research examples of the labels described below:
Label design of the 1970's to 1980's was typically either blue, grey, brown, or black, but some rare examples of other colors have been seen.
The earliest examples of Alvarez labels that we could find in research showed a drawing of a person in a hat leaning on a rock pile and playing a lute (or similar instrument). These labels were first used in the very early 1970's on the examples we saw. We also found a possible 1979 model with the same label (From an advertisement, this model year is unconfirmed).
Side note: The most common Inspector name we observed is "G. Yamada," which appeared on labels for Made in Japan models ranging from approximately 1976 through at least 1984.
By at least 1971, labels for Alvarez guitars began to feature an eagle clutching a shield and olive branches above a guitar. The label was most commonly in blue, but examples of brown and grey labels have also been found. Many examples of this label can be found spanning from 1971 to the mid to late 1980's. This label also shows the country of manufacture at the bottom. Initially, these were Made in Japan, but the label was also used on some Made in Korea examples we could find online. Some of these had the actual manufacture date stamped into the label margins, but this was not done consistently on all instruments with this label.
Alvarez guitars were produced in Japan exclusively until the early to mid-80's, when production expanded to factories in Korea and China. Japanese production continued on the Yairi guitars, as well as some of the Alvarez standard models as well.
If the label says "Yairi" anywhere on it ("Alvarez-Yairi"; "Alvarez made by Yairi"; etc), there will likely also be a number stamped on the interior neck heel-block bracing in addition to the label inside the sound hole. On Alvarez-Yairi guitars made between the 1960's and the mid 1990's, this number corresponds to Japanese "Emperor dating codes," a traditional Japanese calendar system (Carroll, 2023). This feature is also included on some non-Yairi Alvarez guitars of the same period. More information about Emperor dating codes can be found here.
Mike Rutherford of Genesis with his Alvarez .
Photo: (Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Research Library - Vintage Alvarez Guitars (Cont.)
Vintage Alvarez Design Characteristics
Headstock Logos:
When Alvarez first released Japanese-made steel string guitars in the United States in 1971, the guitars featured only a simple "Alvarez" on the headstock with no logo (Alvarez Guitars, 2023). This is a significant clue in identifying the earliest Alvarez guitars. The "Alvarez" was replaced by the "Inverted A" logo by 1974, from verified examples we could find online.
The "inverted A" appeared without words on the headstock from approximately 1974-1985 until the modern era, when a combination of "Alvarez" and the "inverted A" logo were used together, which is how modern production headstocks appear (Alvarez Guitars, 2024).
Some early Yairi guitars also used the simple "Alvarez" name on the headstock in the early 1970's but were designated "Made by Yairi" on the interior label. Around the same time the "inverted A" logo appeared on the market, Alvarez-Yairi models received their own separate logo, which is also still in use today. This Yairi logo featured an "A" with an overlapping "Y" (see photos below for examples).
Tuning Machines (Tuners):
After studying dozens of online images of vintage Alvarez guitars (verified by date stamps on specific example guitars we found), we identified some trends in the types of tuning machines used over time. In the early 1970's (1971 to at least 1973), the 12-string Alvarez models used a set of 6-per-side open-backed independent, but interlocking tuning machines (see photos below). These were used at least until 1974, per examples we could find online. In 1975, the tuners were similar in shape and open back design but no longer touching or interlocked. Online examples of this model that we could find from 1976 and 1977 also had this same newer tuner design. While we did not see any verified 1978 or 1979 examples that showed the tuners, we did find a 1980 model that had enclosed tuners. These were the same as the tuners on our (estimated) 1984 model. By these observations, we believe the change in tuners likely occurred with other noted design changes around the 1978-1979 timeframe. Enclosed tuners are an indicator of a guitar made from this point forward (and would be an immediate indicator that it is not an earlier 70's model.
Truss Rod Adjustment:
From the beginning in 1970-1971 to at least 1978, the truss rod adjustment was located on the headstock on Alvarez 5021 guitars (and likely most other Alvarez models). After that, the adjustment access point was moved inside the soundhole above the neck block bracing. This is a key detail for narrowing down year models of vintage Alvarez guitars, as all earlier models will have a truss rod adjustment on the headstock.
Some of the truss rod covers on the models produced in the mid to late 1970's were stamped "SLM" for Saint Louis Music, the US-based company that owned Alvarez (and still does). Others were stamped with "Alvarez," or had no marking at all.
We were not able to conclusively determine what year the truss rod moved from the headstock to the soundhole, but from the examples we were able to find it appears likely to have occurred sometime after in the 1978-year model. We only found one example of a verified 1979 model 5054, which had the truss rod adjustment in the sound hole. The 1980+ models we found also had the truss rod adjustment in the sound hole.
Research Library - Vintage Alvarez Guitars (Cont.)
Vintage Alvarez Design Characteristics (Cont.)
Rosette Patterns:
Alvarez Guitars have used a few different rosette patterns around the soundhole in different periods of production. There was also some variance in these patterns across different models. The earliest examples we found (1971) had an ornate "X and diamond" pattern with a layer of black and white rings. The example at right is of a 1971 model Alvarez 5023 (Alvarez 5023 Early 1970s - Natural Finish With Upgrades | Reverb, n.d.), and we observed this pattern on several Alvarez models until at least the 1980 model year in the verified examples we saw online.
Alternate patterns were also observed beginning in at least 1975 (possibly earlier), and include one variation as a wider band of black with light yellow background and ornate black scripting within the band. See photos below for examples.
A simpler design of black and white interlayered within the rings around the soundhole appeared by at least 1979. This was more common on the 1980's year models that we found, although the red and black "X and diamond" pattern was also in production as of at least 1980. This indicates there was likely some crossover in designs available those years.
Research Library - Vintage Alvarez Guitars (Cont.)
Vintage Alvarez Design Characteristics (Cont.)
Bridge Design:
The design of the bridge used on vintage guitars can also be a clue for dating a particular instrument. Earlier bridges included two screws to the sides of the saddle for adjusting bridge height. That feature disappeared by 1978 on virtually all of the verified examples we found online. It was present on the 1976 year models, and we found examples of 1977 year models that had both configurations (with or without the adjustment screws). Given the changes observed on other design features with the 1978 models, we find it likely that this bridge design became a mainstream feature (without adjustment screws) by that model year and on guitars made thereafter.
There was some variation in the designs of the bridges we observed, but the key feature of adjustment screws was common in most of the year models we saw.
See photos below for examples.
(Research note: It is impossible to determine if some of the examples we saw online have had replacement bridges over the years, which would account for designs that differ from the original. However, we believe that models from at least 1976 and earlier most likely featured bridges with screw adjustments.)
