The guitar has a Sitka Spruce top, with Mahogany back and sides, Ebony fingerboard and bridge, and lovely marquetry rosette and binding. Although exact numbers are hard to come by, it’s probably safe to say that the small Mossman shop produced only about 6,000 instruments during that time, which helps to explain why they are relatively rare and highly desirable in the used market. During a relatively short period that began in the late 1960s and ended in 1984, he and a group of devoted artisans built high-quality acoustic guitars in Winfield, Kansas. Stuart Mossman is considered by many to be the world’s first boutique guitar builder. The guitar comes in a non original hard case. Overall, this guitar is a great example of Japanese craftsmanship in the later 1960s and one of the more ornate "lawsuit" guitars offered over the decades. Tonally it’s very versatile - when strung with flatwound strings, it's easy to get a variety of warm, complex jazz tones, and if strung with roundwounds, you can push these humbuckers to get very rocky. The three-piece maple neck has a slim C profile with a 1 9/16" nut width (again closely matching its Gibson counterpart) and feels very comfortable with easy playing action.
It features a full 17" body with laminate maple top, back and sides, finished in a vivid cherry sunburst. This was Ventura's top of the line offering in the 1960’s and the quality and craftsmanship really shows! Commonly referred to as a "lawsuit" Japanese guitar, these particular Venturas were never the centre of any controversy, although they do borrow generously from their Gibson cousins. But the Ks I`d be after are the early ones though most seem to be large bodies and theses days I play smaller bodies, still.I`d love to get my hands on an early one.NEW ARRIVAL The Ventura V-1400 is a faithful recreation of the Gibson Barney Kessel Custom, made in Japan's famed Matsumoku factory. Not sure how involved Kazuo is in the company now but they still build custom models however the vast majority of what I see here are production models and though they are nice, there are probably dozens of each model available throughout Japan at all the chain shops.not to say mass produced guitars can`t be great, as plenty of happy Martin, Taylor or Gibson owners, among others, would attest to.
Exactly what happened between Kazuo and and Sadao Yairi seems to be a closely guarded secret, Sadao has already passed on and Kazuo doesn`t talk about it. By 1962 S Yairi was already building guitars, I own one from 1961. There are pics of some classicals that he made in the `60s. He also adds that 1970 was the first year he made a solid top steel string in Japan. He says he went to America in 1962 to study guitar making and began building in 1965. I have one book that features a long article and interview with K Yairi as well as many pictures of his guitars. Would be interestd in older ones but they never show up in this place so I have no chances to try em. Though I`ve seen many I am happy with my S Yairis so never played any Ks.
Shops in this Japanese city are full of em, but the older ones have become quite collectable and prices are going up. They make a variety of models, some all solid and other all laminate. a few weeks ago and saw the Sons of the Pioneers and one was playing a Yairi and another a nice Taylor. Some say he is the Japan's version of the Martin. " Can anyone give any input on any of the Kazuo Yairi Guitar's. Most of the ones I see are classicals, all of mine are.though I don`t play classical music I use them for just about everything else, consider myself very lucky to have found ckier still to have out bid others to get em. If you ever come across a Sadao.aka Sada.Yairi you should play it, they are well worth searching out. them.one was SHI the other CHI.think thats right.but one means earth, the other sky, one means the wood was selected for looks while the other means selected for tone. Older Ks are now fetching quite a bit on the web over here while some S models are getting pretty expensive as well.at the time it appears player here preferred the S guitars and he used two small kanji on the lower left hand corner of his hand written labels to I.D. What I`ve read is K made Martin clones.though not exclusively. The S Yairis now made seem to be made outside Japan and Sadao passed on already, but the classicals I have are fabulous guitars. some say cousins, some say uncle/nephew.but one things for sure.K Yairi is not spilling the beans so many speculate the relationshp soured somewhere along the way. In Japan theres been a lot written about the two, S and K. I own a few old Yairis but they are Sadao Yairis.