Post by Tony Ravenscroft on Feb 26, 2022 6:16:25 GMT -6
Unlike much of the industry, the origin story of the Alvarez brand is actually rather plain. 
In 1929, importer Kornblum Brothers Music bought the name St. Louis Music. As with just about any other distributor of musical instruments, SLM eventually realized they could profit from providing their retail clientele with their own products, and launched the Alvarez name in 1965.
Generally, such lines tended to be "beginner" instruments, a way to attract students who could not afford to leap into purchase of an upper-tier instrument. (Another term I found was "aspirational" guitars, as in "If little Timmy sticks to his lessons, and practices diligently, he may get a Stratocaster for Christmas."
) And, being the 1960s, many such instruments were sourced in Japan, which was still struggling to shake off the (largely undeserved) mantle of inferiority it had been saddled with during its postwar recovery.
I'm filling in some narrative gaps here
BUT the story goes that Gene Kornblum, while sourcing Japanese factories in the late '60s, happened upon a classical acoustic guitar made by luthier Kazuo Yairi, and was immediately impressed at the quality. The year 1965 recurs, as that's when luthier Kazuo Yairi had taken on leadership of Yairi Musical Instruments, a maker of fine violins and classical guitars, founded in 1929 by his father Gi'ichi Yairi after a career at the Suzuki violin factory. Kornblum apparently convinced the younger Yairi to travel to the United States, learn how to build steel-string guitars, and bring his artistry to those instruments. In any case, it is indisputable that in 1968 Yairi began producing acoustic guitars for SLM, known as Alvarez-Yairi though the labels typically say "Alvarez by Kazuo Yairi." Outside of the U.S., YMI sold similar guitars under the "K. Yairi" brand. (Incidentally, Kazuo Yairi's uncle was also a luthier, but there is no further connection to guitars from Sadao (or son Hiroshi) Yairi.)
Given the strength of those flagship instruments, SLM was left to fill in its lines below, and largely resisted the urge to flood the market with cheap guitars. SLM appears to have realized that they had a good thing going -- a nationwide network of independent retailers providing huge exposure and steady profit -- and avoided the lure of easy money.
For instance, in the 1970s, SLM entered the arena of electric guitars, but studiously avoided risk of dragging down its flagship brand. As I detail elsewhere, their first electric line was branded Bently (likely built by the now-legendary Matsumoku), which by 1981 was itself underpinned by the Korea-built Series 10 line. By the mid-'90s, both lines were shut down, soon replaced by the Austin brand.
The market for low-end electric instruments was oversaturated, but SLM again saw opportunity to profit from providing quality to its retail clientele. By the mid-'80s, SLM dipped its metaphoric toe, hired experienced designers, and found reliable Korean factories. The result was some very interesting electric guitars and basses, particularly the "Dana" model guitars and "Villain" -- not "Villian"!! -- basses. These instruments were closely associated with their designers: Dana Sutcliffe had been employed by SLM in its Westone line, and the eponymous Villain went on to much greater success at BC Rich.
Despite some missteps into straight-up generic clones under the Alvarez brand, there were plenty of glorious experiments that simply didn't catch on, like guitars with graphite necks from Modulus (e.g., Villain's AEV-425), and the unique Dana Scoop (not to overlook the Dana Signature, the Regulator, and the Trevor Rabin Signature model).
SLM pulled Alvarez out of the solid-body market in the late '90s, but some of the bass designs were simply rebranded as from SLM's new Austin line.
For instance, the Alvarez AEB-400 is inarguably identical to the Austin AU-870 "Eclipse Pro Bass" --
In 1929, importer Kornblum Brothers Music bought the name St. Louis Music. As with just about any other distributor of musical instruments, SLM eventually realized they could profit from providing their retail clientele with their own products, and launched the Alvarez name in 1965.
Generally, such lines tended to be "beginner" instruments, a way to attract students who could not afford to leap into purchase of an upper-tier instrument. (Another term I found was "aspirational" guitars, as in "If little Timmy sticks to his lessons, and practices diligently, he may get a Stratocaster for Christmas."
) And, being the 1960s, many such instruments were sourced in Japan, which was still struggling to shake off the (largely undeserved) mantle of inferiority it had been saddled with during its postwar recovery.I'm filling in some narrative gaps here
BUT the story goes that Gene Kornblum, while sourcing Japanese factories in the late '60s, happened upon a classical acoustic guitar made by luthier Kazuo Yairi, and was immediately impressed at the quality. The year 1965 recurs, as that's when luthier Kazuo Yairi had taken on leadership of Yairi Musical Instruments, a maker of fine violins and classical guitars, founded in 1929 by his father Gi'ichi Yairi after a career at the Suzuki violin factory. Kornblum apparently convinced the younger Yairi to travel to the United States, learn how to build steel-string guitars, and bring his artistry to those instruments. In any case, it is indisputable that in 1968 Yairi began producing acoustic guitars for SLM, known as Alvarez-Yairi though the labels typically say "Alvarez by Kazuo Yairi." Outside of the U.S., YMI sold similar guitars under the "K. Yairi" brand. (Incidentally, Kazuo Yairi's uncle was also a luthier, but there is no further connection to guitars from Sadao (or son Hiroshi) Yairi.)Given the strength of those flagship instruments, SLM was left to fill in its lines below, and largely resisted the urge to flood the market with cheap guitars. SLM appears to have realized that they had a good thing going -- a nationwide network of independent retailers providing huge exposure and steady profit -- and avoided the lure of easy money.
For instance, in the 1970s, SLM entered the arena of electric guitars, but studiously avoided risk of dragging down its flagship brand. As I detail elsewhere, their first electric line was branded Bently (likely built by the now-legendary Matsumoku), which by 1981 was itself underpinned by the Korea-built Series 10 line. By the mid-'90s, both lines were shut down, soon replaced by the Austin brand.
The market for low-end electric instruments was oversaturated, but SLM again saw opportunity to profit from providing quality to its retail clientele. By the mid-'80s, SLM dipped its metaphoric toe, hired experienced designers, and found reliable Korean factories. The result was some very interesting electric guitars and basses, particularly the "Dana" model guitars and "Villain" -- not "Villian"!! -- basses. These instruments were closely associated with their designers: Dana Sutcliffe had been employed by SLM in its Westone line, and the eponymous Villain went on to much greater success at BC Rich.
Despite some missteps into straight-up generic clones under the Alvarez brand, there were plenty of glorious experiments that simply didn't catch on, like guitars with graphite necks from Modulus (e.g., Villain's AEV-425), and the unique Dana Scoop (not to overlook the Dana Signature, the Regulator, and the Trevor Rabin Signature model).
SLM pulled Alvarez out of the solid-body market in the late '90s, but some of the bass designs were simply rebranded as from SLM's new Austin line.
For instance, the Alvarez AEB-400 is inarguably identical to the Austin AU-870 "Eclipse Pro Bass" --