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  • Guitarist

    Spirit Of St Louis

    Nov 15, 2019 5 minutes
    Words Ed Mitchell
    Photography
    Phil Barker

    It was only after a couple of its guitars landed on our doorstep that we realised how little we know about Alvarez. It’s one of those brands that feels like it’s been around forever. We all know the name. We’ve all heard good things. Before we get stuck into the review guitars, some due diligence.

    Founded in 1965 by North American distributor St Louis Music, Alvarez was originally tasked with selling classical guitars. That explains the name. Then, as Chris Meikle, St Louis Music’s senior vice president of sales, marketing and product explains, that mandate changed sometime in the late 1960s…

    “The company’s then owner, Mr Gene Kornblum, met Japanese master luthier Kazuo Yairi,” says Meikle. “They began developing steel-string acoustic guitars. The first Alvarez-Yairi instruments

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