A rare Alto Classical Guitar, beautiful work by Yukinobu Chai built in 1990s, Model No 6
Kohno level of craftsmanship. Excellent condition, unbelievable for a 30+ year old instrument.
The Chai Family Guitar Workshop was founded in 1959 in Tokyo
by Yukinobu Chai, one of Japan's leading luthiers, and is now succeeded by his son, Yukihiro Chai.
It appears that the workshop operates as a custom shop, not as a factory that produces a lot of guitars.
There are very few available worldwide.
This particular guitar shows amazing craftsmanship and attention to detail.
High quality tone woods were used to built it.
The tone of this guitar is rich and beautiful with good volume.
Very good balance of frequencies and impressive sustain.
Fast neck, easy to play.
The six-string alto guitar, G Guitar or Terz guitar is a smaller version of the classical guitar, designed to be fitted with lighter strings and tuned a perfect fifth higher, to B-E-A-D-F♯/G♭-B.
Terz guitar (Terz meaning third) refers to either a small sized classical guitar or to the practice of tuning a standard guitar a minor third higher than standard guitar tuning (as though a capo were on the third fret of the guitar). The scale length is generally 530 mm (20.8 inches), though sometimes as long as 560 mm (22 inches). Mauro Giuliani and Caspar Joseph Mertz wrote extensively for the terz guitar as a complement to the prime (standard) guitar.
Condition
Despite its age, this guitar is still in very good condition. While it does show some minor signs of wear and tear in the form of a few dings and scratches on its body, these are not significant enough to be a cause for concern. There is lots of life in the frets and enough room on the saddle for action adjustments. There are some nail marks on the fretboard and position dots that were added on the side of the neck with a marker by hand.
The guitar is tuned to B-E-A-D-F♯/G♭-B, a perfect fifth higher than the standard tuning. Set up with D'Addario EJ-52 Alto guitar strings. Medium low action and easy to play.
Specs
Top: High grade Solid Cedar
Finish: Satin
Back and Sides : Macassar Ebony
Neck: Mahogany
Fretboard: Rosewood
Scale Length: 530 mm
Nut Width: 50 mm
Action at 12 fret (1st): 3.5 mm
Action at 12 fret (6th): 3.5 mm
Quality Hard Case included
