Guitar Gyro

A friend of mine played for years on the local rock band circuit.  At some point in a performance to which  I was not witness, he apparently channeled Pete Townsend and the result was that his well worn Alvarez guitar received new ventilation in its back.  I had briefly seen the guitar before the incident and, for some reason, I recalled that this was a "Yairi" model, meaning that it was a high-end instrument, hand-made in a sequestered village shop in the mountains of Japan.  Yes--a Japanese Master named Yairi in a small village workshop--the stuff of movies.

Although the band since disbanded, I had recently heard that my friend was thinking of returning to the scene (music scene, not crime scene), and it made me think of the ill-fated instrument.  Not having seen it since its brush with death, I did not know the extent of the damage.  But I figured that rather than let it languish in his garage and eventually get  thrown away, it might be worth a try for me to at least dissect it and learn a little about lutherie, with the possible outcome of resurrecting the instrument.  After all, if it was a Yairi, the woods alone were undoubtedly worth trying to salvage.

Well, I got my hands on the poor thing yesterday.  Clearly, my friend had not been playing Guitar Gyro, but Guitar Grinder.  I did not expect to receive it in two pieces, one of which has a nice rattle when you shake it.  This should be quite a challenge.

Since I made no promises regarding actual success in repairing this thing, or a time-line, I'm under no pressure.  And, it turns out, to the best of my internet research enhanced knowledge, it is not a Yairi.  But I must admit that I am nonetheless both excited to get started, and baffled as to where to begin.  This should be fun.