Yamaha Pacifica

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mikeh

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I recently picked up a Yamaha Pacific - after reading several good comments on this site. Gidge in particular seems to like it. Actually, some of the local music shops (even the ones that didn't carry it) said kind words.

For the price (under $200) it is a very decent axe. It plays well and can give a wide range of sound from a bright Strat sound to more of a warmer "Gibson sound" (Humbucker in the bridge). My only real complaint is that the frets sit pretty high (but that is not an uncommon problem).

I've got a Mexican Strat and a Mexican Tele (actually the Tele is more of a parts guitar) - but the Yamaha compares very well to both.

Although my "main axe" is an 86' SG - the Yamaha has quickly become my 2nd favorite.

So to those of you who have championed the Pacifica (in particular Gidge) thanks - I'm glad I found out about this axe.
 
Congrats!

Santa gave me my new Pacifica early this year so ive enjoyed it quite a bit....thanks for reiterating what ive been screaming all along...$$$ for $$$ Yamaha smokes Fender.....put that under $200 Yamaha against an under $200 Fender and its not even close.....the top of the line USA made Pacificas rock and i wish i wasnt such a cheapskate........

Ive been playing a Yamaha guitar for 15 years (a RGX211)....it has served me well, but with original frets, tuners,etc. it has seen its better days....Ive been eyeing that Pacifica and finally convinced the purchasing dept (wife) that i had to have a new one.....
 
Is this the 112 that were talking about here? That's an award winning guitar and top seller over the pond, here.

I have played a few 112's and think they are great value. You can pick them up even cheaper second hand-they don't hold there resale value to well from what I've seen.

One of my guitars is a Yamaha Pacifica 821d (rare). Generally speaking I don't very much like yamaha musical instruments.
 
yep, thats the one....nicest guitar you can find for the price....i wish more people would pick one up.....if you ever get rid of that 821d, let me know.....
 
I have a Pacifica 112... not that i can play it! Not being a guitarist my frame of reference is a tad limited but it encouraged me to try and learn how to play the damn thing and i think thats the sign of a good instrument no?
 
thats a good sign.....

the best inspiration for learning guitar is the fact that even the ugliest guitar players get laid.....:D
 
> the best inspiration for learning guitar is the fact that
> even the ugliest guitar players get laid.....

Wanna bet?:(
 
Wow, and _that_ was my 400th post...

So, anyhow, now that you have me thoroughly depressed, does anyone have a link to this Yamaha Pacifica you all like so much? I've never seen one. Apparently GC doesn't carry them.

Not that I need any more guitars...
 
Some of these are interesting, particularly the jazz boxes.

Who has the brother deal on Yamahas? Seems like the kind of thing that one could get at long discount.
 
Hey, MF has the 112 for $129 in either maple or rosewood fingerboards. I keep hearing vague praise for these and I'm curious about whether this is FINALLY the axe I need for a knock-around piece I don't have to worry about.

For that price, I think I can slake my curiosity, but I am still not clear on what makes these so great. Why are they better, say, that a Squier or some other bargain-basement quasi-Stratocaster? It isn't immediately apparent in looking at the specs and pictures. It looks like just another rough beginner's axe.

Are the necks any good? Squiers and others are notorious for green or otherwise unsuitable maple that will soon twist and warp, making them unuseable. Are the maple fingerboard models one-piece necks or are the maple fingerboards laminated on (this would give somewhat more stability, if so)?

Where are they made?

Are the pickups any better than some cheapie like a Squier? If so, how?

Is the plating decent or flaky?

Does the 112 that MF is selling seem to be the same thing as the 112M on the link Gidge so helpfully posted?

If this is genuinely a decent, if modest, guitar, I'll pick one up just for fun, but if it's some crude junker, I'll pass. I've seen guitars in this price range (like the B.C. Rich "Bronze Series" as one example) that were utter trash, not even worth bringing home.

Thanks for any help.
 
you know Bongo, im not a salesperson for Yamaha Pacificas (hard to believe:D )

all that info you want is probably available in all those beautiful links i so helpfully posted....

the 112M has a maple neck....it seems the 129.99 price is only good on one color: the light brown satin though you can get the 112 (rosewood neck) or the 112M(maple neck)....same guitar as in my links, different color.....

it wont hurt my feelings any if you dont buy one of these...it wont hurt my feelings if you dont like it.....over the few years ive been here ive been hipped to many good deals and im just trying to pass it on to someone who might need it....
 
Those links, while nice, don't answer any of the quality questions I asked, which really need to be addressed by someone who has owned and played one of these for a while.

If you can, I'd be grateful. Nobody seems to stock these guitars around here, so I can't take a look at them in the flesh.

Thanks...
 
Check out harmony central for reviews; for opinions of people who've had them a while.
 
Sturgeon's Law

Yeah, I need to go to Harmony Central about twice a year to remind myself why I don't do it more often.

The reviews tell me that the guitar is made in:

Japan
Korea
Taiwan

...and has:

Great pickups and sound
Terrible pickups and sound
Great workmanship
Terrible workmanship

etc., etc.

I gave up in disgust. I did find a local store that carried them and went there to check them out. They're the same dried-dung flat brown color as the ones at MF, so apparently Yamaha has made a big run of these and is wholesaling them at long discount.

They looked OK, but I hated the color and finish - or lack of one. It's hard to tell, as the entire guitar looks like raw wood. I don't know whether it is or not. The plating and metal finish looked OK and the necks seemed OK. Didn't get a chance to play one, but they seemed serviceable.

Curiously, and in violation of federal law, they had no country of origin markings, so there's no telling where they really do come from. Yamaha's site says they make stuff everywhere, so that's no help either.

These seem like a deal at $129, but MF isn't paying shipping this month, apparently, so you might get bit pretty bad on that. I suggest taking the catalog to your local dealer and see about getting a price match.
 
They are decent guitars. I have one in the nartural finish (not the brown stain finish) and it is clearly made from 3 or 4 pieces of wood that probalby aren't even from the same forest. No pretty Fender Alder here, in fact I'm not even sure what kind of wood it is. As far as the picups go, they sound good. Not great, but it definitely sounds more like a 800$ guitar than many 800$ guitars do.

The one bad thing I have noticed over time is an almost chorusy tone from the humbucker, not sure what that is.

When i compare it side by side with my American 62' reissue strat, it's pretty clear that Yamaha went to great lengths to match the hardware pretty closely. The tremolos could probably be swapped between the guitars without a noticeable difference, and the pickguard holes and pickguard layout (except for the humbucker) are strat standard. The neck feels slightly more crude than the strat, it has bigger frets and a slightly flatter radius. The neck feels pretty good though, not too thin, and it's easy to tune and get a good sound from. I especially dig the neck pickup tones.

For a while there, this was the first guitar I reached for when recording, but now I tend to grab my Ibanez S series first, as it sounds a lot smoother. But I do use it a lot, and it's well worth the 150$ I paid for it.

Most guitarists who tinker with it in my house flatly refuse to believe I got it so cheap. It's not a beauty, but it's a great practice guitar, one you wouldn't cry if you dropped it, and it sounds like about 700$ more.
 
> No pretty Fender Alder here, in fact I'm not even sure what kind
> of wood it is.

Alder, according to the Yamaha site.

> As far as the picups go, they sound good. Not great, but it
> definitely sounds more like a 800$ guitar than many 800$
> guitars do.

> The one bad thing I have noticed over time is an almost
> chorusy tone from the humbucker, not sure what that is.

I heard other complaints about it as well. From your description, it sounds like a variation of "stratitis," which can be cured by lowering the pickup.

I think I'll see if the locals will match the MF price and if so, I'll get one. If I play my cards right, I might even be able to get one in another, somewhat less nauseating, color. I think this color was the dud and that's why the price.
 
No, it's not "stratitis." I have experienced that many times. This is just a sort of weird tonality, almost like thepickup is comb-filtered. But I only notice it when using certain kinds of distortion, so I tend to stay away from them.
 
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