Yamaha Pacifica 112 Review

Overall Rating

It is not a Fender, (not that I do not like Fenders, I do they are a great guitar) Lightweight, good sound, double coil and humbucker, value, design, versatile, can be upgraded with other parts if wanted.

Too few to mention and not noticed any.

Reviews are for considered opinions that bare some resemblance of credibility. When we are informed that the Yamaha 112 has received awards for the Best guitar in its class, are we going to listen to someone who trashes it without question or balanced opinion?

I have two other guitars, a Gibson Les Paul Standard 1980's and a Gibson ES 355, both of which are used for different reasons. This Yamaha guitar deserves credit. We purchased the Yamaha so that we could just pick it up at any time and practice or create new riffs, it is very light and versatile. We intend to leave it out on the stand and grab every time the mood takes us.

The build quality is as good if not better than any Gibson that we have seen, we spent years trying to find a 355 that did not have any obvious flaws, such as strings being too close to the edge of the fret board, or over lacquering or hardware being rusty or oxidised. We have written to Gibson on several occasions about the finish of their so-called custom build guitars, so this Yamaha puts them to shame. American manufacturers had better watch out, just having a name is not good enough and these Asian companies know how to put a guitar together.

For the amount it cost (£179.99) and we got it for £140 with guitar strap, you can get them for less, around £129 + £6.50 postage, there is little to complain about.

The guitar does not come with a box, strap or gig bag, the shop expects you to purchase one, which we did, but we got it at half price after haggling. We went for the natural colour with rosewood fret board so that we were not worried about getting paintwork marked or scratched; we could then just sand it down. Out of the box, so to speak, the action is a little high for our likening but this was quickly altered with the use of a small 'Allen' key to lower the strings, when we got home.

We are pushing the sound through a Marshall VS65 that on some settings is sounding just as is wanted. If we find it does not give us the sound we want we could change the pickups, the guitar is so cheap. The guitar is easy to use and handle it is very comfortable to play. We did not find that it was top heavy as suggested elsewhere even though the fret board is slightly longer than a Fender we compared it against.

If it starts falling to pieces? So what! All the bits seem replaceable and at worst we can just buy another one or even make the parts or upgrade them as they drop off. But this is unlikely to happen.

The vibrato does tend to send some strings out of tune but very slightly; similar vibrato can be done with the fingers on the fret board. The plug - lead for the sound is similar to a Les Paul in that it sits on the edge of the body instead of on the front like a Fender. This has never been a problem.

Would recomend over a Squier and Mexican Strat.

Members' Comments onBudd's Review

• funicats on 21st Feb 2008

  I found this review helpful because I am just considering purchasing a new guitar and have narrowed the choice down to a Fender HSS (Mexican) for around 400 quid or a Yamaha Pacifica 112V for less than half (179 quid). I want the typical Strat sound as well as some humbucking richness, and comparing this to a couple of Gibsons means I am likely to be happy with a 112V. Thanks.