Yamaha has been making instruments for the past 5 million years. If you are a guitar player, you’ve probably heard of the Pacifica line of Yamaha Guitars. They start at around $179 and run up to around $650. This has caused some confusion, because when someone says that the Pacifica is a budget guitar, they usually mean the entry level $179 version.
Yamaha is one of those companies that features sexy model numbers, similar to Ibanez. The lowest end Pacifica, which I am reviewing, is the PAC012. At least they give you the PAC. The 012 series is the cheapest, and the 600 series is the most expensive. I like the 600 series, but this is a review of the 012 series. Let us proceed.
The Good
Cosmetically, it’s amazing what people can do for almost no money. The PAC012 is a well painted guitar. I couldn’t find a single blemish on the model I played. Granted, I could say the same about almost every cheap guitar on the market. I’m trying to be nice. In terms of sound, I’d say it sounded decent but not great. I wouldn’t expect anything more at this price range. In general, the fretwork was good – no sharp edges. If you were shoot this guitar out against an Affinity Squier, some might prefer the Yamaha. The model I reviewed had a humbucker and two single coils.
The Bad
The higher note frets on this instrument were plinky, meaning the string was making contact with more than one fret. Almost no guitars under $500 come perfectly set up, so that might not be a huge deal. Or it might. In other words, ultra-low action likely isn’t possible on the instrument I tried.
Another big concern is the feel of the neck itself – it felt like it’d been rough sanded, like they used 120 grit sandpaper and stopped and put on a super thin layer of finish. It really felt unfinished. If I were to buy this thing, I’d sand the finish off, then sand it up the grains from 120 to 2000. Then I’d put a thin satin finish on it. This is pretty common of today’s cheap instruments, but this particular neck felt particularly unfinished.
The Ugly
One could argue the guitar itself is ugly – it looks like a cheap Strat knockoff, because, well, it is one. You can get a great Pacifica, but not down here under $200.
Summary
The fretwork was mostly good, it sounded decent, it looked good. You could work on the neck as I suggested, and upgrade the pickups, and it’d be decent. But of course the PAC120 series is around $299 and solves these issues, so there’s that. I can’t really slam this guitar, because for $179, it’s a pretty good deal for someone’s first guitar. As a platform to build on, though, I’d say no. I’d say getting up the Pacifica range would be a better idea, or looking at the Classic Vibe series by Fender.
