Yamaha Pacifica 112J RM (Pacificas Are Supposedly Great)

[@MrPolevaulter]

Check out my guitar giveaway video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z6DWmYqQdpZnf80

[@marctestarossa]

I would say that this is the beginner guitar that you can just keep forever. Had mine for 26 years now and it still works great, no issues whatsoever, no rattle no scratchy pots, nothing. I just set it up again a couple of days ago after 10 years or so and I absolutely love playing that thing. And it has seen some abuse over the years, from punk band to big band and it sounds nice for so many occasions. I will keep her forever, really.

[@bygrcalne3262]

The very reason I subscribed to your channel Elmo. Not only do I enjoy your playing, but you make me laugh and that’s the best medicine my friend

[@MrPolevaulter]

Thanks :)

[@jamartgtrz9163]

I bought an older beat up Pacifica for $60.00 (Canadian) before seeing this video, in 2019. I changed the nut to graphite,added an extra string tree (G,D string) and then did a set up with .10's. It's got a beefy bridge on it(I suspect the previous owner changed it). Then I did a DYI custom paint job because the natural finish wasn't really nice. The whole thing cost me under $300.00. It's a good above average guitar with the changes I made. I totally agree with this review. Thanks!

[@Mr75044]

I've had 5 Pacifica js Over the years . Got two now one is 25 years old all original. No faults with any of Them...get the string height To 2mm ..no rattles... Screws never got in my way... I've owned Gibbo LP s Explorers. USA strats..prs. And I wouldn't waste any more money on them. This is a £ 500 guitar in quality... Been at it 40 years.... PS faster neck than a strat lower frets bigger radius...

[@dbiberdorf]

I appreciate that the review isn't extreme in its praise or criticism. Nonetheless, the conclusion left me wanting. These guitars are bought for a purpose, often as a first guitar for a new player. In that view, offering a relative ranking would be helpful, is it better or worse than competitors? If you have only 250 currency units to spend, what would you get among the brands, etc. I don't really understand criticism of the Pacifica s-style guitars' shape. They're clearly strat types without getting into trademark infringement. I did wish they offered more colors, especially for left-handers.

[@shanewalton8888]

The sure sign of a truly elite player is that he has not just one but two Yngwie Malmsteen T's.

[@MrPolevaulter]

Haha :D

[@hoosierdaddy2308]

Great video as usual. Love that color. When I worked part time at a pawn shop, one of my jobs was to set up used guitars. I did so with 3 or 4 or 5 Pacifica, and all of them were great for the money. I used to deck the trem against the body and most of them would even stay in tune mostly using the trem. Nice guitars for the money. !

[@MrPolevaulter]

Very cool!

[@BeamMonsterZeus]

My first guitar was this things' predecessor, the 90's EG 112c2. Custom shop set-up but overseas manufactured, it stands above $300 Squiers of the decade for having good construction and mid-range hardware. Quality control was the only issue, and people kinda abused them. Got mine for 130 at a pawn shop in 2007 with my own hard-earned money as an 11 year old. Was terrible and needs to be set-up. Love it.

[@howardnelthrope2694]

"Its okay. ". Thanks for the realistic evaluation. KZbin seems to be full of video evaluations from guitar stored that praise every guitar that they test out. Your video is different and seems like a real test drive,

[@MrPolevaulter]

Thanks!

[@ArticLight14]

You are missing one thing. When you play a Yamaha you must wear a helmet.

[@MrPolevaulter]

:D

[@nabadeka7060]

😂

[@ОнофрійчукАнастасія]

Why?

[@dontworryitsjustvitinho]

@@ОнофрійчукАнастасія Yamaha makes motorcycles

[@garybowman4913]

Or have one, playing the drums!

[@Gogo.....]

I've had my pacifica for about half a year now, a 112J. My dad has a PRS and in many ways the pacifica outdoes the PRS, the tuners are surprisingly better for instance. I think it's a good starter guitar that you can change stuff you want to change on, the fretboard is very nice and the overall quality is great. Gonna be replacing the pickups though, they're not the best. But that's what you get for 230 Euros

[@swaroov9236]

My friend has a Pacifica,it was costly i didn't touch it but it sound so great... Pacifica are great

[@DaveWestGuitar]

It could be made to stay in tune with a proper floating setup and powdered graphite in the nut slots. I am sure of that.

[@MrPolevaulter]

Probably.

[@anasg007]

Bought this one a little while ago. Beautiful guitar sounds very nice for the price.

[@Cayres9]

They are overpriced in the UK now , no way im paying £220 for a Pacifica as 10 years back you could get one new for £120 here in the UK , they are good guitars and im pleased Yamaha still uses Alder body and Rosewood as they are premium materials in this Eco friendly world so thats a bonus i guess.

[@raudoyveloz]

If you can, test the Pacifica 311H, cheap and good, hardtail, humbucker with split coil and p90, Grover locking tuners an Graptech TUSQ xl nut and string trees. The Cort G260cs is a variant of the guitar that you tested with roasted maple neck and pauferro fretboard with other hadware and pickups ( no wilkinson, no Duncan designed). I think is good too.

[@jacobbockover1628]

I do not currently own any s type guitars not even any 25.5 inch scale one. I have looked at some higher end Pacifica and also the sire version or some ibanez

[@JosePFdez]

I have an old Pacifica PAC 012 model and I need to upgrade all the electronics. Does anyone know who sells loaded pickguards 1 volume 1 tone Alnico V? Thank you!!!!

[@Cayres9]

My dad used to work for Yamaha in Their Bletchley factory in Milton Keynes making these on a CNC machine , Yamaha were very kind to their workers , gave him 1 of these at Xmas , he could not play guitar so gave it to me and it was a really unique Pacifica it had a maple neck , swamp ash body 2 humbuckers and a single coil and sounded better than most £1000 quid guitars , sadly after 20 years of owning it had to retire it as the frets went all weird and unplayable , also Yamaha need to get big name musicians like Eric Clapton for example to play these as they are good guitars particularly the more high end ones , I do think Santana played one in the 70s but it was a weird SG type model if i remember right.

[@MrPolevaulter]

Cool :)

[@Cayres9]

@@MrPolevaulter Thanks mate xxx

[@DirkGentley42]

Yes Santana had one of their SG s. The only other band I've seen using one on the Tele was The Rich Kids (a punk band in the late'70s.

[@Cayres9]

@@DirkGentley42 Ah thank god 🙏 knew I wasn't imagining things cheers for the info and yeah the Yamaha Sg is a really good guitar but very rare nowadays

[@birdBUDDHA]

Tried it at the shop, sounds similar to Fen amer pro. Considering the price diff, extremely worth it.

[@claudio8505]

A little bit of Tender Surrender

[@Sabre-vz9xy]

The neck on Pacifica 112 felt kinda strange to me when I tried it 14 years ago. I was determined to get one, as it was highly praised instrument for new players, but when I've tried it the neck was like meh. I went with Squier Standard Stratocaster ( although SSS config ), and I never looked back. I was 17 then, and I still have my Squier. Maybe the new Pacificas are better ( in the neck shape and feel ), but the ones I've tried were not really my thing. And btw, good to see that they have alder bodies now, they used to be agathis, if i remember correctly.

[@andreil1234]

Nah, if you don't like their really narrow string to string spacing, especially at the nut end, it's no different now. They're comfy and well made but it's more or less the same as with any very specific neck shape (think many ibanez models): you like it or you don't, regardless of quality.

[@Sabre-vz9xy]

@@andreil1234 Aye, there's no better or worse when it comes to the neck stuff ( radius, shape, fret wire size....), it's just what you prefer. I could not agree more. That's why I always like to go to the shop and try things myself, rather than just ordering it online.

[@andreil1234]

We're picky due to being spoiled with choice. 40+ years ago artists in Romania had to build their own electrics using sometimes toilet lids for pickguards and piano strings ;-) They still got by. We're in gear heaven now.

[@MrMatthiasSchneider]

It's a poor carpenter who blames his tools. :-D

[@DirkGentley42]

The lower 012 model is agnathis, the 112 has always been Adler as far as I'm aware.

[@katsumotoamaya6540]

I like the idea, that your clean tone and the delay tone drive people nuts. One reason more to watch your videos. ❤😎

[@MrPolevaulter]

Haha :D

[@lokarrsboots9337]

Great review! The Pacifica with its HSS pickup combination reminds me a lot of the current iteration of the Ibanez GRX40 (-MLB/ -MGN/ - CA). These guitars cost around 170 EUR at the moment. Could you take a look at them?

[@MrPolevaulter]

Planning on looking at some Ibanezes. Might take a while though.

[@lokarrsboots9337]

About the reputation of the Pacificas: They had this reputation about 15 years ago. They might have been made in Korea back then. I remember that basically every guitar teacher recommended them and I could see why back then. 15 years later they probably changed factories multiple times and now compete for the same space with a lot of other major and minor brands. With that in mind, your verdict makes perfect sense.

[@andreil1234]

Used to be Japan/USA and Taiwan, not Korea. Now it's Indonesia. No comparison between the new ones and the older ones - not even the 6xx indonesian series. Same with RGX/RGZ and other models. The only current Pacifica in the game is the Mike Stern signature tele they still make.

[@MrPolevaulter]

Might be they had a better reputation then, but I still hear positive stuff about them, so seems the reputation's not entirely gone.

[@andreil1234]

@@MrPolevaulter For sure rep is not gone, but they focus on Revstars as far as electrics go, apart from the USA custom shop the only stuffz they still make in Japan are the japanese revstar rs20? series and the mike stern tele. That's it. Had two Revstars. Great stuff perfect everything apart from some nut work and a bit shoddy wrap around bridge on the 620 (notches are wide and you get play in the unwound strings if you go below 10-46). both had a dead spot, 12th fret G string (haha). It moved as you changed tuning so prolly truss rod was eating sustain there. Were I to choose, I'd get the Japan one for sure. Indo can be shoddy still.

[@PaleCaretaker]

Yamaha is too expensive for me so I'm aiming more into Squier Bullet strat or Ibanez Gio GRX40 (I can't stop thinking about Metalic Light Blue one). If you make review of Ibanez, I'll watch it right away.

[@rodrigobelinchon2982]

I would buy the Ibanez , I still have my Gio GRX 40 from 1998 , and is a great guitar , you might want to upgrade the pickups , but is very playable and looks fantastic . Squiers are also pretty good, but you have to be taller than 1.84 m , because they are pretty big guitars , and it can make you look ridiculous if you are a short guy.

[@methatlovescats3602]

You mentioned the screws well i see a guy replace them with something i forget now

[@johnpike5836]

so where did u say the list of pacifica models are/were huh

[@MrPolevaulter]

Sorry? Not sure I understand what you're asking.

[@johnpike5836]

@@MrPolevaulter well "Elmo" u stated this at the top of the video? Now That's even harder to under st...

[@MrPolevaulter]

@@johnpike5836 The video is ages old. Maybe I've forgotten something.

[@MrPolevaulter]

@@johnpike5836 Do you mean the letters and numbers of the other one I tried? That was on screen in the subtitles.

[@johnpike5836]

@@MrPolevaulter can we Go with that?

[@user-tu5sz7ip1d]

Hi, you told you've tried chipper but better guitars, could you please list that models?

[@MrPolevaulter]

I have two videos on 8 Great Cheap Guitars. Maybe check those out.

[@jupitermadcat]

I was out looking at this for my first guitar. It sounds good to me and I hear it has a thinner neck? Which would be good for me because my fingers aren’t that long.

[@MrPolevaulter]

I forget. It's been a while since I tried it.

[@robertmajure3828]

Which do you think is better? The Pacifica 112j RM or Epiphone Slash AFD les PAUL SPECIAL II????

[@MrPolevaulter]

Dunno. Haven't tried the Epiphone.

[@johncollins5552]

Get both. Very different sounds .

[@Darks889]

Estoy entre la Yamaha pasifica 112j - cort cr200/250 , cual es mejor ? En cuanto comodidad y sonido

[@MrPolevaulter]

Don't know, but try before you buy.

[@lukamilutinovic3468]

Can you play indie rock, for example recreate the sound from the band vacations, or do you have to buy a tele? Ty

[@MrPolevaulter]

I'd say so, yeah.

[@TheColby988]

Hi can i ask why u dont peel the Alder Body sticker off? Will doing so devalue the resell price or something?

[@MrPolevaulter]

No. But I'll let the next owner do that :)

[@antoniolopez6798]

The guitar is very good... I just bought it in 2023... After going through all the Squiers and being disappointed... Well, not all... I can't be that radical... I haven't tried the Classic Vibe yet which I suppose must be very good for its price... But the Bullet, Affinity, Contemporary, etc... A real disappointment... And today I have the Yamaha 112J and 112V and really, very good... above all good furniture... I bought some Tonerider pickups when they gave it to me, because I believed, or thought that it had boring or flat pickups... But I haven't changed them yet, and although I think it would improve with the upgrade, I also think the Stock pickups aren't bad at all... I even like their sound. But my experience is that they are better than the common Squier (much better than the Affinity) I don't know if it will be the same as a Classic Vibe... and yes it is true, the 112J is clearly inferior to a Mexican Fender and even more, to an American Fender... (Which is kind of obvious)

[@daniellarson3068]

Good closeups of the guitar. Looks like a good guitar. Price I saw on the net new was $220 + tax and shipping, but like a lot of stuff they were out of stock at the site I looked at. Good playing. Good review.

[@MrPolevaulter]

Cheers!

[@them18053]

$220 include tax n shipping?

[@dailymetal3498]

Awesome review Elmo as always very well detailed Can u pls review the sterling sub silo 3 by music man? Its also like a strat HSS

[@MrPolevaulter]

Maybe at some point.

[@antoniolopez6798]

Min 8:05 *Surprise Face!!!* Like AC DC... Hey! You get a very good sound on that guitar!

[@danewsmusicbmi8264]

Great quality/price guitars.

[@mistercool3265]

Changing the nut for a bone or horn model and the strings, as well as polishing the frets greatly improves the sound quality of this guitar!

[@doJLife]

I own this guitar. What strings and frets should I get?

[@DirkGentley42]

Changing the frets is a big job, he said polish the frets. For strings, preferences vary, personally i go for 9 guage , earnie balls,rotosound, fender, d'dario. Usually Rotosound nowadays as you can get a pack of three at a decent price.

[@doJLife]

@@DirkGentley42 how can I polish the frets without buying too much equipment?

[@audiomonster303]

upgraded pickups make better? or dont waste the money?

[@MrPolevaulter]

Depends on what you like.

[@LookieChannel]

I have some kind of feeling the Yamaha shares some design or maybe parts with Cort guiars, have similar feeling from these. Just not fan of the body and headstock shape, otherwise sounds decetnt. Thanks for sharing a review.

[@Michael-jv2cn]

These Pacifica's are made at the Cort factory.

[@MrPolevaulter]

They certainly did look similar.

[@bananek87]

How does it look in comparision with Cort G250 you recently reviewed? They are both in the same price range and both have left handed versions.

[@MrPolevaulter]

I preferred the Cort.

[@Bullshirt1983]

You are a lot better at guitar than you are at words.

[@mel-r2s]

For a beginner,is this guitar better or a TE 62 Harley Benton?

[@delusionaldreams5749]

Sir Which is good. 112J or Squier Affinity HSS

[@Sabre-vz9xy]

You should try them side by side, just to see how they would feel in your hands. Yamaha is better choice ( the build quality is much better ) of the two you mentioned, but for some reason the neck felt a bit strange to me, and I didn't see myself bonding or playing one. I went with Squier Standard Stratocaster instead, and never looked back. I'm 31 now and I still have my Squier.

[@Tkyotripz]

I tried them side by side at home. Went with the yamaha but the affinity was great too. The affinity is better in terms of weight (the yamaha is way heavier) but i liked the sound of the humbucker on the yamaha better. However the single coil sound on the affinity is better (has more character to it) than the yamaha one. You can buy either one they are both great for that price tbh

[@Tkyotripz]

oh and the yamaha has better build quality thats for sure. the affinity felt a little better in hand tho but thats mainly because i liked its little weight

[@Sabre-vz9xy]

@@Tkyotripz Aye, Yamaha has always been solid in terms of build quality. But Sq Affinity is lower class instrument than 112,Standard series were more match to it. Anyway, Affinity bodies were thinner than regular fender specs, back in the day. Don't know about the new ones, but that may be the reason it was lighter than the Yamaha.

[@jasonism123]

Hi Elmo, this or the Ibanez Grx40? I'm planning to buy a strat type guitar, and I need help to decide between the two. That alder body is very tempting though.

[@MrPolevaulter]

Ibanez in this case.

[@mikevega7740]

I've had a few of the really cheap ones. They weren't bad either

[@frommyownbrain]

what are the different between pacifica fonts on headstock? there are cursive and capital one.

[@MrPolevaulter]

Dunno.

[@guyfawkes8873]

Dalbergia would make it ACTUALLY a species of rosewood. Far from a given these days, with all of the ‘mahogany’ and whatnot…

[@orangerecords_studio]

is this a junior guitar ???

[@MrPolevaulter]

Nope.

[@stevepelham9010]

My beloved Squier FSR Strat has became obsessed by the evil where it twisted its neck around like a snake and bursted out the frets realy realy bad. Work work work here we go again... Someone felt sorry for me so in order to cheer me up I was given a gift. A Yamaha Pacifica 012 is on the way in, bought from a Toy Store, Wow! As you do I suppose it to be a good one kind of boring...and a bit nerdy looking too but anyway maybee I can stand it if it feels and sounds good.

[@alexdenton6586]

Can you play lamb of god on it

[@MrPolevaulter]

Not sure.

[@MintStiles]

These are really good playing and fun, but all have these annoying treble-y sounds so typical of these lower end guitars. Not sure if it's the pickup or the guitar

[@MintStiles]

@Far Stox non-treble oriented guitars don't mean "dark". It also depends on the music and application. Even different guitars that emphasize trebles will exhibit different characters. imported cheap guitars have a very aggressive treble bite with no real midrange. They also tend to really breakdown into mud when overdriven. There is a reason why people pay more for better made guitars whether imported or domestic (to US at least)

[@Autoxeiria]

You mentioned you've played better guitars for a cheaper or similar price. Can you name some of them? Also how does this compare to a Squier affinity strat. Nice video btw

[@MrPolevaulter]

Thanks! The Indio Classic Strat is one. Here's a playlist of my guitar reviews: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qnbFeK1qnKesb6s

[@srinjoyghosh7273]

3:20 "They just screwed things so far" 🤣🤘🏿

[@dragan4658]

My 1st guitar was an entry level Pacifica, loved it. I'm interested to know which guitars you were referring to that were cheaper but better. Thank you Elmo!

[@MrPolevaulter]

Indio Classic Strat for instance.

[@MrPolevaulter]

@Com K Done int already.

[@WarrenPostma]

Normally I would come here and say something nice about Pacificas but I didn't really like anything about this one, other than the color. It's OK for sure. Ok but I would politely put it back on the rack and not buy that one, if it were me. I think you gave this one a fair shake. I think it might be those specific pickups I just don't like much but as you didn't play many cleans on there, I can only assume its because it sounds even worse on a real clean.

[@Tuffjobs]

Sounds great 👍

[@immanuelsiregar7395]

the weight of the guitar in Kg?

[@alainvb8786]

3kg 100 grammes

[@michaelolz]

The Pacifica never really appealed to me. The body shape is just a little too weird. I know they can’t make the shape exactly like a Strat but it’s like a Strat with a really high forehead, if that makes any sense.

[@ssslayer]

And that slight asymmetry makes it slightly more ergonomic compared to regular strat

[@alejandronavgar8798]

Yamaha is always a safe value. If you get the chance to try any of the Revstar in its low ranges, I think you'll be surprised. Best regards 👍🎸💪

[@MrPolevaulter]

Cheers!

[@kipponi]

Yeah, Matteo Mancuso plays his own Yamaha signature Revstar but cheaper models are maybe good value too?

[@profound369]

I can't get over the design of revstar it looks weird to me

[@andreil1234]

Take any used Taiwan-made RGX/Pacifica, that's where it's at, not this. People are sometimes letting them go for not much more than you'd pay for an 112V new and they're a completely different ballpark. Think GIO versus Prestige. Simply for reference: reverb.com/item/39414720-yamaha-pacifica-604w-90-s-translucent-blue-strat-style-guitar, reverb.com/item/33246074-yamaha-pacifica-621-1993-vintage, reverb.com/item/37602189-yamaha-pacifica-921m-1992-ovs and many others which might pop up.

[@pattipotvine1073]

You said fairly basic strat style stuff and then show a tele. Do you know the difference between a strat a d a tele?

[@MrPolevaulter]

That was the joke. Saying Strat, showing a Tele.

[@danluther1741]

Personally, I like getting the g-string DOWN a whole step! 😂

[@MrPolevaulter]

:D

[@coolwaterdvr]

Next Tagima guitars pls. 👍👍

[@MrPolevaulter]

No plans for Tagima at the moment. Will consider it though.

[@MoeMorales]

I'mAn old man with the hopes of one day playing twinkle twinkle little star on a guitar never actually played a guitar before... just picked up this one in blue and I am glad to hear you say.. it's okay. I was hoping I didn't buy a garbage one. 😂. I know when you buy anything garbage it makes learning harder. Great to listen to your playing.

[@MrPolevaulter]

Thanks!

[@tyrinh34]

This was my first guitar and out of my 3 electrics that i own it still sounds better than my others for some weird reason, idk why but it sounds way more heavy than the others. I did take off the pickguard because i was repainting it and had to cut off some of the wires inside and had to replace them when i put it back together but idk if that would have any effect on the sound really🤷‍♂️ my other guitars are the Ibanez jem7VP And the Kirk Hammett white zombie esp and the Pacifica still sounds better than those🥴 My Pacifica is the 012 model, forgot to mention it🙃

[@kimamey]

The 012 has ceramic pickups so if your other guitars are fitted with alnico one then they would possibly sound brighter abs the Yamaha a bit fuller. Just a possibility

[@TheLeftJoystick]

i love this fucking intro, anyways. love ur vids man, help me aton for what flaws here and there to expect in my journing to guitar, luv u (no homo)

[@mojostephen]

It's a Vibrato, NOT a Tremelo!!! Mechanical vs. Electrical modulation...

[@jacobbockover1628]

Your inspiration from that guitar is odd

[@zakkcovers18]

👍🎸

[@peskypesky]

Didn't sound too good

[@Alfredo78666]

Its only flaw? It's not mahogany, feed the fire with it! It's kinda cold here:-7

[@nanopalacios8671]

Julian Assange guitarist. Libre!!!!!!!!

[@methatlovescats3602]

I like your playing just not the guitar ☹️

[@rodrigobelinchon2982]

it is not so terrible in that color but , meh , I find Pacificas so boring and uninspiring ...

[@alnon6304]

Que escándalo. Toca algo suave, despacio,lento...no todo es rock.

[@summersendband]

That's definitly not clean

[@Fawkes1978]

First

[@stevetamv68]

Cheap isn`t good... GOOD ISN`T CHEAP!!!

[@GibbyGibbstein]

Well, most players who buy this are going to be newer, and I don't see much purpose in spending a potential 300 to 700 more dollars for something you might not even like and get out of. For a 200 to 300 dollar guitar it's fairly good, overall decent.

[@stevetamv68]

@@GibbyGibbstein Why give someone whose whole intention is to start a love affair with music in general, or specifically, guitar playing, an instrument they will only be disappointed in???

[@GibbyGibbstein]

@@stevetamv68 I don't see how they would be disappointed in a guitar that's often considered a decent starter for its price, considering these players also won't even know anything about guitar to begin with

[@stevetamv68]

@@GibbyGibbstein You don`t know the power of the dark side... OR YOU TUBE!!!

[@harris8401]

Sometimes it's the amp not the guitar...

[@jonathanmasarin2878]

Ok