Yamaha Pacifica 112

Made in Indonesia
22 frets
Volume knob, tone knob
S/S/H
Strat Style

I play old-school thrash metal. The humbucker is great for power chords and riffs, the single-coil neck pickup is great for shredding, IMO.

I use a plain mini Marshall amp. I have a distortion pedal, a Vamp effects processor. Sounds great on everything. I would recommend active pick-ups once you can afford it, preferably Seymour Duncan.

Everything's great. I personally don't use the tremolo (it de-tunes the strings). The neck is also lightning fast... almost like a Jackson :O

Owned it for years... I played live a few times. I don't have to switch between my Jackson DK1 and my Fender Stratocaster. However, with this guitar you get a less quality sound compared to the high end models just mentioned. I could also play around it cuz it's cheap. It's still like brand new. The color I own, you can barely see the scratches.

Great for the price. As a previous user stated, it kills the Mexican Stratocaster (I was planning to buy the HSS one)

'07 model PAC112. Made in Indonesia. A stratocaster-style electric.

- 22 frets
- single coil pickups in neck/middle positions
- Humbucker in bridge position
- Vintage style tremolo
- 1 volume/1 tone knob
- 5-way selector switch
- Alder body
- Bolt-on Maple neck
- Rosewood fingerboard
- Chrome tuners

Included a manual, a cheap cable, allen wrenches for truss rod and bridge saddles, and a trem bar. Mine is in "Lake Blue" which is a decent imitation of Fender's "lake placid blue".

These days I am primarily a bass player but bought this guitar to serve as a cheap electric to mess around on at home. Didnt want to spend more than $200 but didnt want to get a piece of junk either. Tried a ton of squiers, lower end ibanezs, etc. but they all just felt cheap and sounded dull. Finally went to a local mom and pop store and found the PAC112 hanging on the wall for $199. I knew yamaha made decent lower end stuff so I figured id try it out. I plugged in, hit a E chord, and knew I had found the right guitar.

For a cheap guitar it does a very good job at capturing the stratocaster sound. The neck and middle pickups give some nice bright strat-like clean tones...and also have a nice bluesy grit when played with some light overdrive.

The humbucker sounds a bit dull when clean, but really shines under moderate to high gain, providing good sustain and nice chunky palm mutes.

Of course these arent hot high-end pickups but for $199 I really cant complain. Might someday down the road swap the humbucker for a aftermarket, but happy enough with the singles to leave them in. Pretty low-noise for a cheap guitar...of course theres a bit of hum from the single coils but thats expected. The HSS configuration and 5-way swtich gives you a nice variety of tones.

Instead of using a crappy body wood like what is common on many lower-end guitars, the PAC112 is a nice solid piece of alder with a good weight to it.

Factory setup was actually not too bad...intonation was near perfect, though the action was a bit on the high side. I put on new strings, gave the truss rod a quarter turn to lower things a bit, and adjusted the pickups a tad. Neck is comfortable and appears to be a one-piece maple with a very light satin finish.

Fretwork is good, hardware seems solid. Went over the guitar and tightened up the tuners, input jack, etc...but everything was mostly in order. I thought replacing the tuners was going to be mandatory, but to my surprise the stock ones hold tune pretty well. I don't ever use the Trem bar, but id imagine that might throw it out of tune. Only cosmetic flaw I could find were some barely noticeable spots of excess glue by the neck joint...but for a $199 guitar, who cares?

With a good amp, I would feel comfortable using this guitar live. Hardware and finish seem like they will hold up as long as you don't thrash the thing. Might someday put in a duncan or dimarzio humbucker and throw in some new pots, but the guitar gets the job done in stock form. The quality body and neck would make it an excellent candidate for hot rodding or customization. This guitar is definitely worth the extra $50 over the entry level PAC012 in my opinion.

Ive been playing bass and guitar for about 8 years. I own or have owned in the past various gear from Fender, Yamaha, Cort, Peavey, Crate, Marshall, Tech 21, etc. This is my third yamaha instrument and ive noticed their lower-end models are generally solid and really good for the money.

It would make a great guitar for a beginner, or as in my case...a player with some experience looking for an inexpensive guitar to mess around, a platform for a project, or as a cheap backup.

I'd had this Yamaha Pacifica 112 for many years now...I may have one of the first made...not sure. Very easy to use.

I am still impressed with this guitar after all this years. It sounds great. For the ~$200 I paid for it...it's damn good.

Very nice guitar for the money. The action, etc...was great and still is.

Again...had it for years now and the only thing I've had to do is a simple repair on the jack as an inside connection came loose. Otherwise....great.

Never had to deal with them.

I have a lot of really nice guitars and I bought this as a living room knock around...and its way more than that. I also own some other Yamaha products (not guitars) and they seem to take real pride in their work. If someone is just starting out with their playing...or wants a handy guitar that sounds great and is inexpensive...this is it. I'm not gonna fool you...my "go to" guitars are my Eric Johnson strats or my PRS Eagle...but this $200 guitar will blow you away.

Mine is a 112 YNS (Yellow Natural Satin), White Pickguard. I love the look;-)
Strat Style, Vintage Tremolo. Don??t know exactly about when this was built, I think in 2005.
To understand my "point of review", please note that this was my first guitar (started playing guitar at the age of 35). So this is from an absolute beginner??s point of view!

I??m playing that guitar through a VOX AD30VT Amp Modeler and also through my Laptop (NI Guitar Rig 2). I??m trying my best at Blues and Rock and the guitar is never the limiting thing;-) This can produce fine tones from clean to heavily distorted . but I prefer the clean ones.
There??s no noise from switching between PUs.

My guitar teacher tries his best to teach me all the things that matter technically: Bend, Hammerons, Pulloffs, Slides, Chords. In the last two years I had to make some modifications to the guitar:
- Remove one of the three tremolo springs, adjust the remaining two. Reason is, this made bends a lot easier (and yes, I??m playing .009 strings)
- Adjust the neck bending and bridge for absolutely MINIMUM action. The small screws for adjusting action on the bridge had to be taken out so far, that I had to remove them, cut them with a Dremel and then reinstall them. Reason was, that I could not get any usefull right hand dampening with the screws so far out.

Both are no flaws, had to make the modifications to make playing easier for me personally.
Had some broken strings in the first few months. They broke exactly where they??re entering the body. Some filing solved the problem, no broken strings since then.

Well, don??t know about live playing, but I think this should withstand "normal" stress. I??m trying to treat it not too badly, and apart from the beforementioned string problem, I haven??t had any others.
As I still consider myself a beginner, I haven??t played a "gig" - but certainly I would NOT depend on it without a backup. Not because I don??t trust the guitar - simply because s... happens. No need for any risk.

Don??t know about warranty, really doesn??t seem that I would need any. Didn??t have any contact to Yamaha yet.

As I said: Bought that guitar as an absolute beginner, didn??t have a guitar in my hand before, so I had to completely rely on the words of the dealer - and after two years I feel that I got a lot of guitar for a VERY moderate price! I also own another Strat-Copy (Vision) just to have a guitar for practising, when I??m away. Well, the Pacifica is 2 times the price and 4 times better;-)
Also own a Ibanez Talman for those simple 3-5-Chord-Songs;-)
If lost or stolen, I would definitely buy another Pacifica 112, and again in the YNS-finish, which I think simply looks better than anything else.
I also play a lot of my teacher??s guitars, mostly Fender Strats - and there??s only one which plays better for me. Ironically it??s his cheapest Mexican Strat;-) So, forgetting about the price, the Pacifica would get an 8 or 9, but for the price this is a 10!

A no-frills basic strat-style electric with a solid alder body that sounds great unplugged. In fact, I didn't even plug it in before I purchased it. I personally like the one volume, one tone pot configuration, nice and simple.

Came with two single coils, one humbucker which worked, but I eventually changed. I tried to use the whammy system, but finally gave up and I don't touch it. Seemed that no matter what I did the tuning went out of whack. I even put a locking nut on it.

One of the first things I did was replace the saddles with Graphtech String Savers as the originals were cheap and ate strings.

Don't know what year it was made and don't care, I've had it for two or three years. Neck is maple with a rosewood board. Plays very well.

Like I said, it sounds great unplugged, that and the way the neck plays convinced me to buy it. The pickups sounded OK, but no character to them, very mid-range with no definition. I found the same thing with both the humbucker and the singles, although they worked fine, maybe just my own bias.

While my real love is blues, I play a lot of different styles depending on the gig and this axe functioned as a backup quite nicely before I changed out the electronics. I use it with a Fender SuperChamp and a Musicman RD 112 (running simultaneously). Effects vary but usually a couple of Tube Screamers, delay, chorus and a Trace Elliot compressor/boost. The guitar was a bit noisy when I got it but I shielded the hell out of it and it worked fine. The other thing I finally did was replace the three pickups with two el cheapo (price-wise) P-90's off e-bay. I had to shield the pickups too, but now the guitar really sounds great, especially with both pickups on. Rather than a just a backup to my regular axe (a home-made FrankenTelly with an extra mid pickup and a series switch for "humbucking" mode), it has its own sound which I tend to use for blues and heavier rock stuff. Now that I've re-worked it I can't think of anything I dislike about the sound. It doesn't sound very country, but that's OK, it kicks ass on rock 'n roll and has plenty of growl and bite on the blues.

It was set up very nicely from the factory, surprising in a low-budget guitar. Pickups were set up decently and action was great. Work "under the hood" looked fine, routing and all that. The volume and tone pots looked kind of cheap so I changed out the volume pot and will eventually change the tone when I get around to it. The only complaint I had was that the neck was very slightly off kilter to the body so that the strings were a little too close to the bass side of the fingerboard, especially higher up the neck. A lot of people probably wouldn't notice, but I found that every once in a while I'd push the low E string right off the neck when playing high up on the neck. My solution was to put a little brass shim in the neck cavity which pushed the alignment over ever so slightly. Haven't had a problem since.

Oh yes, the output jack is set into a plastic plate which seems to move a little and I've had to re-solder the jack wires. I'll probably replace it with a metal jack plate at some point, you can get replacements for a couple of bucks.

I've played gigs with the guitar lots of times and the only problem I've had is with that jack plate. Otherwise it's been good.

I think the hardware will last, its not the best, but it's fine for the price. I don't have any problem with the finish at all, tough and looks like it'll last, although I really wouldn't care anyways. As long as it plays and sounds good who cares about the looks. (Besides, don't dings, scrapes and peeling paint add MOJO?)

Strap buttons are OK, although I think I glued wood slivers into the screw holes to tighten them up.

Yeah, I think I can depend on it, although I generally don't gig without backup.

Warranty, hmmm... nobody said anything about a warranty... Seriously, I used to do repair work for a music store, so unless it's something way out of my league (or a really expensive or vintage guitar) I would just repair it myself. In this case, not expensive and definitly not vintage - I can do anything I want to it and I did. That's the beautiful thing about owning a low budget replaceable guitar!

I've been thrashing away for about 40 years now, I should have stopped a long time ago, but people keep offering me money.

Other gear: Yamaha AEX 500, '62 Guild C-100, "73 Ovation acoustic, '83 Fender Elite Strat, Frankentelecaster, Fender electric mandolin, Harmony arch-top, 12 string Fender piece of crap with an electric pickup and whatever else I can hide from my wife in the closet.

Yeah, I'd probably look for another if it was stolen or lost. I'd probably look for a used one this time, although I feel I got a good deal. The thing about this axe, and the reason I'm writing this review, is that for the price, it's really a great guitar. I've built a few solid bodies in the past and I don't think I could build one for any cheaper than what I paid for this.

All in all, despite the things I've mentioned, I really like the guitar a lot, in fact it's my main practice guitar. It sits beside my spot on the couch and I play it every day. I'd say that if someone wants a beginner's or intermediate axe, you almost can't go wrong with these things. Plus, if you want to do a shield job and swap out some of the parts like I did, you can have something pretty nice for a low price. Another thing is that the pickup cavity is one big rectangle, so if you want to change out pickups you can do any configuration you want without having to router out the body.

The only other thing I should mention is that the neck, while it feels really nice and everything, seems to bend a little easier than my other guitars. If I play an open low E and bend the 2nd or 3rd strings, the E takes a real dip in pitch. I don't know if the truss rod needs a little tweak to counter that because I've never touched it, but otherwise it plays really well. Not a big deal, but it seems to be more pronounced than my FrankenTelly. When you consider the price, at least a solid 9.

Made in Indonesia, 2003 I believe. Standard natural finish, S/S/H configuration. Alder body and rosewood fretboard. One of the most comfortable necks I've ever played on.

I never really noticed how good this guitar sounded until I played it again a few years after I put it down. I had used the Pacifica as a starter guitar and transitioned on to a Yamaha RGX 420, a Tokai Talbo, and a Fernandes Ravelle. I dusted it off one day when none of my other guitars were available, and I was amazed at the cleans that came from the neck and mid coils. Absolutely awesome for cleans/blues. The humbucker is a little weak when compared to my other guitars, but it's perfectly good for a starter guitar.

Setup is great, though a few years after buying it the input jack is loose. I'm not sure if this is due to a cable or what, but I have to get it fixed. Not that big of a deal though.

Very dependable, and I'm not afraid of banging up the finish like on my Ravelle.

No idea, though guitars are guitars. Usually they won't fall apart on you, since it is just a big slab of wood.

I've been playing for a few years now, and I consider myself to be fairly knowledgeable about guitar hardware. This is a great starter guitar, probably one of the best you can get. Yes, it definitely has it's problems. The humbucker is a little thin sounding and the single coils are noisy when distorted (single coils are noisy anyways, but some are less noisy than others). However, the hardware is great, as good as anything Fender can throw out. That's the most important point. You can always throw in some new pickups/tuners to get a guitar that sounds as good as any top of the line Strat. As for me, I'm doing just that, and scalloping some of the upper frets. Cheap Yngwie Strat, here I come.

-Strat-Style
-22 Frets
-SSH
-08/15-Tremolo-system
-1 Volume and 1 Tone-knob

A better tremolo and one more tone-knob would be nice.

This guitar suits 99% of my style:
- Funk-Rock (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
- Alternative Rock (Incubus)
- Blues Rock (Cream, Eric Clapton, Big Deal, Jimi Hendrix)
- Hard Rock (AC/DC, Led Zeppelin)
This guitar is very good for everything except for very Heavy Metal. I'd recommend a Jackson or Ibanez for those music styles.

The Neck-Singlecoin gives you a very beautyful clean sound.

If you use the Neck in combination with the middle you can get some very nice sounds like Hendrix on Castles Made Of Sand.

The middle pickup also gives a nice clean sound but with less bass. I use it for funky-stuff. Very cool.

The middle pu in combination with the bridge pu (which is a humbucker) also is cool for funk. If you pull up your gain you will get a nice vintage-distortion.

The bridge humbucker on his own gives you a great distorted sound and I mean really great for vintage and for heavier distortion.

-----

The guitar isn't noisy at all.

Everything fine here.
The input started to get loose after a week, but this is a really easy fix and now everything is perfect.

I bet I could go play some golf, beat up some punks use throw it from the 5th floor and still would be able to play a gig. (I never really tried though ;))

Once my guitar fell from the wall because I didn't assure it right. Didn't change anything, this guitar IS durable.

Never got that experience.

Been playing for 2 years (atleast 2-3 hours a day).
I played guitars that cost three times more money but don't sound that great and are that easy to play.
How the hell can this guitar cost 230 bucks? If I would have bought that guitar for 400??? or more, it still would be great for that price!

If you search a guitar for less than 300 bucks and you DON'T play heavy metal, here you go. BUY IT!

made in indonesia
22 fretz
ssh
maple body
translucent green looks best
strat style
i wished it had another tone knob

kicks mexican fender's ass. kills squier. beats epiphone

sound very good 4 a cheap guitar.

hmm, it sounds like a american strat. i am not lying.

i dont kno how yamaha sells this crap so cheap

perfect. own it 4 about a month now. i have experience with american vintage guitars. d body is just as good as any of them. another thing is the neck, betta dan d fender jaguar which i thought has d best neck

i played at a gig once. it buzzed and my frens laughed. its unpredictable when its goin 2 buzz annoyingly but hey, everything else is perfect

nah

i am playin for 3 yrs
i would buy 2 more if it was stolen - keep 1 for a spare
i love d neck
i wanted 2 buy a cheap guitar so i wont have 2 use d vintage ones. i compared it 2 every mex strat and every epiphone.
my family owns a les paul, fat strat, sg and a jaguar. pac112 is just as good as any of them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dont know the year it was made, i suspect around 2000, or more recent...my model is the 112MX which is the natural finish available with black pickguard as opposed to white and a maple fretboard instead of rosewood. standard pacifica stuff otherwise

This was my first guitar and i bought it off a friend for #80 which was a bargain really, and straight off the sounds were great even through a crap little practise amp. neck pickup perfect for funk and blues stuff, bridge pickup great for rock. i mostly use this guitar to play metal and hard rock, and if this is what you intend to do i can certainly recomend this guitar, and what i did to it - i swapped the stock bridge humbucker for a kent armstrong motherbucker (ceramic ultra high output double humbucker) and put locking tuners on it, and set the bridge up so i had some headroom to move the whammy bar upwards. it now stays in tune almost as well as a floyd rose, and the pickup made a huge difference, im now considering taking it out and putting it in my les paul.

never had a problem with any of it at all, and i rele dont look after this guitar, seems to manage fine by itself

its never ever broken

never had to deal with them

if i had this stolen, altho i hav moved over towards gibsons i would probably buy another simply for the versatility

A very VERY nice guitar for the money, I tried a lot of squiers etc.. before getting it. Cost #170ish from Sound Control in Bristol.

Obviously nothing completely different from most guitars (first appears to be standard S/S/H not-quite-strat-copy), but what there is is brilliant.

Proper solid wood body (even sounds good unplugged), very nice mellow neck singlecoil that still is very clear, more trebley middle pickup, and bridge humbucker which is very good for distored tones (although i reccomend using neck for cleaner tones).

Out of the box was very well set up, plays incredibley, flawless finishing, stays in tune very well.

Big variety of sounds, it copes with everything i play (mostly rock, modern stuff, old stuff, even rare bits if jazz).
Neck pickup is favourite, can get almost any tone out of it. Its warm but also clear enough for notes to stand out, and its dynamically responsive.
Middle/Neck position gives slightly warmer bassier tone (pickups wired like humbucker) which is nice for rythmn parts
Dont use middle pickup much, its another nice singlecoil, and is slightly more aggressive, but still well balanced.
I used to use the humbucker most, as its very good at distorted tones, and is again responisve to playing dynamics. But now i use it less as my musical taste has changed, and it can be a little noisy and too strong in mids (can be sorted on amp eq easily though)

I believe that Yamaha set up all guitars they make as they leave the factory, and from this example they appear to do a brilliant job of it. Action was perfect, finish was flawless, pickups balanced just right to provide wide variety of sounds. Volume pot is a little noisy, but it doesnt notice unless you arent playing.

Built pretty solidly.
Never gigged it but in two and a half years of bedroom and rehearsal use its never broken.
A few minor straches from general clumsyness (smashing it into various objects at people) but Ive found you need to hit it pretty hard to even mark it (it remarkably wasnt even scratched when i dropped it down a staircase).

Only problem ive ever had is when i broke the output jack by bending lead (easily fixed though, simply unscrewed jack and bent metal back into place).

Never dealt with them. Never had to.

Brilliant guitar especially for beggingers or anyone wanting a very versatile guitar.
Superbly desgined and built, excellent value (beats many guitars costing over #400)
If it were stolen i would purchase another as soon as i could, this guitar is most worthwhile purchase ive ever made - i definately recommend it.

see other reviews

my father owns a mex strat and this guitar sounds the same

i have hade it 4 a few days so i cant rate this

it is the best beginners guitar
it is cheap
it sounds great

Same as all the rest, maple neck version (112M) bought new in about 1997. No modifications.

I play in a covers band and use it for a wide range of pop, blues, and soul stuff. The sound is fine for this. I've always preferred single coil Fender type sounds, and this is basically what you get, but the bridge humbucker is handy to switch to for solos or for the heavier stuff. It's no more noisy on the single coils as the Fenders I've played.

This went into action straight out of the box - apart from changing the lightweight strings which manufacturers insist on putting on to something a bit more substantial. Action was great and everything was as it should be. The neck is particularly comfortable; you could play it for hours (come to think of it, I do).

This has been gigged a fair bit in the last 8 or 9 years and apart from a small dent on the side of the neck from being knocked over on stage it's hardly marked. There's a bit of fret wear but I don't think that's too much to worry about after all this time. It's dependable; I'd never do a gig without a backup simply because of the risk of string breakage on any guitar, but apart from that consideration I would happily rely on it.

Never needed it.

I've been playing for 34 years, and currently own over a dozen guitars and basses, nearly all of which cost far more than the Pacifica. I actually bought it because at the time I had a residency in a restaurant and was worried about my Schecter being damaged, so got something that I thought I wouldn't lose too much sleep over if it were damaged or stolen. Ironically I prefer it in many ways to the guitar I was protecting, and have recorded with it in preference to Fenders and other available guitars. It's not the best tremolo in the world, but then again this is a very inexpensive guitar and the trem is still perfectly useable. I've also never been too keen on the headstock shape, but now I'm really trying to think hard to find things I don't like.

This is a ridiculously good guitar for the money, and it's also easily upgradeable if the pickups etc aren't to your liking. I've recently bought a Pacifica 612 simply because this one is so good that I wanted to see what the higher end model was like (answer - I wasn't disappointed!).

When I think of the rubbish that you had to play when starting off guitar in the early '70s, I can't believe that you can get something this good that's cheap enough to be bought as a starter guitar now.

Its a very cool gitar for the price

- I dont now the year of birth
- It has 22 fret with rosewood fingerbourd and maple neck
- Alder body with white pickguard
- nonlocking vintage tremolo (ONLY DIVEING!)
- H-S-S pickup configuration
- Natural finish with sunburst

Well this guitar sounds good for me, it suits for all styles, the humbucker is good for metal, and rock, the singlecoil are cool for blues, old-rock, jazz. I used a Peavey Rage 158 15W combo And it sounds good... again. As a said I use the humbucker for metal, and any other heavy stuff, or when a want the humbucker sound :) Its not too noise (fore the prise). The singlecoil is cool for playeing AC/DC, Black Sabbat, Tool, and I use them when I'm in clean, I like they'r sound. The TONE and the PU SWITCH is very inpresiv, silent, and it gives many varietys.

The guitar was set up right, no buzzing, the neck is good, but I dont no thet it was factory setup, or the guys adjusted it up. The finish looks strong, the pots are thight. I have only 2 dislikes. First, the pickguard was dirty and dusty, but pianfully I removed the foil cover from it and now its clean. The secund, many weaks ago, the string started buzzing at the brigde, but a played a while and then its gone, and it didnt come back.

It will stand live playing, if you are carefull and you have a strong strap it won' fall, but you should install straplocks or buy a straplocking strap. The strings are rusty now but they didnt break, so the bridge is ok, AND its only capable for diveing, it wont detone fast :) The PU-s are OK-t, and my dad thighted the input-jack, so it wont ge loos.

The Yamahashop where I bought it was a very nice place, the shopkeepers where nice, and I get 2 YEAR WARRANTY, so its cool :)

I play guitar just a few mounths but I played bass for 1 year. I want to stey at Yamaha products, they are great! Its the best beginer's guitar, so buyit, OR buy a Squier Showmaster (with vintage trem, NOT FLOYD ROSE!!!)

(And sorry about the writeing but I dont speak English well :)

-23 Frets
-Volume, 5-way selector, tone
-Alder Body, Maple Neck
-Strat body style

Solid, bright, vibrant sound. When distortion is turned up full on your amp this guitar is brilliant for grunge or heavy metal - and I'm only using an 8W amp! The guitar makes a wide variety of noises and the five-position toggle really helps seperate them all. Only one tone knob, which is a bit of a downer considering the cheapest of the cheap guitars have two.

It suits my style of play perfectly however, which is rock (Guns N' Roses, Audioslave, Velvet Revolver, Queens of the Stone Age) and with some fiddling around on your amp you should be able to get a wide range of sounds.

On the downside, it has a tendency to buzz on the lowest E string, but this isn't too apparent. However, when you start playing down the highest frets there (which is rare, admittedly) it really becomes bothersome. Other than that, the sound in this guitar was great.

As I was new to guitars and this was my first, I can't be too analytical here as I'm not a pro. However, everything seemed satisfactory (apart from the aforementioned low-E string buzz). The guitar stays in tune well for up to three days in my case, which I felt was very impressive.

Everything was smooth and worked perfectly. Not to mention there is a huge variety of colours (I chose black) so it's clear that the guys at Yamaha have put in a great effort to make this the best value for money guitar you can buy. Thumbs up all the way!

I have owned this guitar five months now, and it still seems as good as new. No scratches, no dents, solid strap buttons and as of yet no string changes or adjustments needed.

I have yet to play any gigs, but I would depend on this guitar regardless. It's not the type of guitar you would be ashamed to show your mates or play with - it has a stylish presentation, and feels solid and extremely comfortable while playing it. No careful preparations of the strap or tuning pegs is needed - it's pick up, play and rock out.

It's been dropped only once and with quite a thud as well (due to a poor strap, not the buttons themselves) yet it came out well without any damage.

A reliable, sturdy design that is incredible value for money.

Yamaha are a very reliable company who put 100% effort into practically everything they make. I've yet to need to use their customer support, but their website is very helpful and informative.

Is this truely the best beginners guitar you can buy? In my book, it's a definite yes. The low-E buzz seems to be uncommon and is most likely a problem with shop storage in my case, because other than that this guitar is perfectly manufactured. I would definetely recommend it to any beginner who's serious about playing and doesn't want to pick up a piece of trash from an Argos catalogue. You'll love playing with this guitar, because it's shape and sound are so familiar to you. Its design practically curls around your body making it very comfortable to play. It's light so it won't tear out your back.

For the money, this guitar has everything you want. If you splash out on a decent amp and look after the guitar, it will do you for many years.

A first-class job and great value from the guys at Yamaha.

This is the standard PAC112J configeration. 22 Frets, 2 single coil + Humbucker in the bridge.

This guitar has a deep, full sound with the tone switched to full. The volume control has plenty of range on it. I use this guitar with a Yamaha amp and the sound is fantastic. With amp settings volume 4, gain 4, mid & bass tone 10, and treble 0 you get a fantastic zz top like rock sound from the humbucker. On the clean channel of the amp with less bass and lots more treble with the guitar tone setting at about 3/4 you get a fantastic bright sounding tone out of the guitar. Excellent for jazz sounds.

Overall this guitar is well suited to a variety of sounds when used correctly with an amp.

The guitar set-up from the factory was satisfactory. Playable but normal tweaking required.

This guitar is a reliable work horse. Plenty of different sounds available to you, and good quality hardware. Strap buttons are about as good as you can expect without strap locks. Would be a very good choice for anyone who needs to gig with a single guitar or who requires a cheap and useful back-up guitar for their treasures.

The body on this guitar is where you are getting value for money. Fantastic first guitar that will last for years and can have electronics upgraded as one improves or desires better/more expensive gear. This IS the guitar for any beginner looking for a first guitar who needs a range of sounds or plays in different styles

Two Single and one double humbucker with 5 way selector switch. Body solid Alder natural colour, neck rosewood. Yamaha Strat shaped guitar.

Well setup at the factory. Tweaked the action a little to by preference.

Used live weekly for 18 months and never let me down. Strap buttons solid. Always been a dependable guitar for me and would use without backup.

Never had to use them, but website thorough

I play lead and Rhythm in a church band and have been playing over 20 years. I currently play through a Samick RC60 Amp which has been upgraded from an 8ohm to a 160watt 4 ohm, kicking out just over 100 watts. Currently use a Korg multi affects pedal. Also have a Laney Hardcore 65w. I love the versatility of the guitar and the varied sounds of the pickups. Also like the natural colour. Also own a Gould Les Paul style, which has a different tone, but equally as good.

Would definitely want to replace this is it got stolen.

all that has been stated by other reviewers....
natural satin wood finish...only wished that the fretboard was maple..

Stock pickups are nothing to shout about....you get what u paid for..
Nice distorted / fuzz tones [think of Green Day and Smashing Pumpkins] can be obtained from the humbucker easily but didnt perform as i thought it would when it's on clean mode...the neck single coil is sweet and ooze blues vibe...

the selling point of this guitar i think, would be the wood base, which is alder...same wood that is used to construct Fender strats...

SOme fine adjustments and tuning, especially the string actions...
after that, it plays like a million dollar guitar...

I play alot of experimental stuff, which sometimes requires me to put the guitar to its limit..i.e wedging foreign tools between strings...i have the guitar for about 2 years now...and it's still standing strong with a few minor dings and scratches...

nil...

This particular guitar in my opinion, is highly underrated...
It's a very good base guitar for modification...
nuff said...

Bought mine in 2002. Natural finish. Looks really nice and well built.

Stock pickups were only decent. I installed a pair of seymour duncan humbuckers -- cool rails on the neck, Screaming demon on bridge. They help the guitar's true sound come alive. I left stock pickup in middle position.

To make the guitar even more versatile I installed independent coil splitters and a special switch that turns bridge and neck pickps at the same time when I select the middle position. That way, I can emulate classic Les Paul and Telecaster sounds as well.

Unplugged, this guitar has a somehow harsh treble if I pick it hard, specially when compared to my Gibson LP Studio. This harshiness is sometimes picked up by the pickups when in single coil mode but it can be compensated by turning down some of the volume or tone.

Unplugged, this guitar is an 8. Stock pickups make it a 7, while the duncans elevate her to a 9.

Sonic evaluation was made though a Peavey Bandit 112 amp, Behringer V-amp 2, Boss ME-8 effects unit, and distortion pedals like the Marshall ShredMaster, Tech 21 Sansamp GT2 and Ibanez Tubescreamer.

No complaints at all, though the frets are going away reasonably quick.
I had an arm injury related to guitar playing years ago, so I always want my strings as low as possible. This guitar came quite playable out of the box, but still a little high for me. Mr. luthierman fixed it and now she plays really good with absolutely no rattle.

The tuning would drop consistently when I first got the guitar, so I tightened the tuners. Done that, I can play 4-hour gigs with it and I rarely need to tune it. I mean, I check the tuning between gigs and sometimes there's nothing to be done.

As for looks... well, this is not as eye-catching as expensive Gibsons, PSRs, or even Fenders, but it's not ugly or toyish. It's just... elegant, I guess.

I was stupid enough to carry it in the back of a car in a gig bag along with the band's equipment. It got some bad scars. It seems like the wood is a little too soft. The frets seem a bit weak too, as they began to wear out very quickly. Also, the metal parts got rusted very quickly, and I don't sweat much.

However, it's very trustworthy in a gig. It won't go out of tune, strings rarely break, strap buttons are rock solid, it's really really light, and it feels very solid overall.

Never dealt with them.

I've been playing since 1992. My other guitars are a 96 Gibson LP Studio and an 84 Gibson Explorer.

This is a real guitar with the price of a toy, specially if you got the skills to customize it or know of someone who can do that for you.

I'd starve before I sold it. If I lost it, I'd take my chance to check if anything as valuable as this guitar had appeared in the market, though I doubt so.

Korea made, left handed, 22 frets, solid top, H/S/S/passive

I play all king of styles, mainly Blues, rock & Heavy Metal. Very nice! I actually bought it to install a GK2 pickup, as my Steinberger GL4T doesn't have space available. Felt in love with the guitar. Steinberger is now in the closet! Changed the pickups to Di Marzio and tuners to Sperzels, Also installed a swith for each pickup to run them in single coil. Endless sounds...

Action fantastic, loved it, very smooth. HAd a flaw with the first string witch always buzz a bit, and my guitar tech coudn't fix it. But i like it anyway. Nice tremolo, keeping the guitar in tune.

Seems that it's a work horse. I use it regularly ( keep Steinberger in the closet )

Nver hd problems with it

Playing for 25 years, i was impressed with the unplugged sound: very alive, clear, powerfull. They could deliver it with better electronics and pieces, it would be a TOP SELLER! Difficult to leave this guitar apart.

22 frets, SOLID ALDER BODY, s/s/h, 1xtone 1xvolume. strat style, but ganglier. yes. ganglier. passive electronics. Tremolo. comfortable begginners neck. i'd like a neck humbucker, with coil splits.

sounds great. i'm super impressed. best first guitar you can get. can handle everything nearly. neck and middle pickups sound exactly the same - shame. needs a neck humbucker dammit. trem isn't bad as it returns to tune well. just feels a bit yucky. but i've been spoiled by my ball-bearing tremolo on my main guitar i suppose.

quite well set up. very standardly set up. GREAT for beginner. allows you to see what you'd like to change, and makes it easy to choose next guitar. well made, well put together, very suprising. everything was happy, other than the finish dents very easily. doesnt seem to get scratches very easily. I wouldnt be that worried with this guitar. it's cheep and cheerful, and bumps seem to bump some character into it.

never breaks, only one of my 4 guitars (much more high-ended) which hasnt! i'd use without a backup. well, i wouldnt really use it live, but if i had to, i wouldnt worry about it crapping out. stock strings took a year and a half of playing everyday to break. its well done

nope

best guitar for the price. best beginner guitar in the world. great to play with - and this is the guitar that i can beat up, and play how i like, and not worry about it. i polish my other guitars and put them back in their cases after playing. just wish it had a neck bucker. but i'll forgive them

Strat copy with a humbucker at the bridge instead of single coil. Alder body and rosewood fretboard on mine. Read the review below for more info on the specs. It's what I need. Nothing fancy, a workhorse. I threw a black pickguard on the natural finish model I have and some black teflon trees and a few other cosmetic touches (knobs, switch tip...) A fun to experiment with guitar.

Sounds as good a most axes that cost twice the price or more. I just can't justify the price of a Fender or others compared to the Yamaha Pacifica line. Paying hundreds more for a "real" strat would give me the feeling I was ripped off for what I was getting. I could dump some prime hardware into one of the great neck/body guitars and still be dollars ahead.

Alder body and one sweet neck. A tribute to Yamaha quality. I can't stress enough how this guitars feel is that good. Perfect weight, balance, and feel.

Not afraid to haul this horse to the gigs. No fancy finish or big buck price tag. Hours of good sounds and reliable service.

No need

Had Strats, Pauls, and eveything in between. Couple of dozen years later and thousands of dollars and this is the best axe I've played. Looking to snatch one of eBay in a few days as a backup.

Ok, this is straight from the Yamaha website:

Neck: Bolt-on Maple
Scale Length: 25-1/2? (648mm)
Fingerboard: Rosewood
Frets: 22
Body: Alder
Bridge: Vintage Tremolo
Pickups: Single Coil x 2, Humbucking x 1
Machine Heads: Die-Cast
Selector Switch: 5-Position Lever
Control Knobs: Master Volume, Master Tone

Stratocaster copy with the exception of a humbucker in the bridge position as opposed to the single coil. The guitar was made in Indonesia.

I play mostly garage rock and grunge. The humbucker does the job but nothing special. Single coils are alright. Not far from the classic strat sound. A small amount of hum from the single coils, which is to be expected. Alot of tones can be gained from this axe.

Pickups are alright. When I got this guitar, I don't know if it was the factory setup or shop setup but the 6th and 5th string had fret buzz when they were struck fairly hard. Like wtf. The finish is alright. Nothing loose or rusted or damaged.

It's all good. Banged and dropped it a few times. Still plays like it should.

Never dealt with Yamaha directly. The shop owner on the other hand, was a total fag. I rang up to ask if he had any 112s in stock and he said no. I went to check anyway and what do you know - 112s in stock. Wouldn't deal with them ever again. But then again, maybe I would.

This is the second electric I've played. The first one was a Wasburn Force 3 which I borrowed for 6 odd months from a colleague. The Yamaha is definitely worth the money. My mate bought a MIM Fender Fat Strat and I can not tell the difference between the two. Kudos to Yamaha for making a great axe.

I've got two Yamaha Pacificas: One 112J from Indonesia and one 112MX from Taiwan. They are like night and day - very different, but also very good, indeed. The 112J spots rosewoodfretboard and white pickguard, while 112MX have maplefretboard and black pickguard. Both have two singlecoils and one humbucker.

The 112J have a very jazzy sound - first time I've picked up a Stratstyleguitar that actually can be used for jazz. The 112MX are very Fenderish. I like both - 112J for jazzchords, 112MX for soloing. None of the two are muddy - they stand out very clear. On both guitars I like the neck singlecoil and the bridge humbucker. The Middle singlecoil are only usefull for that Fender-out-of-phase-sound.
The bridge humbucker on both have that wah-wah-halfway-down-sound, that some Gibsons have.

Both fit and was setup perfectly. Although the guitars have been send to me from Germany to Denmark, they were still in tune! The frets are perfect on the fretboard, not like unbound Gibsons, where you are hurting your hand, while playing glissando.

I rely completely on those two beauties, so much, that my Gibsons are ti be retired, The finish, the hardware, all are bulid with care.

I've five guitars: Two Gibson Les Pauls, one Yamaha FG-423 western and the two Pacificas. All in all, the Yamahas are better build than the Gibsons, have a cleaner sound, have much more different sounds in them. They cost about 1/15 of a Les Paul Standard, but you can't seriously say, that Gibsons are better values. I've been playing for 25 years on different Gibsons and Fenders, I'm a little sad - I should have been buing a Yamaha SG2000, while they were on the market.

I bought this second hand so i have no idea when it was made, however probably sometime in the last few years, The layout is simple and uncomlicated, which is always best. Pickups are stock, alder body. Tuners are unbranded however superb, it takes a lot to knock it out of tune. Apparently this guitar was snapped earlier on in it's life, which is a feat in itself this thing is so solid. It has everything you need, an exellent all around guitar.

The pickups are very usable and sound good clean and dirty. i play loud with tons of distortion and it can cut it. The neck position is a bit muddy, though with a nice clean sound. middle pickup is useless and i never use it. You may with time wish to change the pickups, but if you keep them stock they can handle it. Not a huge range of sounds but it's stripped down and very usable.

I cannot comment on the original setup, however it was setup very well when i bought it. Due to the previously mentioned smashing the finish wasn't exactly AAA. However you can tell originally this was very well finished..and still is. the paint job is thick. Everthing feels solid, and top notch considering the price. all hardware is solid and reliable. I dont use the tremolo much but when i do it stays in tune. Exellent fretwork.

This an extremely solid guitar. I love the way i can just sling this on and not worry about how pretty it looks. The body is just the right weight..substantial without being spine snapping. This is a backup guitar but i often turn to it when my shoulder needs a break. I have had this for two or three years now., and have become very attatched to it, this is one i will never sell and it should still play like new... a very solid workhorse.

I have never had to deal with yamaha so i can't comment. I have had a bit of work done on it, i changed the tacky plastic plate on the output jack- i recommend you do the same these tend to crack after a bit. I have had a bit of issues with breaking up, something to do with the pickup selector so i will see to that. considering the mistreatment it recieved earlier on in life, i am impressed.

This is perfect beginner guitar, or for someone who needs a solid backup/workhorse. An exellent value guitar. The fact it still plays like new after all it's been through, is a testement to its solid constuction, and to be fair i am no light fingured strummer. So i am impressed. In the future i will change the pickups and try and solve the cutting out problem, i have others to deal with so this has been on the back burners for a bit.If you see one..Buy it, it will treat you well.

I'll keep the review short since I'm number 100 and something to cover this version from Yamaha's Pacifica line. It's a Strat copy with a bucker at the bridge and singles in the middle and neck. One volume and one tone control. I have a Pacifica Mike Stern tele copy and as many others have mentioned with all Pacifica models the necks are awesome. Pure comfort. Like a baseball glove go for feel, not flash. The guitar features what you need to get the job done.

Sound is as good as any other Strat copy I've owned and as good as some Fenders I've owned/played. Sound is 98% player and 2% guitar.
I like the humbucker at the bridge for blues and rock. No problems with the stock pickups.

This is where Yamaha rocks. There low price instruments have better quality than guitars costing ten times the price. Once again the necks are flawless. One thing that amazed me were some of the smaller details overlooked by most. The truss rod cover is a nice cosmetic touch that took and extra step or two. There is no doubt the Pacifica line smokes most of the other imports in the quality control department. My tele copy sold me on picking up a strat copy.

A workhorse! I know many that think of this a starter guitar. Wrong.. A set of strap locks and good to go without worrying about scratching the $1000 beauty in the closet. Bang for buck is a ten.

I always buy used... You buy it new and use it for a while then I get it from you at half price or less. Thanks

Been playing for 20+ years. Read other old timers that praise the quality of the Yamaha's. The fact they sell at such a low price either new or used is amazing. I've owned enough guitars, amps and other stuff over the years. This a best buy. Good job Yamaha and HC for the sounding board that let players share their information.

Made in Indonesia. Volume, tone & 5-way selector. Nothing special, really.

It suits great to all kind of playingstyles. I mainly play punk music and metal, and all I can tell you is that this guitar is good to play anything.

no complains here. 9.

It seems to be good. I dropped it a few times(accident ofcourse), and no problems seems to appear.

Ive been playing some months now, so I don't really have the big experience with electric-guitars. I've tried a few other ones, but I didnt really like them. So I guess its a great beginner guitar, and also great for anyone pro too - of what Ive heard. The sound is terrific, it has some durability and the neck is very nice made. I just love this guitar.

Hello. Don't know what year it was made, but was made in Indonesia (I think). 22 frets, Natural alder finish on body. All the rest of the specs are the same as every one elses. There really aren't any special features on this. Its a no-nonsense guitar, and thats it.

I play a wide range, from blues to country to rock and metal. I'm using a Marshall AVT-100, and all the effects that go with it.
The middle pup gives off quite a bit of noise, and messes up the sound when used with the other pups, but this might be just on mine, cos the others are pretty damn good.
I reckon the sound is fine for most styles, although its not very jangly(for country)
only problem with the sound is that the sustain isn't great

I think the shop I got it from set it up, and they did a great job on it. The action is fantastic. the neck is really nice, too, lets you play pretty fast. Pretty much flawless construction.

I have used this guitar live a good few times, and it tends to detune quite rapidly, although that may be because I generally don't have any heating in my house. No problems with the hardware at all.
It has a natural finish, and chunks have been taken out of it, including a hefty one on the neck, when it was dropped down a stairs, but nothing changed the sound, and it still plays like a dream.
The jack for the lead tends to get loose quite frequently, which is mildly annoying, but not to bad.
Very durable guitar. Taken a beating, come out with character.

never had to use them. Have had it four years

Been playing about eleven years. Own a Strat and an Epiphone Les Paul. Bar the sustain, this is a better guitar than the Epiphone, and it has a better neck (for my taste) than the strat. I checked out cheap guitars thoroughly before I bought it, and every where I asked, I got 'Pacifica', and I had to agree.
If it was lost, I'd get another one. In fact, I plan to get another one, and do it up a bit, locking tuner, new pups. There is nothing I hate about this guitar, in fact, I really do love it. Its a whole lot of fun to play, and I'd recommend it to anyone, novice or more experienced player. Its kind of like a faithful dog ie its your buddy, and its reliable, and its fun.

This is a very nice guitar, and the price is incredible. Its better than most squires, and better than every mex strat I've ever played (mines ameican)

Hello!!! It was made in 2003 in Indonesia. 22 frets, Solid-top body, 1 volume, 1 tone, 5-way selector, s-s-h (they are fine, but i will change them on seymour duncan and dimarzio).
Maple body, strat style, vintage-tremolo bridge, there is one problem: non-locking tuners (but i will change it).
Rosewood neck.
Included gig bag, strap, cable, tools, mediators and slider.

It suits my music style (britpop, art-rock, hard-rock, blues, surf, funk, punk).
I use jim dunlop wah-wah and nothing more. Computer... I will buy a combo.

It's all good

yes, i think it's pro guitar

Playing some years it's my first good electric guitar (i had a jackson, ibanez - i didn't like them)
also i have admira acoustic

mine was made in Taiwan.It had a very stable grover like tuner, alder wood body and rosswood neck.The Pickup are three simple single coil pickups.They are not so great pick up but I bought this baby and changed them to EMG Active pickup.Actualy that day I looked for solid body guitar with the wood type.I dont believe it costed less than ? 120.The Finish is smooth.Mein is a solid deep green, just look great.

The original sound is okey, but as i said, i want it replace with the EMG active pickup. It sound just excelent with this pick up, like SRV era strat.

Finish.. I like it much. It doesnt so easy to get strech even so I put it on the floor.Just great

the hardware is okey but for simple playing. I play mainly Mainstream Jazz and use the combination of neck pick up and big diameter string (11 - 12 on the first E string).The problem is the behind springs are not so strong to hold that bigger String.

dont think even need them. This guitar is simple. I can take care of it, make modification.Its not a very hightech thing.

Well this guitar is great.I bought it because I want a simple guitar to practice on and also cheap.I dont know that yamaha can make such a good guitar, but they did.I though before to get the mexican made fender strat, but this guitar is much more than mexican fender strat.With simple modification, it can compete with Eric clapon strat perhaps.

HSS passive pickups - my favorite pickup combination. 5 selector switch. I've got a wedge behind my tremolo to disable that cause I don't use. no locking nut. volume/treble. natural basswood body. has low frets which I like. I rate it a 9 because it's got all I need, but nothing fancy like Floyd Rose trem. The only suggestion I'd make is to move the volume not a little farther down on the body of the guitar as I occassionally hit it by accident.

I really like the sound. Very surprised given the low cost of the guitar. I currently use with Rocktron Voodu Valve rack preamp into a Peavey Bandit. I love the single coil tones for clean and bluesy stuff, especially positions 2 and 4. The humbucker works fine for rock, but it's not an ultra high gain pickup if that's what you're looking for.

I've always liked the "feel" of Yamahas whenever I've tried them in stores. I have a slightbuzz on the low E string, but I've moved to a heavier guage string and it probably needs a slight adjustment. The original setup was good.

Have had no issues here over at least 5/6 yrs. I don't treat it badly though.

No comment.

This is a "bang-for-the-buck guitar". The overall rating of 9 is for overall value, but clearly it's not the best guitar you can buy. Played roughly 20 years. I'm into songwriting/recording. Rocktron Voodu Valve preamp is my noise box, and play it through 12" speaker in peavey bandit. I also have an older heavy neck-thru Epiphone with the Les Paul pickup setup. I like the tonal variety of the Yamaha better and play it primary. I did play alot of guitars before I saw the auction and bought this on ebay. I've always liked the "feel" of Yamahas. I've found them to be very consistent. I like the feel better than several fairly high dollar Fenders, Music-Mans, etc that I've tried. I don't know if it was stolen whether I've get another, but I'd definitely go out and start playing a bunch of guitars again and even though I have more money now, I'd still consider a Pacifica. I'd definitely want a HSS pickup setup. I'd probably get a fixed bridge if I could, but it seems most guitars come with a tremolo of some sort.

Yamaha Pacifica 112. 22 frets s/s/H. 5 way selector
Natural Color. Rosewood fretboard. alder body and neck i think... :(
Standard tremolo and tuners

I play almost all kinds of rock (to metal) and some funk-disco... well many kinds of music. I think it's suitable for anything. I believe it's a value for money guitar.
The Pickups and the electrics you will find soon (if you get some kind experienced) that are not good. (No sustain)

It had perfect set-up

It's my only electric guitar :( . I will never sell it. It worths! Perfect for beginners. Perfect backup guitar for an average guitarist.
It's a very good copy of a strat. Worse than american. i believe better tha mexican.
Unexpectedly good tuners and tremolo :)

i've been playing for 6+ years. I have a korg AX1G multieffects processor and a Crate GX15 amp. If it were stolen i would save money for an american stratocaster.
I love the playability of the guitar extremelely neutral, like Japan Cars :). I hate the pickup. I changed the humbucker to a Seymour Duncan Distortion and really made my sound boost! I also put a splitter to use the humbucker as single coil (very good idea if tou don't afford many guitars, and you want both heavy and funky sounds)
Finally: It's the best guitar on that money. Perfect for begginers

2002 model I believe, made in Asia, 22 frets, Strat-style, standard non-locking trem, two singles and a bridge HB, decent off-brand tuners. The neck is slightly thinner than most stock Fenders, tall frets, rosewood board.

This whole review is about value, so everything I say is relative. For the money the sound is very good. I could gig with these stock pup's, although I could change the tones with after-market pup's as well. I am coming to really like well-made cheap guitars. It's surprising how good this thing sounds. It does the raunchy bridge thing, and the single-coil neck "woman" tone as well.

Here's where I just can't say enough good things about what Yamaha has done. They have produced a budget guitar to high quality tolerances. I bought this guitar right off the rack in Panama City, Panama because I needed a guitar and it was so well done. You can't fit a hair between the neck and pocket. The fret finish is as good as I've EVER seen for any amount of money on any guitar. I was dumbfounded, honestly.

I bought the guitar over some Fenders and Gibsons because it was infinitely superior and cheaper (even if I don't like the headstock). The neck is so good (fast) that I can't say I've ever encountered a better one. It fits my hand perfectly. Matter of fact, I sometimes build a guitar from scratch, and I will copy this neck because I'm already addicted to it.

Everything else about the finish is simple but well done. Not one single flaw.

It's not a tank like an LP, but it is easily as solid as most anything else. I see no reason to be apprehensive.

No contact with the company. If anything goes I'll fix it myself, or swap out the pup's......

Been playing 32 years. Played and owned most everything. Got tired of pretty guitars that didn't fit my hand or play any better than a cheapo. Besides, I was afraid to scratch the pretty ones. Some of the cheap Asian guitars are amazing, but you do have to shop. Neither Fender or Gibson can put out an inexpensive budget guitar that is worth buying. Yamaha can. Christ, the fit and finish on many high-end Gibsons is deplorable.

I'm actually going to buy another and put different pup's in it so I've got 2 identical guitars with other tones. I assume the mass-production is so tight that they will all feel the same.

The reason I'm going to do this is because of the neck. I play a real slinky Johnny Winter/Buddy Guy style with lots of bends and hammer-ons, and this neck is a dream. My fingers just fly.

OK, it's not the prettiest thing around. It's just that see-thru brown. But maybe I'll paint it. Or put some stickers on it.

Once again, this is about value. For the money I've never seen a guitar so well-made, with such a great fret-job, and ready to play. You can pay alot more for an American Strat that won't stand the scrutiny this Yamaha will. Cheapo Epiphones are so poorly made they should be illegal.

its a hss pickup lay out looks like a fender strat

you can get a realy nice mellow sound for bluesy stuff (the humbucker bridge pickup with tone on full) and depends on which amp you use (I use a marshell mg30dfx.) You can get a grunge sound out of it on the right selection but it does sound "weak"

It needs new strings but i got it second hand

I used it for some school stuff and its ok but i usally use an epiphone Sheraton for my blues band and I did a gig wit it and it wasnt bad

dunno

Its a great starter guitar get a fender or epiphone or something when you can aford it. Mine is manily for doing stuff in school for my A level but thats all. Its very cheap for a guitar that good and beats guitars in its price range by miles

Typical import strat copy. Alder body with comfort cutaways available in a small variety of colors. 4-bolt 22 fret maple neck with bubinga or maple fretboard. 2 medium output (5.7K ohm) single coil pickups in the neck and center positions, and a medium output (11.5K ohm) humbucker in the bridge position. 5 position pickup selector switch with master volume and tone controls. Vintage style fulcrum trem tail with 6 adjustable bridge saddles. For my hands, the most comfortable, fastest playing necks I can find. The BEST stock tuners made period ? they do not slip. The numerous Yamaha guitars that I have had were consistently very good build quality with tight fitting neck pockets. I am of the opinion that if you don?t have a good body to neck fit, you can?t begin to achieve decent tone, period.

I?ve had a lot of strat copies pass through my hands, as well as a couple of the originals. Depending on the body and neck wood type, type and layout of pickups, controls, etc, etc, the strat style guitars currently available cover a lot of ground tone and sound wise. I am a purist, and I suppose that my ultimate ?strat? would be pretty close to the classics of the 50?s or 60?s, that in itself potentially covering a lot of ground. I like the Yamaha strat copies because they sound somewhere in the middle range of all that?s out there. Good classic ?strat? sounds from the 2 single coil pickups, and modern crunch from the bridge humbucker. I have models with bubinga fretboards and maple fretboards, and I prefer the maple. They are faster playing for me and I like the slightly crispier tone. I would much prefer a single coil pickup in the bridge position, but the humbucker installed there is quite acceptable also. The humbucker broadens the tone potential somewhat. I modified one of my PAC112?s to the 3 single coil configuration and added the 2nd tone pot per the original design, and it just adds another subtle tone change to the basic package.

I bought all of my Yamaha Pacifica's used so I have no idea what the factory setup was like. It wouldn't matter anyways, because I always setup all of my personal guitars. I have never owned a Yamaha guitar that I couldn't set the action, etc to my personal preference. As previously mentioned, all of the Yamaha guitars I've owned had very tight neck to body fits and that is one of the most important features affecting the guitars sound/tone. Yamaha must have good production control as I have switched numerous Yamaha necks and bodies around and always had tight fits between whatever neck and body I was using. A couple of the Pacifica bodies I've owned had some minor ripples in the paint like the paint was applied too thickly or something. The profile of the Yamaha necks fits my hand/playing style perfectly as they feel the most comfortable in my hand.

I don?t even think about reliability when using any of my Yamaha guitars. They always work. They always stay in tune, even when using the tremelo bar. A little bit of graphite in the nut slots and bridge saddles and proper string installation solves any tuning problems with these guitars. The tuners have a tension adjustment, that guarantees they won?t slip. I had one Yamaha humbucker pickup go funny on me once. The guitar was in boat paddle condition when I got it, and had apparently come from a very humid climate, because all the metal was tarnished and/or rusted quite badly. One pickup stopped working and when I took it apart, one of the coils had corroded quite badly, hard to believe that copper wire could deteriorate that way. I just snipped the wires to that coil, resoldered the leads and now it is a functional single coil pickup with a ?unique? sound.

Yamaha is one of the biggest musical instrument manufacturers in the world. I have never had to call on their services, but it?s good to know that they are there.

I have been going back and forth over the years on what I prefer in my ultimate guitar, and I have settled on the single coil sound and tone of the strat and tele style guitars. I have had numerous strat and tele copies made by most of the quality manufacturers, and for the money, you can?t beat the Yamaha?s. I?ve done side-by-sides with other import copies and the originals, and have decided that the premium dollars don?t necessarily get you premium performance. Yamaha has the most consistent build quality of all of them for under $1000 and offers enough options to satisfy most of us. All for a bargain price. That?s what it was all about in the early days, a decent product at a decent price, and thankfully Yamaha still achieves that goal today.

don't know details but it looks korean made with a rosewood like fingerboard and weak finish.
I've had it now for five years and have in the meantime changed pickups to Di marzio virtual vintage, Seymour duncan Alnico and JB.

After some time I changed the pickups, after which it blew me and many others.
Clean twang, overdrive sounds rich and defined, yet full. Heavy overdrive/distorsion on the JB rocks!!!
It now is simply the best playing and sounding guitar I have ever played. (I have some USA strats, les paul and peavey wolfgang).
In contrary to most strats, this one is very light and excellently balanced. Everyone who has played it agrees with me, it's dope.

I normally use a JCM 900, Koch twintone (everyone should try one), fender blues de Ville and Blues Junior), with a tube screamer and Digitech Hot Rod with some delays, octavers etc.

This guitar now sounds good trough any amp.

Right out of the box it was already good but after I brought it to a professional builder, he set it up perfectly.
The lacquer looked beat up already after one year and the neck now shows some wear and tear. This, however gives it character.

This thing has and will withstand any kind of abuse.
Ive dropped it from stairs, had it gone wet during ceiling leakage and it never stopped working.
Apart from the finish, it's very reliable, which is a comfortable thought during gigs.

This is a stayer. I love it and prefer it to all fenders I Possess and have ever played.

korean made. strat style tremelo, 22 fret, bubunga fretboard, maplke neck, alder body, natural finish, two single coil, one humbucker pickups.

A very versatile guitar with many sound permutations available. Use the tone control. I play many styles, including rock, soft rock and ballads. Combined with a zoom pedal, the universe is available.

The guitar was an ex demo model and was perfectly set up. The shop did, however, forget to include the tremelo arm but thats ok with me as I don't use one anyway, preferring to use the flat of my hand to activate the vibrato. Big minus point is the fact that the bridge is now rusty. Not impressed with that. Perhaps they should fit stainless steel ones at production and add a few quid onto the price.

I have used this guitar for gigging for two years without any problems. Bodywood seems a little soft but all adds to the character in years to come.

na

I've been playing for over twenty years and have had countless guitars over the years. The Pacifica represents unbelievable value for money, great for beginners or as a good hardworking tool. A hardtail version would be a welcome addition. The plastic and chrome could be upgraded but why bother? A few minor jobs would turn this into a serious guitar. Replace the pickups with kent armstrong or seymour duncans. Upgrade tuners with lockers. Use, abuse and enjoy.

One thing you MUST do when you get this guitar is put a decent set of strings on. The factory strings were microscopically thin compared to a 9 gauge set..what the hell do they use in that factory??. I use Rotosound 9s on this guitar (#3 a set and a complete bargain)

As all others,except maple fretboard - This is just an update after getting rid of a lot of unplayed guitars and having a chance to play the Pac for a while, again.

Standard pickups/confuguration is a little limited,BUT, I've yet to hear better pups on a sub #/$200 guitar. If you cannot "rough it out" on this..better take up the bagpipes. It has a Vol and Tone Control

>> use them both>>.

Fidle with your amp settings too. If you decide to keep playing try Kent Armstrong or Golden Age Pickups for good,toneful,cheap upgrades.

Knocks the socks of Squier,Coxx,some Epiphones and most cheapies..see below.
I'd suggest blocking the tremolo though.

Mine is unfinished and you can scrape,nay,gouge chunks out of the wood with a finger nail..get a painted one. The neck is rock solid.

Tuners keep it in tune very well. Bridge and [hence] Intonation are very stable with a blocked tremolo.

Parents_ Get this one for little Johnny.

Anyone else~~

It's got the best neck width/depth/profile/fretting compromise I've found in any guitar under #400,so far. I am not saying it is perfect just very good.

Guitars which I've owned or played that this guitar has outranked/outlasted are Squier Strat/Affinity Strat,Cheri and Coxx telecaster copies,Squier Bullet,Dean Evo P,Ibanez Roadstar II,Axe Hm Strat (not surprising),Marlin Superstrat (also not surprising),Epiphone Les Paul Studio (suprising, a #350+ guitar),Fresher Les Paul Copy,Epiphone Junior P90,Kramer Focus Vts111 and "Vintage" branded SG copies. In fact the only Guitars which it doesn't play better than is some Fenders and a lot of Gibsons,although I do prefer this "beginner's guitar" over my Gibson some days.

Of course that is all subjective,although I doubt that anyone seriously testing out this guitar for a few weeks or more would be disappointed with it.



Ok, it can do with a pickup change BUT the standard pickups are better than a lot of copies out there.

One of this guitar's biggest benefits is also it's biggest deficit and that is the nut width - for the uninitiated that's the width from the thickest string to the thinnest string at the top of the neck - it is narrow at a little over 40mm,but, for those not endowed with big hands or for beginners trying to make their first big chord stretches this will be a godsend. Sausage fingered people will find it too easy to mash [the wrong] strings together.

A little fret buzz can be found when playing unamplified,but,that disappears when amplified to conversation level.

I won't delve deeply into all the hardship,stress and malarkey this little 112 has been through in 2 years,I'll just say you won't find tougher necks...the body wood is VERY SOFT in the unfinished models though.Electronics are also sturdy enough.

I'm after another to modify and am,hopefully,going to stop my search for the "perfect cheap guitar"..after that,just need a tweak and pickup here or there.

Made in 1997 in Mexico
22- frets
Basic Specs

I play progressive Rock a' la' Dream Theater, it has a fast thin neck not to mention a light weight body so its great for a fast playing lead guitarrist.
I use it with my Peavy 5150 and a Boss GT-3, it i not noisy at all, all other who claim it is...Geat a better amp and Effects!
It suprisingly doesnt have an anoyingly trebly sound like most other strats, comparable to a fender Fat Strat

This guitar doesn't get its action tampered in any way in the factory, you have to do it...(as you should do whith any other instrument if you are a pro player)...Well built and nice and thick bone white finish.

Like any other guitar it has Metal parts, and if they aren't made out of stainless steel like wilkinson tremolos they are vulnerable to corrotion. You are supposed not to let a guitar get humid and give it a quick cleaning everytime you change your strings. If you do this, it will last forever

I've been playing for 7 years, recorded 3 albums with 3 different groups, own a 5150, Line 6 Axys, Ibanez silver Cadet, Ibanez 570, Rickman custom guitar, Ovation and a GT-3. I tried this guitar in a show because mine had a broken string and borrowed this one from a friend a friend. I just fell in love with it, At first I felt weird falling in love with such a cheap guitar beaing a pro player and all, but its just abslutly the most confortable guitar I have played in my enire life. Feel free to contact me with any questions
edwingarcia69@hotmail.com

bought out of a jcpenney catalog in 1997 for 199.00. included a yamaha 25watt amp, gig bag, electronic tuner, picks, straps, extra strings, and instruction booklet! have been playing since 1964 and currently own the following; gretch tenn, gretch country gent. vox teardrop, gibson flying v, fender tele, fender standard strat. this baby, by far, sounds just as good and plays just has easy as any of my other axes that cost thousands more!!!!I truely beleive that it's a eric clapton strat that has been labeled wrong!!!!

play through a fender deluxe 90 or vox beatle. sounds great

i regulary uses it w/o a back-up. even my boss, Paul Revere, (thats right, Paul Revere) can't beleive it's a guitar from a catalog.

have not had to use.

Ok, this is a YAMAHA Pacifica 112, don't know where they built it. Its got 22 Frets, Two Single-Coils Pickup, one Humbucker (don't know what kind of) and a Floyd Rose - kind of tremolo, although its not a real floyd rose, don't know what it is. Controls are Volume and Tone. I got the black finish with a white picking board. What else? Switching is 5-way. Passive electronics. Got it with a rock bag, strap and a tuner.

7, becuase it's all kinda crappy, but hey, for that price? Thats ok I guess.

I'm playing Metal (Metallica, Iced Earth, Iron Maiden, Kamelot kinda stuff) and I started out with this guitar because I didn't know what I was gonna play later. It's a great overall-good guitar, it has a good Solo Sound, I play it together with a Peavey Transtube 112, those two get together really fine. When I'm goin into Rythm its ok, but I never get the real crunch sound I need. Clean sound is good, not perfect but thats ok.
It's very nosy on the first pickup, really anoying when you're playing solo with it. The Highs are very good, the lows are kinda hollow, the mids are not that good, but I don't need them for metal anyway.

The Variety is good, you can play smooth blues and that kinds stuff, but for metal it's not much of a monster.

I had to screw a bit on the pickups, sometimes the humbucker falls into the body, really anoying!! The Strings lay way to low on the neck, I had to adjust the screws, which are really horrible to handle!
Well, the neck is pretty nice, the tuning stays pretty long, the rest of the hardware is pretty good. The input jack gets loose, but thats like on many other guitars not that much of a problem.

It will probably withstand most of the things you could imagine doing to a guitar. Although (as I mentioned earlier) the bridge is kinda weird and the pickups fall out. I would not go on stage with this!
The finish is alright, got a few scratches in there through daily use, but thats ok.

Never had to deal with them.

Hey, it's a guitar. That's why I bought it, and I'm happy with it. I'm playing for little more than a year now and at the moment I don't have any other guitars. I will keep it as a second guitar, after I will buy an ESP EX-351 (really good!) in a couple of weeks.
Its good for:

If you start playing and you don't have that much money or faith in yourself that you will keep playing, or you don't know what kind of music you will finally play, this is your guitar! Jacksons are too expensive (the JS1 sucks!), Strats are good, but not everybody likes em, this is perfect to start playing.
If you're getting better, then get a better one!

So ... that's my opinion. If you disagree, hey, I don't care. People allways see things different, thats their way :).

Rock on!

Made at the Kaohsiung factory in Taiwan, this 1995 model (which I purchased in 1997) has an alder body and a 22 fret rosewood fingerboard with a bolt-on construction neck. The nutwidth is 41.50mm - the scale length 648mm. It has a humbucker at the bridge and two single coils at the neck and mid.

While not the best guitar in the store - it has proven itself to be a remarkably flexible and versatile instrument with an acceptable sound even with the shop pickups. However, having replaced these PU's with Seymour Duncan SSL-1 vintage staggered single coils and an SD SH-4JB humbucker plus Fender locking machine heads - the guitar now stands up to some pretty respectable competition.

The reason the small modifications were carried out was that the fingerboard turned out to be quite superb in terms of playing ease and accuracy. The action can be set according to personal preference with the intonation always being very good. The finish, in typical Yamaha fashion, is excellent. It was worth the "upgrade".

The guitar is durable making it an excellent work-horse. I've had absolutely no problems with it over 5 years of gigging.

I've had no experience of this.

Because of its price and its compact and lighter design I use this guitar for longer gigs and where there is a confined high traffic space such as in an orchestra pit for shows etc where just the thought of strapping on my Les Paul for over two hours brings on sore shoulder syndrome instantly! With a little bit of modification this Pacifica makes an ideal professional tool for those playing environments where you might not want to risk damage to a prized instrument. This guitar has proven itself to be fantastic value in every way.

this guitar looks great, feels great, and for the most part sounds great. Varnished natural look looks nice against a black pick board, and a natural neck. You can also get white pickboard and black neck but that looks like a kids toy. Pickup set up is: humbucker and two single coils. Tuners are not locked, which proves to be a bit of a bollox, especially when tuning down for some heavy shit.

I have a fairly broad style which this guitar suits. Its a pain in the ass trying to adjust it to a distinct sound (ie metallica, guns and roses), but the sound it comes out with is usually good enough to suit my style. The single coils buzz a little, but thats partially do do with leads and amp settings. Variety-wise, its got loads. Really heavy crunchy distortions, dirty blues tones, and thin clean sounds (for whenever they are actually needed) are its best qualities. I use a peavey studio pro 112, boss DS-1, dunlop wah and a ibanez tube screamer, and zoom 707GFX from time to time. Sounds decent with that setup but after six years I get tired of it.

This part bugs me. When I got the guitar the bridge was bolloxed. It was fit loosely so that when ever I tightened one string the bridge moved up and hence loosening another sring. This made tuning really cumbersome, and alternative tunings nearly impossible. About a year ago I took a screwdriver to the panel at the back, where the strings go in. I tightened the springs which held the bridge in place. This kept the bridge right down, now it doesn't move at all. This has been on every other pacifica Ive played. I went in to a few stores and it was on all those also. There must be some advantage to it being like that if they designed it like that, but it was a pain in my ass. That was my only problem. Otherwise it was all fine

Very durable. ALthough after six years I can see signs of wear and tear. For instance, when playing on high notes, (past twelveth fret) the sound roughens up, I have a feeling the neck is twisted but its a strange twisting if thats the case. The pick ups could be a bit battered. I needed to rewire the socket jack a while ago, but that was mostly due to my own misuse of it. The best thing about natural finish is that scratches and dents are nearly impossible to detect. Only if its really beaten up. Otherwise you could take some varnish to it. But im not that worried about scratches. For gigging, I would use this as a back up, a fairly reliable back up. The strap buttons arent going to come off anytime soon. The bridges have been fine, so far. I might sent it for reservicing soon, but if it comes back the same Ill have to look in to getting a new guitar.

Never had to deal with them, always used my local store. MAybe I should send it to Yamaha for a service

For the money, it is excellent. Nice sound, good looks plays very nicely, maybe because Im just used to it. Ive been playing 6 years, stared when I was eleven, in the time Ive been playing Ive played a bunch of guitars around the same price but they dont compare. I dont like my amp too much, I would much prefer a marshall, it sounds even better through a marshall. With the pedals I have it is pretty impressive. If it got stolen, however I would seize that opportunity to get a Gibson SG or an ESP. But eventually give in to nostalgia and get another PAcifica.

Pickups S/S/H! tone and volume knobs!

This a guitar you can play ANY style of music with!.

THe pickups are really quite good for the price! not noisy at all!

I've done everything to this guitar apart from set fire to it!. I've thrown it a cross a rooms hundreds of times, dropped it on it head/lead socket!. The only things that will go on this guitar are the plastic bits. This is one tough cookie!

Fantastic value for a first/beginners guitar! I love it! nothing i've played beats the value and sound at this low price!

Sounds great, has that real Fender sound which I wanted. Might be a little bright for some.

Unbelievable at the price.

Too soon to tell, but I hear they are indestructable.

Been playing for 30+ years and have owned many many guitars of various brands...This Yamaha Pacifica 112 Natural finish is unbelievable for the money. Bought it used, but brand new condition. I'm not sure if was set up or from factory, but the set up is perfect. Just can't believe the quality for the money. Am starting a Yamaha collection for sure..and at these prices I can afford to do it too.

I am going to bring little new to the reviews on this product other than to confirm the majority of views.

1999 natural finish model. Bought second hand with a Peavey Blazer 158 Amplifier. Everything seems to be standard, though it has been customised with scratches, dents, dinks and chips.....but I got it cheap.

For the money it gets 9, but a 7 when not taking the low cost into account.

I play blues through to metal, and using effects software through the computer, this guitar is just fine, and sounds as good as anything else through my current set up. However, when I was originally looking for a guitar, I checked out most of the guitars within the #150 - #250 range.....and the 112 consistently felt the best every single time.

Same rating as above

Being second hand, and well used the guitar required a little setting up, including the well worn frets (playing way too much shadows). So after much searching on internet, talking to Yamaha and others, I set about adjusting it all, including taking various grades of wet and dry to the frets (very nervously I admit).

I am now very pleased with the set up, and plays lovely for a guitar within this budget.

Same rating as above. 9 and 7 averaging 8

Considering the obvioius lack of care and amount of work this unit has undertaken, then this guitar is incredible.

As such I am upping the ratings by 1 for each and therefor the average will come out at 9

After finally obtaining the right number for the guitar support in the UK, I can honestly say that everyone I have spoke to, was most helpful, infact, they all go beyond that and it was actually a pleasure to chat with these guys. And trust me, that is still refreshingly unusual in this country, so here I am going to give them a 10.

I played for about 10 years till I got married and bought old houses that required rennovation about 15 years ago. I still have a Fender Jumbo accoustic, that still looks new. I got a Peavey Blazer 158 amp with the Pacifica.
If it were stolen, I probably would buy another, though must admit that as I seem to be progressing quite rapidly, I would also entertain getting a better pacifica model, simply because I can afford it.
Love or hate........this is where I get the soap box out.
I love the price I paid, but thats it. I do not dislike anything about it, but do not "love" anything about it. I doubt whether I could be passionate about any Yamaha product.....they do their job well, reliably etc. To explain, I love my Alfa Romeo, but its not as good other cars I have owned, but it somehow stirs a passion that other cars cant. I suspect that I will soon own a Charvel, or a Jackson, (when one turns up cheap enough) and even should it turn out to be not as good as the 112, I bet I love it....now you explain that!

o.k nothing to brag about, its a cheap guitar. it plays nice, mine has a humbucker(needs to be changed) and two single coils. the neck is very nice. the tuners are o.k. im not wasting too much money on sucha cheap guitar so i will only change the humbucker. it came with a cable, tools and a string winder.

bought it for prcticing so i dont have to use my other expensive guitars like my les paul cutom. i play anything from blues to metal and this does the job. the sound is not rich but its o.k for bedroom use, i would not use it live although it could work. i might change the humbucker at the bridge to somthing with more output and more of a balanced sound. maybe a dimarzio tone zone or a seymour duncan custom 5. this guitar can cover any style. i dont use the middle single coil so I just screw that in the whole way cause it gets in the way of mi picking.

the color is nice, wood. it come ready to play out of the box although im a fix it freak so i adjusteded to my liking. i dont like the action very loww cause i like to dig under the strings. the plastic is very cheap, too cheap. i dont use the bar (hate waamy bars) so i dont know how well it holds in tune. the guitar looks nice, it looks more expensive than it is.

ie seems reliable. it will last long. i have a cheap epiphone les paul junior that i have really abused!!! and its still going. it think this guitar will be similar. like i said i would not use it live cause ill be embarressed to be seen with such a cheap guitar, plus i have better guitars so.....

have not dealt with yamaha. i ahve another yamaha acoustic that i love and its been really realiable so i think this will do the same.

ive been playing since i was 11 and im 29 now. i would not buy again if stolen. i think i would miss it though but i would not feel so bad as if i lost my gibson les paul custom or my gibson les paul junior spacial or my fender strat. i have a couple epiphones that are really nice (change the pickups and tuners.
this yamaha is great for its price range.

Well described elsewhere

Lotsa variety. I play industrial reggae and garage blues thru a Boss DM2, Rogue Stereo Chorus and into a Peavy Envoy 110. This guitar will go from clean fingerpickin to tin can fuzz.

Wood's surprisingly good, plastic & metal'r cheap.

6 mos. later hasn't broke yet.

N/A.

Absolutley the best deal under $200. I looked for years before upgrading from my Kay solid body. Maybe now I'll learn a new chord.

I like the pickups and the playability in killer solo ! but the neck is really long and the tremolo always detune the guitar ( it is not a floyd rose ! ) The body is not to big, not to small, nice position when i am sit.

OKKKKK, this sound ? I dream, must i play at my pacifica, must i like the sound ! I reajusted the pickup and the bridge and now i think it is really to play any musical style ( me, i'ts for metal but it's really cool on blues)

YOu must take some times to reajust the guitar. the potentiel is really not used when you buy it.

Ok, nothing is perfect but for the prize i think than this guitar is nice and have a great sound and potentiel. I don't find something than i don't like.
To everybody thant begin, that'ts really cheap and really good !!!

I brought one of these as I'd broken my main guitar and needed a stop gap - Was very cheap. Features were fine for the amount I paid for it, well made and quite handsome looking guitar. But I think people get abit carried away with their reveiws - this is a good guitar for the price but its nothing special. Has everything you could want, but you just know and feel that it's real cheap.

I would prefer less features and increase the quality of the remaining hardware.

Nice enough sound - but nothing on my Ibanez or Telecaster, very tinny, played mainly through my Marshall AVT 150, didn't do the amp justice at all. Clean sound quite full, distorted loses itself in noise - pickups are low quality and barely cope when pushed

This is where this guitar saved itself for me - was well put together, no real flaws on body work - Action fine straight out of box - I did have to move the pickup's a bit to get the most out of them. Nice looking, played well.

I gigged it a few times just as a spare - coped fine although, I certainly notice the difference to my other guitars, Because it was so cheap I wasn't frightened to give it a bit of stick ie, bending neck and running up and down alot trying to avoid the drum kit.

The hardware was a real concern for me - after a few months it went RUSTY! Which in my opinion is very, very ,very bad.

This guitar will not last for very long - My Ibanez Raodstar II is 15/20 years old and is still much more durable.

No idea - but Yamaha are a big company so I'd imagine they would be ok.

I have been playing for best part of 20years and to be fair this is one of the better guitars I've seen for less that #200, remember Squires and Marlins of old.. yuk!! But I believe most of the reviews here are a bit OTT - remember this is a cheap guitar and ideal for anyone on a budget - but it's definitely nothing amazing.

I have owned and played vintage American guitars for over 30 years.
I would have never considered a Yamaha guitar.
Financial problems caused me to see all of my guitar gear.
A friend gave me this guitar almost a year ago.
I used it with my Marshall tube stack and it sounded better than my old Fender's.
It plays well and sounds good.
The tuners don't slip and the bridge stays in adjustment.
I don't use the tremolo.
I also prefer small frets.
These are medium jumbo.
It is refrigerator white (green tint).
Came with a hard Fender case.
I don't know when it was made.
The man who gave it to me put a DeArmond humbucker at the bridge.
5 way switch.

I play everything from Jazz to hard rock, country and blues.
It feeds back at high volumes but I lowered the pickups and the problem was resolved.
It has a bright sound but not ice picky.

I set up my own guitars to my liking.
Can't see any flaws.

Very reliable.
I am not easy on guitars.
It was dropped with no damage resulting.
Finish is holding up well.
It is dependable and I gig/jam with it weekly without a backup.

I have been playing forever.
At this time I am using a Peavey amp but I usually use a Marshall stack.
If it were stolen I would buy a US Fender Fat Telecaster...again.
It does the job with no serious problems and holds up well.
One problem,but this problem is prevelent in many guitars.
Temperature hanges will make it go out of tune.
I play many outside gigs and I have to tune it often.
Once it reaches the same temp as the weather it is fine.
Good guitar for beginners and professionals alike.

Basically a pointier strat copy, with 2 single coils and a bucker in the bridge. Comes with a vintage (i think) tremolo, gig bag, strap. Don't know the wood, but the neck is surely maple. Big 70s looking strat headstock. One tone, one volume.

This thing sounds great for the cash. Sure beats my friend's Mexi Strat (and even his faded SG!). I don't like it clean that much, after playing more and more guitars, but with some Peavey Classic 30 overdrive it smokes. I particularly enjoy the straight humbucker sound, and after that would choose the 4th pickup selector position (probably the neck p/u and middle p/u). That selection has this creamy, jazzy tone that my Les Paul owning friend can't get enough of.

Seems well setup and finished. Stays in tune incredibly well. The action is unreal...I do not enjoy playing most other guitars, this has spoiled me. The neck, although fast, smooth, and comfortable, seems to be a little loose. Every once in a while I can hear and feel it sort of snap down a little bit. I could probably just screw it in a little tighter, but I'm lazy/scared.

Don't know about live playing...not many people with one $179 guitar gig. However, I am still satisfied with this guitar after years of use. It is really beat up, but I feel that it ages like a strat...Perfectly! No dead frets, p/u's working fine.

n/a

This is a great guitar to start off with. Get it over a standard Mexican strat anyday. It will treat you well and is great to learn on...very easy to play. If you're stuck up on getting a classy brand-name, don't worry, many an experienced guitarist has said "nice blackie" when seeing Jones.

this is a pretty good guitar for its class. it sure beats a fender mexican strat. this is just your basic strat copy with a SSH config. The tuners keep tune pretty well.

right now the humbucker and middle single coil pickups have failed so, im left with only one. the single coil is good for cleans. the tone is suprizing very good.

i had to adjust the action when i got it from the factory. i like low action.everything else was fine.

the pickups are messed up so theres that. one of the tuning heads broke off. i was pretty damn rough with the guitar tho so, thats what happens. everything else has lasted 2+ years.

never dealt with them

this is a great guitar for the beginner that wants to go the strat route. just take care of it and it shouldnt mess up.

Everybody else has told you this already - it's a strat copy (mine is in "yellow natural satin" with a white pick-guard). It has a humbucker in the bridge and 2 single coils in the middle and neck positions, a standard strat style trem that i locked back to effectively make it a hard-tail (i hate trems!), did i mention it has strings... yadayadayada... read somebody elses for the rest fo the tech spec - i'm only interested in telling you what i think after playing it for a couple of years....

Just for the record, my 112 does everything I need it to, so the features must be fairly good!

You can make almost any sound with this and the right amp (i favour the bright sound of my solid state Peavey Bandit 112 for cutting through on stage, but it sounds great through my Marshall AVT20 for living-room prac) so of course i'd say it suits my musical style! The sound of this guitar all really depends on how good you are at dialling in a sound - if this guitar sounds bad, it's YOUR fault!

I've had a bit of noise with it when it's next to my CRT computer monitor for recording, but that's to be expected, and apart from that it resists most buzzing etc. quite nicely.

I just got a Line6 POD now the price is down a bit, and this guitar really does well through it - i think it's because you get a nice clean signal - so i'd guess it'd do just as well with any effects or amp moddeling gear you might have.

I saw this guitar come out of celophane and then a load of packing when i collected it from the shop. For this reason i can safely say that yamaha know how to set up a guitar - it was perfect straight out of the box. I aint just telling you that to save words either - if it was a piss poor guitar i'd let you know!

The finish was great until i lost concentration and left my belt buckle to scratch the hell out of the back of it (but even then i didn't manage to do a lot of damage to it) and if you don't count the damage i did to it, the finish has remained perfect despite me playing for several hours a day and taking it out to pracs / gigs.

The hardware feels good and solid - it's not let me down in any way, shape or form as yet.

I've played live with this guitar on a few occasions and it's been the only one i've needed for the entire gig. The tuning is perfectly stable even under warm stage lighting etc. possibly due to the hardware and possibly due to the locked back bridge (a floting trem never stays in tune). The strap buttons are good enough to depend on - but if you're paranoid you can get strap locks anyway.

You can depend on this guitar completely, provided you've got it set up well before you gig. I'd never go without a backup though! You may want to / have no other choice due to finance, and i'd say you'd probably be safe, but if you have the trem floating and you break a string you're screwed so consider a backup if you can!

Because it came in the original box, i got all the warranty - though i can't for the life of me recall what it was because i've never had to even think about it!

Yamaha tech support and I have never crossed paths, so i can't comment further.

For the price, this is as good a guitar as you're going to get - and in many ways it's much better. I've played many guitars over the last few years and i've not found many to rival this in terms of sound (and let's face it, that's what you want a guitar for primarily). The looks aren't exactly metal, but they also don't suggest you have anything to prove or an over-inflated ego (and they won't get it stolen for you!)

If my pacifica /was/ stolen i'd get another one straight away and start setting it up and playing it in (mine has the 'old-shoe' thing going on after 2 years of constant use so a new one would feel worse than mine for a while!) I still don't think i'd get the hard-tail tele style pacifica because the pickups weren't that hot when i tried it.

There's nothing to hate here! I wish it had a tune-o-matic bridge and the boost switch of the RGX420-S, but that's me being petty and i'm not going to mark it down for either of those!

As a last word, I've already sent a couple of friends to guitar shops for 112s and they're just as happy as I am, so whilst i know that this IS a very nice example, it's not a total fluke! Go buy one!

Indonesian made
22 frets
1 tone, 1 volume control
S/S/H
Maple neck with rosewood fingerboard
strat style body
you know the features already....what I'd say is that while it may not be in the same league as the upper end guitars, the elctronics on this baby provide you with a good number of options, ideal for a beginner-intermediate guitarist.

Now here's where this baby scores like hell. I play mostly metal/rock/alternative and some blues and it handles eveything real easy n smooth...no hassles...no problemo. However on some distortions, the noise gets a bit annoying but maybe thats my Zoom 505 II, dunno really. Otherwise the sound kicks major ass. And the tone is brilliant.

No problemo here too. Brought my piece right off the rack of the store after trying it out a few days. Perfect action, good intonation and overall a very good finish too. No flaws I could make out.

Here I wouldnt know what to say yet coz I have had my guitar for only 2 weeks now but it looks like a solid piece of wood. I'm not the sort to go around banging my precious little pacifica anyway, so thats it. I expect my guitar to last for a long long time.

Not used it yet

I have been playing for 3 years now and have played a variety of guitar incl. Gibsons. I honestly think that this is one of the all-time great budget guitars. It's got everything you need to start off if you are a beginner and if you are past that stage, it has more you even still. In short, go and buy it now.

Sounds great for what it is. Has a strat sound.Play it through an older Yamaha 50 112 also have a Korg effects board which to me makes any guitar sound like anything you want.

I disassembled the guitar which it didn't really need and put it together to my taste. While the neck was off I masked the frets and neck and urethaned the finger board in high gloss(sprayed) ....so far it has three coats and feels great...also filed the fret edges down and have a superb neck...still not complete... it's all assembled and playable but want to give it a few more coats. I love a low action neck with frets you can hardly feel.
tightening nut is always loosening up at cable connector

Will this guitar withstand live playing? why not?!
Would you use it on a gig without a backup? Who plays with just one guitar?

started playing almost 3 yrs ago after having not plaing consistantly for 25+ yrs. Also have a 38 yr old Richenbacker 12 that I have since almost new as well as a 1980 Yamaha SBG2000..Bought a Yamaha 112m at the same time as this guitar...biege still in the box made sure I recieved the full accompanyment of factory acc.....cable, allen key ,vib bar and catalog....dealors seem to have them 'MIA'
Have many accoustic electrics which is more my style these days. I have a Yamaha FXG412ce12 on order which I should have this week..I had thi 413 last week but brought it back when I discovered the 2002 models were solid tops and a bit more refined.

This is my second 112, sold my first one to help pay for a Gibson SG, writing another review because im bored, and know more about guitars now. 2001 made in Taiwan, 22 frets, solid alder body, 1 vol. 1 tone, 5-way selector, no coil split, but hum-cancelling when humbucker is selected(obviously) and when neck+middle pickups are selected. Humbucker in the bridge(i replaced the stock one with a black seymour duncan JB), 2 singlecoils (all passive).Neck is maple with a rosewood 'board.Mine is finished in 'lake blue' which is really nice, i love this colour!It's a more angular strat shape, so its a little different from 'the norm', which is cool.Dont like the headstock as much as a strat headstock though, but its not ugly.'Vintage style' whammy bar, hold tuning really well, but i dont use the bar much, i press down/pull up the bridge with my hand.Non locking tuners that keep it in tune well, only needs little tuning adjustments every second time you pick it up.No accesories included, unfortunately-i paid #199, which is a lil too much, but it was a small store the guys were really helpfull, and i was in the town where i was born.

The stock bucker in the bridge was decent enough, but i wanted to change it to a JB for a few reasons, and because i had money to burn.The sound i can get from this thing rules, its great for punk, rock, whatever, depending on amp settings and what pickup you want to use.Its not noisy, the single coils dont hum too bad, just when near sources of interference (eg. PC monitor, lightbulb dimmer switches etc) Really pleased with the sound.

It was set up well when i got it, but i changed to 10's and chucked an extra spring in to the tremelo cavity to pull the bridge down more(it was way up when the 10s are on).Pickups were adjusted well, the Guy that put in the JB set it pretty high, so my cleans are slighty distorted, which is cool.No flaws in fit or finish, although there are numerous small dents in the finish thanks to me...

The gutar would definately withstand live playing, its solid as a rock and i wouldnt be as protective over it as i would over my SG.
The hardware is gonna last, i cant wait til it ages, I've taken chips out the paint with a knife to 'age' it more, so it looks beat up.I'll probably regret this, but oh well...I put Dunlop 'Lok-straps' on both my guitars, keeps the strap on without modifying the guitar , unlike strap locks which require drilling.I would use it at a gig without a backup, as i wouldnt want my SG sitting about, as i live in a really shitty/dodgy area (Glasgow in Scotland).

N/A

I've been playing for over 2 years, i own-the Pacifica, a Gibson SG Standard, a Marshal MG30RCD, an Ibanez TS7 tubescreamer, a U.S Electro Harmonix Small Stone, and a Danelectro Dan-O-Wah.If it was stolen the id get one again, but id be gutted about losing this guitar, it kicks ass.I usually choose to play this over my SG, its that good! It gives me everything it should and i wouldnt really want any more in the guitar.Awesome guitar! If anyone is a fan of SG's, i have a discussion board at: http://pub41.ezboard.com/bhouseofhornssgforum

Great starter guitar, but its not just for beginners-but one!

I have a "Yamaha Pacifica 112 X Special edition"
(limited - 200 - instrument in UK)

Features: 22 frets, SOLID Adler body (sounds cool!) , volume, tone pots, 5 way pickup selector

Pickup configuration is S/S/H (Humbucker is great)
Maple neck, with buminga (what?? :) - quite exotic) fingerboard.
Double cutaway!

Color: Metal Gold/Black! (special edition)

The body is strat like, but with a little modern feel.
Vintage tremolo (standard - good)

Tuners is a oil-based ones, good.

My stile is "metal like", + some fine (not distorted) parts.
I using LEEM 1020R amp, and sound very good, even i dont have
any distortion pedal, just the amp bulit in distortion.

No noise!

Very Rich/Full sound! I just amazed how!!!
Whan i walked to the intrument shop, i planned a lots of guitars
in my mind...

Fender Squire Statocaster, Fender Squier Stagemaster, Ibanez GRX 40,
etc, etc...

In the shop i try a lots of guitars with the same amp!

Stagemaster is good but no personal sound, Ibanez GRX is produce only
a "pickup sound", not soo deep wood sound... not soo correct
in solos.

With the Squier strato i realize a "extremely not fat" feel.
Like a child toy, but the guy from a shop told me: ok it is not fat, but not bad.

I dont know, but is not good.

After this i try the Yamaha!

I just AMAZED!!!!

In the first postition of the pickup i realized a cool Fender Strato like sound, and the humbucker is just really vivid!

In the shop the other guy told us: this is really cool!!!!!

Very rich, very fresh, deep distortion sound!!!

I just amased.

I also try the Maple fingerboard version too.
This is good for alternative music, sounds very unique!

But distortion is sound better with the buminga fingerboard version.

Solo parts sound extremely cool! Far better than some very high priozed guitars (2-3x!!!) Very strong, and ritch solo sound...

I try to change a humbucker to a DiMarzio DP100 Super Distortion
(iron maiden like :) but the original humbuckers is very good ones.

Especially in solos!!

I just amazed!!!

Also the axe is one of the best axes i ever see.

The guitar is very flexible to every style.

I'm a producer.

I bought this guitar for studio use, (when i change the humbucker do
Dimarzio DP100) but whitout the pickup change, it is good for studio use too.

The squier looks like a toy compared to this.

Very heavy built guitar.
I dont have any problem.

Live playing is great.
3 kg only!!!
metal gold/black, very individual design for live play!!!
When i put the Dimarzios to this, godd for everything.
(up to 2 million people :)

I have no experience with Yamaha customer support.

I had this baby since 2 months. I have other 2 personal guitars.
But i am a producer so i working with others too :)
If stolen i probably buy again...
I love the quality of the wood, the build quality, the sound, the
special paint!

Better that squier Stagemaster, (except the tremolo)
Far better than Squier strato, Ibanez GRX, etc...

My friend have this guitar too.

Extremely cool solo-sound :)

I shall not go into too much detail except that my guitar is stock apart from custom scratch plate and knobs.I have owned the guitar since new .....bought in 1997.

Well wat can i say!....When i first got the guitar i was a bit dissappointed as i was expecting something with a fender like twang!How wrong i was....but damn it...this guitar had a great warm sound and dare i say that it educated me to play differently.Great for distortion on all pickups...the bucker has a great creamy warm sound without sounding mushy.Through my fender twin amp this is prob my best sounding guitar for a live situation

The only bugbear i have is that the natural satin finish scratches really easily....you can even sratch it with a fingernail.Treat the body with respect and it shuold last...The set up on the guitar when new was ok but i adjusted to my own taste.Faultless finish new....and oh yes the trem is excellent

Body scratches far too easily.....Have gigged without backup...
Now that i have played the axe for a few years it has a great played in feel ,something that a setup or reprofile can never do..I feel very at home with this guitar...like a pair of old shoes.Ultra reliable ....well built...i feel i can play this guitar with vigour and satisfaction..

Yamaha /kemble uk good.....A damn sight better than fender/arbiter uk

Ive playing 20 years now and have numerous fenders and other quality guitars.For the money this beats them all but the only big niggle that i have about this instrument is that it has no street cred...as people say that this is a beginers guitar...but just remember one thing, the general public dont know anything about guitars anyway,esp when there half pissed and watching you gig...This is is my best guitar...but not my favourite if you see what i mean....Have fun!

This Guitar is brillient for the money and way exceeds any other guitar within its leage. It has a solid Alder body, electric blue, 22 frets,vintage whammy (tremolo), SSH pickup (2 single coils and 1 humbucker in the bridge) and is a sound look-alike strat copy basically. Very good guitar for beginners! Has a great feel, loverly neck. I can not fualt this guitar in any way really. You get 1 volume 1 tone pots, only one tone but who really misses that second one anyway?? i never do!
The only thing i noticed was that the guitar has a very factory feel about it but for #170 what do you want??

I play various music styles from jazz to rock and blues and this guitar manages them all without fall. You get a very straty tone from the neck posistion then switch to the bridge to get a bit more bite from that humbucker pickup. The only thing i found was that the humbucking bridge pickup was slightly microphonic and fead back quite alot but otherwise fine. I know play a Fender 70's strat and too be honist the difference isn't that great!

The guitar was set up by my guitar shop altho was playable before had.
The neck is C shaped and is very comfatable and fast. Frets are average and tuners keep it in tune well. The guitar is a very comfatable guitar not too heavey by far and feels very natural. Finish was up with any midium priced Fender at around #500. Whammy is maybe a bit on the jurkey side but still remains accurate.

I have not found any problems with the guitar and would easly withstand giging treatment!
Everything on the seems built to last and u can easly depend on it. A great guitar!!

No dealings cant say

I own five other electrics being:
Fender 70's strat
Epiphone les paul
Gibson 335
De armond m75t
Ibanez Artist solid body
And the yammaha lives up to these within its price range so basically for its price a very astonishing guitar and i would defently replace it if anything where to happen.

Bought new in Mail for $130.00. Solid Alder body, satin semi-transparent brown with Rosewood board. S-S-HB. Neck has nice feel. Set up at local shop. Surprised by quality of woods. Hardware is cheap, but very funtional. 9 due to good value.

A lot better than I expected. Use cheap Dano 50 practice amp, cheap Tube MP, and direct with tubescreamer. I changed strings to Dano 10's right away - I'm just used to 10's. I actually like it fine the way it is. Good spread of sounds for me, and I like like the bridge humbucker with some tone modeling. Not noisy for me on 1 & 3, real clean on 2 & 4. Nice. I'm currently looking for a five watt class A amp now, it could only sound better with tubes.

Fit and finish were excellent. Needed set-up, but played out of the box. Had tremolo set to body. Useful for dives, and stays in tune that way. 9 due to value. Incredible for a guitar of this price.

Don't know yet, but seems like it will last fine. I'm easy on gear.

Yamaha isn't warm and friendly like some others. Neck is stated as lifetime warrantee to origional owner. Keep receipts, be happy.

I bought this Guitar as a project piece. I would be happy with a solid Alder body, and decent neck for $130.00. I was very happy with the woods. Semi transparent finishes will often get you better wood, and the neck is fine - not too thick. Rosewood is excellent quality.

I was going to change this, swap that, ..., but everything is really just fine the way it is. Pick-ups sound fine, stays in tune, looks fine, so, I'm happy. Refinishing, refit of pick-ups, better tuners, can all come much later. What a deal. Recommend it to any new player, or someone who like to tinker. It's hard to find a good neck by itself for this money. Nothing gets a 10 from me.

Mine is an instrument I regretfully "had" but traded. Bought for $235.00, traded for $175.00. Probably made around 1992. I think made in Japan?? basswood body, maple neck, rosewood finger board. H/S/H strat style body. Sealed tuners, good quality. Non-locking trem....I notice everyone rates it as crap....I ask you, is there a nonlocking trem system that works??? Some complain the frets are tall, I liked this! The neck was fast, the feel good. My model when used in position 2 and 4 of the 5 way system yeilded the middle single coil with a single coil from the bridge or neck humbucker. This mimicked a strat to perfection.

I play what used to be heavy metal and now is relegated to classic rock. I was a teen in the 70's. At the time I had it I had a Peavey Bravo, 212 stero chorus, Marshall JCM 900 head and 50 watt combo. O.K. kids, single coils alone are noisy. Out of phase in parallel they are not. (pos 2 & 4 on a standard strat) My guitar was noisy in position 3 only! Do you detect a lecturing tone in this review? If they don't hum they're not singles but stacked humbuckers pretending to be singles. The guitar sounded good. I liked it.

I don't know about factory set up as I bought it at a music store. A small one, not out of a box, set up by the stores staff. There were no flaws, it was a nice instrument. Metal flake candy apple red with white pick guard....Oh yeah, as for the pick guard scratching...isn't that what they're for????

It served me well while I had it. I did not gig with it but should have giving in to my bands pier pressure to use my Les Paul and Ibanez Radius. You should always A L W A Y S have a back up axe!!But it was reliable.

Didn't need any....but I bought it at Northern Music and Video in Potsdam New York and Alix would back anything he sells regardless of make.

I've been playing for 25 years. I've owned in the neighborhood of 25 - 30 guitars. I've had 2 Les Pauls, a Strat, an Ibanez Raduis and so on. I confess I do like cheap guitars. They are not as good as their USA made high end counterparts but for 1/4 the price you get 2/3 the guitar. I just ordered a new Pacifica 112. I'll miss the second humbucker but will correct my past mistake for a poultry $129.95 thanks to a sale at Musicians Friend. I may replace the pick ups but if the neck is like my old one I'll have a killer axe for way under $300.00. You will noticew the kinder reviews here are from the more experienced players. Don't listen to your friends, don't go on a brand name or model. Use your hands and ears. Sound comes from within, not from a brand name. The most critical component of your rig is your fingers and soul!!!

i love this guitar you can do anthing to it and it still makes great sounds

its got such a great sound considering its got the stock pups in it and its not a fender or gibson, i sorta realize that when i put the toggle switch on certain settins i get a louder hum than i do on other, the only settings i use now are on the bridge or one the neck/mid, i'm

um the first time i took off the pickguard i noticed that the magnet on the neck pickup was broken under the 5 and 6 strings, that sorta makes me mad cause i like the sound of the stock pups, but i was gonna change sometime anyway

its held together for me, the baody is alder and seams very strong i abuse it mildly and its fine

i haven't dealt with the company i took it in to the store i got it from a few times just to sorta check up on it, they didn' do too much

its my first real guitar, its my only guitar at the moment, i can't say anything bad about it, i love it, wonderful for the price

Best guitar for its price. Outstanding fretboard. Solid wood cut body.

Replacing the 2 single coils is the only thing I would do, but i think they are way better then there reputation is.

Playing it just out of the box with a sound so rich was amazing. When my friends played it they couldn't beleive how good it was just out of the box.

Haven't had any problems with any hardware. Solid!

Haven't had to deal with it.

This is a great guitar for any level of player but makes a great first guitar at an outstandingly cheap price.

Updating once again... see my reviews from July of '99. Quite a bit has been done to this guitar since the last review. Along with the SD Alnico II and the Fender Tex-Mex, I replaced the bridge humbucker with some unidentified HB. It looks pretty cheap, but it's got some hefty output, and a bit more character than the stock humbucker. I'm strongly considering putting a P90 of some variety in that position though. Also, the tuners have been replaced with locking Sperzels, which was pretty easy to do. However, I needed to add another string tree to the headstock to get enough tension over the nut on the G and D strings. Let's see... I replaced both potentiometers with larger, heavier-duty pots. This was more of a reliability issue, but the sound seemed somewhat fuller after I did this. The jack and jack plate have also been replaced with better quality parts. With all of these modifications, the guitar is only getting more and more reliable and more and more toneful. As I said in a previous review, this guitar is an excellent base for modifications.

It only gets better with time. With the above mods, it has a very pleasing bell-like tone from the neck, sparkling quack from the neck/mid, a bit of dirt and edge in the mid, and a raging punk sound in the bridge. Very very versatile. However, there is the nagging 60-cycle hum to deal with, and the guitar isn't shielded for crap. This is probably next on my to-do list...

I can't stress the adaptability of this axe enough. As I grow and improve as a player, so does the guitar through my modifications. It's a real player's guitar, one that I refuse to ever part with. Even as my guitar collections expands, the Yamaha always finds its way into my hands on a regular basis. It has sounded excellent through just about every amp I've put it through. However, I've still got a few mods I'd like to perform. The neck, while being an excellent player, is just too thin for my rather large hands (I'm 6'4"). The frets have also squared off, and $300 for a refret just doesn't seem worth it. Thus, I've been looking at purchasing a Warmoth neck with jumbo frets and a thick-ass profile. I'll post if and when I complete this project. Shielding is also a necessity. Finally, the bridge pickup will probably be swapped out in the near future. I'm considering a custom pickguard cut for two single coils and a P90. Should be an interesting project. Email me if you have questions.

Several gigs on I broke a string...one of the originals...and replaced the lot with the set of dddddddddddario XL 10s that the shop gave me with the guitar. After a bit of messing around adjusting the bridge as a result of the heavier gauge, the difference was truly amazing. Now I'll give it a 9. Do yourselves a favour...don't stuff around with the originals.

Made 2001 I assume...in Taiwan. 22 frets. Solid top. Volume and tone and pickups S/S/H. 5-way selector. Alder body, maple neck and bubinga (African rosewood) fretboard. Hard case, strap, stand, couple of Allen keys, 2 leads, truckload of picks. Mine's black...looks good.

Only had it a couple of days but used it at a gig. The sound wasn't as good as I expected. Couldn't get a clean sound. I took it back and the man said the nut wasn't slotted correctly. He gave me another guitar. I made the mistake of not buying the guitar I originally played at the shop (which was a little beauty) but took home one straight from the box...durrrr! The second new one is a bit bright if I have the volume up full but much cleaner. Must say I'm not used the the Fender-style sound having had a Yamaha SA2000s for 20 years.

The first one was none too well set up. It had very high action which I lowered. This made the already unclean sound less clean. I also raised the pick-ups to the recommended distance from the strings. The fit and finish on both guitars was superb though the scratch plate is a bit average-looking up close. Cheap guitar...cheap scratch plate...I can live with it. The newer one has a great action straight from the box. As other reviewers have said...great neck. The guy said he got a shipment of Squiers which had all had the same nut problem. My rating here is for the newer one.

The unclean sounding first guitar went well at the gig...other than the sound...which I had trouble hearing anyway...we have a very loud lead guitarist. Stayed pretty much in tune all night. Didn't fall off the strap buttons. Much lighter than my SA2000s but not as mellow. I'll use that guitar for the 'dinner bracket'. I reckon I could use the Pacifica without a backup but I won't.

Haven't dealt with Yamaha but Better Music was excellent.

Been playing too long to remember. Also own SA2000S, Martin D28, Yamaha acoustic (dunno what model...360 something or other), Ibanez F5-style mandolin, d'apres Stradivarius violin, Honda VTR1000F and a big box of blues harps. Would replace it...but would play it first and take home the one I played. Nice neck and action. Must play a Strat and see how it sounds through my Bandit.

satin reddish-brown finish .chrome hardware.maple fretboard.pretty good pickups and neck for a guitar under 200 dollars.the stock tuners suck and the tremelo bar saddles are horrible (but those are easily and cheaply replaced.)the fretboard is incredible and rivals my friend's 61 strat.a great first guitar or cheap backup.Also a solid piece of wood at this price--AMAZING!!

the stock guitar is descent but I changed several things to improve it.I put Dimarzios in it(Air zone-bridge;hs 2-middle;hs 3-neck).Put a wilkenson bridge with graphite saddles.Sperzel locking tuners.Now this guitar is my main instrument and anyone who plays it ia blown away.I basically bought it becouse it was a solid piece of wood,the fretboard played beautifully,and it was dirt cheap.

the action was set up perfect from the factory when I got it.the satin finish on the guitar actually made it seem way more expensive than it was.the single coils were a bit noisy but well balanced with the o.k. humbucker.my only complaint was the pretty bad saddles,if it weren't for those the tremelo might actually stay in tune.

this axe is really well built.the wiring is pretty clean.but don't use the stock tremelo or you will go out of tune.

n/a

If you want a guitar to "Frankenstein" this rivals a standard strat any day of the week.this guitar is very underpriced.if this guitar was stolen I'd replace it as soon as I could afford to(at this price I could easily do so.)I play 2 telecasters and my Pacifica is my workhorse.The fretboard alone is worth the 200 bucks.stock it's o.k but it's a great fixer upper.

i bought it few years ago, 1999 i think.
these are the specifications before i modulated it (changed pickups, tremolo system, nut, neck and body clued together and rewired)

Body: Alder
Neck: Maple
Fretboard: bugina
Pickups: 2 single coils, 1 humbucker
Hardware: Chrome
Controls: 5 position pickup selector, master volume, master tone
Frets: 22
Bridge: Vintage tremolo
Scale: 25 1/2"
Finishes: Natural Satin, black pickguard

no included accessories.
basically like a guitar should be.

i play blues.
it has a quite like stratocaster sound, i think i got a pretty good one. if you got two guitar, they are supposed to sound the same, but they do not. the wood cannot be the same on both guitars and some tiny details. anyway, the sound was, as right from the factory pretty good, it has good wood and thats why i bought it. factory made pickups sound bad, on the expensive guitars have good pickups right from the factory. but it sounded anyway suprisingly good for the money, i'm putting the rating for that 7.
(but it cannot be compared to my guitar now)

as said, it has pretty like strat sound, great playability, great distorted sound.


but what i've done with my guitar:
first of all, changed all the pickups, local guitar-technician made them for me, they are as good as fender pickups.
that changed my sound already significally, more power and thickness.

and with that i let it to rewire, under the volume and tone knobs are push-pull knobs. one is for switching in the neck single coil pickup. it gives 2 extra pickup settings (i want it to be sometimes the bridge pickup and neck pickup, sort of a tele sound).
and under the other push-pull is phase switch for the neck pickup. adds some cruch or something.

i changed the tremolo and not too.
tremolo now: Fender Deluxe Locking Tremolo Assembly
(the only thing what looks&sounds as i want)
i let the nut to be bone. the nut and new tremolo affected my sound greatly (for good ofcorse) , more opened.


i play with Marshall and Trace Elliot Trident (4x12 cab).
i like the sound i get. it's getting to something i wnat it to be. i play heavy gauge strings (12-54), so clean sound is what i'm after, i remember,i could have an great distortion sound too, but with these fat-ass strings, the highgain gets muddy and to fat. (thats not the fault of guitar ofcourse). it's great for rock, harder rock, if you want it to be. i play blues, to mee it's blues guitar. like-a-strat guitars ar the guitars to play almost anything.

it is made very nicely, plrofessionally designed and stuff like that, i don't know how were everything adjusted right from the factory, pretty weel i think. in the shop i bought it, there they adjust every guitar.
i haven't noticed any flaws on it. everything is great.
btw, i painter the neck top black, and one pickup is white, pickguard plack, hardware chrome, i love it like that !

i can't see a reason, why i should have a backup on a gig.
it's a strong guitar. my guitar had some falls and things like that, nothing happend, it's quite a strong guitar.

-

i have been playing for 4 years, all i want for playing is, a great guitar, bluesy overdrive, wah-wah, little delay/reverb.
my most important thing is the en-voice compressor/preamp/equalized. it's studio stuff, but that what i want for my playings.

the only thing i would want, it that i could try more than one guitar like this. i ordered it, i got it and that was all. i trusted the yamaha quality. but as i said, two even the same named guitars do not sound the same.
if it were stolen, i would find out who stole it, then i would kick his ass, hit hard, and get my guitar back. that's what i would do.

when my guitar was in repair, for a 1 and a half week, i got depressed.
but then, when i got it back, i had the same feeling for few seconds as i had when i tried my teacher's guitar at the very beginning, wow, that was something i cannot decribe.
most of the sound comes from the fingers, my friend tried to play my guitar and other great guitars, but i didn't like it, i didn't like the sound, well, i don't like his playing too.

it's the best guitar you can get for the money.

Purchased this guitar mainly for travel and practice, fine instrument for its price. Made in Yamaha's Taiwanese factory, don't know the exact model year though. Pretty basic features, could have used the 2 knob Fender style tone controls. Alder body, and maple neck (22 frets). Strat clone, vintage tremolo, volume and Tone controls, s/s/h, and 5 way selector switch.

I play blues, punk, and folky sounding pieces. I play this on my travel/practice amp, a Fender Frontman 25r. Fantastic sound for a cheaper guitar. Undeniably one of the best choices for a beginner, or someone looking for a practice/travel guitar.

Now an important note is that I also play a nice Gibson Classic SG as a primary guitar, and it basically makes the Pacifica sound like garbage. So don't expect any miracles! But get every guitar in the store that is under 200 dollars and play them all, you will know just how underpriced this guitar is. Yes, even the famous all American, best selling, Squire Strat gets slapped around by this gem.

One minor gripe is that the single coils can be a little bit "scratchy" when the strings are attacked too aggresively...but with a sub $200 guitar this can be expected, and I have an insanely aggresive attack. And if you use the whammy bar, expect things to get whcaked out of tune in a hurry...but I really don't use it at all, so it does not apply to my sound rating.

The guitar had comfortable action, although it could've been faster according to my tastes. It wasn't too hard to modify though, so no major biggie.

The bridge was not set as I would have liked it to be. The tremolo bridge was floating way too high when I had taken it home. I am sure it would have been awesome to use with some backwards dive bomb sequnces, but it made tuning a nightmare. That problem was easily solved though, it only took a few screw turns to fix. I suspect that some employee at the store had fooled around with the guitar though, my friend(under my advice) also purchased a Yamaha Pacifica and it had flawless setup.

The finish on the guitar is beautiful, I did have a scratch under the pickgaurd that seemed to appear out of nowhere...but you don't notice it unless you get real close and tilt it against the light.

The knobs are a tiny bit loose. They can easily be bumped around during palm muting sequences, but you get used to moving your pinky out of the way really quick.

Other than those minor problems, the guitar is definately made with more care than a budget guitar deserves. That is not a suprise though, as Yamaha acoustics have been know to carry a reputation as a fine instrument for the money...don't see why an Electric can't be the same way.

You pick this thing up, and it feels awfully light, but make no mistake this thing is absolutely indestructable! It has been knocked around so many times, I don't even bother counting, and it never fails me. It always puts out the same great sound, and it probably will hold up good enough for my future kids to play with.

Asked on question about extra tremolo claw springs(which I really didn't need anyway), they answered right away by email on the same day.

Look, if you are looking for a guitar to learn on get this one. If you need a guitar you can take outside and abuse, but don't wanna spend too much money, get this one. Like I had said earlier, play all the 200 dollar guitars in the shop, and most likely you will take this one home with you. If it wern't for the adjustments I had to give it right off the rack, I'd give it a 10, but those are only minor problems that when solved, will give a lifetime of reward.

Well,so many times its features were here explained.
Do I really need to comment it any further ?
I guess not.

The sound is OK.It is not a guitar wich sounds like a highpriced one.
But for a guitar of that price,it is really a superb instrument.
To trace it only a student or practice guitar would be wrong.
It has a good sound with nice variations.
As I play also other-more expensive- guitars,I know where are its
borders.
Anyway,this guitar is fine and sounds really good,for a beginner
instrument.That's why I use it also live and for recording.
Mostly I use it for my VG88 and GR30.
But also alone.

The guitar came fine tuned,with new strings.Were adjusted correctly.
A big plus to Yamaha.
The manual and the needed tools were all shipped together.
The manual is fine and explains a lot,especially for beginners.
A good experience,I wish other companies would handle it also like
that,but mostly not.
The guitar for itself shows,that the quality managment at Yamaha is
very strict.It came in perfect condition.I tried to find an error,but
was not successful.
The finish is perfect.Adjustments are done well.The neck is wonderful
to play and the body shaped well.

Quality control at Yamaha must be perfect,because this instrument is
perfect from craftsmenship.

I own the 112 now for 6 years and it works still perfect.
If you maintain a guitar correct,there is no reason why a guitar
should give up life after a few years.

Never needed.

I once bought the the 112 only as guitar for my VG8(now VG88) and
GR30 system.I never wanted it as pure guitar,only as a controler for
my VG and GR Setup.Because of its cheap price.
But after all these years I used it more and more as stand alone guit.
Not only as controller anymore.Nevertheless it is still its main job.

The Pacifica is recommended to all,who start with E-guitar.
A good sounding,handy instrument at a low price.
But it is more a s a beginners guitar.

Already been described adaquately, so i won't add to it.

I like to play blues, alternative, and bluesy alternative! Think collective soul, live, our lady peace, buckcherry, black crowes, etc. Anyway, this guitar can handle them all. I find myself mainly using the bridge humbucker, so i'm trying to get into more of the single coil sounds.

For a $200 guitar, this thing is badass. Its my first electric (been playing 2 and half years) and i'll probably hold onto it forever. I can't see a MIM Fender strat being better than this, let alone a squire!

The electronics are decent, but being a lower end guitar, they are about as good as you'll get in the price range. I plan on upgrading the pickups too, and will also install new pots and a new switch and jack just to go the extra mile, although i probably don't have to. I have actually reversed the humbucker so that the screw shaped pole pieces are closer to the neck. The sound change is subtle, but i like it that way.

I've been playing through a marshall vs230, which is a decent amp. I'm going to get a peavey classic 30 soon, and i'm sure this guy will work out just fine on there. The marshall isn't getting me quite where i want to be, but thats another story.

Good setup. The neck is awesome. I'm very impressed by the neck on this guitar, and everyone who picks it up immediately says "this neck is great!" My only gripe is the fretwork could be better. They stick out of the edge of the fretboard just a bit, but not so much that its really noticeable when playing. I have blocked off the tremolo, so i get better tuning stability and a bit more sustain. I've also replaced the tuners with sperzel locking style. The existing tuners were acceptable, but i have a tendency to pound on my low E, so i got the sperzels. I've also but in schaller strap locks.

In my opinion, after replacing the pickups, i'll have a guitar that is better than an american fat strat for about half the total cost.

A few dings in the finish and into the wood that seemed to come out of nowhere, but nothing that affects the sound. I kind of like the "worked in" look anyway. Havent played with it live a whole lot, but i have confidence in it in that situation.

I've scratched the finish up a bit too, but again nothing horrible.

Haven't dealt with them.

For the price, you cannot beat this guitar. As some have said, it is not truly a beginners instrument. A pro could use it with no problem. And after i finish my mods, its going to be a total machine!

To be honest, you've already read all of this before

Considering the Pacifica cost me all of #130 s/h, and is still sub #200 new, the sounds that are available from this guitar are most gratifying. The neck s/c is very sweet and it is possible to push a nice Gilmore tone from it, the middle pickup is slightly weaker in comparison and in a live situation just does not have the oomph req'd to cut through. The humbucker is again good for the price, not too shrill but can sound a little like sonic sandpaper if pushed too hard. Pickup noise is to be expected though it's not too distracting. The guitar sounds good unplugged - warm and pecussive - I always test them unamplified and if it doesn't feel right then it won't feel any better plugged in.

The finish is very good and this is in spite (or perhaps because of) buying it secondhand. I have no grievances with its quality, I think it can hold it's head up high ith guitars three times this price.

I have gigged this guitar a lot. It's great for two reasons - it's inexpensive so I'm not too precious about it and secondly I am confident that whilst I have a back up I am not likely to require it. Actually the back up is there for drop-d tuning but it's still reassuring.

Have never reqiured this

I have been playing the guitar for 15 years. It does annoy me slightly when I read of kids who have been playing for two years and they have more expensive equipment than they can shake a stick at. Sounds come from within and the instrument is the penultimate link in this chain. A good player can make perfectly passable sounds from a shit guitar. So rather than getting hung up on equipment, chose a guitar that feels like it wants you to play it. When your instrument can no longer produce the sounds that are in your head, rather than your technique can't produce the sounds in your head, then it's time to change. There's nothing more depressing than seeing someone only playing three bad chords on a grand's worth of guitar!

This baby was made in Taiwan. Made pretty damn well, too! :)
Strat-type body shape. The body is alder (one-piece), The neck is maple and the fretboard is bubinga.
Stock-pick-ups are neck and middle position single coils and a bridge humbucker. But I've since sunk a Washburn humbucker into the neck position. So now the pickup configuration is H/S/H with a coil tap for the neck humbucker in position 2.

My style is basically jazz --- modern, swinging straightahead 21st century bebop. None of that mindless happy jazz fluff, mind you. Just solid straightahead jazz.
I also sometimes venture into bluesier territory. Robben Ford and Larry Carlton country, if you will.
And I've also been known to dabble in some hard-hitting fusion.
This guitar handles it all!!!
I've also been playing in Top 40 pop bands for years and this baby has the pop thing DOWN! :)
From clean-toned pop skanking to crunchy power pop to full-tilt rock to chorused arpeggios, this guitar is all I've ever needed to get the job done.
This guitar's neck and fretboard are simply killer!!!
Super comfy and friendly. Playing fast on this baby's neck (and believe me, on some of my jazz gigs I have to play FAST!!!) is a breeze. And Albert King perfect fourth bends are clean, true and buzz free.
I've been playing her for seven years now, and this guitar has NEVER given me any problems. And we're talking HARD use, man!!! Marathon practise sessions (12-18 hours of full-tilt playing), outdoor gigs (a couple of times in the rain) and five to six nights of weekly smoke-filled bar gigs all over the world. This guitar is my baby. Me and her ain't never gonna part.

Over the years, I've had the neck set-up for the lowest possible action without fret buzz. A very straight neck set-up with virtually no relief. And as presently set-up, this baby's neck handles anything I can throw at it --- from thorny Bill Evans piano chord voicings to Steve vai shred to Albert King blues to hardcore bebop (and even a dash or two of chicken pickin' country).
I've yet to play a neck as comfy as this one's.
And after 7 years of HARD everyday use, she has NEVER given me any problems. Real quiet onstage and in the studio. Clean, buzz-free tones all over the neck. And stunning intonation in all registers.
This one's a keeper.

Like I said, I've been playing my baby for 7 years now and we've been to hell and back with nary a problem between us. (KNOCK ON WOOD!!!)
I've never had as much rock-solid faith in any other guitar. I gig with her with no back-up guitar 'coz I've never needed one. :)

I've never had to deal with Yamaha. And I don't think I'll ever have to.

I've been playing for 16 years --- the past 7 of which have been spent with this guitar as my main axe. And these past 7 years between us have been a match made in heaven as far as I'm concerned. I bought her with the salary advance of a gig I had in Hard Rock Jakarta seven years ago and as soon as I picked up enough of an Indonesian vocabulary, I named this guitar Sayangku --- which means "My darling" or "My sweetheart" in Indonesian. And that she is. Sweetheart guitar.
If she were ever to leave my life for any reason, I'd never be able to replace her. She's a one-of-a-kind, my Sayangku.
;)

This is a follow-up review to the one that I made this last July. After a year with this guitar, it is still my favorite, still as enjoyable as the day I got it.

That said, I've made some changes that took the guitar from a solid, but basic instrument to a much better instrument.

The stock single coils have been replaced with a pair of Fender Custom Shop Fat 50's, and the bridge humbucker has been replaced with a DiMarzio PAF Pro. A heavier selector switch, and a Switchcraft jack round out the changes to the electronics.

Couple these fairly easy mods with the Pacifica's superlative neck, and this is an outstanding guitar.

I use this guitar for a variety of styles, from blues and shuffles, to power pop (and anything else that fits my mood/attitude). Depending on the music, I go anywhere from plugged straight into the amp (an Electar 30 or Vox Pathfinder), or through an assortment of basic pedals.

The modifications listed above (along with heavier strings - Dean Markley Signature Mediums, with a wound third) bring this guitar up to it's potential, with a fat, but still sweet sound. Those oft used terms "chime" and "quack" now have meaning. The guitar now makes the classic "strat" sounds, and the humbucker adds versatility.

The finish is showing spots of wear (and I baby this guitar, wiping it down EVERY time I'm done playing it, etc.), but I do play it a lot, so a little bit of wear is to be expected.

Otherwise, this has proven to be a durable, solid instrument.

I've had no reason to contact Yamaha, so I can't really say. I do miss their dedicated guitar web site, though.

Overall, this is a nice guitar, and, with a little effort, it can become a very nice guitar.

see other reviews for this. Everyones covered everything.
Basically the Yamaha's answer to a strat. A strat ripoff, but a good strat ripoff also got it with a 10watt epi amp

the thing handles everything pretty good. There is an annoying hum when not touching the strings when your using single pickups. But the humbucker is where this machine really shines. The sound is rich and the tone is sweet. It can handle lots of different settings and can keep up with whatever amp you plug into.

Bought used from a small dealer and was stringed horribly (the bottom e was almost tied on!) But everything was zen otherwise.

This things pretty reliable, but Ive heard horror stories where its being held together by tape and a prayer. For me so far, everythings all good. Karmas a bitch, so if you treat it like shit it becomes shit.

never needed it

love it

I think this guitar is a '96... same wood and neck as every other one that was made but I got it used with Jackson pickups in it.

I play death metal and can't really afford an Ibanez RG but this little rig does the trick... maybe its just the jackson pickups giving it the extra balls it needs, but as far as it goes, it works great.

Everything was set up when I bought it 3 years ago.. the action is still amazing but I think it will need a fret job soon... there was only one little mark on the back at first but after bumping and dropping and slipping it around, the soft wood shows a bit of wear... but it doesn't hurt the sound any, and people say it adds character :)

this guitar is a workhorse... take care of it and it will take care of you

curb and gutter warrenty... when i drove off the curb after buying it, I gutter

Playing for 6 yrs, not planning on replacing this guitar anytime soon. Maybe some day i'll set fire to it and let it go out in style :) it's more than surpassed my expectations

Japanese soft wood body with a really nice neck and headstock, really nice tuning keys, 2 single coil pickups and one humbucker, all white that suits the scratchplate and volume and tone control. About the only guitar that looks good with a white scratchplate unlike strats (i don't like strats)... the natural satin finish on this first attracted me to this guitar, then soon discovered it plays well too. Neck is really smooth and easy to handle. Looking back this is perfect as a beginners guitar as it was my first electric but now i've been playing for 6 yrs and i still like it. The nicely shaped strat style body (but much nicer) is great to handle as is the neck... oh and did i mention the neck.

Single coils get a bad rap but i like em for clean sounding playing. These are paticularly clean sounding and i hate people putting them down. The humbucker is pretty good too with a clean cut heavy sound... we're not talking EMG81 here but bloody good pickups for the price.

Perfect set up straight from factory i guess... tremalo is fine, i can even rest my wrist on it and it's fine, pickups perfectly set, i prefer using high guage strings but i could get away with the thinist on this one, doesn't tend to go out of tune so much, tuning keys would make this just right, the only downfall is if u don't know how to treat a guitar and just throw it around then expect to pick up scratches as this is made out of japenese softwoods.

Not perfect, i pissed about the first time i got it so i caused a little damage, i made the volume control very loose but it still works! If u don't treat this thing right then u will damage it, that isn't to say the guitar is weak, it's just that it's made out of very nice japanese softwood that will scratch easily if u don't care for it.

I've been playing for 6 yrs now and this is a nice guitar... i'm gonna buy an ESP exlporer and maybe an epiphone firebird... even then i'll still play this guitar, it's easy to play, great value... i've got a nasty habit of judging a guitar's quality on it's price so if i saw this guitar for 50 extra i might still have wanted it. So over all a great guitar for a beginner or a player who can treat it right, great value for #200 and also... i like the neck.

Well, it's my first electric guitar, so I can't compare it with any other.I don't have the slightest idea where and when were it built because the saler gave it to me with no chase or box.
It has a 22 frets, two controls(volume and tone), 5 way-selectors to choose between thre pickups: two single-coil and a humbucker(S/S/H configuration).
The body is made of alder and neck with maple, but i'm not sure so look at other reviews for more concrete info.
Mine is finished with a beautiful "wood colour"...i'm in love with it.
It's a stratocaster model, with non-locking tuners and a marvellous neck: esay to play with.
I only get a cable with my guitar...no more accesories were given to me.

I play my guitar with a marshall G30RCD. It's very "versatil"(i mean it can suit many styles, from a mellow pop to really heavy metal). The hum sounds quite proof and the single are good enough to make pop and soft rock. It makes a little buzzing sound when my fingers are not touching the strings, but i heard it is something normal.
Overall, i like how this guitar sounds...but as i said before, it's the first elec guitar i own.

The guitar was perfectly set-up from factory and the sealer recommended me not to touch any settings to avoid problems with the sound and the components.
It has no flaw and it's very well finished. Quality can be apreciatted at first sight.It stays on tune for quite long time. Really excellent!

I'm not sure if this guitar could stand a concert because i've never used it for this job. I have it since a couple of weeks so i can't really say if it will be durable. At least it looks very durable. See other reviews for this "blank". Sorry

No idea. I haven't needed it in the couple of weeks i own the guitar.

It's my first guitar and i think i will never leave it...i love HER.(I have no girldfriend). Very good for elec guitar beginners(I played spanish guitar about two years). Beautiful. Good price. Good sound.
I've been told it's the best guitar for this price range(uncomparable with ant fender squier or ibanez).Yamaha pac 112 rules!

2001 made in japan, 22frets, 5-way pick up selector, 1tone, 1volume
humbuckers, maple, strat body style, locking tuners. everything included(gig bag , 30watt marshall amp, 20foot lead, etc)

good sound for anything
i like rock

cool action fit and finish

very reliable

amazing

Start style electric guitar made in either Japan or Korea, this guitar has 22 meduim frets with 1 volume and 1 tone control. A PVC pickguard and Yamaha factory tuners. 2 single-coil pickups with 1 humbucker. I have an Alder body but i know some may have maple bodies. Slim, fast neck made of bubinga wood.

This is a very good guitar for its price. The clean tones come out pretty clear on the single-coil pick-ups but is plagued by a sometimes annoying hum. It sounds best when played through the humbucker with fat distortion. Again, the pick-ups are pretty decent considering they're from the factory, but i definately plan to replace them with some seymour duncan's or emg's. The sustain of this guitar is far better than its competitors (Squier Strats mainly).
My main guitar is an Ibanez RG which is far superior in every aspect simply because it is more expensive. I use this as a practice/2nd guitar.

The factory setup is pretty good but i lowered the action and added more tension to the bridge. The pickups were setup fine. The biggest problems come from the wood( i have a natural alder finish which has many scratches just from heavy strumming, this guitar dents and scratches way too easily) and the weak bridge. Using a wammy bar on this guitar only results in frustration because the guitar goes out of tune after one dive-bomb with the tremolo, so it could definately use better tuners and a better bridge all together.

This guitar is incredibly light (about 10 to 12 pounds), which could be good or bad for some.I have literally dropped this guitar down a flight of stairs and much more and it is still perfectly in one-piece. It is very reliable and durable compared to its competition. This guitar is basically my workhorse and practice guitar.

never had to deal with them.

I have been playing for about 3 and a half years. I own 3 amps, an Ibanez RG and a Ibanez soundgear bass. If this guitar was stolen and i didn't have enough cash to upgrade, i would definately buy it again.
Like I said, it is an awesome guitar for under $200, and is about as good as u get for that money. My biggest problem is the guitar's crappy bridge, and easily scratched and nicked wood. I have owned a squier start before and it was absolutely horrible! The Pacifica destroys the Squier Strat in every way, even the bridge! DEFAINTELY THE BEST IN ITS PRICE RANGE.

My entire review is based on the fact that buying this guitar will be your first and its other competitors are guitars like the squire strat. Compare it to other more expensive guitar and it will compare poorly, if you do want to compare it knock about 4,5 points of each rating. It was my first guitar.

Good, the humbuker pound out the chords and has very clear solo capabilty. the singles are better with low distortin or they can get a bit unclear and fuzzy. Its good for all types of music if you play it through good pedals, fat pedal, fat sound. Its got very good feed back and the varitey of sounds is only limited by your imagination. The tone knob is a to bit sensitive as is the volume control.

it was giving a good setup but i lowerd the action and losend the bridge. the pickups were a good level but i lowerd those too. everything was fine.

This is a poor section, this guitar gets chiped so easy and it feels like it will break if your smack it around. I have smackedit around and it didnt break so i guess its ok but its nice to feel a sterdy guitar. I did some experimenting with it and the middle pick up broke, so dont put acid on them to see what it sounds like.

never have, but im sure there nice.

ive been playing for 4 years and i still use this guitar sometimes, ive got a fender Jaguar and a Jazz bass and some pedals. if you need a cheap guitar, maybe your first or a second this is good, it is so much better than the squire strat, but its not a guitar you would get if youve been playing awhile.

The stile is like a stratocaster. Volume, Tone controls. 22 vintage frets. 2 singlecoil pick ups and 1 humbucker.5 way pickup selector. Vintage trem bridge which sucks because it moves.The tuners suck you get out of tune if you use the whammy bar relly quick.

The sound is really horrible when you are using te single coils, it sounds like relly hummy, but when you jam with the humbucker is totally different. You get a bit of power in your solos or riffs or even those power chords.I am planing to buy a Fender American Standard and I know that that guitar will make me change my mind about this one.

The finish is pretty good but the wood is really cheap you get dents and dings everywhere.The action is ok, and the thrust rod too.The pickup selector is noisy. The tunning pegs were loose so I had to tight them with a screw driver. The bridge was like a toy it moved and got me out of tune whenever I used the bar. Then I decided to tight it up too and to put an extra spring for more support.

This guitar has been with me for the past year and some ten months. I have abused it. The hardware sucks when you firt get it I had to customize my guitars single coil pickups because they sounded noisy. I have used this guitar for live performances for the about a year and it is O.k.

N/A

I have been playing for about 6 years. I also own some other guitars and amps but I only play this Pacifica 112. If I could have asked anything I would have asked does the bridge works nice. I love the fact that it gives me support on my solos. I hate the noisy pickup selector and the wood of it because it is so heavy, about 10 pounds no kidding. When I first bought it I tried some other guitars like Squier strats and Standard strats But I choose this one just for the hum and the nice metallic finish. I wish that this guitar would have had a locking nut.

This guitar has basic features. 2 single coil pickups and a humbucker, made of Japanese woods I believe, 2 pots ( tone and volume - would have liked a second tone), tremolo bridge ( which sucks), and a 5 way switch. Mine has a black finish and a white PVC pickguard ( which also sucks). Strat-style double cutaway, bolt on neck, strat-style headstock.

For a guitar that was under $300, it sounds spectacular. When compared to a Gibson Les Paul ( which I am soon purchasing), it sounds like a child's toy. Single coils tend to hum ( what do you expect), but the humbucker has a pretty decent sound. I would recommend new pickups, but why spend ~$150 on a guitar that was $250?
I play lots of Led Zeppelin ( rock on Page!), AC/DC, Allman Brothers, Hendrix, and Black Sabbath: big classic rock fan. I also like Metallica, Pearl Jam, and Creed for the newer stuff. This guitar suits my needs, but like I said before, the Les Paul will definitely lower my opinion of this guitar once I get it.

The neck is best neck I've ever played on. The only ones that compare to it are the Gibson slim tapers. Frets are way too high, I had to file them down. Truss rod is pretty versatile - you can adjust it for high or low string action. The tremolo sucks and I don't use it. The bridge saddles aren't too good either, because you have to file them to smooth out the groove the strings make - if you don't, you'll go broke on buying new strings. The guitar has an ergonomic body and weighs in at ~10 lbs, which is pretty light. If you want a light guitar though, buy a Gibson SG - it weighs about half as much as this one. Again, the neck is awesome.

It has held up pretty good. I've been playing for a few years, with a band as well, and it holds up. I also like to fool around with its electronics, and it hasn't failed me yet. The strings tend to go out of tune when the tremolo is used frequently ( that's another reason why I don't use it) - a locking nut would probably solve this problem.
The only reason I didn't give a 10 in this category is because this guitar is susceptible to dings and dents. Maybe it's the Japenese wood.

I've never had to deal with them. I would like one thing though. It would be great if Yamaha offered replacement parts (ie., pickguards, control knobs) just so you can customize your instrument.

I've been a musician for 6 years, and I picked up the guitar 2 years ago. All I wanted was a cheap guitar that could produce decent sound. The Pacifica 112 gave that to me. When I was shopping for a guitar, I played Squire Strats, Fender Standard Strats, and an ESP guitar. The Pacifica totally destroys them. I'll be sad to hang it up once I get the Les Paul, but not too sad.

Believe it was made in Japan. Bought it in 96 for 225 or so.
22 Fret Rosewood Neck, 5 way pickup switch, 1 volume, 1 tone. Two singles and a humbucker at the bridge. Stat style body, with a twinge of Ibanez styling and feel. String through body with traditional tremelo. Non-locking tuners. Came with cable.

Sounds decent. As I was told and feel, "it won't outgrow you after you've learned to play." It allowed me to learn how to generate different sounds. It beats the crap out of Squier Strats by far. Used it with a Peavey practice amp... like 10 watts or something, and also a 50 watt Fender Princeton Chorus. Sounded better through the bigger amp of course.

Intonation never had to be adjusted on the guitar. Came with 9s and the action felt great. I still like it. Not noisy at all, except when on single coils, but that's not the guitar's fault.

I BEAT THE HELL OUT OF THIS GUITAR FOR 3 YEARS BEFORE I GOT A NEW ONE! Kept banging it on my chair accidentally while practicing in my room. Finish didn't wear off or chip despite the beating. I always played this guitar at open mics when I was first learning, and it had to back up my friend's piece of junk Aria Pro II or Squier Strat which would be out of tune after one chord or not sound at all.

There is a Lifetime Limited Warranty on all Yamaha products. I've never had to embrace it, so I don't know how they service at all, but I'd say having a warranty such as that is fairly confidence inspiring.

I will not get rid of this guitar, because I won't grow out of it. It's like my 22 year old car, it just goes no matter what I do to it. And it even sounds decent. I keep loaning it out to friends who want to pick up the guitar, and it starts them just as well as it did me. It's a great guitar to buy for a beginer to learn, and then keep going with.

DON"T MAKE THE YAMAHA PACIFICA 112 MISTAKE!!!


An update on the review I wrote. The hardware on this thing is so crappy, I can't even tell you. Don't get me wrong, if you change your strings once every ten years, this is your guitar. I don't think the screws should be stripped from the minor adjustments I have made. Consider this guitar, but don't if you just want a guitar to learn how to fix guitars...go to musicyo.com and check out the 70$ Kramer Focus. That guitar is lame-om, but if u want to practice fixing, changing pickups, and fixing your guitar...that is your best bet. If you actually want to let someone else worry about that...Check out the intro FENDERS/SQUIERS. I personally haven't played a squier, but I have played a couple of FENDERS. A little thin sounding. If price isn't an object consider the FENDER LONE STAR STRAT (AKA the TEX MEX). I played one the other day in guitar center and YOWZA! That is what a strat style should sound like. TONE! FEEL! SEE THROUGH FLAME FINISH!!!! Not that I need to be any cooler, but I was...until I remembered I work in education and would have to sell one of my students on the black market to afford a 900$ axe! Hell, if Price is not object...go w/ MCINTRUFF( reviews listed on HC) BEST GUITAR MAKER IN USA RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!! PRS like, but with more personality and better tone!

I am no expert, but am learning more and more daily! If you have questions about a guitar purchase, let me know...Let's use HC to help eachother out.

I REALLY AM AFRIAD ITS GONNA FALL APART. BAD SCREWS, BAD BRIDGE, WHAMMY IS DISCRIBED BY ANOTHER REVIEWER AS ..."like a childs toy". COULDN'T AGREE MORE!

Not a complete waste. I will learn to change pickups, strings, and hardware on this piece of crap. That will ultiimately make me a better guitarist becuase I won't have to rely on others to make myself sound better! Isn't that the point, after all?

2000 Model, Fat Strat style, S/S/H made in Tawain. 22 Fret Maple neck and Alder body. Satin Natural (unpainted) finish, with white PVC pickguard. 1 master volume & 1 master tone. 5 way selector. Vibrato bar. No other accessories. Only minor complaints are PVC pickguard scratches easily and Vibrato bar is basically a toy, will probably not even use.

Playing thru a 200 Watt Pioneer Amp and Sansui fronts with a BOSS DS-1 and Dunlop Crybaby, I can get literally ANY sound from this guitar I want. From a warm, almost acoustic sound, to the crunchiest distortion, especially thru the Humbuckers. Only reason for a 9, rather than 10 rating, is a buzz with volume wide open. Factory pick-ups suit my needs perfectly, with tone and volume, however, I do wish the tone had just a little wider adjustment on hi end to really get a killer tone ringing on the hi strings.

The contours on front and back just mold it to your body. Balance of the guitar is fantastic. The neck doesn't dive when you turn it loose, (like my Epiphone) Mine is a Natural Finish (unpainted). The Wood grain patterns are superior to some Gibsons I've seen. The frets are just a little sharp, (a tiny ignition file will take care of that) I am most impressed with the neck and action. Even from the factory, I simply checked it to a keyboard and tuned it a little by the 5th fret method, and began playing. Intonation is perfect and fret buzz is non-existent. The action is just unbelieveable. You can VERY lightly touch any string and it plays, rings and sustains perfectly with no buzz. The neck is much thinner than my Epiphone and just seems to fit the hand much better without the feeling your holding the big end of a baseball bat. Chord progression is silk. Only neck I can compare to this one is our lead guitarist's 1951 Fender Tele\No Caster, which is completely restored, and worth more than my house. :) & I have the same action for less than $200 with this Yamaha. Only minor complaint on finish is the maple is lighter than the the Alder. I may stain it all, only to get a good wood color match thru-out.

From 9 years of running sound for local rock\country bands, I would never gig with anything w/o a backup, simply due to broke strings, selector switch failure, etc. But I would have NO problem using this guitar as my 1st choice instrument anytime. Strap buttons seem tight, electronic hardware is great (except the toy-like Vibrato and a slight hum in volume when wide open, which may even be a cable.) Since my model is a natural finish, I would only transprot in a hard case, and just be careful not to bump into anything, simply to avoid dents.

Limited Lifetime warranty to original buyer. Have had no need to contact, and don't foresee a need to in the near future.

If this guitar were stolen, I would immdeiately replace it, (but would order the Lake Placid Blue, rather than Natural finish) As stated above, my only MINOR complaint is the PVC pick guard, and toy-like Vibrato. Other than that, this is the nearly perfect guitar in it's price range and class (and better than a lot of others above it) If you are considering a Epiphone Les Paul 100, or any Squire Strat, you owe it to yourself to look at this guitar. Which one to own is soley the buyer's decision, but in my opinion, this Yamaha blows them both away. (and I own both of the above too) They will both probably be sold soon. (I have also reviewed the Epiphone Les Paul 100, you can read it for a comparison, if you care to.)

I bought this back in 1996 at Tin Pan Alley in London. I was originally going to buy the Fender Squier but the guy in one store said that the PAC112 was a much better deal and he took me next door to Tin Pan Alley to look at the 112. Mine has the natural satin top which he recommended as you can see any faults in the wood as compared to the Squiers where a coat of paint can hide a multitude of sins. This guitar has 2 single coils and one humbucker with a 5 way switch. Volume and tone controls and a vintage trem. With Alder body and a Bubinga fingerboard. It's a very good looking guitar. Considering it's very similar to a Strat, it's tons prettier.

I mainly play this with the humbucker pickup. Nice full tone. The S/C pickups are quite "bright". My only complaint is the trem on this guitar. It's totally USELESS. You just tweak or twang it once then the whole guitar is out of tune. Take the whammy bar out and forget about it. It's not worth it to have your guitar going out of tune as soon as you touch it. Other wise it sounds and feels really nice.

Action and finish was perfect. Everything was just right, this guitar was/and still is beautiful. I've read of people having problems with the frets but mine was perfect. Mine was one of the early ones made with a serial number of LN1222 so maybe quality was better back then. Certainly, in reading comparative articles to the Fender Squier, the Pac 112 wins in all categories. The only thing the Squier has is the Fender logo. So if you're a guitar snob and you feel you have to have a Fender then you'll be missing out.

Everything seems sturdy and reliable here. If this were my only guitar, then I'd happily use it without a backup. I've never had any sound problems, or broken any strings with it.

Never had to use it.

This was my first electric, after playing acoustics for over 10 years. This is better than perfect as a beginners electric guitar. I now own a Paul Reed Smith CE22 and feel that the Pac112 served it's purpose. Even though I'll probably never play it much again, I don't think I can ever bring myself to sell it as it's such a great deal.
If you're not a guitar snob, and don't need the "common name" brand Fender then buy this guitar. You won't regret it.

I've just bought it, I think it may have been made in Taiwan.
Standard strat copy with 2 single coils and 1 humbucker, 5 was switch and tone and volume knobs. PVC scratchplate and vintage trem.

The sound is excellent, a lovley tone and it suits my needs better than normal strats with the 3 single coil picks. I play rock and the Yam gives it me.

What can I say, After shopping around for ages to find a good new guitar for around #200, when I saw this, I fell in love with it.
Lake placid blue with white pick guard, gorgeous! Nice finish too, no flaws

I'd gig with this I rekon, probably keep a backup just in case of strings breaking, but it would last well.

doubt I'll need em.

I love it, it's my fave guitar now.

Allready up on the board.Typical inexpensive guitar.But I paid $120 dollars for this new. Trust me out there kids I`ve been playing since the late sixties. The cheap guitars you buy now are so much better then the Harmonys,Teiscos,Kalamazos,and other crap we had back then.When you figure cost of inflation from then to now a yamaha 112 is cheaper than the $39 Teisco was in the late sixties.You cant even compare the two instuments.You cant even call most of them instruments.Sure old danos are cool if you have a couple of good guitars that can stay in tune but not if its all you have. That said you could attually play a gig with any of these Korean and Indonisian guitars out now.Thats why I`m giving the Yamaha a 10.

This guitar sounds pretty generic but it`s quite and versitile.I was going to buy new pick ups for it then I thought why bother. I may put a Tele pick up in the humbucking position.Like I`ve allready said for what it cost it sounds great. All you spoiled youngsters should have to play mid seventy strats for the rest of your lives.

Some one else complained about the frets being too high and I agree.I think this is true about all yamaha electics.A little fret dressing (learn how to do this your self) helped a lot but putting a set of 9`s to 42`s really helped this guitar. Ive allways used a set of 10`s but I`ve been learning that different guitars like different strings and setups.Ive got the action on this guitar unbeliveably low 1/32 at the sevententh fret with no relief and it doesnt buzz or fret out any where on the neck.

A grafite nut would help the wang bar alot but I`m not a dive bomber anyways.Any sealled tuner is better then the old klusons gibson used to use and fenders wer`nt much better. This guitar is quite and plays in tune what more could you ask?

I`ve been playing for a long time. I`ve owned Les pauls,Stats,Teles,335sand lots of other guitars. Now I have lots of cheap but well made and playable Hearfeilds,Peaveys Electras,Ibanez,and other jap stuff.I came across a American Standard Strat in a pawn shop not to long ago.I bought it for $260 cash (told him thats all I had) kept it for 2 weeks and sold it for $500. Didnt need it liked my junk too much.If the guitars stays in tune and is electicly sound then any real player can make great music on it.

Nice slim neck, ok-ish trem and decent machineheads. stays in tune well. good pickup range.

considering the price, the tone is fantastic. the front pickup has a sparkly warm sound with a great wooden tone. the back is a bit abrasive and 'metal', but the front sounds so good i only use that one.

i have tried a Mexican Fender tele and my pacifica sounded WAY better, tonewise.

'nice' finish but nothing spectacular. no visible flaws or gaps. does look very nice and not like a toy (like most guitars do in this price range).

action too high after 9th fret. makes fast playing hard but still it's not dreadful. needs setting up, really.

absolutely solid construction. i have dropped mine on the floor twice (by accident) and nothing happened. well made and robust.

This is one of the best beginners guitar around, in my opinion- hence my rating of 10. the 10 is in the context of beginners guitars.

It is solidly made, has a nice sound, and doesn't go out of tune - much more than than other guitars in the price range. It absolutely blows Squier strats out of the water. It is even better than many guitars I have tried which cost 50% more.

You know the features. This is an update on a previous review so I'll avoid giving ratings in non-related catagories.

Here we go.. I made a minor (1/8th turn) adjustment to the truss rod, and it snapped under the tension. Normally an 1/8th of a turn is well within a guitar's tolerance, even a 1/4 turn is. My impression of this guitar thusfar has been that they give you two good solid peices of wood (with a poor, thin finish) and a lot of very cheap hardware. I was okay with this until now, when I realize that the truss rod is also cheap. If anything hardware-wise should be quality, it should be the truss rod!

Now I have gone and bought a Fender MIM Standard Strat. I now notice how much higher quality the hardware is. Tuners are much better. The pickups are staggered and more even sounding. The pickguard is 3-ply. The neck is wider. The finish is much more durable. The nut is a much better quality material. Overall the MIM standard may not be top notch, but in retrospect it is worth the extra $100. Get one.

I guess I can say that the yamaha did make it one year before dying. It isn't bad, I just feel the fenders are making it worth the extra $100.

This is where I am most angry. I call and get very nice customer support people who are there I suppose to offer you a manual if you lost yours, but cannot help with a guitar problem. The guitar tech will not return my calls at all. No support. None. Nile. They lose. Also from reviewing my manual, I seem to have no warranty. No surprise, but read on..

I haven't called Fender yet, but even their $300 Made in Mexico Standard Strat comes with a lifetime warranty against defects! Even if the guitar hardware weren't much better (which it is) isn't a lifetime warranty compared to no warranty worth the $100? Maybe.. maybe not.. But I know my next stratocaster will be a fender, probably an American Standard. Now one word of warning.. the lifetime warranty applies to the original purchaser.

Overall I'll say that the Yamaha Pacifica was a good guitar. Don't think it wasn't. I just struck out on the truss rod. But, since shopping around this time, I've decided that the fender MIM strats are worth the extra $100. Maybe it isn't worth it to you, but I wanted to share my reasons and experience with Yamaha for future buyers. I rely heavily on these reviews (taken with a grain of salt, especially when reading an idiot's post) and want to provide feedback for people who do as well.

Overall, I like the pacifica moderately well, though I think its value is not as good as I had previously believed, and their customer support is non-existant, unless you own their motorcycle, I suppose.

Solid basswood body with a natural satin finish, through-body strings, S-S-H Yamaha pickup configuration, tone and volume control and white pick guard.

Also has a maple bolt-on neck with maple fingerboard and chrome tuners.

Nice crisp clean channel performance, with warm rich resonance when utilizing a drive channel or distortion. Particularly responsive high-end performance, a given with most Strat-clone guitars.

Not too light to wear, has enough girth to let you know it's there, but light enough to be nimble. Smooth and fast neck, though the high E string is awfully close to the edge of the neck. A bi-product of such a slim neck. It's a trade-off. Speedy neck for a manuevering room.

The finish is flawless and actually pretty classy to the eye. The overall quality of construction, from a visual inspection, stands up in my opinion to any guitar of similar style for substanciallt higher price.

The pick-ups, while not what you would call "premium", are adequate to the task - nothing more, nothing less.

So far, so good. I have actually dropped it once (strap slipped off of the end strap peg) and the ax is none the worse for the wear.

Never had to use it.

Overall, a very nimble, fun to play little ax. Low on frills, but speedy, crisp and stays in tune!

cool good wood and the pickups for a beginer are top of the range

for rock it isnt easly beaten at that price sounds great with a marshal 100w head

Electronics are h/s/s and sound pretty good. I am going to make some changes on this puppy. THIS IS WHERE I NEED HELP. IF YOU KNOW HOW TO CHANGE PICK UPS AND HARDWARE...PL. WRITE ME. PATKEATING@HOTMAIL.COM!!!

Satin finish looks good. Strat style with a great neck! No case included, but I got it for 130$ (70 off!!!) @ guitar center the weekend after thanksgiving. BIG SALES THERE THAT WEEKEND AND I WOULD CONSIDER PUTTING OFF YOUR NEXT BIG GUITAR PURCHASE UNTIL THEN.

HHMM...Sound ok. I am running through a tech 21-10 amp. Great amp and it makes this guitar sound far better than my PEAVEY RAGE did!

Stings buzz a little and that either has to do w/ hardware or pickups. I am definitely changing pickups (prob. seymor duncan screamin' demon in neck, but not sure about the rest!) If that doesn't solve the buzz I will change hardware too. Still makes this guitar a bargain.

Otherwize good variety

Set up a little high. Overall pretty good set up. I was playing it right out of the box and having alot of fun. I am not sure about how the pickups should be "adjusted", but they sounded good for 130 bucks!

Knobs and hardware seem like the weak links here. I don't like the bridge on this guitar. Looks like I could bend the metal with my pinky.

Even so, I look forward to beating the crap out of it and to be a better player.

Only had it 2 weeks.

Great for beginner to find their sound with. You can drop it and you won't be out a grand either! I may not have mentioned that this guitar looks good. Spend a little more and you get a better yamaha with better looks. Does it come with better pickups and hardware? I don't know, but I have seen some of them and they all look great!

This guitar has 2 single coil pickups in the neck and middle positions, and a bridge humbucker. Solid alder body and maple neck with bubinga fretboard. Bubinga is basically cheap wood that is used to make people think your fretboard is rosewood. Nothing too special here- 5-way pickup selector, tone & volume controls. Also has a cheap-o tremolo. For what you pay, actually some decent features, but nothing extraordinary. Pickups have distinct "crappy" sound to them. None of them is TERRIBLE, persay, but none are very excellent either. Could come with better pickups. 22 frets. My guitar is about 6 or 7 years old.

I play a lot of blues and a lot of rock. B.B. King, Albert King, Albert Collins,SRV, Metallica, G & R, and everything in between. This guitar really does not sound all that special. As I mentioned before, better pickups would definitely be a good idea. It was my first guitar, and for several years I played it only through a Peavey Blazer 158 (small, solid-state practice amp). I used various effects including distortion pedals, and later a Digitech RP-7. The humbucker works for heavier distortion sounds, and using the 2 singles I was able to get some SRV-ish tones out of the guitar. It is nothing special of course, but when you consider the initial price of the guitar, it is a bargain. I would take it over just about any Squier as a start-up guitar. The humbucker gives you a better variety of sounds, and the guitar itself is lighter, faster, and in my opinion built better than any other cheap-ass guitar on the market. The neck single coil is rather noisy when used alone, as is the middle pickup, but when you use the 2 singles together it isnt too bad. Not a bad guitar for about $150 (brand spankin' new). My guitar has developed a sort of "personality" over the years, as I have beaten the hell out of it. It came with .009 guage strings initially (i think). I now have it set up with .011's, and that seems to help give it more edge/better tone. Also makes my fingers stronger. I later played the Pacifica thru the digitech RP-7 and an early 70's Fender Bassman 10 4x10 50W all tube combo amp. This of course made the guitar sound better, simply becuase this amp has absolutely BEAUTIFUL clean tones...some of the best I've heard. The Bassman 10 also brought out some of the "crappy guitar noise" in the guitar. Overall, a good starter guitar but not one I would ever gig with.

When I first got it, it was probably set up pretty well....I was too new to guitar to know. I got it as a christmas gift. There were no major problems with it (more on that in a minute). I took excellent care of it for the first 2 years or so, because I really did love the guitar....then, as I began to realize how much it sucked, I quit caring about it. The finish still is completely on the guitar, and I would be willing to bet that this guitar will last forever, or at least until the wood begins to decay. It came from the factory with .009's on it....now I have .011's on it for better tone and feel. Still sounds crappy, but now its got at least a little personality with the heavier strings.

This is, surprisingly, the strongest point of this guitar. I got it 6 or 7 years ago, and for the last 5 I have beaten the living hell out of it. I have dropped from heights of 3-6 feet, I have swung it around, I have gotten so intense playing that I slam it in to things, I have kicked it, punched it, sweat on it, bled on it, cried on it, stood on it, tripped over it, traveled with it, stabbed it (no joke!), scraped it, thrown it, shoved it, hit people with it, and done just about everything horrible you can imagine outside of straight up setting the bitch on fire. I have no idea why, but this cheapo guitar  just keeps on going. It simply will not quit. I am now in college, and I have brought it with me because I did not want my G&L S-500 (the most beatiful guitar in the world) to suffer through life in the dorms. I can just leave the pacifica leaning up against my desk, or the wall, or whatever, and I don't even have to care about it. I have been completely amazed at how reliable this guitar really is. It has fallen over hundreds of times, and it still works. Sometimes I have even dropped heavy shit on to the guitar, and it will not break. It is nice to have a guitar like this, because I never need to worry about it breaking. I am stunned that the thing is still in one piece. I have never had a professional set-up done on it, and it has a helluva lotta fretwear now, but it still plays just fine and works great. I haven't polished it or even wiped it down in about 2 years, and there is not one spot where the finish is coming off.....it will soon enough, though, especially after that whole "stabbing" incident.

I have no idea. I have not heard one damn thing about customer support at Yamaha, and I have never needed to call them. (see above for reliability details.

I have been playing guitar for almost 7 years now. I own the pacifica, a G&L S-500, a early 70's Fender Bassman 4x10, various effects pedals, a Peavey Blazer 158, and a Digitech RP-7 effects processor. Overall, I think this guitar is a piece of crap, as is just about anything you buy in the sub-200 dollar price range. I do have to admit that this thing can take a beating however, and it does deserve credit for that. I recommend purchasing new pickups for it, however, as the original ones are pretty crappy. I don't know of any other guitar I would reccommend as a first guitar....this one is just so versatile and reliable that it totally destroys any squier and actually some (emphasis on SOME) mexican fender stuff. For the money, it simply can not be beat. Dont let anyone tell you it is better than a USA Strat, or better than a G&L, or anything STUPID like that. The Pacifica 112 is not even in the same ballpark as the USA strats/teles are. Like I keep saying though, it is still goin, and for the money is a helluva buy. I would upgrade my pickups, but the pickups I want cost more than the guitar is actually worth now. Also, I am fairly poor, and I am looking into purchasing another amplifier....Probably a Mesa/Boogie .50 Caliber. Hearing this guitar through that amp should prove to be rather interesting.

This guitar features two single coils and a humbucker when you first buy it. Non-locking tuners, but for under $200, what do you expect. Mine is rosewood fingerboard, some are completely maple I think. All in all, as far as features, you just can't argue for the price. I heard that squiers are making "fat" strats now, but I would go with this baby over it still. I noticed that the tuners were slow, unlike my friends squier.

The fact that their is a good set-up, (2 single, one humbucker), you have a lot of options for sound. But the pickups are cheap. I played it through a fender bassman, and a peavey rage, and used a marshall blues-breaker. I compared it to a fender deluxe special, with a seymor stacked humbucker, and I would have to admit it had better distortion. Altogether when it comes to this though, I still say very good guitar for the price. The fender cost me 1200, and the yamaha I am reviewing is $200. So, I can't help but give a good rating for it.

The action isn't a little too high, but nothing horrible. My finish is a pure wood look. The look is growing on me. I really don't mind this guitar at all. It just kicks a squiers ass.

Hmm, the only thing that would worry me is the fact that is goes out of tune. If you leave it in the gig bag for a day or two, you will notice it is out of tune. That is the only thing I would worry about. It does go out of tune, but nothing really bad or hard to retune for me so far.

This is not available because I have only had it 2 months, and haven't dealt with that yet.

Overall I would have to give this an 8. If you are looking for an extra guitar for any reason, or a beginning guitar, their is just no way your getting a bad deal, because this guitar is great for the price. Way better than any squier I have played yet. It has a nice ring, noticeably louder than most electrics when not plugged in for whatever reason but I don't mind, I have already given it a beating and it still works. Goes slightly out of tune, but the tuners turn slowly. Really no finish on mine. A whole lot of sustain beyond my belief. I like the normal bridge because it has a wammy.

1999 model. Same specs as the others below. I tweeked it out with a tapped DiMarzio humbucker, Sperzel tuners, chrome jack plate, ect.

The sound is great. I replaced the humbucker with a FRED and it has made a world of difference. I play mostly punk and power pop through a Marshall half and the tone fits great. I like to reserve my Les Paul for the fast heavy stuff anf the 112 for the clean and mellow. Don't get me wrong, this can give you the best of both worlds-full crunch to that twangy fender tone. The posabilites are endless.

The set up from the factory was average. I tightened the tremolo and now the action is nice and low. That combined with the feel of the neck, my fingers fly on this axe. I've never been a fan of trem systems, I'm thinking about locking it all together. I'll have to agree with the finish. You can chip it if you look at it the wrong way. I hate the position of the volume knob. I'm so used to playing Gibsons that I would always hit it on accident. I plan to get a custom pick guard made and move the damn thing down and out of the way.

I've tortured this thing for a year now and It's begging for more. This guitar is built like a rock. I got this guitar to take the every day beating and let my Les Paul rest up for gigs. The stock hardware was a bit cheap, but what do you expect for $200? I don't plan on dropping it anytime soon, but I'm sure it will hold up just fine.

I emailed Yamaha with a few questions back in late 99. I'm still waiting for a reply.

I went to Guitar Center planning on picking up a Fender Strat to give me the option of another guitar. After playing the Pac 112 I was hooked. The price difference helped out too. In my opinion it smokes the Lone Star, hands down. It has the same specs, just crappy hardware. Even after replacing the hardware it cost half the price!

Words can't describe the feel of the neck. It feels better than anything Fender has on the market today. Before you unload and buy a Fender Strat, check this guitar out. A great choice for a first guitar or as a loyal backup.

This is a follow up. I changed the pickup configuration now it is Hum/single/hum. At first I tried a Seymour Duncan Screamin' Demon and that sucked. That pickup is way too bright for this guitar. I pulled that one out and sent it back to trade for a duncan distortion neck. This is a very nice pickup. Sounds sort of Hendrixy in the neck position. A retro vintage kind of thing. I wired it standard for full power. In the bridge I put a Dimarzio Evolution in at full power. OH yeah... that is a pretty hot pickup... They both are. The Evo is pretty nasty and will drive an amp pretty hard. In recording situations I have been told that there is something about the EVO that is unfavorable. I must agree. It does rock hard though. I played a Steve Vai Jem w/ EVO before buying. THe Pac 112 sounds similar to the Jem but brighter. I also tried EMG 80s and 81s. I thought the EVO was similar. Not as clean but much cheaper. I kept the stock pickup in the middle. I just took the cover off to make it black. I like the middle pu ok. It is ceramic and I prefer ceramic. If you listen to enough pickups you will be able to tell the difference in magnets.

My next step is to do a paint job. I am also considering a Wilkinson bridge.

I cannot tell you how it sounds. My modification is Phatter and nastier than most of what is available. I can go from shred to funk to voodoo to achtop. Check out this page to hear how nasty this thing is. On the song "Over Me" I am using my PRS EG. On "Guilty" and "Falling Down" I am using my Pac 112. For those who remember my last post I took off the song with the 112 stock.

http:www.mp3.com/TennisStudd

The action was fine when I got this guitar but I wanted an 80's shred machine so I dropped the strings. It is a little brighter. Also I have taken the neck off a bunch of times. I am betting dead spots. I hope to work this out.

I took the strap buttons off on day one and put on Dimarzio locks. The input jack came loose on day one but hasn't happened again. This guitar is dependable. I bought it so that I wouldn't have to put my PRS through the abuse of playing out. I hot rodded it cause I wanted it to be as nasty.

I have been playing for 10 yrs. I have trailer loads of equipment. Mainly a VS 840 that I record on. Live I use a Hughes and Kettner half stack. Drop me a line if you want to talk about the Pac 112 or recording. I am very opinionated about every piece of gear.

http://www.mp3.com/TennisStudd

Nothing particularly special. S/S/H Config. Alder body. Rosewood fretboard. Standard vintage trem. Everything neat and tidy (ie tremolo/pickup cavities). Single volume and tone controls.

I play a wide variety of music and the 112 holds up nicely. The humbucker has plenty of output and punch (great for distorted powerchords) without squeeling feedback at high volumes. The single coils sound nice and full clean (too muddy distorted) and aren't to shrill (like a strat). Plenty of mids which is a nice change from the squiers that I've played. Overdrive tones are fine with the middle and bridge pickups (the bridge one is a tad too muddy) and the humbucker sounds fantastic with the gain piled on. My only complaint about the sound would be that perhaps the middle and bridge setting was a bit useless. It was okay clean, but as soon as things start to break up a bit...yuk. This is a minor complaint though, especially considering the price. Best sounding guitar I've played for the price.

Hmmmmm...I'm not sure if it was just this particular guitar or not, but there were a lot of problems with the factory set up. The first was the fact that it'd been set up for extremely low string tension (like for detuning metal bands) and so when I began to raise the pitch of the strings, the bridge tilted all the way foward. It was almost vertical when I finally noticed. I also had problems with the pickups. One of the springs stopping the pickup from moving foward if the guitar is tilted (these springs are under the pickgaurd and on the screws that hold the pickup in) was missing and so whenever I leaned foward the pickup would tap the strings. Not a major problem, but fiddlesom to fix. Also, the action was far to low, even though most people say the pacificas have nice low actions, there was heaps of fretbuzz. At least the truss rod adjustment was okay. I don't expect perfect factory set-ups, but something remotely playable would've been nice.

Dents really easily. Like balsa. You have to be delicate. Invest in a hard case. The frets and neck have help up well (had a few years of playing with it) and I've had no problems with the electrics. The tuners have also help up well.

Haven't dealt with them.

A fantastic guitar for the money. Good as guitars twice the prce. Great for a beginner and fantastic as a backup guitar. Plays well, sounds great, reliable. Besides a few niggles it's fantastic. I'm giving it an eight, but keep in mind that people are far to generous here.