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.