112V x2 in OVS & SB, 311H in VW (same as the one here), 612VIIFM in TBL. Agree 100% with your summation of the 311H. BQ of mine was as good as my 612V. Both are perfect, finished to an extremely high standard.
@@hollywoodactress Yes, the "feel" of polyurethane gloss vs polyurethane satin neck frictional characteristics notwithstanding. Personally I don't find the gloss finished neck an encumbrance, but there is no argument the satin neck is faster and slicker/smoother (has a noticeably lower frictional coefficient).
@@theblytonian3906 thanks for the info. Apart from the finish of the neck has each model got the same neck dimensions ? So the difference between each model are woods, pickups, hardware and finish, like you said satin or gloss neck?
as a beginner making a transition from acoustic to electric, i picked up an ice blue Pacifica 112V for my birthday last year. it's been a great experience and i love how it feels in the hand, of course i don't have any reference to compare it to though. one thing i can say is that i actually prefer the Pacifica's design language compared to a strat. the edges and angles are just a bit sharper, making it feel more clean and modern to me.
Unapologetic Yamaha aficionado here. PAC012 is truly Yamaha's literal "beginner guitar" Pacifica. Its target demographic is mum 'n dad with a sensible approach buying for either A. their music student kid, or B. flakey pubescent teen who changes their mind every five minutes on what their current fad is but currently enthused with the Rock Star image dream -until the reality of all the work required to learn guitar strikes hard a couple of months later. Frequently sold in the affordable no brainer package bundled Gigmaker packs to them and students. Also supplied to schools under Yamaha's subsidised programs. An affordable decent truly beginner guitar. Adults starting out with a Pacifica with a little more cash to spare but wanting to limit their spend testing the waters until certain they will commit will generally go to the ubiquitous PAC112V which is a guitar coincidentally also perfect for beginners, but capable of so much more and so not a beginners' guitar as it is by popularly misnomered other than by that association. Incredible bang for the buck, with its SSH config and split coil, it's a versatile capable all rounder,and buying it over equivalents from other big names leaves a wad of cash for a much better amp, a subscription to quality online tuition, and all those things one realises after the fact are actually necessities if you're to stick with guitar for more than five minutes rather than just nice to haves. The other Pacifica segments tend to higher budget spenders if their first Pacifica, or second/subsequent guitar buyers in many cases. My observations.
I have a 612 and just ordered a 611 hardtail. I wanted another telecaster but could not find one that comes close to the quality of Yamaha for under 2k. While the other big name manufacturers are sacrificing quality to make production goals Yamaha keeps on steadily producing high quality instruments as always.
I'm 40 and been playing guitar since I was a kid. My 12 years old girl often picks my duosonic up and plays around. I've just bought her a second hand pacifica to learn on. Great guitars tried and tested.
I was lucky enough to get a 611 for $375 used. An absolute steal. The SD's with the humbucker and p90 sound great and the neck is really nice! My favorite guitar currently.
My first guitar was 311 in the Natural finish. P90 neck pickup sounds great, the bridge humbucker is OK, the coil tapped humbucker is ordinary (I only use it in Humbucker mode). But overall a really good guitar, which I still own despite having bought several other more expensive guitars
Thank you! Your playing skills are amazing and it was a joy to listen to your passages... but most importantly, you did such a great job comparing what each guitar sounded like in different tone/attack settings. This was really valuable to help sort out what the "bang for the buck" would be for each guitar. And like you, I was surprised (shocked) at how great the 112 sounded! Awesome. And then the P-90 Magic of the 311 blew me away. And then the 612! My god, I didn't know how strong these Yamaha guitars are.
I watched this on your Italian channel in its entirety before I found this version lol. But no problem, I can listen to that language all day! I've since bought a 612 in metallic teal as an all-rounder and backup for live stuff. But I've been playing it more and more, could easily become my main. The slight "neutrality / charactlessness" can actually be an advantage.
i dont play anymore but bought 2 of these in the late 90,s, a telle MS311 and the exact 112 natural model you have. these are exceptional guitars and look good beside my USA reissue strats i have collected. they can be played on stage by any pro. steve in Australia
I have a 612 that I love. I had a luthier setup and it is now totally amazing, lowered action and intonation was sharp from factory. Mine is the wood tone with a white pick guard.
Great video man!! I love yamaha guitars in general, cause whichever model you buy , you know it will be great for the price!! I curently have an pacifica 604w and its my main and best guitar, (same tier with my MIJ Strat) my yamaha gives me the feelling you talked about...it talks to me!! I own usa stratocaster, Japan Ibanez, Parker etc....but man....i love that Yamaha!!
Out of my 4 guitars my favorite is my Pacifica 012 followed by my Ibanez GRX20Z HH with a 5 waly selector switch. One thing I will say about the Pacifica is that it's the most comfortable guitar I ever played.. Stay safe my friend
I was an absolute beginner to guitar 8 months ago. My first guitar was the Pacifica 112J. I have been very happy with it so far, but perhaps, I don't know what I don't know.
Thank you so much for the thorough demonstration of all the guitars. I knew I wanted a Pacifica, but i wanted to make sure i wouldn't regret not spending the extra >100 dollars for the next model up. I was already thinking about going for the 112, and with your demo I'm certain it's the right one for me. Thank you so much!
I appreciate your comparison so much. I have a Pacifica 112J with the ceramic pick ups. I modified the look of the guitar with a black pickguard and I left the white covers off of the pickups themselves so they would be black. Also I placed a black tin cover from my snarling dog pick case over the humbucker for looks. It fit perfectly but it does deaden the humbucker volume. I have a left thumb that does not bend from the time that I broke it as a little girl and didn't get it fixed. I have been mostly a rhythm acoustic player for 30 years.. but I also have purchased many electric guitars and then sold them because my thumb gets fatigued depending on the radius of the guitar neck. I have found that this pacific guitar neck is perfect for me resting my thumb on the back of the neck while I form bar chords all the way up and down the neck. So I have been researching to get another Yamaha Pacifica that is an upgrade from my one 112 j with ceramic pickups. I was very impressed with the really inexpensive Kramer guitar last year and I bought 2 of those Because of the Alnico 5 pick ups that came with such a budget guitar. I also modified the teal colored kramer guitar with a pseudo Chrome humbucker look and the 2 single coils with a black look and then a clear pick guard. I also put flat wound strings on it and some Fender vintage tuners that I had to help with the guitar keeping in tune. I do get fatigue though in my thumb muscle with a 12 inch neck radius. I wanted A P 90 because of all of talk about P90 pick ups for a change because I already have four stratecastor styles. I also have a fernandez Stratocaster which has a thinner neck radius which is my second choice for playability with my thumb condition. I'm guessing that one has a fourteen inch radius but with a thin C neck shape. The Yamaha Pacifica 311 doesn't seem to be available any longer? I'm wondering why? I will shop for 1 that is used though. I don't believe there are any guitars out there with the exact neck radius and feel all the way up-and-down that the Yamaha Pacifica has so I believe I will stick with that unless you have any other recommendations. I don't want to exceed $700 in price. right now. I could get a Yamaha Pacifica 612 for that price but I am having second thoughts after your really well explained video presentation here. thank you very much. ..Cindy
I have an acoustic guitar and I’ve been really interested in electric guitar, the 311 is the best sounding guitar I’ve ever heard, I definitely know what to buy now.
I have the yamaha112v pacifica and right of the box after a tune it up it very easy play. Bright sound and anything Ican think of it just do and I love that.
I was looking at the top Pacifica model seriously for awhile. The pickups are Seymour Duncan, but not what I wanted for modern metal and prog rock tones. I ended up buying a Sterling Cutlass CT50 HSS and upgrading all the electronics. TB-14 and two SSL-6's with DiMarzio 500k pots, a .473 orange drop tone capacitor and an SD type treble bleed curcuit. The tone pot is push/pull to split the humbucker and the DiMarzio superswitch is wired for (bridge,bridge+middle, bridge+neck,neck+middle,neck). Positions using the bridge together with a single coil are wired in series to get the classic quack of the strat or tele if needed. It's the most versatile guitar I have now.
Hi , great vid, i have the 311 in metallic red (which is stunning) and totally agree, if you don't need a trem then this is the one the p90 just sings and the hb is fab sounding , just needs raised to balance. my only issue was the neck - nothing wrong with it i'm just used to my vintage( company) v6 strat neck, the yam has a more modern neck, you should check out the v6 strat's
19:36 Now you can with the new Pacifica Professional! I have the 612 and I love it so much that I got the 012 for my birthday to use as a mod platform!!
Multiple Pacifica owner here. x2 112V (one bridge humbucker & nut modded), 311H & 612VIIFM. Also own x2 Yamaha Revstars, Ibanez Artstar 113, Cort Manson Stage Series Classic TC among others. Love 'em all. Play all of my Pacificas regularly. Only criticism of the 112V is its vibrato bridge. Built to a price and expected use, suitable for light vibrato use only and really needs both a nut mod and tuner replacement if intending regular moderate tremolo use IMV. Most don't/won't use its tremolo feature in any case, and it locks down to present as a stable quasi-fixed bridge without issue. Otherwise, practical, affordable mid range equivalent performance home studio, pub stage or garage band guitar.
Actually you need to play the Yamaha Pacifica 611VFM with the P90 and humbucker combo. It’s way better than the 311 with the same setup because the pickups are both Seymour Duncan’s. I own that particular guitar and it’s amazing!
Inarguably nice guitars in the same vein as the 612VIIFM, owning and play both the 311H and 612VIIFM regularly, I respectfully disagree. I've also played with both the 611H & 611VFM FTR. For starters, the 600 series are pitched at a vastly different price point to the 311H. Second, the primary technical differences with the direct comparison of the 611H to the 311H other than cosmetic, are the pickups and Graphtech string saver saddles, and functionally the gloss vs satin neck. In the case of the Seymour P90 vs the OEM G&B P90, the output and tonal difference is effectively moot. The humbucker is THE point of difference. But there are pluses and minus there too. Although high output, the 600 series TB-14 has scooped mids. Not everyone's cup of tea. The G&B humbucker of the 311H OTOH has truly tonally beautiful vintage PAF like tones, but on the downside is medium output. I think which humbucker is 'better' of the two in this guitar depends upon the user's intended purpose and if one already has a Pacifica with a TB-14. String saver saddles? Moot too AFAIC. Conventional steel is fine on this instrument. Functionally, the satin neck of the 311H wins hands down. Build quality an finish of the 311H is right up there with the 611H. I could have afforded either and bought the 311H over the 611H. The spare change over the 600 series permits a complete pickup refit of the users choice including Seymour Duncans of choice. In truth, they are all outstanding guitars at their respective price points. Of note, although less popular than its 612VIIFM and 612VIIX siblings, I think the 611VFM which adds the Wilkinson vibrato bridge to the 611 is also a magnificent guitar if wanting that bridge config. Particularly love its availability in its unique Tobacco Burst colour scheme. I'd love to add one to the stable, but ... opportunity and triage have seen it passed over to date.
@@Whitesp44 I haven't experienced a guitar yet where the G string isn't subject to necessity for regular retuning? Let's face it, the G gets hammered exacerbated by being a solid strand string which on electric is usually part of a relatively light gauge .9 or .10 set and gets bent more than a 304 so much of the time.
@@theblytonian3906 Agreed, however in my limited experience my old SG is more susceptible than say my Strat. My LP can be a pain in the ass too. So curious if the 611 had an issue more so than others. Thanks for the reply.
@@Whitesp44 You'll probably have .10s on the LP and SG, and .9s on the Strat. Suspect tuning issues will be a combo of the nut material and cut exacerbated by the Gibson design stock break angle and idiosyncrasies of its 3x3 string routing. The Fender flat head in line routing design eliminates both of those issues. On the 611H you have that Fender style design with double TUSQ string trees and TUSQ nut, and in the case of the 611H, TUSQ saddles and a fixed string through bridge, all best case 'stay in tune' features. Strung with .9s BTW. The 611V doesn't fall far behind with its Wilkinson V50 vibrato bridge which is stable enough with trem use unless you're a trem dive bomber.
I play the 112V for several years searching for a special blues sound (like Clapton). I try different overdrive predals in front of the Joyo Bantamp Bluejay but i miss "my sound. Now, with the 311 H it gets much better with the P90.
I have access to Pacifica 112 and an acoustic Faith Naked . I am a beginner and the more I play the more I realise how good the Pacifica is. The strings stay in tune The fret board is straight as a die and the action is really low. Much easier to play and learn. At my stage of learning I can’t imagine a more expensive guitar being any better for me .
Ι so regret not getting the limited edition 611VFMX Root Beer (also came in black and in blue, but I wanted the red one). Sounded and looked killer. Great review!
The 012 and 112 sounded pretty much the same to me. The 311 sounds like it has a sore throat. You can call it character, but it doesn't sound good to me. The 612 sounds the cleanest, but not special at all. Honestly the cheapest options seem to be the best for the Pacifica range
I have a made-in-Japan Pacifica 904. You should try find one second-hand because it will probably be ridiculously cheap for such an amazing, high-end guitar.
Ciao, sono in procinto di acquistare una 311H ma ho un problema che mi frena nel decidermi. Ti spiego, suono da quando avevo circa 7 anni, ho imparato praticamente tutto da autodidatta ma per un problema fisico ai tendini delle mani non ho mai approfondito troppo nell'allenamento e mi sono accontentato di arrivare fino a dove posso. Nonostante sia abbastanza bravo (so fare tranquillamente accordi "jazzati", per capirci) non ho un tocco molto fluido e preciso nelle scale...Detto questo, dopo aver usato per anni ed anni una telecaster e dopo aver provato nella vita varie chitarre, ho notato che la differenza fondamentale tra Fender e Gibson e è che con le Fender, la minima imprecisione si nota subito, mentre le Gibson sembrano essere più facili ed in qualche modo più "magnanime" nel perdonare le piccole imprecisioni anche in clean. Personalmente credo sia dovuto all' humbucker che capta meno frequenze alte e meno rumore ma allo stesso tempo ho notato che quello che mi rende più facile suonare è il manico, che avendo i tasti più stretti e il manico più tondo ho scoperto essere quello che più fa al caso mio. A questo punto ti chiedo, sai se esiste una chitarra sotto i 500 euro che abbia caratteristiche tipo la 311H (ovvero nut in grafite, locking tuners, e configuarzione HB/p90 o anche HB/HB)? Nel caso non esistesse sarebbe una pazzia acquistare una 311H e successivamente comprare un manico stile Gibson sostituendo il nut con quello in grafite e i locking tuner con quelli della yamaha? Ovviamente sarebbe una chitarra a dir poco orribile, ma funzionalmente ottima per me. L'ideale sarebbe sostituire solo il manico in se lasciando la paletta della yamaha attaccata in qualche modo al manico Gibson ma non credo si possa fisicamente fare se non facendo un accrocco alla Frankenstein che alla fine influirebbe anche sull'integrità della chitarra e sulla stabilità dell'accordatura e sto dicendo un eresia totale anche se dovesse farlo il miglior liutaio del mondo...
After checking the price links, I wonder how 750 E becomes twice 399 E ? No doubt the 612 sounds better. The best value is the 112. Looks good, sounds good, costs much less. Just my take. Nice work. Grazie mille. JR
Great review neighbour. I used to have a the old 821DX. it was a great guitar, but, I wanted a lacquered maple fretboard at the time, so I sold it. Now I play an Ibanez RG550 and a JEM555. Better than Pacifica, in my opinion.
Well I bought the 612 with p90. I played for a month or two and stopped. That was maybe 7 yrs ago. I paid $600 in Australia. I noticed it is $1000 now. I bought it because i saw people upgrade components on them and I thought it was cheaper and easier just to buy it from the start with al the upgraded components.
The price range within the 112 series is quite wide actually where the lowest to highest have a USD100 difference. The one shown in the video is 112VMX which is the middle priced of 112 series. Then, there's also the 212 series which not many reviews can be found on YT.
which one is the highest quality? and is 212 better than 112 in general? i am thinking of getting a pacifica within the next few weeks, so if you have any information i would appreciate ti
PAC311H is like you mention feels no expensive guitar and of course for that price point there's more option at the market place. Good video but for me the first to last option will be: 1. Yamaha PAC112V 2. Yamaha PAC311H 3. Yamaha PAC012 5. Yamaha PAC6112
That very much depends. Yamaha have made a lot of different models over the years and they've certainly made ones with classic vintage strat tones. Perhaps not in their current lineup. But really it's only a matter of pickups.
the build quality on these is near unmatched for the price. Iv sent back every HB guitar iv ordered and squire just dont seem to give a crap to begin with. why would you chose anything else. just remember its a medium fret guitar so you have to work alittle harder but a very well made one so you can be super precise with fast shredding and yamaha aren't known for sending out crappy half assed products like other companies do (squints and harley benton)
The more I play guitar, the less I care about what guitar I play. I don't care about satin necks or natural or whatever. Also I don't care about pickup brands. As long as they don't have neck dive every guitar is the same for me
Guys. Help me out please. I am looking to buy my first electric guitar. Should I go with 112v or 311? I am used to playing acoustic and planning to start electric. I want to mainly play songs like 'Canon Rock version' and similar solo covers, and also want some versatility.
Absolutly great reveiw thanks sooo much. you have done a road on the range im looking to buy as a beginner electric first guitar. im torn between a 212 and 311. what would be your choice ?? thank you !
Dude. What woukd YOU buy instead if the yamaha 612 for the same price as you say a lot of competitorss...what can you get thats better for that money. Cmon tell ..cause tha Pac 612 is a lit for the money. But i honestly want to know .dont say a player strat..lol
Charvel pro mod, PRS Silver Sky SE, Ibanez, Schecter Nick Johnston, Sire S7. It depends on what you like bette, the Yamaha has a great value for money indeed, but it's a tough battle nowadays
012 is a very well made guitar for sure but NO the body is not made of Mahogany but of up to seven pieces of wood where some might be Mahogany. The fretboard of yours is made of Walnut the same as mine, Walnut is the most common wood used. Well one might stumble over one with Rosewood. I have never seem one but there are, one by thousand maybe.
I got the exact color 311. Replaced bridge with custom 5 as stock humbucker had weak output compared to P90. An older TH-cam comparison video of 311 vs 611 tipped me off to that. Stock, the P90 is significantly louder. With the custom 5 (or other with better output than stock) they are better balanced. I basically copied the 611. The stock P90 output is not a problem. Tone vs the 611 Duncan P90 I can't say. Same video claimed P90 was ok.
@@anotherrobot3076 Thanks for the reply. My 311 will arrive tomorrow so I'll just see if I can recognize what you pointed out and from there decide if it's worth replacing. Maybe it'll be a future upgrade but soldering scares me hahah!
Look for bridge humbuckers Trembucker (Duncan) and possibly F spaced (Di Mazario) when shopping/researching as the strings are kinda tremolo width. Of course if your P-90 isn't stupid louder than your bridge (especially tapped) than you might be fine with the stock. It bugged the crap out of me I like switching around playing. Oh yeah and the output rating. I went with custom 5 cuz yamaha jams those in the 611 and 612 and the output was fairly closer ish to the P90.
@@anotherrobot3076 Thanks for the tip! Mine arrived just now and I see what you mean. That's gonna be a future upgrade. By the way, after inspecting it, I noticed the pull-out tone knob has a little wiggle room and it turns much lighter than the volume knob. I don't know if that's normal because it's a pull out knob, but still it feels a little cheap-ish/fragile. Does yours have the same thing? Or is your pullout knob nice and sturdy?
I had pacifica 112 for many years and have been looking for guitars with similiar neck profile. Can you recommend some other guitars that have this awesome neck? Currently playing Squier Contemporary Strat which is also great guitar but the neck profile isn't even close to Pacifica.
@@BlowUpTheOutsideWorld Too obvious. I thought I’d missed something! I’m awaiting delivery of a fired red 612fm. Like a kid on Christmas Eve!🎄🎸🎉👍🙂Cheers MR.
I owned the 611 guitar and loved it. But the headstock always made me FEEL like I was playing such a cheap and cheesy guitar. I mean, it says PACIFICA with "yamaha guitar development" under it...and a big, round Yamaha logo. Gotta make it look more professional or cool. Nobody takes you seriously when you play a Yamaha guitar...that's the image they need to turn around.
I bought an 012 just to have a cheap strat laying around. And cheap it is but I really can’t tell a difference between mine and my son’s Fender. But the headstock is what my wife calls “weenie stupid.”
Hello :) I have an option to buy Yamaha pacifica 212 VQM with seymour duncan pickups fo 210$ or standard Yamaha pacifica 311H YNS for 215$. I like the look of 212 vqm, probably with that upgrade it will sound better than stock one but from this video i'm not so sure if i should get 311h :/ Can I ask for help?
That’s a good question actually. They’re really different with 3 different flavors. I don’t have a particular favorite one, all of ‘em have something kind of unique
No, as you can see from the other videos of mine I work with the online store StrumentiMusicali.net doing some gear demos, so all the opinions regarding the gear are my own exclusively
@@TheGuitalian Sorry, I only knew the prices in Germany. And here the 612 has until recently cost from 649€, now up to 900€, which is probably also due to the product revision. Nevertheless, the guitar would not be the first choice for me. In Italy you can still get the guitar from 699€, which is still a good price.
@@patrickjames666 Uh that's a pity if it's a common issue on an otherwise great guitar in that price range. Also weird, even lower end Yamahas are built comparably well usually.
@@zendakk Get a luthier to check out why. It shouldn't. If it turns out the nut has been cut wrong, you can purchase a genuine replacement relatively inexpensively directly from Yamaha or Graphtech.
Loose a bit the string tree but with string in contact with the nut , with this simple action is possible that you fix the problem an dont need to work with the nut.
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Do you have a Pacifica already? Which one? Cheers!
112V x2 in OVS & SB, 311H in VW (same as the one here), 612VIIFM in TBL. Agree 100% with your summation of the 311H. BQ of mine was as good as my 612V. Both are perfect, finished to an extremely high standard.
Hi there
Excellent review
I wanted to know do the necks feel identical on all 4? In terms of thickness and profile and feel ?
@@hollywoodactress Yes, the "feel" of polyurethane gloss vs polyurethane satin neck frictional characteristics notwithstanding.
Personally I don't find the gloss finished neck an encumbrance, but there is no argument the satin neck is faster and slicker/smoother (has a noticeably lower frictional coefficient).
@@theblytonian3906 thanks for the info.
Apart from the finish of the neck has each model got the same neck dimensions ?
So the difference between each model are woods, pickups, hardware and finish, like you said satin or gloss neck?
@@hollywoodactress The hardware specs are all online. All Pacifica model necks share the exact same dimensions.
as a beginner making a transition from acoustic to electric, i picked up an ice blue Pacifica 112V for my birthday last year. it's been a great experience and i love how it feels in the hand, of course i don't have any reference to compare it to though. one thing i can say is that i actually prefer the Pacifica's design language compared to a strat. the edges and angles are just a bit sharper, making it feel more clean and modern to me.
Unapologetic Yamaha aficionado here. PAC012 is truly Yamaha's literal "beginner guitar" Pacifica. Its target demographic is mum 'n dad with a sensible approach buying for either A. their music student kid, or B. flakey pubescent teen who changes their mind every five minutes on what their current fad is but currently enthused with the Rock Star image dream -until the reality of all the work required to learn guitar strikes hard a couple of months later. Frequently sold in the affordable no brainer package bundled Gigmaker packs to them and students. Also supplied to schools under Yamaha's subsidised programs. An affordable decent truly beginner guitar.
Adults starting out with a Pacifica with a little more cash to spare but wanting to limit their spend testing the waters until certain they will commit will generally go to the ubiquitous PAC112V which is a guitar coincidentally also perfect for beginners, but capable of so much more and so not a beginners' guitar as it is by popularly misnomered other than by that association. Incredible bang for the buck, with its SSH config and split coil, it's a versatile capable all rounder,and buying it over equivalents from other big names leaves a wad of cash for a much better amp, a subscription to quality online tuition, and all those things one realises after the fact are actually necessities if you're to stick with guitar for more than five minutes rather than just nice to haves. The other Pacifica segments tend to higher budget spenders if their first Pacifica, or second/subsequent guitar buyers in many cases. My observations.
Brilliant comment, really accurate! Thanks!
Great comment this is gold.
I have a 612 and just ordered a 611 hardtail. I wanted another telecaster but could not find one that comes close to the quality of Yamaha for under 2k. While the other big name manufacturers are sacrificing quality to make production goals Yamaha keeps on steadily producing high quality instruments as always.
I'm 40 and been playing guitar since I was a kid. My 12 years old girl often picks my duosonic up and plays around. I've just bought her a second hand pacifica to learn on. Great guitars tried and tested.
I was lucky enough to get a 611 for $375 used. An absolute steal. The SD's with the humbucker and p90 sound great and the neck is really nice! My favorite guitar currently.
Wow what a deal!
There is 611 on a reverb around the same price, can you recommend it?
I've got a pac 612, an excellent guitar! Her neck is just right for my not so long fingers. Quality is outstanding. Auguri da Austria!
Surprisingly 012 has great tones which i like. ❤️ ...but for the looks 112 is by far my choice.
Yamaha as a whole puts out great instruments their pro drums and pianos are fantastic.
I still have my Yamaha Live Oak MIJ. The projection of sound is incredible when I was in a band
The highlight of this video is none of the guitars but you bro. Great video!
Thanks man, deeply appreciated
Getting the 311H FOR SURE!
My first guitar was 311 in the Natural finish. P90 neck pickup sounds great, the bridge humbucker is OK, the coil tapped humbucker is ordinary (I only use it in Humbucker mode).
But overall a really good guitar, which I still own despite having bought several other more expensive guitars
I'd like to see a 311 in that sonic pink they do. Bridge Humbucker in video sounds pretty good, maybe a little muddy.
The 322 humbucker was on par with the 612 just a different flavor IMO. Could be considered better by some
@@spawn302 I thought the 612 had Seymour Duncan pickups
Thank you! Your playing skills are amazing and it was a joy to listen to your passages... but most importantly, you did such a great job comparing what each guitar sounded like in different tone/attack settings. This was really valuable to help sort out what the "bang for the buck" would be for each guitar. And like you, I was surprised (shocked) at how great the 112 sounded! Awesome. And then the P-90 Magic of the 311 blew me away. And then the 612! My god, I didn't know how strong these Yamaha guitars are.
Thanks man
I watched this on your Italian channel in its entirety before I found this version lol. But no problem, I can listen to that language all day! I've since bought a 612 in metallic teal as an all-rounder and backup for live stuff. But I've been playing it more and more, could easily become my main. The slight "neutrality / charactlessness" can actually be an advantage.
Thanks for watching both vids!
i dont play anymore but bought 2 of these in the late 90,s, a telle MS311 and the exact 112 natural model you have.
these are exceptional guitars and look good beside my USA reissue strats i have collected. they can be played on stage by any pro. steve in Australia
I have a 612 that I love. I had a luthier setup and it is now totally amazing, lowered action and intonation was sharp from factory.
Mine is the wood tone with a white pick guard.
Great video man!!
I love yamaha guitars in general, cause whichever model you buy , you know it will be great for the price!!
I curently have an pacifica 604w and its my main and best guitar, (same tier with my MIJ Strat)
my yamaha gives me the feelling you talked about...it talks to me!!
I own usa stratocaster, Japan Ibanez, Parker etc....but man....i love that Yamaha!!
Out of my 4 guitars my favorite is my Pacifica 012 followed by my Ibanez GRX20Z HH with a 5 waly selector switch. One thing I will say about the Pacifica is that it's the most comfortable guitar I ever played.. Stay safe my friend
I have the 612 flame maple black and I love it, sounds and plays great!
I was an absolute beginner to guitar 8 months ago. My first guitar was the Pacifica 112J. I have been very happy with it so far, but perhaps, I don't know what I don't know.
Mine as well! Just got a red metallic one yesterday!
Huh,lol, I’m also buy my first guitar Yamaha 112J in December 2021 and start to play on it😅
Thank you so much for the thorough demonstration of all the guitars. I knew I wanted a Pacifica, but i wanted to make sure i wouldn't regret not spending the extra >100 dollars for the next model up.
I was already thinking about going for the 112, and with your demo I'm certain it's the right one for me.
Thank you so much!
Thanks for All Pacifica series Review 👍
You’re welcome!
I appreciate your comparison so much. I have a Pacifica 112J with the ceramic pick ups. I modified the look of the guitar with a black pickguard and I left the white covers off of the pickups themselves so they would be black. Also I placed a black tin cover from my snarling dog pick case over the humbucker for looks. It fit perfectly but it does deaden the humbucker volume.
I have a left thumb that does not bend from the time that I broke it as a little girl and didn't get it fixed.
I have been mostly a rhythm acoustic player for 30 years.. but I also have purchased many electric guitars and then sold them because my thumb gets fatigued depending on the radius of the guitar neck. I have found that this pacific guitar neck is perfect for me resting my thumb on the back of the neck while I form bar chords all the way up and down the neck.
So I have been researching to get another Yamaha Pacifica
that is an upgrade from my one 112 j with ceramic pickups. I was very impressed with the really inexpensive Kramer guitar last year and I bought 2 of those Because of the Alnico 5 pick ups that came with such a budget guitar. I also modified the teal colored kramer guitar with a pseudo Chrome humbucker look and the 2 single coils with a black look and then a clear pick guard. I also put flat wound strings on it and some
Fender vintage tuners that I had to help with the guitar keeping in tune. I do get fatigue though in my
thumb muscle with a 12 inch neck radius. I wanted A P 90 because of all of talk about P90 pick ups for a change because I already have four stratecastor styles. I also have a fernandez Stratocaster which has a thinner neck radius which is my second choice for playability with my thumb condition. I'm guessing that one has a fourteen inch radius but with a thin C neck shape.
The Yamaha Pacifica 311 doesn't seem to be available any longer? I'm wondering why? I will shop for 1 that is used though. I don't believe there are any guitars out there with the exact neck radius and feel all the way up-and-down that the Yamaha Pacifica has so I believe I will stick with that unless you have any other recommendations. I don't want to exceed $700 in price. right now. I could get a Yamaha Pacifica 612 for that price but I am having second thoughts after your really well explained video presentation here. thank you very much. ..Cindy
I have an acoustic guitar and I’ve been really interested in electric guitar, the 311 is the best sounding guitar I’ve ever heard, I definitely know what to buy now.
I have the yamaha112v pacifica and right of the box after a tune it up it very easy play. Bright sound and anything Ican think of it just do and I love that.
This is a great review. Yamaha make fabulous instruments.
Gonna buy a squier 40th anniversary strat on sale though. Even better value.
Awesome tone on the unboxing music.👍
Have 112JM from 2007, 112V natural, great guitars, quite fancy a 311H next.
I was looking at the top Pacifica model seriously for awhile. The pickups are Seymour Duncan, but not what I wanted for modern metal and prog rock tones. I ended up buying a Sterling Cutlass CT50 HSS and upgrading all the electronics. TB-14 and two SSL-6's with DiMarzio 500k pots, a .473 orange drop tone capacitor and an SD type treble bleed curcuit. The tone pot is push/pull to split the humbucker and the DiMarzio superswitch is wired for (bridge,bridge+middle, bridge+neck,neck+middle,neck). Positions using the bridge together with a single coil are wired in series to get the classic quack of the strat or tele if needed. It's the most versatile guitar I have now.
Hi , great vid, i have the 311 in metallic red (which is stunning) and totally agree, if you don't need a trem then this is the one the p90 just sings and the hb is fab sounding , just needs raised to balance. my only issue was the neck - nothing wrong with it i'm just used to my vintage( company) v6 strat neck, the yam has a more modern neck, you should check out the v6 strat's
19:36 Now you can with the new Pacifica Professional!
I have the 612 and I love it so much that I got the 012 for my birthday to use as a mod platform!!
My 1st real guitar was a low end pacifica bundle package deal from musicians friend and it punched wayyyyy above its weight class
I've only started to learn so I don't really have the experience to judge. I've got the 012 but in black. I have to say the frets are well polished.
Multiple Pacifica owner here. x2 112V (one bridge humbucker & nut modded), 311H & 612VIIFM. Also own x2 Yamaha Revstars, Ibanez Artstar 113, Cort Manson Stage Series Classic TC among others. Love 'em all. Play all of my Pacificas regularly. Only criticism of the 112V is its vibrato bridge. Built to a price and expected use, suitable for light vibrato use only and really needs both a nut mod and tuner replacement if intending regular moderate tremolo use IMV. Most don't/won't use its tremolo feature in any case, and it locks down to present as a stable quasi-fixed bridge without issue. Otherwise, practical, affordable mid range equivalent performance home studio, pub stage or garage band guitar.
thanks for the nice video and helpful review. I think the 311 will be just right for me..
Actually you need to play the Yamaha Pacifica 611VFM with the P90 and humbucker combo. It’s way better than the 311 with the same setup because the pickups are both Seymour Duncan’s. I own that particular guitar and it’s amazing!
How is the 611 as far as staying in tune? Any issues like the G dropping? Thanks, it's an attractive guitar at the price point.
Inarguably nice guitars in the same vein as the 612VIIFM, owning and play both the 311H and 612VIIFM regularly, I respectfully disagree. I've also played with both the 611H & 611VFM FTR.
For starters, the 600 series are pitched at a vastly different price point to the 311H. Second, the primary technical differences with the direct comparison of the 611H to the 311H other than cosmetic, are the pickups and Graphtech string saver saddles, and functionally the gloss vs satin neck. In the case of the Seymour P90 vs the OEM G&B P90, the output and tonal difference is effectively moot. The humbucker is THE point of difference. But there are pluses and minus there too. Although high output, the 600 series TB-14 has scooped mids. Not everyone's cup of tea. The G&B humbucker of the 311H OTOH has truly tonally beautiful vintage PAF like tones, but on the downside is medium output. I think which humbucker is 'better' of the two in this guitar depends upon the user's intended purpose and if one already has a Pacifica with a TB-14. String saver saddles? Moot too AFAIC. Conventional steel is fine on this instrument. Functionally, the satin neck of the 311H wins hands down. Build quality an finish of the 311H is right up there with the 611H.
I could have afforded either and bought the 311H over the 611H. The spare change over the 600 series permits a complete pickup refit of the users choice including Seymour Duncans of choice. In truth, they are all outstanding guitars at their respective price points. Of note, although less popular than its 612VIIFM and 612VIIX siblings, I think the 611VFM which adds the Wilkinson vibrato bridge to the 611 is also a magnificent guitar if wanting that bridge config. Particularly love its availability in its unique Tobacco Burst colour scheme. I'd love to add one to the stable, but ... opportunity and triage have seen it passed over to date.
@@Whitesp44 I haven't experienced a guitar yet where the G string isn't subject to necessity for regular retuning? Let's face it, the G gets hammered exacerbated by being a solid strand string which on electric is usually part of a relatively light gauge .9 or .10 set and gets bent more than a 304 so much of the time.
@@theblytonian3906 Agreed, however in my limited experience my old SG is more susceptible than say my Strat. My LP can be a pain in the ass too. So curious if the 611 had an issue more so than others. Thanks for the reply.
@@Whitesp44 You'll probably have .10s on the LP and SG, and .9s on the Strat. Suspect tuning issues will be a combo of the nut material and cut exacerbated by the Gibson design stock break angle and idiosyncrasies of its 3x3 string routing. The Fender flat head in line routing design eliminates both of those issues.
On the 611H you have that Fender style design with double TUSQ string trees and TUSQ nut, and in the case of the 611H, TUSQ saddles and a fixed string through bridge, all best case 'stay in tune' features. Strung with .9s BTW. The 611V doesn't fall far behind with its Wilkinson V50 vibrato bridge which is stable enough with trem use unless you're a trem dive bomber.
Great review, thanks 👍🏻
great review, thank you
consensus from the video: that Marshall amp sounds great!
I play the 112V for several years searching for a special blues sound (like Clapton). I try different overdrive predals in front of the Joyo Bantamp Bluejay but i miss "my sound. Now, with the 311 H it gets much better with the P90.
Many thanks, helpful!
I have access to Pacifica 112 and an acoustic Faith Naked .
I am a beginner and the more I play the more I realise how good the Pacifica is.
The strings stay in tune
The fret board is straight as a die and the action is really low. Much easier to play and learn.
At my stage of learning I can’t imagine a more expensive guitar being any better for me .
I also have the entry level Pacifica and I still play it too in addition to the 612FM.
Ι so regret not getting the limited edition 611VFMX Root Beer (also came in black and in blue, but I wanted the red one). Sounded and looked killer.
Great review!
Thanks!
The 012 and 112 sounded pretty much the same to me. The 311 sounds like it has a sore throat. You can call it character, but it doesn't sound good to me.
The 612 sounds the cleanest, but not special at all.
Honestly the cheapest options seem to be the best for the Pacifica range
I have a made-in-Japan Pacifica 904. You should try find one second-hand because it will probably be ridiculously cheap for such an amazing, high-end guitar.
Ciao, sono in procinto di acquistare una 311H ma ho un problema che mi frena nel decidermi. Ti spiego, suono da quando avevo circa 7 anni, ho imparato praticamente tutto da autodidatta ma per un problema fisico ai tendini delle mani non ho mai approfondito troppo nell'allenamento e mi sono accontentato di arrivare fino a dove posso. Nonostante sia abbastanza bravo (so fare tranquillamente accordi "jazzati", per capirci) non ho un tocco molto fluido e preciso nelle scale...Detto questo, dopo aver usato per anni ed anni una telecaster e dopo aver provato nella vita varie chitarre, ho notato che la differenza fondamentale tra Fender e Gibson e è che con le Fender, la minima imprecisione si nota subito, mentre le Gibson sembrano essere più facili ed in qualche modo più "magnanime" nel perdonare le piccole imprecisioni anche in clean. Personalmente credo sia dovuto all' humbucker che capta meno frequenze alte e meno rumore ma allo stesso tempo ho notato che quello che mi rende più facile suonare è il manico, che avendo i tasti più stretti e il manico più tondo ho scoperto essere quello che più fa al caso mio. A questo punto ti chiedo, sai se esiste una chitarra sotto i 500 euro che abbia caratteristiche tipo la 311H (ovvero nut in grafite, locking tuners, e configuarzione HB/p90 o anche HB/HB)? Nel caso non esistesse sarebbe una pazzia acquistare una 311H e successivamente comprare un manico stile Gibson sostituendo il nut con quello in grafite e i locking tuner con quelli della yamaha? Ovviamente sarebbe una chitarra a dir poco orribile, ma funzionalmente ottima per me. L'ideale sarebbe sostituire solo il manico in se lasciando la paletta della yamaha attaccata in qualche modo al manico Gibson ma non credo si possa fisicamente fare se non facendo un accrocco alla Frankenstein che alla fine influirebbe anche sull'integrità della chitarra e sulla stabilità dell'accordatura e sto dicendo un eresia totale anche se dovesse farlo il miglior liutaio del mondo...
After checking the price links, I wonder how 750 E becomes twice 399 E ? No doubt the 612 sounds better. The best value is the 112. Looks good, sounds good, costs much less. Just my take. Nice work. Grazie mille. JR
Great review neighbour. I used to have a the old 821DX. it was a great guitar, but, I wanted a lacquered maple fretboard at the time, so I sold it. Now I play an Ibanez RG550 and a JEM555. Better than Pacifica, in my opinion.
I have a 412 about 1995, really good guitar
Well I bought the 612 with p90. I played for a month or two and stopped. That was maybe 7 yrs ago. I paid $600 in Australia. I noticed it is $1000 now. I bought it because i saw people upgrade components on them and I thought it was cheaper and easier just to buy it from the start with al the upgraded components.
The price range within the 112 series is quite wide actually where the lowest to highest have a USD100 difference. The one shown in the video is 112VMX which is the middle priced of 112 series. Then, there's also the 212 series which not many reviews can be found on YT.
which one is the highest quality? and is 212 better than 112 in general? i am thinking of getting a pacifica within the next few weeks, so if you have any information i would appreciate ti
I want to get the 212 but I can't find reviews on youtube which makes me hesitate on buying it
i ended up getting 311, its great
@@MrRagnarxxi have never played a guitar before, the 311 has p90 pick ups which are quite unusual so I'm not sure about it.
PAC311H is like you mention feels no expensive guitar and of course for that price point there's more option at the market place. Good video but for me the first to last option will be:
1. Yamaha PAC112V
2. Yamaha PAC311H
3. Yamaha PAC012
5. Yamaha PAC6112
Y que te parece la guitarra Yamaha pacífica 120 HH?
Gianfranco Zola would be proud of you the Guitalian genius name my friend and yeah Pacifica's are good beginners guitars for the money.
I OWN A 212V.......AWSOME GUITAR 🎸
for me it wos the best test of pacifica. You showed the difference and I can herd it.
Thanks
They have their own distinctive tone, however, they are not a substitute for Fender Strats if the classic tone is what one is chasing.
That very much depends. Yamaha have made a lot of different models over the years and they've certainly made ones with classic vintage strat tones. Perhaps not in their current lineup. But really it's only a matter of pickups.
Doesn’t the hardware combination on the 612 beat much of the competition in the same price range?
Other than Cort, slays it, even with the price rises.
At any price range! But don't expect a Fender USA tone or feel. It's distinctive.
the 112 is rosewood i ordered the 012 today and they say its walnut?
the build quality on these is near unmatched for the price. Iv sent back every HB guitar iv ordered and squire just dont seem to give a crap to begin with. why would you chose anything else. just remember its a medium fret guitar so you have to work alittle harder but a very well made one so you can be super precise with fast shredding and yamaha aren't known for sending out crappy half assed products like other companies do (squints and harley benton)
I bought the 012, the 112 and the 311. The 311 was a good guitar. The other 2 were pretty terrible.
What about Yamaha Pacifica 611?
The more I play guitar, the less I care about what guitar I play. I don't care about satin necks or natural or whatever. Also I don't care about pickup brands. As long as they don't have neck dive every guitar is the same for me
Guys. Help me out please. I am looking to buy my first electric guitar. Should I go with 112v or 311? I am used to playing acoustic and planning to start electric. I want to mainly play songs like 'Canon Rock version' and similar solo covers, and also want some versatility.
Absolutly great reveiw thanks sooo much. you have done a road on the range im looking to buy as a beginner electric first guitar. im torn between a 212 and 311. what would be your choice ?? thank you !
311 for me. Cheers!
The Pac311H same electronics as 611HFM (potentiometers) ?
Great review and demonstration. How would you compare the 311 to the blue Ibanez RGA42FM-BLF you tested a few months ago?
the Ibanez is way more metal oriented indeed
I wonder how a Sire S3 ($399) would stack up to a Pacifica 311h ($429)
У всех пацифик один большой косяк - узкий порожек 41 мм. В остальном отличные гитары. Привет из россии. У меня есть пацифика 412
Dude. What woukd YOU buy instead if the yamaha 612 for the same price as you say a lot of competitorss...what can you get thats better for that money. Cmon tell ..cause tha Pac 612 is a lit for the money. But i honestly want to know .dont say a player strat..lol
Charvel pro mod, PRS Silver Sky SE, Ibanez, Schecter Nick Johnston, Sire S7. It depends on what you like bette, the Yamaha has a great value for money indeed, but it's a tough battle nowadays
012 is a very well made guitar for sure but NO the body is not made of Mahogany but of up to seven pieces of wood where some might be Mahogany.
The fretboard of yours is made of Walnut the same as mine, Walnut is the most common wood used.
Well one might stumble over one with Rosewood. I have never seem one but there are, one by thousand maybe.
I got the exact color 311. Replaced bridge with custom 5 as stock humbucker had weak output compared to P90. An older TH-cam comparison video of 311 vs 611 tipped me off to that. Stock, the P90 is significantly louder. With the custom 5 (or other with better output than stock) they are better balanced. I basically copied the 611. The stock P90 output is not a problem. Tone vs the 611 Duncan P90 I can't say. Same video claimed P90 was ok.
How did you swap out the humbucker? Did you do it yourself or did you have someone else do it?
TH-cam videos and a soldering kit. My solder job leaves a lot to be desired but it works.
@@anotherrobot3076 Thanks for the reply. My 311 will arrive tomorrow so I'll just see if I can recognize what you pointed out and from there decide if it's worth replacing. Maybe it'll be a future upgrade but soldering scares me hahah!
Look for bridge humbuckers Trembucker (Duncan) and possibly F spaced (Di Mazario) when shopping/researching as the strings are kinda tremolo width. Of course if your P-90 isn't stupid louder than your bridge (especially tapped) than you might be fine with the stock. It bugged the crap out of me I like switching around playing.
Oh yeah and the output rating. I went with custom 5 cuz yamaha jams those in the 611 and 612 and the output was fairly closer ish to the P90.
@@anotherrobot3076 Thanks for the tip! Mine arrived just now and I see what you mean. That's gonna be a future upgrade.
By the way, after inspecting it, I noticed the pull-out tone knob has a little wiggle room and it turns much lighter than the volume knob.
I don't know if that's normal because it's a pull out knob, but still it feels a little cheap-ish/fragile.
Does yours have the same thing? Or is your pullout knob nice and sturdy?
Doesn't 012 have poplar/ alder body?
Is the humbucker on the 612 very much better than on the 311?
012 mahagony? Have they updated it? i have 012 and its alder
Yamaha Pacifica 612 or Silver Sky SE
Wood doesn't affect the tone!! Verifiable fact!!
80% of the guitar sound comes from the pickup. And I made up that 80%,
What tune was that you played with distortion?
I had pacifica 112 for many years and have been looking for guitars with similiar neck profile. Can you recommend some other guitars that have this awesome neck? Currently playing Squier Contemporary Strat which is also great guitar but the neck profile isn't even close to Pacifica.
Why don’t you go with a higher level Pacifica model? The 311 is a great one and with a great personality
I GASPED VERY LOUDLY AT 1:02
Why?🤔
@@rollontheasteroid366 gorgeous guitar
@@BlowUpTheOutsideWorld Too obvious. I thought I’d missed something! I’m awaiting delivery of a fired red 612fm. Like a kid on Christmas Eve!🎄🎸🎉👍🙂Cheers MR.
I owned the 611 guitar and loved it. But the headstock always made me FEEL like I was playing such a cheap and cheesy guitar. I mean, it says PACIFICA with "yamaha guitar development" under it...and a big, round Yamaha logo. Gotta make it look more professional or cool. Nobody takes you seriously when you play a Yamaha guitar...that's the image they need to turn around.
Interesting point
I bought an 012 just to have a cheap strat laying around. And cheap it is but I really can’t tell a difference between mine and my son’s Fender. But the headstock is what my wife calls “weenie stupid.”
I think you're wrong on the 012 I own one and the body is Agathis not Mohogany
If you take a look on the official Yamaha site it says it can be both, at least it did when I made the video
Hello :) I have an option to buy Yamaha pacifica 212 VQM with seymour duncan pickups fo 210$ or standard Yamaha pacifica 311H YNS for 215$. I like the look of 212 vqm, probably with that upgrade it will sound better than stock one but from this video i'm not so sure if i should get 311h :/ Can I ask for help?
I’d get the 311H
@@TheGuitalian Thank You
Yamaha makes quality instruments across the board. Forget all the Chinese crap.
Do you prefer the 311 to the PRS SE or Sire?
That’s a good question actually. They’re really different with 3 different flavors. I don’t have a particular favorite one, all of ‘em have something kind of unique
@@TheGuitalian thanks for your advice,all seem nice
You look like Shaggy from Scooby Doo 😂
italian ola englund
Best for price? That's for sure
No 24 fret is the onlt thing thats keeping me from buying this
So much string buzz
Are you paid by Yamaha???
No, as you can see from the other videos of mine I work with the online store StrumentiMusicali.net doing some gear demos, so all the opinions regarding the gear are my own exclusively
The 612 cost now about 250€ more.🤮
Are you sure? It's still on a great price on StrumentiMusicali.net
@@TheGuitalian Sorry, I only knew the prices in Germany. And here the 612 has until recently cost from 649€, now up to 900€, which is probably also due to the product revision. Nevertheless, the guitar would not be the first choice for me. In Italy you can still get the guitar from 699€, which is still a good price.
With heavy distortion...they all sound the same.
That’s amazing, so you can make a cheap epiphone sounds exactly like a vintage ‘59. Awesome
I just tried a 311h and experienced the same issue on the B string, so this is a guitar that I will not be buying.
Does the string get stuck in the nut?
@@zendakk yes
@@patrickjames666 Uh that's a pity if it's a common issue on an otherwise great guitar in that price range. Also weird, even lower end Yamahas are built comparably well usually.
@@zendakk Get a luthier to check out why. It shouldn't. If it turns out the nut has been cut wrong, you can purchase a genuine replacement relatively inexpensively directly from Yamaha or Graphtech.
Loose a bit the string tree but with string in contact with the nut , with this simple action is possible that you fix the problem an dont need to work with the nut.