Don't know why it didn't occur to me earlier, but I googled the serial number on this guitar & it turns out it dates from April 2001. So it's a 17yr old guitar which has had a hard life. The fact that it required NO fret work is astonishing!
John Robson Guitarist it was quite obvious that someone "worked" on the one I found... Sanded half the paint off, no nut, missing tuners, frets have grooves in them.... It's going to be a fun project.
Yamaha's overall quality is the best of all series manufacturers imho. The higher series (6xx, 8xx, 9xx) are top notch instruments ready to record in pro studios. I'd have my walls filled by Pacificas if only they built a wider than 41mm neck, at least for the western markets. Btw, just want to express how much i appreciate your channel for the opportunity of listening to a brilliant minded person talking about guitar stuff in a pleasant way.
I recently bought a Pacifica 112 for £40 as a project guitar. It was a bit dinged but had hardly ever been played, looking at the frets. It was cheap because the single coil pups didn't work - turned out the glue holding the magnets had gone and a knock must have made them drop off. Glued them back on and have quite a decent guitar.
iloveitall Yeah, Yamaha (and to a certain extent, Peavey) are companies who just get on with the job of making superb gear at very reasonable prices. Somehow they seem to fly under the radar a little... Despite the obvious quality of their products, they don't seem to get a mention when the conversation turns to good quality guitars. It's all about the "F word" or the "G word" on the headstock for some folks. Thanks for the kind comments, by the way 😀
I found maple fretboard Pacifica hanging on wall at Cream city guitars. I played it for45 seconds, never plugged it in,bought it for 100 bux. That guitar hasn't missed a gig in 10 YEARS!! BEST NECK EVER !!😆😆
Man, that guitar sounds GREAT!! Just picked up a tabacco burst 112J yesterday for $100usd. Doing an upgrade on it myself. Yamaha makes a killer guitar for the money.
John, I stumbled onto your vlog and was inspired to upgrade my kid’s Yamaha PAC012, which I inherited when I decided to learn to play 2 years ago. Aside from your video, I knew nothing about upgrading a guitar, but I managed to fluff my way through one of the most successful ‘upgrade’ stories, at least for me! I emulated your ‘tele’ style with a 3-way switch, converting a HSS into a H-P90 set up. I went with Tonerider PUs, Hipshot locking tuners, graphtech nut and probably spent more than I needed to on the pots and wiring with treble bleed! New tortoise shell scratch plate (a little ‘vegemite’), coming in at a relatively pricey AUD380 upgrade all up! But it sounds soooo good. People may not believe me but I prefer to play it over my Gibson Les Paul and Fender Strat Professional, at least for now. Thank you John!
Here we are 15 may 2020 almost 2 years from your Yamaha find. Two days ago I was out doing some shopping for my wife in Chateau d'Olonne near where I live in France. I had done my shopping duties, and, as you saw Cash Converters, I saw the French equivalent Happy Cash at Chateau d'Olonne. On a whim like you I went in and hanging there was a YamahePacifica 112. I resisted the temptation and went home. I sat down and dialled up your site and by chance the video that came up was this one. It was obviously a sign, so I rushed back and bought it. What a little gem. My other guitar is a Squier 2018 Stratocaster HSS. I have fallen out of love with it. This guitar is superb. Like you the frets are good it's been knocked about but for a 17 june 2002 serial 9025 its faaaabulouuuuuus. 80 euros.Thanks for the omen Mr Robson. I am a north easterner too, Blackhall, Co. Durham. Thank you for your videos and n.e.humour.
I just got my new to me 112DLX for $150 and this thing plays great. When I was testing it I tuned at the beginning of February and then put it on hold until it cleared the police checks. After 25 days it was still in perfect tune. I put on the tremolo bar and did some dive bombs. It remained in tune perfectly. The pick ups are great and anything I need to adjust I can do with EQ and my helix. In my case since it’s not broke I’m not gonna fix anything for now. Great guitars for a fraction of the price. . I don’t care where it was made, just that it sounds great and plays great. This will be another one of my work horses. Yamaha is so under rated. 🎸🎶
Yamaha always makes good and extremely good playing guitars. In the 80s you could buy an alder body Yamaha with a 12 inch radius for 250 bucks or 600 bucks for a lousy playing fender strat. In those days there weren't any guitar techs that leveled frets. You shouldn't have to on a new fender should you. For the price fender charges it should have a faraday cage in the cavity. Yamaha and Ibanez always great value and good enough for years of upgrades. BTW I sold my 96 fender while in Australia for a couple of years. I found an old Steve lukather Valley Arts guitars hanging in my favorite music shop in Manley for 700 bucks. Sadly I had to sell it to pay for my divorce lol. That's when I got hooked on warmoth necks which came on all the VA signature models. I sold it for 2k to a bigger SLUK fan than myself in California. Great job. Love the channel
After watching this video I had a quick look round the garage and found an old “Falcon” brand Strat copy and decided to give it the P90/humbucker treatment that you gave the Yamaha. Going though my spares I found a two humbucker scratch plate which required some slight mods in order to fit the Falcon. The spares draw also yielded up a Grigsby switch and an Irongear Tesla Shark humbucker , I sourced the P90 from the same supplier as you. As my scratch plate had 3 control holes I have a 2 volume and 1 tone set up, the tone pot has a switch which I’ve wired to enable me to bypass the tone circuit . I must say that I’m delighted with the results, the cheap P90 is a real bargain it sounds great and the Tesla Shark is a nice hot rodded humbucker.
I ‘uncovered’ my 1986 Pacifica yesterday in an old guitar back at the back of a shed. Can’t even remember when it went in there. So upon initial inspection. It’s in reasonably good nick................Metal parts showing signs of slight rusting....................pick guard manky/discoloured. But the body and neck look mint. So I’ll either smarten it up in a Strat configuration or something like you’ve done here. Have subscribed
This is great to see. I picked up a Pacifica 012 from a charity shop for £30. After I cleaned it and set it up it plays fantastically. I do need to fix the electronics but you’ve given me some good ideas.
I have a 20 year old 112V that spent the first 15 years of its life unwanted in a friend's loft - fierce heat in the summer and sub zero in the winter. The neck didn't budge at all. I gave it some TLC and it plays like a dream. Also stays in tune well, even with frequent use of the trem bar! I'm considering up-grading the pick ups, and found this video very helpful. Only disappointment is that the 'before and after' test that you promised at 1:36 didn't materialise. I was excited when you said you'd do it, as the 'before' test is so often missing from up-grade videos on TH-cam.
Just started learning guitar, have a barely used Pacifica 112J about same vintage as you. Saved this for when I can actually play my Pacifica 112J, then I'll aim to do your upgrades. (later checked, mine is 2007 Indonesia, I bought it virtually unused)
I recently bought the exact same guitar from schpock for £20. Did some custom paintwork. Replaced the pickguard and fitted a hotrail in the neck position and a warman 12 gauge bridge humbucker. And omg! It is now my favourite guitar. Mine had scratchy pots so I replaced them with full size 500k ones. And I can say that I also noticed bugger all difference from 250k half size ones. So that's a myth busted. Nice to see Yamaha's getting some love. And an honest review from someone who isn't a brand snob. These lower end natural finish ones do mark really easily though. Combination of soft wood and thin finish. So I will be going for a painted one for my next project. Yep I love it that much I'm going to do it again
My first 112 was very similar to yours, with a natural finish. Like you, all I did was a small truss rod adjustment and intonation work, and a set of 9's. Played great and sounded fine. Sold it to a young man who was starting to take lessons. Regretted selling it but it was exactly what a cash strapped young man needed. Happened to come across a Metallic Red 112 the other day. Adjusted the truss rod, set the intonation, and new set of 9's and we are rocking. Best bang for the buck out there. So don't tell everybody. OK?
I have a 112 2000 neck on a 2016 112V body with rails and a big fat 16k hummer in it... upgraded the bridge, nut and tuners.. love the damn thing! Now all it needs is a kickstand :)
Nice to hear that someone else has realised that brasso is the best fret polishing material. I have used the wadding version for decades. In fact I always thought I was a bit odd using it!
Someone gave me a Pacifica years ago, it sat in a cupboard for years, I put 3 Wilkinson hot single pups in it, new machines,sanded the black body and sprayed it Arctic White, new black scratch, chrome volume and tone knobs then shaped the the headstock to a Tele shape. I don't play strats ( a Tele player) so I thought I would try this configuration on this guitar. A pity I couldn't upload a pic. All the best, John Mark
Exactly my kind of thing John - right price and right potential. I love the slightly battered look as I think guitars should look like they have been used but deep cleaning is essential ! Great job. (and thanks for the tips on getting parts )
Cracking video John. I have two Yamaha Pacifica's - a 112v and a 611 hard tail - and can vouch they are brilliant guitars to learn on. Just wish I started earlier and of course play like you! Sub'd. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for showing off your latest Yamaha Pacifica 112 Project. I've undertaken over a dozen Yamaha Pacifica 112 upgrade projects because it is a great platform to upgrade. As a Left hander we only get the 012, and 112, not the 112V or other Pacificas in the range, so modding and upgrading is the only way I can get the pickup combinations I want. The downside is I have to get custom scratch plates made to get beyond the standard H-S-S as that's the only left handed option from GuitarsElectric, whereas I've also used Pacifica S-S-S and the H-H right handed scratch plate like you. One of my Pacificas is similar to yours whereas I had a an Axesrus Knee Jerk Alnico 2 bridge humbucker and a custom Axesrus Alnico 3 neck minihumbucker. Like you I loved the mix position because it was very Strat-ish as you can hear some slight phase cancellation like when you wire a humbucker out of phase, but still with a hint of bell tone that you get from Strat mix positions. You are basically mixing two different magnet systems, hence 2 different magnetic field patterns and 2 different string sensing windows, so you will get more phase cancellation in certain harmonic regions than when using 2 humbuckers or 2 P90's. I also highly recommend the Vanson 59 and their humbucker sized P90 as I've installed these in several guitars for myself and others. your playing a tone demos prove that you don't need to spend £££ on a humbucker with a big name on it to get a great sound. Thanks again for your real world, rubber-meets-the-road, no nonsense, easy going presentation. I've also got about 4 Pacificas from Cash Converters, but they tend to stock more used Squire Affinity Strats than Pacificas. Thanks Again John.
Hello from the States and well done on that old Pacifica! The older versions (Pre-'07) are diamonds in the rough as you've plainly shown. I think the necks on the 112's are every bit as good as the MIM Strats. Plus, with a bit of modding you've actually got a better guitar. Love that tortoise shell pickguard/scratchplate and the P90 is quite tasty!
Hi. I live in Nevada. I found a Yamaha 112 at a garage sale here in Vegas and was able to buy it for $25 with a strap and a soft case. I had a friend check out the guitar for me and found it easy to play and he got some really nice tones from it. I dubbed it "Blackie", as it is a black guitar with a red tortoise shell pick guard. Your - the finish and the pick guard - really nice looking...Brian head of the Manzanita acoutric band...
Nice job. I still have my 112 that I bought back in '93/95 (somewhere around then) from Andy's Guitars on Denmark St. Cracking for the price (£179 back then). All I've done is added a GK3 pickup for use with my Roland VG8.
I had exactly the same colour pickguaurd on exactly the same pacifica many many years ago who when they first came out. I also added one of the heavy Wilkinson Strat style terms with the black plate that had the fat rim around it. I have the guitar to a friend who was having trouble getting a guitar and it is still going. Amazing guitar! Excellent video and demo my friend!
I've got an old (pre Pacifica) Yamaha EG112 that was given to me years ago. I freakin' love it ! It stays in tune better than the high end guitars I own. I have done a couple of mods. 5 way Fender switch and hotter middle and neck pickups. It's my Yamastrat LOL! I love the chicken head knobs. PEACE 💀👽🎸🎶🎵👍
Enjoyable video. I’ve bought and restored/modified dozens of unloved guitars over the years, some I’ve kept and others I’ve sold on. With the electronics I’m one of the “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” blokes, but I have found that lots of those cheap switches and pots tend to fail mechanically after extended use. I’ve had the shafts pull out of pots when removing control knobs and many of those cheap printed Strat type switches fail, I nearly always fit a better quality jack socket as the cheap ones are quite unreliable. I’ve used pickups from Vanson, Ironstone and other reliable EBay sellers and found them on the whole great value for money, for the most part they’re as good as pickups costing much more money from this likes of Seymour Duncan etc. Thinking about it I’m pretty sure that I have an old Yamaha solid knocking about in the garage, I think I’m going to look it out and mod it with a P90 and humbucker just as you have, I thought that your guitar sounded great.
Just saw this and decided to wave from across the pond. I recently purchased a 2019 version of this guitar in Red Metallic. Love what you did with yours and am working on Stew-Mac and Sweetwater, ordering parts... thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience.
I did a similar build but added a high mass bridge and holy moly does it ring like a bell. Great guitars, so cheap too that there's no sense in not having one to pound on and use as a mod platform.
The Pacifica series guitars are amazing, with a very flat profile (I believe it is a 16" radius neck) that allows for a very low, fast action. A lot of players look down on them because they also put out a very low priced starter pack, but then so does Fender and Gibson (subs of their name guitars).Never put it down if you haven't tried it! Yours sounds great...
@@lisaayers1975 I agree… I have rather large hands with thick fingers, and the smaller radius necks feel like I’m holding a broom handle instead of a guitar, and triple the odds of me mashing two or more strings at once…a flatter profile for me is much smoother to work with…
I agree with you one the HSS thing on a strat,that's a nice config there having a a HP90 together,funnily enough the first time I saw that done was on Gary moores BFG and,I once tried a basic hss Pacifica and I could barely hear that much difference when I changed selectors from bridge to neck so I knew it was in need of some love,great vid!
Looks great, sounds amazing, price was right. I just picked up an older Yamaha Pacifica to start messing around with and learning on... was thinking about modding it just like this for fun. And learning... and because why not. Sweet build. Cheap as chips too (I think that's what you Brits say right)?
Does not sound like a $100 guitar. Good job. 👍 I just picked up a 112J and Fender Frontman 25r for $150. The little amp actually sounds great at the right volume and gain settings. Already have the gui/ar tore apart for cleaning and modding. Took off the neck plate and installed neck ferrules.
Great job on the Pacifica John, Yamaha hit a home run with these guitars, solid build quality at a good price, the only weak point are the pickups....but you sorted that....
Funnily enough a couple of months ago I also bought 1 of those old Pacifica 112's. Also from cash converters, and also about £60, although mine is candy apple red. Was in good nick apart from a dodgy pickup selector switch and the tuning keys are poor, but I planned on buying it to improve on it and use it purely for testing my pickups because for me it's ideal being an HSS configuration so I can test both humbuckers & single coils at the same time. But it's such a nice guitar I've decided to make it a good player because I want to play it as well as test pickups.....so I've already bought most of the parts but I'm waiting on the new big sized brass trem block to be back in stock then I will be renovating my Pacifica. I have some of those humbucker sized P90's and now after seeing yours I'm thinking about making up a spare pickguard with a set up like yours and swap them around. As it goes I have a nice, brand new, spare neck humbucker sized P90 because the place in the US where I bought them from dropped a bollock and shipped me a pair of neck pickups and posted the bridge pickup later and told me to keep the neck so you could've had that for the cost price + postage, but never mind.
I love this. I want this. I played a Pacifica 012 in the store the other day for the hell of it and I would have bought it for $99 instantly but it was marked "sold" already (why it was still in the store on the rack, I have no idea). The neck on it was unbelievable and much like my first guitar which now sells for 3x what it's worth really. If I could buy my first guitar brand new for less than $500 I would because it's really only worth about $300 tops but sells for $800-$1000 now just because it's from 1981. The frets are all messed up on it now, but if I buy a Pacifica, then I have my favorite feeling neck and I can upgrade the pickups. Yours is the best Pacifica pickup upgrade I've seen so far and convinces me to buy a Pacifica 112J to start with. Once I'm ready, I'll probably buy a new pickguard just like yours and the same exact pickups. I'll keep both pickguards so I can always switch back to an HSS style if I want. Just beautiful, man! I really really want this guitar. Excellent tonal options with these 2 pickups and love what you played through the Vox Tonelab. The sound at 16:55 vs the AC/DC type stuff is how any proper demo should go.
14:20 Yeah, the earthing of the pots is a vital thing to remember if you're harvesting a tele harness. I made that mistake on my (coincidentally) Yamaha when putting one in, then all I could hear was a loud hum... when mounted to that metal plate THAT is the ground - take things off and it's gone :) I'm not a fan of P90s purely because I don't want a Duplo brick stuck on my guitar, but I think they sound wonderful and one made for humbucker routing is the perfect solution to that :)
I really like your video. I just picked one of these up today. I paid $80 US that's about what you paying three years ago. This one happened to be in brand new condition. The person who had it had picked it up a few years ago with the intention to learn how to play. That never happened and he just wanted it to go so it would stop taking up space in his closet. I was given everything that came with the guitar when it was new including the original box and packing material. I look forward for watching more of your videos.
As long as you don't use brasso on brass go ahead. Brass gets really unstable patina that can damage it. It gives a bright blue/green color with uneven spots instead of deeper green patina that is evenly spread and that protects the rest of the brass.
I had to pause the video to comment on the magnificent pun “it’s already pool route... should go SWIMMINGLY well”. Not sure if it was intentional, but it got a good belly laugh from me!
Thanks John. Pacificas are a great modding platform. I wanted a guitar to control a Roland GR55 and used a lowly 012. Roland do a nice kit for permanent installation. It's one of the easiest guitars I've ever played. I also removed the tone circuit which made the guitar sing. Thanks again for the inspirational content.
Just got one too at cash convertors off spec like you --- £40 though! -- it is a maple neck and fretboard taiwanese one -- and its FAB ! great guitars not just for the price - everything!
Some people are turned off by the cutaways which make it look a little like an 80’s shredder guitar but if you check out the specs they are great value and as you have shown a good platform to modify.The Japanese have factories in China but they make sure things are done as they want them so generally good quality control.This p90 is a really nice sounding hum bucker size and sounds great as does the HB,all in all great job John !
Thank you for this video. I bought a Pacifica 112X today. The same as yours but black pickguard. I love the thing. Payed 80euro for it. Doesn't seem it's been played much. And the setup was still pretty good. I also plan to upgrade it. First the tremelo. I like the pickups in it. All my other guitars only have very heavy humbbuckers. They sound awesome with the right pedals. But most of my distortion pedals sound like crap with them. And there's not much noise either. With the Pacifica the RAT and fuzz sound lovely. Certainly on lower volumes it still sounds great, while my other guitars sound bad on low volumes. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. Greetings.
I once used steel wool on my guitar frets, it just made my guitar sound a bit wooly, at the end of a gig everyone said i sounded a bit rusty. you guessed it i blamed the steel wool.
Hey John Great video It’s inspired me to go out and buy a Yamaha Pacifica 112v in natural Second hand The sound and balance is absolutely outstanding Totally fab guitars Not sure why ppl don’t rate them Hope all is well
Hey very very nice Video and all my Respekt for your Help for the children🙏. Pacificas are awesome and underrated...some pacifica sounds more Stratty in the Neck Position than some Fender Standard Strats I've owned.
Another great video John, and those pick ups sound incredible. Not normally a fan of tortoise shell scratch plates but I think it complements the guitar rather well.
After watching I pulled the trigger on a purchase of a "Mint" used Yamaha Pacifica HSS 612 Vii in Black Flame Maple. It was worth the risk at only $300 U.S. dollars plus free shipping. OMG it is beautiful. Flawlessly finished and plays like butter. Tone for days. Very light weight compared to my other s type guitars.First guitar I have ever owned that I didn't want to immediately upgrade something on it. This guitar is certainly "Not" a Fender Strat in tone. It has its own sound, close to a Fender but its own..in a very, very good way. I heard someone say a good Les Paul is a good Tele on steroids. While I would not similarly compare the 612 to a good Strat I would say it is definitely a potent musical pairing. Everyone should have one.
having just got my hands on a reasonable (£100) 112X - a few dings and a couple of scratches through uncaring handling and mucky but nothing worse... i'm about to start delving and thoroughly cleaning - thanks for the video John it has inspired confidence to get the strings and scratch plate off and start de-grunging (is that a word ) - another great and informative video and a guitar sounding like that for £130... unbelievable - C
Fantastic pickups and so cheap! Excellent conversion.
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got a beat up pacifica for 60 bucks with case and putting in 2 AMerican fender single coils out of a 2004 Standard new vol pot and upgraded All PArts selector switch...your Pacifica has all the classic rock sounds, heard a little Boston in that first one you played
Hello John, I’ve subscribed to your channel! I just watched your Pacifica conversion video and was intrigued by the way you went about restoring that ol’ battered up guitar. I’m on the verge of securing my first guitar, an electric... As I just started learning how to play this instrument, it has not been an easy decision as to what to buy. This 50 year old has immersed himself in all things that revolves around the world of guitar! I’ve considered the entry level Ibanez RG and SA models, Epiphone SG 400 Pro and an entry level PRS SE, the Yamaha Pacifica 112v somehow is still in the running. I have access to my dads Fender MiM Strat, Epiphone SG 400 Pro and his acoustic Taylor custom “Jewel” guitars, but they are all “Lefties”! I have a wide range of music listening tastes and enjoy listening to my favorite artists on my esoteric high end stereo hifi system (not going to spend another penny on it...). I also do not want to throw large sums of hard to come by cash on top end guitars (remember I’m still learning to play) my foray into hifi was a costly experience and won’t go down that route again. The instrument, nomatter the cost will not turn me into a Larry Carlton or a Gary Moore and will have to journey through and enjoy the ongoing learning experience for many moons to come. The Pacifica series from Yamaha seems to make solid sense to me and want to make that transition where I now own my own guitar, my brother in law has borrowed me his Ibanez J100 Satriani guitar to learn the ropes, but I really want my own. I’m leaning heavily towards the Pacifica 112V, aside from having a reputable luthier set it up for me, is it also worth upgrading the tuning machines, string tree and nut to ensure better tuning stability and tone improvement? Look forward to hearing from you.
Based upon this video (and many other TH-cam guitar channels) recommending the Pacifica, Idecided to try one. And, yeah, it was in a pawn shop. I'm a lefty, so it was the natural grain. After I tried it, I bought it for $150 Canadian. I wanted this to be unique, so off to my guitar tech for a refinish and a pickup reconfiguration. My Pacifica isnow a beautifual matte Sedona Red with a black pick guard. The neck SC is swapped out for a Filtertron clone. The result is simply a beautiful looking and sounding guitar. Thanks, John!
I am very glad when people try to upgrade their guitars without spending an incredible amount of money like over 200 bucks for a couple of seymour duncan puckups or 100 bucks for autolocking tuning machines and they get good results. I am upgrading my guitar as well, and I'm finding a lot of good cheap (but still valid) alternatives, like tonerider pickups, japanese pots and a bit of DIY stuff. I think it's a great thing you and other youtubers share your upgrade experiences with us, so that everyone can see that not necessarly they have to spend hundreds, thousands of dollars to achieve good results. Hoping things may change Regards from Italy
Apologies for being so late on making a comment for this video. Within the past two years or so and I've been playing for about 35, lately I have been buying cheap guitars under the $200 range, and I have been "souping" them up. Using my meager luthier and guitar tech skills, I have managed to make seven or eight guitars that cost under $200 play and sound like $1,000 guitars without spending more than maybe 30 or $40 per guitar. Amazon really helps for cheap parts. I guess as an older guitar player I needed some kind of a hobby besides just playing guitar so I decided to start upgrading cheapos and making them really super nice. I've never I got more joy playing guitar then I did when I was a teenager and this Rivals that feeling.
I have a Pacifica 312 that I bought from a guy who had it hanging in his game room on the wall for decoration for 10 years. He was not a guitar player. I left the stock bucker at the bridge but I changed out the bridge and middle pick up to Wilkinsons single coil’s. Whoever owned this Guitar loved it so much, all of the frets all the way up to the 18th fret were worn under every string...I did not think I would get the frets level.. I actually had to leave some of the frets with some ware showing... I also upgraded the input jack to a switch craft.. I can’t tell what decade the guitar is from, because apparently, Yamaha starts using the same serial numbers over every 10 years so I believe my guitar is from the 90s or maybe the 2000s.. The only thing I wish I could have changed is the saddles. I bought some saddles on eBay from China in gold which the hardware on this guitar is gold. But the screw with the spring for changing intonation is off by A lot. It does not line up perfectly with the tailpiece screwed to the Guitar. I have other saddles from my Yamaha AES 800 stock, and they are of the exact dimensions as the ones I got from China... The contact point on the saddles that came with the guitar are like the frets. They are so worn, I just wanted to change them but I can’t find saddles that lineup. I just keep putting graphite from a pencil on the contact point and on the string. I do not use the whammy bar. I have never used them on any of my guitars. The reason I changed the two single coil pickups, is because a few of the strings were not picking up the guitar strings signal. It’s not that the pick up was totally dead, they were partially dead. I’ve never heard of that before.. My $100 caseload Pacifica 312 Is one of my favorite Guitar’s now. I have had a few Squire and USA fender Stratocaster’s, I have a fender Stratocaster now USA model. But this Yamaha 312 is actually much faster than my Strat. It’s faster than my telecaster.. What I really like about it is, if I am on a gig where beer bottles may be flying, or it’s outside and it may start raining, I leave my USA Gibson Les Paul gold top & my USA Strat at home
Enjoyed your video. Very informative and pleasingly surprised that your mentor did guitars for the Eagles among others, one of the greatest band of our time. I just happened to be in a guitar store here in the US checking things out and ran across a Yamaha Pacifica 112. It's a EG112C to be exact. Played it and liked the way it sound but knew it would be so much better with some upgrades. Surfing the net as I do I looked at a few videos that were informative and I ran across yours. I know what I can to do when and if I get that guitar. I played an Ibanez that had a H S H setup and was surprised that I liked it. Not sure which way I'll go but I may end up spending a little more depending on the direction I choose. Look forward to more great videos from you. You have a fan/friend in the US.
Why are you able to read my mind. I am planning on ordering a pacifica 311 model in natural finish same pickup configuration, but hardtail. Enjoyed your video mate... Cheers
From Leo: I own a very nice Fender Super Strat that I really like. The grand daughter was showing an interest so we ordered her an entry level Pacifica to play when she visits. I cannot believe what a great playing and great sounding guitar they ship for $179 USD. I often play that cheap Pacifica while looking at my Fender and wonder how Yamaha can do such a great job at that price. I'll still keep my Fender, but the Yamaha performs at the same level.
Snap! Good on you, John. Never thought I would see a Pacifica in the hands of John Robson. I have two. An all black limited edition which I bought new and a used natural which I got on ebay for ..... £60! Believe it or not, it is the guitar I use most of all. The slim fast neck (and body balance) is the key bit for me. I did wonder if the neck might be a bit on the slim side for those big hands. Glad it's OK. Trem is screwed down hard so no temptation there. My favourite setting is the mid neck/middle single pickup position for that Strat 'phasey' sound. Great job. Sounds and looks great. I think the Yamaha P90 version retails at around £300! What do they know...
thanks - 🎸 know what I’m doing now and where to buy components 🙏🏻 - (glad Im not the only one cussing when soldering / doing this heh) - cheers for the info / encouragement
@@JRobsonGuitar Many thanks. I looked for the Vanson store on ebay and read closed, leave email and they will get back upon reopening. Am going via eBay Canada. But it should still bring up international. Thanks, again, John.
JMarz Yeah... It still sounds "Fender-y" just a bit fatter. I've taken to rolling off the tone control a little when I want to take the sound in a more "Gibson" direction.
Don't know why it didn't occur to me earlier, but I googled the serial number on this guitar & it turns out it dates from April 2001. So it's a 17yr old guitar which has had a hard life. The fact that it required NO fret work is astonishing!
John Robson Guitarist it was quite obvious that someone "worked" on the one I found... Sanded half the paint off, no nut, missing tuners, frets have grooves in them.... It's going to be a fun project.
Yamaha's overall quality is the best of all series manufacturers imho. The higher series (6xx, 8xx, 9xx) are top notch instruments ready to record in pro studios. I'd have my walls filled by Pacificas if only they built a wider than 41mm neck, at least for the western markets.
Btw, just want to express how much i appreciate your channel for the opportunity of listening to a brilliant minded person talking about guitar stuff in a pleasant way.
I recently bought a Pacifica 112 for £40 as a project guitar. It was a bit dinged but had hardly ever been played, looking at the frets. It was cheap because the single coil pups didn't work - turned out the glue holding the magnets had gone and a knock must have made them drop off. Glued them back on and have quite a decent guitar.
iloveitall Yeah, Yamaha (and to a certain extent, Peavey) are companies who just get on with the job of making superb gear at very reasonable prices. Somehow they seem to fly under the radar a little... Despite the obvious quality of their products, they don't seem to get a mention when the conversation turns to good quality guitars. It's all about the "F word" or the "G word" on the headstock for some folks. Thanks for the kind comments, by the way 😀
I found maple fretboard Pacifica hanging on wall at Cream city guitars. I played it for45 seconds, never plugged it in,bought it for 100 bux. That guitar hasn't missed a gig in 10 YEARS!! BEST NECK EVER !!😆😆
They are underrated. The neck profile and flatter radius made them such a great guitar to play. Don't forget their l.p. style studio lords
Man, that guitar sounds GREAT!! Just picked up a tabacco burst 112J yesterday for $100usd. Doing an upgrade on it myself. Yamaha makes a killer guitar for the money.
John, I stumbled onto your vlog and was inspired to upgrade my kid’s Yamaha PAC012, which I inherited when I decided to learn to play 2 years ago. Aside from your video, I knew nothing about upgrading a guitar, but I managed to fluff my way through one of the most successful ‘upgrade’ stories, at least for me! I emulated your ‘tele’ style with a 3-way switch, converting a HSS into a H-P90 set up. I went with Tonerider PUs, Hipshot locking tuners, graphtech nut and probably spent more than I needed to on the pots and wiring with treble bleed! New tortoise shell scratch plate (a little ‘vegemite’), coming in at a relatively pricey AUD380 upgrade all up! But it sounds soooo good. People may not believe me but I prefer to play it over my Gibson Les Paul and Fender Strat Professional, at least for now. Thank you John!
Here we are 15 may 2020 almost 2 years from your Yamaha find. Two days ago I was out doing some shopping for my wife in Chateau d'Olonne near where I live in France. I had done my shopping duties, and, as you saw Cash Converters, I saw the French equivalent Happy Cash at Chateau d'Olonne. On a whim like you I went in and hanging there was a YamahePacifica 112. I resisted the temptation and went home. I sat down and dialled up your site and by chance the video that came up was this one. It was obviously a sign, so I rushed back and bought it. What a little gem. My other guitar is a Squier 2018 Stratocaster HSS. I have fallen out of love with it. This guitar is superb. Like you the frets are good it's been knocked about but for a 17 june 2002 serial 9025 its faaaabulouuuuuus. 80 euros.Thanks for the omen Mr Robson. I am a north easterner too, Blackhall, Co. Durham. Thank you for your videos and n.e.humour.
Sounds great, nice work. I just bought a used Pacifica 112j here in the States and I'm totally digging it.
I just got my new to me 112DLX for $150 and this thing plays great. When I was testing it I tuned at the beginning of February and then put it on hold until it cleared the police checks. After 25 days it was still in perfect tune. I put on the tremolo bar and did some dive bombs. It remained in tune perfectly. The pick ups are great and anything I need to adjust I can do with EQ and my helix. In my case since it’s not broke I’m not gonna fix anything for now. Great guitars for a fraction of the price. . I don’t care where it was made, just that it sounds great and plays great. This will be another one of my work horses. Yamaha is so under rated. 🎸🎶
Yamaha always makes good and extremely good playing guitars. In the 80s you could buy an alder body Yamaha with a 12 inch radius for 250 bucks or 600 bucks for a lousy playing fender strat. In those days there weren't any guitar techs that leveled frets. You shouldn't have to on a new fender should you. For the price fender charges it should have a faraday cage in the cavity. Yamaha and Ibanez always great value and good enough for years of upgrades. BTW I sold my 96 fender while in Australia for a couple of years. I found an old Steve lukather Valley Arts guitars hanging in my favorite music shop in Manley for 700 bucks. Sadly I had to sell it to pay for my divorce lol. That's when I got hooked on warmoth necks which came on all the VA signature models. I sold it for 2k to a bigger SLUK fan than myself in California. Great job. Love the channel
After watching this video I had a quick look round the garage and found an old “Falcon” brand Strat copy and decided to give it the P90/humbucker treatment that you gave the Yamaha. Going though my spares I found a two humbucker scratch plate which required some slight mods in order to fit the Falcon. The spares draw also yielded up a Grigsby switch and an Irongear Tesla Shark humbucker , I sourced the P90 from the same supplier as you. As my scratch plate had 3 control holes I have a 2 volume and 1 tone set up, the tone pot has a switch which I’ve wired to enable me to bypass the tone circuit . I must say that I’m delighted with the results, the cheap P90 is a real bargain it sounds great and the Tesla Shark is a nice hot rodded humbucker.
I ‘uncovered’ my 1986 Pacifica yesterday in an old guitar back at the back of a shed. Can’t even remember when it went in there. So upon initial inspection. It’s in reasonably good nick................Metal parts showing signs of slight rusting....................pick guard manky/discoloured. But the body and neck look mint. So I’ll either smarten it up in a Strat configuration or something like you’ve done here. Have subscribed
Cheers 👍
This is great to see. I picked up a Pacifica 012 from a charity shop for £30. After I cleaned it and set it up it plays fantastically. I do need to fix the electronics but you’ve given me some good ideas.
"it was absoltely minging as they say in these parts" brilliant lol
I have a 20 year old 112V that spent the first 15 years of its life unwanted in a friend's loft - fierce heat in the summer and sub zero in the winter. The neck didn't budge at all. I gave it some TLC and it plays like a dream. Also stays in tune well, even with frequent use of the trem bar! I'm considering up-grading the pick ups, and found this video very helpful. Only disappointment is that the 'before and after' test that you promised at 1:36 didn't materialise. I was excited when you said you'd do it, as the 'before' test is so often missing from up-grade videos on TH-cam.
Just started learning guitar, have a barely used Pacifica 112J about same vintage as you. Saved this for when I can actually play my Pacifica 112J, then I'll aim to do your upgrades. (later checked, mine is 2007 Indonesia, I bought it virtually unused)
I recently bought the exact same guitar from schpock for £20.
Did some custom paintwork. Replaced the pickguard and fitted a hotrail in the neck position and a warman 12 gauge bridge humbucker. And omg! It is now my favourite guitar.
Mine had scratchy pots so I replaced them with full size 500k ones. And I can say that I also noticed bugger all difference from 250k half size ones. So that's a myth busted.
Nice to see Yamaha's getting some love. And an honest review from someone who isn't a brand snob.
These lower end natural finish ones do mark really easily though. Combination of soft wood and thin finish. So I will be going for a painted one for my next project.
Yep I love it that much I'm going to do it again
The guitar sounds incredible! I loved that clean tone - it was very 'Boston' like!
Axess2084 I thought the same thing! Very More Than A Feeling 😊
My first 112 was very similar to yours, with a natural finish. Like you, all I did was a small truss rod adjustment and intonation work, and a set of 9's. Played great and sounded fine. Sold it to a young man who was starting to take lessons. Regretted selling it but it was exactly what a cash strapped young man needed. Happened to come across a Metallic Red 112 the other day. Adjusted the truss rod, set the intonation, and new set of 9's and we are rocking. Best bang for the buck out there. So don't tell everybody. OK?
I have a 112 2000 neck on a 2016 112V body with rails and a big fat 16k hummer in it... upgraded the bridge, nut and tuners.. love the damn thing! Now all it needs is a kickstand :)
Nice to hear that someone else has realised that brasso is the best fret polishing material. I have used the wadding version for decades. In fact I always thought I was a bit odd using it!
Someone gave me a Pacifica years ago, it sat in a cupboard for years,
I put 3 Wilkinson hot single pups in it, new machines,sanded the black body and sprayed it Arctic White, new black scratch, chrome volume and tone knobs then shaped the the headstock to a Tele shape.
I don't play strats ( a Tele player) so I thought I would try this configuration on this guitar.
A pity I couldn't upload a pic.
All the best, John
Mark
Exactly my kind of thing John - right price and right potential. I love the slightly battered look as I think guitars should look like they have been used but deep cleaning is essential ! Great job. (and thanks for the tips on getting parts )
Cracking video John. I have two Yamaha Pacifica's - a 112v and a 611 hard tail - and can vouch they are brilliant guitars to learn on. Just wish I started earlier and of course play like you! Sub'd. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for showing off your latest Yamaha Pacifica 112 Project. I've undertaken over a dozen Yamaha Pacifica 112 upgrade projects because it is a great platform to upgrade. As a Left hander we only get the 012, and 112, not the 112V or other Pacificas in the range, so modding and upgrading is the only way I can get the pickup combinations I want. The downside is I have to get custom scratch plates made to get beyond the standard H-S-S as that's the only left handed option from GuitarsElectric, whereas I've also used Pacifica S-S-S and the H-H right handed scratch plate like you. One of my Pacificas is similar to yours whereas I had a an Axesrus Knee Jerk Alnico 2 bridge humbucker and a custom Axesrus Alnico 3 neck minihumbucker. Like you I loved the mix position because it was very Strat-ish as you can hear some slight phase cancellation like when you wire a humbucker out of phase, but still with a hint of bell tone that you get from Strat mix positions. You are basically mixing two different magnet systems, hence 2 different magnetic field patterns and 2 different string sensing windows, so you will get more phase cancellation in certain harmonic regions than when using 2 humbuckers or 2 P90's. I also highly recommend the Vanson 59 and their humbucker sized P90 as I've installed these in several guitars for myself and others. your playing a tone demos prove that you don't need to spend £££ on a humbucker with a big name on it to get a great sound. Thanks again for your real world, rubber-meets-the-road, no nonsense, easy going presentation. I've also got about 4 Pacificas from Cash Converters, but they tend to stock more used Squire Affinity Strats than Pacificas. Thanks Again John.
Hello from the States and well done on that old Pacifica! The older versions (Pre-'07) are diamonds in the rough as you've plainly shown. I think the necks on the 112's are every bit as good as the MIM Strats. Plus, with a bit of modding you've actually got a better guitar. Love that tortoise shell pickguard/scratchplate and the P90 is quite tasty!
Hi. I live in Nevada. I found a Yamaha 112 at a garage sale here in Vegas and was able to buy it for $25 with a strap and a soft case. I had a friend check out the guitar for me and found it easy to play and he got some really nice tones from it. I dubbed it "Blackie", as it is a black guitar with a red tortoise shell pick guard. Your - the finish and the pick guard - really nice looking...Brian head of the Manzanita acoutric band...
Nice job. I still have my 112 that I bought back in '93/95 (somewhere around then) from Andy's Guitars on Denmark St. Cracking for the price (£179 back then). All I've done is added a GK3 pickup for use with my Roland VG8.
That is definately a gr8 find John. One of the most underrated guitars around, the Yamaha brand!
"The square root of bugger all", lol, love it!!
I had exactly the same colour pickguaurd on exactly the same pacifica many many years ago who when they first came out. I also added one of the heavy Wilkinson Strat style terms with the black plate that had the fat rim around it. I have the guitar to a friend who was having trouble getting a guitar and it is still going. Amazing guitar! Excellent video and demo my friend!
Cheers mate 👍
Loved the godfather riff! Thumbs up to John for his generosity in helping the sick children! 🙏🤟
I've got an old (pre Pacifica)
Yamaha EG112 that was given to me years ago. I freakin' love it ! It stays in tune better than the high end guitars I own. I have done a couple of mods. 5 way Fender switch and hotter middle and neck pickups.
It's my Yamastrat LOL!
I love the chicken head knobs.
PEACE 💀👽🎸🎶🎵👍
Enjoyable video. I’ve bought and restored/modified dozens of unloved guitars over the years, some I’ve kept and others I’ve sold on. With the electronics I’m one of the “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” blokes, but I have found that lots of those cheap switches and pots tend to fail mechanically after extended use. I’ve had the shafts pull out of pots when removing control knobs and many of those cheap printed Strat type switches fail, I nearly always fit a better quality jack socket as the cheap ones are quite unreliable. I’ve used pickups from Vanson, Ironstone and other reliable EBay sellers and found them on the whole great value for money, for the most part they’re as good as pickups costing much more money from this likes of Seymour Duncan etc. Thinking about it I’m pretty sure that I have an old Yamaha solid knocking about in the garage, I think I’m going to look it out and mod it with a P90 and humbucker just as you have, I thought that your guitar sounded great.
Just saw this and decided to wave from across the pond. I recently purchased a 2019 version of this guitar in Red Metallic. Love what you did with yours and am working on Stew-Mac and Sweetwater, ordering parts... thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience.
I did a similar build but added a high mass bridge and holy moly does it ring like a bell. Great guitars, so cheap too that there's no sense in not having one to pound on and use as a mod platform.
The Pacifica series guitars are amazing, with a very flat profile (I believe it is a 16" radius neck) that allows for a very low, fast action. A lot of players look down on them because they also put out a very low priced starter pack, but then so does Fender and Gibson (subs of their name guitars).Never put it down if you haven't tried it! Yours sounds great...
@@lisaayers1975 I agree… I have rather large hands with thick fingers, and the smaller radius necks feel like I’m holding a broom handle instead of a guitar, and triple the odds of me mashing two or more strings at once…a flatter profile for me is much smoother to work with…
Yamaha pacifica are great value, I even bought a new one for £110 never used, with bag, have three now two used to teach myself guitar maintenance.
I agree with you one the HSS thing on a strat,that's a nice config there having a a HP90 together,funnily enough the first time I saw that done was on Gary moores BFG and,I once tried a basic hss Pacifica and I could barely hear that much difference when I changed selectors from bridge to neck so I knew it was in need of some love,great vid!
Great video, John, all the tones anybody could ever want from a classic and very affordable guitar
Looks great, sounds amazing, price was right. I just picked up an older Yamaha Pacifica to start messing around with and learning on... was thinking about modding it just like this for fun. And learning... and because why not.
Sweet build. Cheap as chips too (I think that's what you Brits say right)?
Does not sound like a $100 guitar. Good job. 👍
I just picked up a 112J and Fender Frontman 25r for $150. The little amp actually sounds great at the right volume and gain settings. Already have the gui/ar tore apart for cleaning and modding. Took off the neck plate and installed neck ferrules.
Great job on the Pacifica John, Yamaha hit a home run with these guitars, solid build quality at a good price, the only weak point are the pickups....but you sorted that....
Funnily enough a couple of months ago I also bought 1 of those old Pacifica 112's.
Also from cash converters, and also about £60, although mine is candy apple red. Was in good nick apart from a dodgy pickup selector switch and the tuning keys are poor, but I planned on buying it to improve on it and use it purely for testing my pickups because for me it's ideal being an HSS configuration so I can test both humbuckers & single coils at the same time.
But it's such a nice guitar I've decided to make it a good player because I want to play it as well as test pickups.....so I've already bought most of the parts but I'm waiting on the new big sized brass trem block to be back in stock then I will be renovating my Pacifica.
I have some of those humbucker sized P90's and now after seeing yours I'm thinking about making up a spare pickguard with a set up like yours and swap them around.
As it goes I have a nice, brand new, spare neck humbucker sized P90 because the place in the US where I bought them from dropped a bollock and shipped me a pair of neck pickups and posted the bridge pickup later and told me to keep the neck so you could've had that for the cost price + postage, but never mind.
I've just bought the same guitar for the same price. I bought mine from a Cash Converters as well.
I love this. I want this. I played a Pacifica 012 in the store the other day for the hell of it and I would have bought it for $99 instantly but it was marked "sold" already (why it was still in the store on the rack, I have no idea). The neck on it was unbelievable and much like my first guitar which now sells for 3x what it's worth really. If I could buy my first guitar brand new for less than $500 I would because it's really only worth about $300 tops but sells for $800-$1000 now just because it's from 1981. The frets are all messed up on it now, but if I buy a Pacifica, then I have my favorite feeling neck and I can upgrade the pickups. Yours is the best Pacifica pickup upgrade I've seen so far and convinces me to buy a Pacifica 112J to start with. Once I'm ready, I'll probably buy a new pickguard just like yours and the same exact pickups. I'll keep both pickguards so I can always switch back to an HSS style if I want. Just beautiful, man! I really really want this guitar. Excellent tonal options with these 2 pickups and love what you played through the Vox Tonelab. The sound at 16:55 vs the AC/DC type stuff is how any proper demo should go.
Nearly missed this video for some reason this is the kind of thing that really interests me
14:20 Yeah, the earthing of the pots is a vital thing to remember if you're harvesting a tele harness. I made that mistake on my (coincidentally) Yamaha when putting one in, then all I could hear was a loud hum... when mounted to that metal plate THAT is the ground - take things off and it's gone :) I'm not a fan of P90s purely because I don't want a Duplo brick stuck on my guitar, but I think they sound wonderful and one made for humbucker routing is the perfect solution to that :)
I really like your video. I just picked one of these up today. I paid $80 US that's about what you paying three years ago. This one happened to be in brand new condition. The person who had it had picked it up a few years ago with the intention to learn how to play. That never happened and he just wanted it to go so it would stop taking up space in his closet. I was given everything that came with the guitar when it was new including the original box and packing material.
I look forward for watching more of your videos.
As long as you don't use brasso on brass go ahead. Brass gets really unstable patina that can damage it. It gives a bright blue/green color with uneven spots instead of deeper green patina that is evenly spread and that protects the rest of the brass.
I had to pause the video to comment on the magnificent pun “it’s already pool route... should go SWIMMINGLY well”. Not sure if it was intentional, but it got a good belly laugh from me!
Well done that man, the comments about the wire wool are spot on.
Thanks John. Pacificas are a great modding platform. I wanted a guitar to control a Roland GR55 and used a lowly 012. Roland do a nice kit for permanent installation. It's one of the easiest guitars I've ever played. I also removed the tone circuit which made the guitar sing. Thanks again for the inspirational content.
Absolutely love this video! Thank you so much John
Just got one too at cash convertors off spec like you --- £40 though! -- it is a maple neck and fretboard taiwanese one -- and its FAB ! great guitars not just for the price - everything!
Wow it sounds great John, what a bargin you picked up, and for what you spent on it, awesome, great video as always, Cheers
Some people are turned off by the cutaways which make it look a little like an 80’s shredder guitar but if you check out the specs they are great value and as you have shown a good platform to modify.The Japanese have factories in China but they make sure things are done as they want them so generally good quality control.This p90 is a really nice sounding hum bucker size and sounds great as does the HB,all in all great job John !
Very nice sounds John. That was a very worthwhile project. Well done 👍
Thank you for this video. I bought a Pacifica 112X today. The same as yours but black pickguard. I love the thing. Payed 80euro for it. Doesn't seem it's been played much. And the setup was still pretty good. I also plan to upgrade it. First the tremelo. I like the pickups in it. All my other guitars only have very heavy humbbuckers. They sound awesome with the right pedals. But most of my distortion pedals sound like crap with them. And there's not much noise either.
With the Pacifica the RAT and fuzz sound lovely. Certainly on lower volumes it still sounds great, while my other guitars sound bad on low volumes. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. Greetings.
I once used steel wool on my guitar frets, it just made my guitar sound a bit wooly, at the end of a gig everyone said i sounded a bit rusty. you guessed it i blamed the steel wool.
Back to watch this a second time. I just bought a $60 yamaha with a hard case.
I can relate. I haven't even got a 112V yet, and I've watched like 3 times through
What's the secret getting that so cheap?
Nice work John.
This axe sounds fantastic , John ! ... Well done on your mods ! Beautiful instrument !!!
I love P90's, but I was blown away by all the pickup positions. What a great deal for approximately $200.
Hey John
Great video
It’s inspired me to go out and buy a Yamaha Pacifica 112v in natural
Second hand
The sound and balance is absolutely outstanding
Totally fab guitars
Not sure why ppl don’t rate them
Hope all is well
Darn it! just sold a 112 as I didn't play it that much. Should have done this with it. Great video cheers JR.
Nice job I always loved the Yamaha pacifica line of guitars. I play a Yamaha samurai surf guitar for my strat type guitar.
I love the final result on that guitar for what is not a lot of money, it sounds awesome !!, I can see another project comeing on lol.
Hey very very nice Video and all my Respekt for your Help for the children🙏. Pacificas are awesome and underrated...some pacifica sounds more Stratty in the Neck Position than some Fender Standard Strats I've owned.
Another great video John, and those pick ups sound incredible. Not normally a fan of tortoise shell scratch plates but I think it complements the guitar rather well.
After watching I pulled the trigger on a purchase of a "Mint" used Yamaha Pacifica HSS 612 Vii in Black Flame Maple. It was worth the risk at only $300 U.S. dollars plus free shipping. OMG it is beautiful. Flawlessly finished and plays like butter. Tone for days. Very light weight compared to my other s type guitars.First guitar I have ever owned that I didn't want to immediately upgrade something on it. This guitar is certainly "Not" a Fender Strat in tone. It has its own sound, close to a Fender but its own..in a very, very good way. I heard someone say a good Les Paul is a good Tele on steroids. While I would not similarly compare the 612 to a good Strat I would say it is definitely a potent musical pairing. Everyone should have one.
i have a pac612viiFM and agree, it is an excellent guitar.
having just got my hands on a reasonable (£100) 112X - a few dings and a couple of scratches through uncaring handling and mucky but nothing worse... i'm about to start delving and thoroughly cleaning - thanks for the video John it has inspired confidence to get the strings and scratch plate off and start de-grunging (is that a word ) - another great and informative video and a guitar sounding like that for £130... unbelievable - C
Fantastic pickups and so cheap! Excellent conversion.
got a beat up pacifica for 60 bucks with case and putting in 2 AMerican fender single coils out of a 2004 Standard new vol pot and upgraded All PArts selector switch...your Pacifica has all the classic rock sounds, heard a little Boston in that first one you played
I loved the bell-like, chimey, clean tones from that guitar. Sounds like a much, much, more expensive instrument. John nailed it, again.
Hello John,
I’ve subscribed to your channel!
I just watched your Pacifica conversion video and was intrigued by the way you went about restoring that ol’ battered up guitar.
I’m on the verge of securing my first guitar, an electric...
As I just started learning how to play this instrument, it has not been an easy decision as to what to buy. This 50 year old has immersed himself in all things that revolves around the world of guitar! I’ve considered the entry level Ibanez RG and SA models, Epiphone SG 400 Pro and an entry level PRS SE, the Yamaha Pacifica 112v somehow is still in the running. I have access to my dads Fender MiM Strat, Epiphone SG 400 Pro and his acoustic Taylor custom “Jewel” guitars, but they are all “Lefties”!
I have a wide range of music listening tastes and enjoy listening to my favorite artists on my esoteric high end stereo hifi system (not going to spend another penny on it...). I also do not want to throw large sums of hard to come by cash on top end guitars (remember I’m still learning to play) my foray into hifi was a costly experience and won’t go down that route again.
The instrument, nomatter the cost will not turn me into a Larry Carlton or a Gary Moore and will have to journey through and enjoy the ongoing learning experience for many moons to come.
The Pacifica series from Yamaha seems to make solid sense to me and want to make that transition where I now own my own guitar, my brother in law has borrowed me his Ibanez J100 Satriani guitar to learn the ropes, but I really want my own.
I’m leaning heavily towards the Pacifica 112V, aside from having a reputable luthier set it up for me, is it also worth upgrading the tuning machines, string tree and nut to ensure better tuning stability and tone improvement?
Look forward to hearing from you.
Based upon this video (and many other TH-cam guitar channels) recommending the Pacifica, Idecided to try one. And, yeah, it was in a pawn shop. I'm a lefty, so it was the natural grain. After I tried it, I bought it for $150 Canadian. I wanted this to be unique, so off to my guitar tech for a refinish and a pickup reconfiguration. My Pacifica isnow a beautifual matte Sedona Red with a black pick guard. The neck SC is swapped out for a Filtertron clone. The result is simply a beautiful looking and sounding guitar. Thanks, John!
I am very glad when people try to upgrade their guitars without spending an incredible amount of money like over 200 bucks for a couple of seymour duncan puckups or 100 bucks for autolocking tuning machines and they get good results. I am upgrading my guitar as well, and I'm finding a lot of good cheap (but still valid) alternatives, like tonerider pickups, japanese pots and a bit of DIY stuff. I think it's a great thing you and other youtubers share your upgrade experiences with us, so that everyone can see that not necessarly they have to spend hundreds, thousands of dollars to achieve good results.
Hoping things may change
Regards from Italy
Apologies for being so late on making a comment for this video. Within the past two years or so and I've been playing for about 35, lately I have been buying cheap guitars under the $200 range, and I have been "souping" them up. Using my meager luthier and guitar tech skills, I have managed to make seven or eight guitars that cost under $200 play and sound like $1,000 guitars without spending more than maybe 30 or $40 per guitar. Amazon really helps for cheap parts. I guess as an older guitar player I needed some kind of a hobby besides just playing guitar so I decided to start upgrading cheapos and making them really super nice. I've never I got more joy playing guitar then I did when I was a teenager and this Rivals that feeling.
You were born to make videos! Keep it up, you're a natural!
Tengo mi Pacifica hace 2 meses, espero en un futuro realizarle upgrades con tus consejos. Saludos de Chile Maestro
I have a Pacifica 312 that I bought from a guy who had it hanging in his game room on the wall for decoration for 10 years. He was not a guitar player.
I left the stock bucker at the bridge but I changed out the bridge and middle pick up to Wilkinsons single coil’s.
Whoever owned this Guitar loved it so much, all of the frets all the way up to the 18th fret were worn under every string...I did not think I would get the frets level.. I actually had to leave some of the frets with some ware showing...
I also upgraded the input jack to a switch craft..
I can’t tell what decade the guitar is from, because apparently, Yamaha starts using the same serial numbers over every 10 years so I believe my guitar is from the 90s or maybe the 2000s..
The only thing I wish I could have changed is the saddles. I bought some saddles on eBay from China in gold which the hardware on this guitar is gold. But the screw with the spring for changing intonation is off by A lot. It does not line up perfectly with the tailpiece screwed to the Guitar. I have other saddles from my Yamaha AES 800 stock, and they are of the exact dimensions as the ones I got from China... The contact point on the saddles that came with the guitar are like the frets. They are so worn, I just wanted to change them but I can’t find saddles that lineup.
I just keep putting graphite from a pencil on the contact point and on the string. I do not use the whammy bar. I have never used them on any of my guitars.
The reason I changed the two single coil pickups, is because a few of the strings were not picking up the guitar strings signal. It’s not that the pick up was totally dead, they were partially dead. I’ve never heard of that before..
My $100 caseload Pacifica 312 Is one of my favorite Guitar’s now. I have had a few Squire and USA fender Stratocaster’s, I have a fender Stratocaster now USA model. But this Yamaha 312 is actually much faster than my Strat. It’s faster than my telecaster..
What I really like about it is, if I am on a gig where beer bottles may be flying, or it’s outside and it may start raining, I leave my USA Gibson Les Paul gold top & my USA Strat at home
Excellent video! And that neck pickup sounds very good!! wow 👍
Enjoyed your video. Very informative and pleasingly surprised that your mentor did guitars for the Eagles among others, one of the greatest band of our time. I just happened to be in a guitar store here in the US checking things out and ran across a Yamaha Pacifica 112. It's a EG112C to be exact. Played it and liked the way it sound but knew it would be so much better with some upgrades. Surfing the net as I do I looked at a few videos that were informative and I ran across yours. I know what I can to do when and if I get that guitar. I played an Ibanez that had a H S H setup and was surprised that I liked it. Not sure which way I'll go but I may end up spending a little more depending on the direction I choose. Look forward to more great videos from you. You have a fan/friend in the US.
I really like the tone from this guitar mod
Why are you able to read my mind. I am planning on ordering a pacifica 311 model in natural finish same pickup configuration, but hardtail. Enjoyed your video mate... Cheers
From Leo: I own a very nice Fender Super Strat that I really like. The grand daughter was showing an interest so we ordered her an entry level Pacifica to play when she visits. I cannot believe what a great playing and great sounding guitar they ship for $179 USD. I often play that cheap Pacifica while looking at my Fender and wonder how Yamaha can do such a great job at that price. I'll still keep my Fender, but the Yamaha performs at the same level.
Great video John ,also nice guitar ,I bought the Pacific 312 , for £80 at Cash Generator it was a steel going to mod it great platforms.
Snap! Good on you, John. Never thought I would see a Pacifica in the hands of John Robson. I have two. An all black limited edition which I bought new and a used natural which I got on ebay for ..... £60! Believe it or not, it is the guitar I use most of all. The slim fast neck (and body balance) is the key bit for me. I did wonder if the neck might be a bit on the slim side for those big hands. Glad it's OK. Trem is screwed down hard so no temptation there. My favourite setting is the mid neck/middle single pickup position for that Strat 'phasey' sound. Great job. Sounds and looks great. I think the Yamaha P90 version retails at around £300! What do they know...
Superb video John blessings from Glasgow
Great video, informative and entertaining. Great tones.
Soon as you played on the bridge I went “Aaaaahhhhh” and the rest the same
Another great video, sir! You're quickly becoming my favorite TH-cam channel!
I found the exact same guitar for a bargain in a local cash converters, glad I stumbled upon it, brilliant guitar!
The square root of bugger all. Love it!!! The guys on the Gear Page must have infinitely better ears than us common people.
Lovely build. Thank you.
I love my Pacificas I mod them all the time
thanks - 🎸 know what I’m doing now and where to buy components 🙏🏻 - (glad Im not the only one cussing when soldering / doing this heh) - cheers for the info / encouragement
A great sound, John. Appears to me that Vanson no longer sells pickups on ebay. I wanted the equivalent of a PAF 57 AL II. Thanks.
Just checked & ebay is full of Vanson pickups 👍
@@JRobsonGuitar Many thanks. I looked for the Vanson store on ebay and read closed, leave email and they will get back upon reopening. Am going via eBay Canada. But it should still bring up international. Thanks, again, John.
Those pickups sound awesome very surprised how sparkly they are 😎
JMarz Yeah... It still sounds "Fender-y" just a bit fatter. I've taken to rolling off the tone control a little when I want to take the sound in a more "Gibson" direction.
Well done! It sounds and looks great.
Watching.....looking to do something to mine. Best guitar to play I've owned