Yamaha’s range of Pacifica guitars have been some of the best value instruments you can buy for quite some time. They always offer great hardware for the money and their build quality is second to none from their beginner to their more pro focused guitars. Sitting near the top of the tree the Pacifica 612VII is an incredibly great value option that will cover you from blues to metal.
Reliable Design
Just like the rest of the Pacifica models the 612VII is built incredibly well. Pound for pound very few manufacturers can match Yamaha’s quality making this a great option for any level of gigging guitarist. Yamaha have been making guitars since 1942 and the Pacifica models since 1990 so you would expect that they have got it down by now.
With a Maple neck and a Rosewood fretboard as well as an Alder body topped with flamed Maple this guitar has a classic ‘S’ type sound but with a bit of extra snap and attack. This makes it just that bit more versatile so if you wanted to play heavier rock and metal tones this will handle it with no problem at all.
But what is a quality build if it is not backed up by quality hardware? A waste that is what. So Yamaha have fitted this with a bunch of the best hardware around including Grover locking tuners and a Wilkinson VS50-6 bridge that both help keep your guitar in tune on stage and in the studio.
Hot Hardware and Versatile Tones
Matching the versatile wood choice you also have an interesting set of pickups that let you dial a diverse range of sounds out of the box. With Seymour Duncan SSL-1 single coil pickups in the neck and middle positions with a TB-14 in the bridge you can get both soft vintage ‘S’ tones to more in your face hotter tones when using the Custom 5 humbucker.
The SSL-1 pickups are designed after some of the best pickups from the 50’s. They are known for their bright and glassy sound that sound absolutely stunning through a clean or crunchy amplifier. The bridge TB-14 Custom 5 pickups is a different beast though. Yes it still has a quite vintage voice with a warm and round tone but it also has a pretty hot output making it great for when you want to dig in with a bit more gain.
Here’s what Yamaha say about the 612VII Electric Guitar
First launched in 1990, the Pacifica series was driven by the California session scene of the day-where versatility, performance and individuality were key. Inspired by those custom-shop guitars, and that original version, PAC612VII featrues Wilkinson VS-50, HSS/Seymour Duncan pickup and this is today’s embodiment of the PACIFICA concept.
Specifications
- Scale Length: 25 1/2″ (648mm)
- Neck: Maple
- Fingerboard: Rosewood
- Radius: 13 3/4″ (350mm)
- Construction: Bolt-on
- Frets: 22
- Body: Alder
- Tuners: Grover Locking Tuner
- Bridge: Wilkinson VS50-6
- Pickups: Front ;Seymour Duncan SSL-1, Center; Seymour Duncan SSL-1 RwRp, Rear; Seymour Duncan TB-14
- Pickup Switch: 5 position lever
- Controls: Master Volume, Master Tone (Push-Pull Coil Split)
