Yamaha Pacifica 112V

O
riginally the most affordable of the
Yamaha Pacifi ca range (which
debuted in 1990, and was designed
by Yamaha’s USA team, primarily ex-
Ibanez designer Rich Lasner), the 112
fi rst appeared in 1993 and not only
overtook all previous (and subsequent)
Pacifi ca models in terms of sales, it
actually proved a benchmark for quality
and specifi cation. Back in the early
nineties it was not uncommon to see
plywood-bodied guitars in the low-end
market. Not so the 112, which was
made of solid wood. And not any old
lump of tree, but solid alder. To
advertise this Yamaha offered the 112
in a natural fi nish. But it wasn’t just the
body wood, the Pacifi ca 112 – from the
outset – employed good hardware and
pickups and classy design.
Earlier this year Yamaha introduced
an upgraded model in all but price. The
Pacifi ca 112 defi es infl ation and
remains at £199 – the same price as it
was back in 1993. Let’s take a closer
look at the 2007 model.
While no one has ever disputed the
origin of the Pacifi ca design, its outline
is very noticeably different to the
Stratocaster. The horns are longer,
sleeker and the lower bout appears a
little more angular compared to a Strat.
Up to this point in its history the 112
has featured a large scratchplate on to
which all the pickups and electrics were
mounted – like the Strat, but unlike the
majority of other Pacifi ca models that
use a more distinct design with the
bridge pickup and rotary controls body-
mounted, the other two pickups and
fi ve-way selector on the scratchplate.
For this year the 112 now follows that
style (including a three-ply, as opposed
to single-ply, scratchplate material) and
immediately the guitar looks less
generic with more of the hot-rod vibe
that’s so much a part of the original
Pacifi ca design and concept.
The 112 is far from fancy and simply
concentrates on the bare necessities.
Yet the construction is of excellent
quality. We received a two-tone
sunburst guitar to evaluate and the
matching of the body pieces – two or
three, we’re honestly not sure – is
extremely good, as is the fi nishing. Only
the very noticeable forearm contour to
the body looks a little out of place – a
more curved transition wouldn’t
distract from the clean, modern design.
The maple neck has a very thin satin
fi nish – it almost feels like it’s been oiled
– and is tidily mounted to the body with
the standard four screws and neck
plate. The neck is well shaped, a full-ish
‘C’ that feels thinner in depth than it
actually is. Fretting is excellent from
a medium size wire (approx 2.37mm
wide x 1.36 high); the ends of the slots
are fi lled, the side edge of the
fi ngerboard is slightly curved, just like
an old Fender, not straight like so many
low-end guitars. There’s even a little
rounding to the top edge of the
fi ngerboard. It’s not quite James Tyler,
of course, but it’s very clear that
someone cares and, importantly,
understands what a good electric guitar
should feel like in the hand. But
perhaps most importantly the neck is
really solid and stable, there’s minimal
whip. Trust us, if looked after this will
be a guitar for life.
The original Pacifi ca six-in-a-line
headstock has lasted well and still looks
78
SUMMER 2007
Yamaha Pacifi ca 112V
£199
Yamaha’s Pacifi ca is probably the most successful update of ‘that’ guitar ever.
It’s Yamaha’s best-selling electric guitar and it’s just got better! by Dave Burrluck
YAMAHA PACIFICA 112V £199
ELECTRICS GUITARIST INTERACTIVE
YAMAHA
PACIFICA 112V
PRICE: £199
ORIGIN: Indonesia
TYPE: Double-cutaway
solidbody electric
BODY: Alder
NECK: Maple, bolt-on
SCALE LENGTH:
648mm (25.5-inch)
NUT/WIDTH: Black
synthetic/41mm
FINGERBOARD:
Rosewood, pearloid dots,
350mm (13.75-inch)
radius
FRETS: 22, medium
HARDWARE: Vintage-
style vibrato with block
steel saddles, enclosed
tuners – all chrome
plated
STRING SPACING,
BRIDGE: 53mm
ELECTRICS: Yamaha
‘custom wound’ Alnico V
H/S/S pickups, fi ve-way
lever pickup selector
switch, master volume
and master tone (with
push/pull switch to split
bridge humbucker)
controls
WEIGHT (kg/lb): 3.6/8
OPTIONS: None. Maple
fi ngerboard and
expanded colours
promised for 2008
RANGE OPTIONS: The
Pacifi ca range kicks off
with the 012 (£129) and
includes the 412V
(£299), 612V (£419) and
812V (£619). The more
Single cutaway Pacifi cas
are the start-up 120SJ
(£179) and the upmarket
1511MS Mike Stern
(£709)
LEFT-HANDERS:
Promised for 2008
FINISHES: Natural satin,
old violin sunburst (as
reviewed), raspberry red,
sonic blue (also
pictured), black and
silver metallic
Yamaha-Kemble
01908 366700
www.yamaha-europe.
com/yamaha_europe/uk
The chrome push/pull
switch on the tone
knob activates the
coil-split facility for
the bridge humbucker
It’s very clear that someone cares and, importantly,
understands what a good electric guitar should feel like
GIT293.rev_pacifica 78 16/7/07 12:08:07