A beginners dream! (Yamaha Pacifica Series in general)

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Product:	Yamaha Pacifica Series in general
Date:	23/08/01 (731 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great price, versatile

Disadvantages: It isn't a Les Paul, I had to change the strings it came with as they were too thick

I've owned my Yamaha Pacifica for nearly two years now...and I'm still crap at playing it. Not that it's anything to do with the guitar, though. It's beyond reproach.

Ah yes...a nice sunny day in 1999. I walk into Gamlins music store in Cardiff and a half hour later walk out with a Yamaha Pacifica and a Peavey amp for under two hundred groats. A very low price indeed.

Not that the cheap price is an indication of poor quality. Not at all. I recently tried a friends Fender Stratocaster which he parted four hundred notes for. In my opinion my Yamaha was even better than the Strat, the only thing letting it down being the absence of a tremelo. But it had much better sustain and a greater versatility than the Fender.

The Pacifica is set up with two single coil pick ups (which'll give it a Fender-style sound) and a twincoil pickup near the bridge which does a good job of mimicking the sound of a traditional Gibson 'humbucker'. For those who don't know much about guitars, the Fender sound has slightly better tone and sounds clearer whilst the humbucker is more raw and powerful and has a nice 'crunchy' sound to it. You can select which pickup by moving the five-way selector switch which is located by the volume an tone knobs.

I picked a pine coloured guitar with black scratchplate and I must say it looks pretty damn good. Not as good as a Gibson Les Paul in sunburst but good nonetheless. It's an extremely playable instrument (despite my inane fumblings) and I'd recommend it to any beginners as it's low price and versatility makes it a good starting point.

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