NGD: Yamaha Pacifica 611 VFM... NICE!

[Red_Label]

Picked this beauty up at my local shop today. Have been a big fan of the Pacifica series since many years ago when they debuted... but for whatever reason just never stumbled on the right one at the right time. The moment that I saw this one on the wall, I knew that it'd be coming home with me.

Fit & finish is superb. Playability is top notch. The neck isn't tiny/small, but it's not huge. Still have some testing to do -- mainly an A/B session with my Anderson Drop Top Classic tomorrow. I don't expect it to have the liveliness or effortless playability of the Anderson, but I do expect that it'll hold ground enough that I won't be disgusted with it after playing a guitar that costs almost $3K more.

The Pac 611 has Duncan Custom in the bridge and a Duncan P90 at the neck. It's also got a push-pull splitter for the bridge pickup on the tone control, and a three-position pickup selector. I have been able to get pristine cleans with the coils split, and smouldering, hairy, bluesy tones on the P90. The bridge pickup yields classic rock/metal tones when running on the crunch/lead channels.

I'm VERY impressed with this guitar at the $600-700 price point. It'll make a helluva "backup" to the Anderson. Will add some more impressions of it to this thread once I've A/B'd it with the Andy.

Here's a stock pic of a guitar that looks just like mine (my hurried photos haven't done it justice so far). It's the "Root Beer" flame finish. I like it... but if you look online you'll see a purple finish -- that's the one I'd really like to have! (Grass is always greener, eh?)

 

[Drewsky7170]

Re: NGD: Yamaha Pacifica 611 VFM... NICE!

Dude that is one sweet find! I've always wondered about Yamaha Pacificas. I've liked the look as they have a different take on the typical Strat-style. I might have to look at these myself.

 

[koshikas]

Re: NGD: Yamaha Pacifica 611 VFM... NICE!

The neck isn't tiny/small, but it's not huge.

+1. for me most neck are too thin and then other are too thick. I totally love the neck profiles of pacificas.

 

[Diego]

Re: NGD: Yamaha Pacifica 611 VFM... NICE!

That's a Wilkinson trem?
I love those, so smooth. There's a few cheap Corts loaded with Wilkinsons that really give me the itch,
And I was wondering last night about what budget-conscious alternatives to those Corts exist with Wilkinsons. Those Cort are just OK guitars but not great.
Didn't think of Yamaha. Cool.

 

[Red_Label]

Re: NGD: Yamaha Pacifica 611 VFM... NICE!

That's a Wilkinson trem?
I love those, so smooth. There's a few cheap Corts loaded with Wilkinsons that really give me the itch,
And I was wondering last night about what budget-conscious alternatives to those Corts exist with Wilkinsons. Those Cort are just OK guitars but not great.
Didn't think of Yamaha. Cool.

Yup, it's a Wilkinson. It's mounted flush to the body, which is a little different than I'm used to seeing them set up. It's pretty stiff (compared to the trem on my Anderson Drop Top), but I haven't removed the trem cover yet to see if I can ditch a spring or loosen the screws to soften it up. I'm not much of a trem guy, but would like to force myself to use them more. I've always liked the style of Holdsworth and others where you "scoop" into notes with the trem. Makes the phrasing very sexy and slinky (at least to me it does).

Anyways... I still haven't done a head-to-head comparison of the Pacifica versus the Anderson. No doubt that the Anderson will come-out on top in most categories... but honestly, I'm diggin the Yamaha so much right now that I just haven't been in the mood to pull the Andy out of its case yet. I tend to want to keep that new gear inspiration rolling as long as I can. I spent a couple of hours this afternoon playing through a bunch of old 80s stuff. Night Ranger, Ozzy, etc. The Pacifica sounded and played awesome through it all.

I was plugged into a Hughes & Kettner Grandmeister that my local shop sent home with me on-loan for an upcoming show that I'm doing. I had one last spring and have regretted selling it ever since. I texted my buddy (who runs the shop) today and told him that I may not be bringing the Grandmeister home after the show. It's just such an awesome amp. All tube, and great, pristine FX. Hard to beat that amp for just about any music. And the Pacifica seems to be an equal jack of all trades. Thumbs up on it so far!

 

[Kac]

Re: NGD: Yamaha Pacifica 611 VFM... NICE!

Very awesome!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Artie]

Re: NGD: Yamaha Pacifica 611 VFM... NICE!

Nice score. I've loved these things ever since seeing this video where Soren Andersen puts one through its paces.

 

[SFW]

Re: NGD: Yamaha Pacifica 611 VFM... NICE!

Congrats on the guitar! I've been trying to find one for a while.

 

[Red_Label]

Re: NGD: Yamaha Pacifica 611 VFM... NICE!

Thanks guys.

I finally did a shootout between the Pacifica and my Anderson Drop Top Classic yesterday.

I had been a bit "worried" that the [MUCH less expensive] Yamaha would make the Anderson look less than stellar, because I'd immensely enjoyed playing the Yamaha exclusively for the past few days. But no real surprises in the final results. There's a reason that Anderson is known as one of the best superstrats made. It's just so flawless in looks, build, feel, and tone. It feels like a surgically precise scalpel, when every Fender/whatever variation on a Strat theme that I've ever owned or played felt like a butter knife in comparison (including a Suhr that I had in my possession several years ago).

NEVERTHELESS... the Yamaha did perform very admirably and I like it more than the American Deluxe strat that I got rid-of. It's got a beefy sound and plays very well. I ended-up down-tuning it to Eb and will use it as my Eb-tuned guitar. I played through a bunch of early Van Halen stuff with it last night and it sounded so good. I also backed-the trem-spring screws out by three turns and the trem feel is buttery now. No tuning issues after using the bar either (though I certainly didn't do any dive-bombs). At any rate... had I not already been playing the Anderson so much, I might venture to say that the Pacifica was my favorite strat-style axe that I've had (maybe). It's that good. For the price ($600), I don't see how you could go wrong! The Anderson cost about $3K more... and there definitely isn't THAT big of a difference between the two of them!

 

[J E C]

Re: NGD: Yamaha Pacifica 611 VFM... NICE!

Great vid Artie. That guitar sounds wonderful. The Yamaha's are probable under rated by a lot of people. I just saw Eric Johnson and Mike Stern play last Friday night. Mike was playing a Tele version of the Pacifica with a full size HB in the neck and a Tele CoolRail in the bridge. Sounded great!