Pacifica PAC611VFM TBL Solid-Body Electric Guitar, Translucent Black

While looking at effects pedals online I saw this guitar and was intrigued. I wanted to play one but nobody seemed to carry Yamaha guitars locally. I loved the SP-90, I loved the idea of the coil tapped Trembucker and along with the Wilkinson Tremolo it seemed like the perfect marriage. I couldn't understand why this configuration proved so elusive. It had everything I wanted. I was hesitant to buy the guitar online because I wanted to see it and play it first. After another two weeks of playing lots of guitars and leaving stores feeling deflated, I was ready to give up but eventually my curiosity got the best of me so I added it to my cart and picked overnight shipping. As soon as I got in the mail and started to restring it, I immediately liked it, the finish is beautiful and the style is classic and cool. I plugged it in, cranked up the gain and was off to pinch harmonic dive bomb paradise. This guitar has attitude and is fun to play. It was already set up and played well out of the box. The soap bar pickup is fat, but loose and laid back. The Trembucker is hot and feisty. The coil tap is great too. I thought it was gonna sound like the single coils in my Strat but it doesn't, its got a distinctive high end and sounds shimmery. Its cool to be able to mix that in with the fat SP-90. I can coax a lot of interesting sounds out of this guitar. There is nothing about this guitar that was a deal breaker, its a great value for the price. There are a few changes I'd make but they are a matter of preference. They seem to use the same pick guard for each color. I think the dark red burst would look better with more contrast between the body and the pick guard so I intend to change it to make it more interesting. It would also be cool to have the Wilkinson Trem set up a little looser so that it had a little give when pulling the vibrato tighter. Also, the volume and tone knobs are very loose and they can move back and forth when playing. That's probably cool for some players but I like mine tight so any change in the volume or tone is deliberate. The only negative thing I have to say is that Amazon and Yamaha should both reconsider the packaging and shipping of guitars. This guitar was shipped to me in a cardboard box with absolutely NO proper packing inside the box. No bubble wrap, no styrofoam peanuts, no braces, no cardboard to hold it in place, no paper to cushion it. I expected it to be wrapped in something, not loosely rattling around in a box. The shoes I just bought for my daughter were packaged and shipped more thoughtfully than the guitar. This came all the way from Indonesia like this? I was seething when I opened the box and immediately considered returning it on that basis alone. After closely inspecting the guitar however, I didn't find any scratches or damage and I loved playing it so much I couldn't part with it even though I was and still am angry about the packaging. This guitar gets 5 stars. The packaging gets -5 stars. Hopefully they will address this in the future but you should definitely make a special request to Amazon to repackage it for you before its shipped. Luckily mine fared well through its journey to me. I hope yours is as lucky.

This model is the sister model to the newer 612 series. What sets this apart from the 612 is this 611 series uses a P90 neck pickup and the 612 uses two single coil pickups INSTEAD of the P90. Both models use the same humbucker for the bridge. Surprisingly only a handful of guitars under $1k have P90s. Even though a P90 is a single coil, it is a single coil akin to a humbucker in the way the dual alnico magnets are situated. The humbucker is NOT a single coil. This makes the P90s a traditional single coil on steroids. Since all single coils (including a P90) are inherent for a subtle 60hz hum, only a dual reversing P90 like the setup on the Revstar cancels out the hum. P90s are nothing new as they’ve been out since the 1940’s but again it’s rare to find them on guitars under $1k. It is wise to understand the P90 before you purchase the 611 model. Since P90s use two flat magnets, the result is more gain and a louder signal allowing for more enhanced lows and midrange frequencies at the expense of the higher end frequencies. All P90s have the advantage of both single coil with their ability to deliver crisp highs however also have the advantage of humbuckers to deliver powerful mids and enhanced lows. P90s are designed for the neck, bridge or both but never for the middle which is why two pickups are used on the 611 versus three pickups on the 612. Two pickups only require a 3-way switch whereas three pickups require a 5-way switch and is another difference between the two models. This model has it all from the 2 Seymour Duncan pickups (a P90 and a Humbucker), Grover locking tuners, Wilkinson bridge, graphite nut and string trees and the Yamaha brand. The dark red burst color blew me over. It has a deep cherry wood color with a rippled burgundy color coordinated marbleized pick guard. This is a simply beautiful guitar with all the bells and whistles in one package. It is rare to find a rippled finish. The tuning stability of the strings is astounding thanks to the Grover locking tuners and the friction-free graphite nut and string trees. You’ll love this guitar for many years.

Great deal

This is an excellent guitar that you will love instantly. Very comfortable to the grip and once in tune it stays that way....and I play hard. Seymor Duncan pickups and P90 is the perfect combination. She plays so sweet you won’t want to put her down:) I chose this over a Les Paul Pro and to me it was a no brainer. Strings installed sound pretty good but I am planning on changing them soon. And because of the locking tuners it will be a breeze. Yamaha is truly underrated by many but by those that play them there is no other. Treat yourself to this one or spend a little less and snag the 311 as thats a keeper. The 611 VHM is a good choice too

Took guitar to professionals to see why it sounded so bad, broken string on arrival, and neck was warped, frets buzzed do to warped neck all adjustments failed from rear adjusters except placing felt under the nut on bridge to raise strings making the guitar pretty useless as being brand new, cost 110 dollars to 160 for repair it arrived and was not usable. I was told it needed sanded and new fret job replacement nuts on bridge needed replaced, being brand new I had to return it. Very upsetting, and disappointed with it, the book and tools were not included and shipping boxes had holes in them, inner tape had been removed so I’m not sure if it was opened by someone else or what. Did not have problems with other branded guitars, being little over half a grand, quality was not here on the 600+ series. I ask why? Oscar smhmidt brands were perfect and epiphone was great. Do not recommend Yamaha any longer now.

Poorly set up from factory. After hours of adjusting I still couldn't dial this guitar in. I am not a novice when it comes to adjusting guitars. The tremolo bridge is a challenge.even with youtube help I tried and tried and couldn't get I right. Got frustrated and returned. What a pain. Took the joy out of getting a new guitar.

I wanted to love this guitar. The finish, neck, pickups, trem system, locking tuners are all amazing. One problem though, both E strings practically sit on the bevel (less then 1 mm away - see pictures), making it very easy to slip off the fretboard. I play with good enough technique to were it wasn't quite a problem, however it always felt like playing on the edge of the fret, and not comfortable. Unfortunately, despite everything else that is great about this guitar, this particular issue warranted a return. Hope to see a version in the future with a less aggressive fret bevel.

I got the dark red burst. Everyone at work loved it. I love it. Was thinking of painting over the yellow pick up guard, but I'll leave it as is. It is a beautiful guitar. The pick guard came in scratched and dinged, but the guitar itself seems fine. Feels very comfortable to play. Edit after about half a year of joy: I love it. Peeled the plastic film off the guard and revealed a glass finish on it (wanted to leave the film on for added protection, but it started coming off at one edge, so I took it off). My eyes, ears and hands are still very much in love with this instrument.