Yamaha certainly know how to make a guitar. I love the finish, the sound, the weight and feel of this thing. It is so easy to play. Being my first Yamaha I was a bit hesitant about buying it, but after reading many positive reviews online regarding the Pacifica range I decided to go for it... I wasn't disappointed.

Beautiful Instrument. Great Price.

Playable right out of the box. Pop in the whammy bar and you're good to go.I put on some heavy strings and drop tuned it to accommodate the tension on the bridge, adjusted harmonics and lowered the strings. Sounds great!The Yamaha manual that came with this guitar was the wrong one, but it gave me the gist on how to make my adjustments.

First ever guitar

I have never bought guitar before this one, and this one.... Has been great! I have practiced some songs (still bad tho😅) I don't have any trouble with it yet, and my guitar experience has been great!!!!

I can't put this one down.

This is the best quality guitar at this price point. The setup from the factory is great. No string buzz, low action, and great intonation. The quilted top tobacco sunburst was my second choice as the flametop version was sold out, to which I am happy because it is gorgeous. This plays like a high end guitar.. Great sustain, awesome string bends, and smooth frets. Worth every penny.

It's pretty, but that's about it

This guitar seems to get good reviews all over the internet so I thought I'd give a try even though I was skeptical of the low price. Perhaps I got a dud but this guitar came to me with multiple issues. The biggest problem is a really dead note 12 fret, G string and it's a neck resonance problem, not a fret height or action problem. Adding weight to the headstock actually moves the dead spot down the fretboard. This issue can't really be fixed without spending a great deal of money or buying a whole new neck.Other issues were more minor but still added up to a bad rating. The open E string doesn't ring out like it should which is probably a problem with the nut. The volume and tone knobs are loose and have a coder pin to hold them on but tightening the coder pin ... MoreThis guitar seems to get good reviews all over the internet so I thought I'd give a try even though I was skeptical of the low price. Perhaps I got a dud but this guitar came to me with multiple issues. The biggest problem is a really dead note 12 fret, G string and it's a neck resonance problem, not a fret height or action problem. Adding weight to the headstock actually moves the dead spot down the fretboard. This issue can't really be fixed without spending a great deal of money or buying a whole new neck.Other issues were more minor but still added up to a bad rating. The open E string doesn't ring out like it should which is probably a problem with the nut. The volume and tone knobs are loose and have a coder pin to hold them on but tightening the coder pin makes the knob crooked (standard strat knobs fit though so that's a cheap fix). The tuners aren't great and have some slop in the them when turning, also the pin holes were drilled too large so the tuners can rotate up to 1/8".The sound from the single coils is okay, positions 1 and 2 sound pretty good for bluesy stuff. I don't care for the humbucker, it's too bright for this guitar and makes it sound thin.Anyways, this thing is going back. The guitar gets 2 stars but MF gets 5 stars for being so easy to work with and being good about returns and exchanges; and they have almost zero hold times.

PAC212V QUILTED MAPLE TOP ELECTRIC GUITA

I still say that Yamaha has one of the best & consistent QC for guitars and basses. This guitar had better alignment, fret work, finish and general construction than guitars 2-3 x's its cost.The middle and front pups are totally flat sounding, blah. I play clean w just reverb and thumpick w all fingers in picking.I thought by going up a model to this one with 'better' pups that would not be an issue... I didn't buy it for the figured top, but the other upgrades.

Pretty neat guitar but...

I bought this guitar after taking real guitar lessons for the first time in my life after years of picking and jamming at home. I already had a good acoustic but wanted a basic electric to complement it. I had grand ambitions that my wife gave the stink eye to, so I went looking for something nice and basic. I picked this Yamaha because it gets generally good reviews and I didn't want a Squier. When I received it, I was generally excited and satisfied. The coil split adds a bit of versatility and the guitar has a nice, fast neck.But I can't rate it higher because I was so happy with the guitar, I decided to buy a used cheaper PAC012 elsewhere. Frankly, it was basically the same guitar without the flame maple and the coilsplit. I really think the cheaper one even ... MoreI bought this guitar after taking real guitar lessons for the first time in my life after years of picking and jamming at home. I already had a good acoustic but wanted a basic electric to complement it. I had grand ambitions that my wife gave the stink eye to, so I went looking for something nice and basic. I picked this Yamaha because it gets generally good reviews and I didn't want a Squier. When I received it, I was generally excited and satisfied. The coil split adds a bit of versatility and the guitar has a nice, fast neck.But I can't rate it higher because I was so happy with the guitar, I decided to buy a used cheaper PAC012 elsewhere. Frankly, it was basically the same guitar without the flame maple and the coilsplit. I really think the cheaper one even played a bit better. At any rate, this model doesn't seem hundreds better. It's a great looking-guitar, though.

Review of Yamaha Pacifica 212V Electric Guitar with Quilted Maple Top in Tobacco Burst

The quilted maple body looks amazing, the alnico pickups sound great and the whole thing (trem, tuners, switches, etc.) feels solid and well made. Yamaha guitars are great value for money.

Sweet Deal

First of all, I am by no means even close to a professional guitarist. I just love to play. I don't play in a band. So this is written as a non-professional point of view but from one who has some very high quality guitars.I purchased my pac212 as a restock here. Someone returned it. I figured I'd buy it thinking there may just be a ding or scratch. Got it and it is pristine, beautiful, drop dead gorgeous axe. But it had a discinct grounding problem. So I took off the back plate to the volume/tone pot area and sure enough there was a ground wire never soldered. So I called Yamaha, they told me to solder it to the body of the volume pot and whallah, problem solved. So I got a fantactic deal from my fave Musiciansfriend. If all I did was hang it on the wall in my ... MoreFirst of all, I am by no means even close to a professional guitarist. I just love to play. I don't play in a band. So this is written as a non-professional point of view but from one who has some very high quality guitars.I purchased my pac212 as a restock here. Someone returned it. I figured I'd buy it thinking there may just be a ding or scratch. Got it and it is pristine, beautiful, drop dead gorgeous axe. But it had a discinct grounding problem. So I took off the back plate to the volume/tone pot area and sure enough there was a ground wire never soldered. So I called Yamaha, they told me to solder it to the body of the volume pot and whallah, problem solved. So I got a fantactic deal from my fave Musiciansfriend. If all I did was hang it on the wall in my living room it would be a work of art, a babe magnet :-)I had to really lower the action, set the intonation which was very easy. The whammy seems a little tighter than my other guitars.If you are used to an American Fender Strat you will notice the frets a little higher on the 212.My friend who I jam with has an old Yamaha 112 he's had long before Al Gore invented the internet. I consider him a very professional player and can make his sound like a million dollars. He was blown away with mine.This guitar proves you don't have to spend $1,500 to $3,000 dollars on a guitar. If you want to spend more, get this guitar and upgrade the tuners to some locking tuners, replace the frets to the smaller ones like that on the Strat if you are not used to the larger frets. Not sure you need to change out the pickups. To me they sound great.

What a deal!

Based upon another review, I believe I purchased the guitar that another reviewer returned. My PAC 212V also had wobbly control knobs. But they are not attached with "coder pins" (this must mean cotter pins) which are used to lock large nuts on axles. Grease the front wheel bearings on a car, and you will be confronted with cotter pins. You don't find such things on guitars. My metal control knobs are attached with small set screws which are easily loosened with a small allen wrench that came with the guitar. I did this and mounted the knobs flush with the surface, and now they function perfectly. There was no problem with the pot stems. The set up was high and the bridge hardware slightly out of adjustment. But all this was easily set right. And I could find no ... MoreBased upon another review, I believe I purchased the guitar that another reviewer returned. My PAC 212V also had wobbly control knobs. But they are not attached with "coder pins" (this must mean cotter pins) which are used to lock large nuts on axles. Grease the front wheel bearings on a car, and you will be confronted with cotter pins. You don't find such things on guitars. My metal control knobs are attached with small set screws which are easily loosened with a small allen wrench that came with the guitar. I did this and mounted the knobs flush with the surface, and now they function perfectly. There was no problem with the pot stems. The set up was high and the bridge hardware slightly out of adjustment. But all this was easily set right. And I could find no problems with a dead spot at the 12th fret or anywhere else on the neck. The pickups are powerful and offer a great range of sounds. I don't see myself ever needing to upgrade them. The body and finish are perfect. It's a fantastic guitar, and I got a super discount on it since it was one that had been returned. Bottom line, if you have some basic tech skills and can make adjustments and minor repairs to your ax, you need not fear buying a used guitar. The discounted guitar I purchased is just like new, flawless and still had the plastic on the pick guard. I got this guitar for just a bit more than a PAC 012. But it has the alder body and the Alnico V pickups and the fancy finish. I like it better than my Mexican Strat. A fantastic deal. Thanks MF.