Yamaha Revstars three years on. Hit or miss?

Three-ColourSunburst

I have been thinking of buying an RS620, which I can get locally (on clearance) in the Brick Burst finish for about £570. Thing is, after the initial buzz surrounding these guitars on their release I haven't seen much discussion of them, and the fact that I have seen several of the models on sale at discount prices (mainly the upper range ones) does sort of suggest that the market hasn't really taken to them and / or they were rather overpriced on release. 

So, are these still living up to the release hype, or have some of the things that many people said they didn't really like - such as the easily-marked matte finishes and relatively high prices for an Indonesian-made guitar - depressed the market for them somewhat?

I know that what really matters is what they play and sound like, but I don't really want to buy something that I would have to give away should I ever want to move it on in the future. 

guitars4you

Three-ColourSunburst said:

I have been thinking of buying an RS620, which I can get locally (on clearance) in the Brick Burst finish for about £570. Thing is, after the initial buzz surrounding these guitars on their release I haven't seen much discussion of them, and the fact that I have seen several of the models on sale at discount prices (mainly the upper range ones) does sort of suggest that the market hasn't really taken to them and / or they were rather overpriced on release. 

So, are these still living up to the release hype, or have some of the things that many people said they didn't really like - such as the easily-marked matte finishes and relatively high prices for an Indonesian-made guitar - depressed the market for them somewhat?

I know that what really matters is what they play and sound like, but I don't really want to buy something that I would have to give away should I ever want to move it on in the future. 

In my opinion you've answered your own question in your last paragraph - If you like the way it feels/plays then why would you need to sell it - If you don't like the way it feels n plays then don't buy it

Ref the initial marketing hype etc etc - You know that Yamaha don't build a bad guitar and that is a fairly simple statement to begin with - But considering the marketing hype, a 2 year design period and a marketing/design team to get the project going, then I'd say more miss then hit - I've had 2 second hand models so far and both were hard to sell, both in-store, on-line and at shows with very little interest shown in them

Nothing wrong with the actual guitar regarding build quality etc, but did the market need another invasion of ' the best guitar ever' and the easy answer is no

ICBM

guitars4you said:

You know that Yamaha don't build a bad guitar

Sadly the only really bad Yamaha I can ever remember playing is a Revstar - admittedly the cheapest two-humbucker one.

It was overly heavy, totally generic, poor-sounding and had a nasty s-bend in the neck which meant it needed a major fret dress to even be properly playable.

Probably not typical, but it gave me no confidence in the factory’s quality control and completely put me off the range.

Play before you buy or make sure you can send it back if it’s like that...

Three-ColourSunburst

guitars4you said:

  If you like the way it feels/plays then why would you need to sell it - If you don't like the way it feels n plays then don't buy it...

I've had 2 second hand models so far and both were hard to sell, both in-store, on-line and at shows with very little interest shown in them

Because no guitarist has ever sold a guitar that they liked when they bought it, or got the GAS for something different - which is what keeps guitar makers and the retail trade in business.  

What you say about resale does tally with the impression I have got.

Thanks!

TTBZ

I liked the one I played. The neck was a bit skinny for me but everything else was fine. I've never played a bad Yamaha. I guess the Revstar never took off because they're just a bit of a safe and dull brand (imo), needed a different marketing strategy for this line maybe? Personally I think the Revstar looks cool and would still like one of the RS502 P90 ones.

rockinmark

I tried out some Revstars recently at PMT Cardiff. They were hung in the far corner, up high out of the way. The strings on the one were rusty. Seems there's not much interest in them. My favourite was the bigsby one. Will probably be my next guitar.  Great value guitars. Even better value now

Modellista

A contrary view - I had one for a bit, only sold due to the arrival of an R8.  The RS720B with the Bigsby.

It was superb.  Virtually played itself.  Pickups were great, properly decent-sounding Filtertron copies.  The BIgsby worked fine.  Yes the finish was unusual with it being matte flame maple, and I guess it would shine up after a while, but I really liked it.  The country of origin makes no difference to anything other than price.  The build quality was totally flawless.

I haven't played any of the others but I would recommend without hesitation if you're concerned about playability and sound rather than image.  Kenny's music are still doing the RS720B for £499 which is a great price.  I sold mine on for £400 and there was a lot of interest so perhaps not that much money at stake if you don't like it.

TheMarlin

I probably would have bought the green one with the cream P90’s if it wasn’t for the tailpiece. Hated that thing ...bolted in the top.  
If they had made Bigsby model for that specific guitar, then I would 100% have bought it. 
https://www.andertons.co.uk/guitar-dept/electric-guitars/alternative-body-guitars/yamaha-revstar-rs502t-guitar-in-bowden-green

Three-ColourSunburst

Modellista said:

  Kenny's music are still doing the RS720B for £499 which is a great price.

Just looked at that. A great price and £329 for an RS420 is not too shabby either. I also note that many of these reduced Revstars are not single guitars. Kenny's say that '4+' RS720Bs and RS420s are available, although I guess these might be at the wholesalers. The dealer who has the RS 620 I am interested in has 3 of them actually in stock at their shops.

Seems that these are rapidly becoming real bargain buys, given the quality. (Other then the few duds that seem to be around.) On the other hand guitars that have to be knocked down to shift them tend to be hard to sell on, so I don't really know what to do. Wait to see if the price drops further perhaps - I'm not desperate to buy a Revstar and only really looked at them because I want a fixed bridge, humbucker guitar with a bit of a Les Paul flavour, but found a traditional Les Paul shaped body to be a pig to play after getting used to the sculpted body on my Talman Prestige. (Ironically, another slow-moving guitar that I got with a £400 discount.) 

TA22GT

I made a road trip with the intent to buy the 820CP .

It felt really good and played wonderfully. It just felt right and  I was really impressed.

Unfortunately the store had another Yamaha that  I was always interested in, the SG1820, and it was new and at a ridiculously great price. I couldn't resist and bought the 1820.

Hand on heart, when I pick it up it doesn't give me the vibe that I got off that Revstar.  

I bought the wrong guitar. I broke my golden rule and that it is what's in your hands that counts. 

DannyP

ICBM said:

guitars4you said:

You know that Yamaha don't build a bad guitar

Sadly the only really bad Yamaha I can ever remember playing is a Revstar

I'm sure you once said exactly the same thing about a Yam APX!

HarrySeven

How do you describe the nondescript?

IMHO, the ones I've played were just bland, bland, bland...

Moe_Zambeek

Bland is how I’d describe them too. Appliance guitars.

Modellista

HarrySeven said:

How do you describe the nondescript?

IMHO, the ones I've played were just bland, bland, bland...

Interesting point.

Yamaha are perhaps the Honda of the guitar world.  Properly engineered, deeply competent machines.  Arguably somewhat lacking in soul because it's the flaws that deliver personality.

If you're looking for a guitar to love like a pet, maybe a reliced Strat or slightly wonky Gibson is the ideal choice.  If you're looking for a guitar to be dependable and do the job with utmost, if somewhat aloof, competence, with everything in its right place and nothing falling off, Yamaha is where it's at.

ICBM

DannyP said:

I'm sure you once said exactly the same thing about a Yam APX!

No, the APXs I’ve played - which is a lot - have never had problems like the neck of that Revstar. I admit I think they sound terrible, but they’re well made and do have a ‘character’ of sorts... just one I really dislike.

I also do find the Pacificas really bland, but I’ve never played an objectively bad one.

jpttaylor

I kind of see it from both sides, in terms of blandness, but then part of me wonders what makes the Revstar different to any other solid body with two humbuckers. Having not actually played a Yamaha, it might just be the more “mechanical” approach I take when looking at different guitars.

In terms of a third guitar, I’d considered this against a Gretsch Streamliner, and I probably lean towards the latter more, but I’ve got a little bit of a soft spot for them partly because it’s not a Gibson/PRS etc. Love of the underdog? Probably.

impmann

Define ‘generic’ when talking about a mainly mahogany twin hunbucker guitar... what are you expecting it to sound like?

Phil_aka_Pip

The thing that turned me on least about Revstar was the alleged link to the company's motorcycling past. I wouldn't expect an English guitar company - however linked by previous ownerships or otherwise - to try to link their product to the glory days of BSA, Triumph or Norton. While I do like motorcycles, I am under the impression that the intersection of the two sets "likes motorcycles" and "likes guitars" is way smaller than the union of those sets. And if you introduced a third set "likes Yamaha bikes" and intersected that with the other two, I bet you'd find a tiny result. So, not a good marketing move, IMO.

Tried a Revstar at the brum show a year or two back. Quite liked it (IIRC 620, 2 h/b no whammy bar), but didn't like it enough to make me want to replace my SG2000 with it. I think that if I didn't already have an SG2000 and had no hope of getting one, then the Revstar might have been a contender, were I in the market for a DC solid. However, I'm not: my GAS is taking me in other directions.

If Yamaha were to do an ES-175 knockoff with the same high quality as the SA2200 I might start taking notice ...

ICBM

impmann said:

Define ‘generic’ when talking about a mainly mahogany twin hunbucker guitar... what are you expecting it to sound like?

I'd expect it to sound as interesting as a Gibson SG or at least a Yamaha SG200, instead of as dull as a Schecter/LTD/other dull far-eastern solidbody with two dull humbuckers. The Revstar I played could have been made by any company which uses the same slightly too dense wood and the same crap overwound humbuckers, there was simply nothing to identify it positively as a Yamaha, or of any character whatever. That's what I mean by generic.

DannyP

ICBM said:

DannyP said:

I'm sure you once said exactly the same thing about a Yam APX!

No, the APXs I’ve played - which is a lot - have never had problems like the neck of that Revstar. I admit I think they sound terrible, but they’re well made and do have a ‘character’ of sorts... just one I really dislike.

I also do find the Pacificas really bland, but I’ve never played an objectively bad one.

Fair enough, I do appreciate the distinction

Three-ColourSunburst

Phil_aka_Pip said:

The thing that turned me on least about Revstar was the alleged link to the company's motorcycling past.

I also think that this was a rather odd, and narrow, cultural touchstone to hang the image of a whole range of guitars on, especially when the term 'cafe racer' tends to bring to mind 60's Brit bikes, rather than the later Japanese bike which aped the same styling cues.

In addition to the whole 'Revstar' branding thing, the 'racer' stripes, the copper pickguards and galvanized looking pickup covers on the top models also suggest that the styling of these was the product of some pretentious marketing / design agency, rather than an individual or small team with a passion for guitars.

Perhaps I just need to take the time adapt to the traditional Les Paul shape. This would  at least open up a whole world of choices. Then again, the Revstar I tried was so much more ergonomic!

Edit. it seems someone called Piotr Stolarski was the main designer. He has also produced an interesting range of coffee tables, floor lamps and porcelain mugs!

http://piotrstolarski.com/