Why is there not tons of love for the Pacifica?

Branshen

Because everyone knows that pacificas are soul-less

ThePrettyDamned

If they had fatter necks, I'd really like them.

Being so "middle of the road" in terms of neck dimension is no bad thing though - anyone could play one. Higher end models have USA hardware and electronics, too, so sound great.

I really like them. I just prefer guitars with a slightly fatter neck. I vaguely remember the neck being a touch too narrow, too.

DrBob

guitargeek62;634341" said:

Nut width is too narrow, and the profile's are often a bit too "generic slim C" for my tastes.

Pretty much exactly this. If they came with a 1 11/16 nut, a fatter neck and a wider string spacing at the trem I'd probably have one.

Also, as an inveterate modder, the fact that they don't use a standard Fender neck pocket is a further limiting factor

Dave_Mc

I've liked the ones I've tried. Bit narrow nut witdth for my liking, though on the current models.

monquixote

I think they are great, but the necks are too skinny for me. 

I have no concept of guitars being characterless. If you need a guitar to have character for you then you have bigger problems.

xmrchi

I dont think I agree about the character thing, with the higher end ones they have a good look, decent pickups and great playability, to me thats the basis to develop its character, if it had fender on the headstock, peoples "character radar" would go through the roof. At the moment the classics are the guitar to have if its a les paul or fender its in vogue, but anything else inc PRS, Fenandes, you name it , are all Characterless with no Mojo, the Guitar public cant seem to move on from the 50s and 60s. Dont get me wrong I fully understand why a I love my Vintages but you really cant beat a guitar like the one above. How Much character does a guitar have sitting in the corner? none its the player that gives it its voice.

ICBM

No, some guitars are just inherently more characterful than others.

Compare a PRS to a Rickenbacker for example.

I play both and have done for years (though the PRS should probably be past tense now) so I know it's not *just* about the player. The Rickenbacker simply sounds more interesting, while being less versatile.

To me the Pacifica (any of the models, even the more expensive ones - they're just high-quality versions) is a few points further in the same direction as the PRS. A good enough sound with nothing wrong with it, just nothing that inherently identifies it as a Yamaha or any particular type of guitar other than some sort of solid, depending on the pickup configuration.

I actually like the necks on the Pacificas, it's just the rest of them that do nothing for me.

monquixote

ICBM said:

No, some guitars are just inherently more characterful than others.

Compare a PRS to a Rickenbacker for example.

I play both and have done for years (though the PRS should probably be past tense now) so I know it's not *just* about the player. The Rickenbacker simply sounds more interesting, while being less versatile.

To me the Pacifica (any of the models, even the more expensive ones - they're just high-quality versions) is a few points further in the same direction as the PRS. A good enough sound with nothing wrong with it, just nothing that inherently identifies it as a Yamaha or any particular type of guitar other than some sort of solid, depending on the pickup configuration.

I have a PRS and a Gretsch which are the polar opposites of the mojo scale. 

Still don't get it. 

They are both just good guitars. 

Gagaryn

I was thinking about this the other day when I saw this - certainly sounds okay! 

https://youtu.be/4SYxSD-k3m0

sinbaadi

I've always fancied the 510v with the single Duncan pickup and the trem arm.  I was going to get a 311, but tried one back to back with the 611 and it was miles away.  Maybe it was just a poor 311.  Couldn't afford the 611 so left empty handed!

ab2014

I own the 611 Purple one and its signed by Pat Travers anyone interested in buying it from me? Offers?

xmrchi

Sorry @ICBM thats just opinion being given as fact, A PRS to the right person has bags of Character, I swapped a CS shop strat for a PRS, it has  more Character and tone Period because to me I have yet to find an application it cannot lend its hand to.. , it will also run rings around a Riccy in most environments, IMO a Riccky is a one trick pony a PRS can do it all, especially with the new generation pickups. 

If the rickenbacker was invented today without the history how would it compare then??

IMO its the guitar players mind which gives a guitar Character .

cbilly22

I use two high end Pacifica's as my main gigging guitars again now. Main one is a black 611 and the other is a 510v that I've messed around with and stuck a neck pickup in. Rock solid gig machines...can't remember either being out of tune. Get plenty of comments on the tone, particularly with the 611.
Got other guitars, Gibsons, MIJ Tokai, Fender, EVH but the Pacifica's just work for me and I never worry about em...they are getting nicely beaten up too

ICBM

mrchi said:

Sorry @ICBM thats just opinion being given as fact, A PRS to the right person has bags of Character, I swapped a CS shop strat for a PRS, it has  more Character and tone Period because to me I have yet to find an application it cannot lend its hand to.. , it will also run rings around a Riccy in most environments, IMO a Riccky is a one trick pony a PRS can do it all, especially with the new generation pickups. 

If the rickenbacker was invented today without the history how would it compare then??

IMO its the guitar players mind which gives a guitar Character .

Wellllll… no, you're wrong .

Yes, I did find my PRSs characterful. They all sounded slightly different from each other. But identifiably so, and as a PRS, in a mix? Probably not.

No, a Rickenbacker is absolutely not a one-trick pony. I use mine for the same range of music that I did with my PRS. OK, it doesn't have a trem, and it only has three settings not six which cover a narrower range of sounds than the PRS did, but it's a complete myth that Ricks are limited to particular types of music or playing style. Still, it always sounds much more interesting and usually identifiable as a Rickenbacker, unless buried with tons of distortion.

If a Rickenbacker was invented today it would be exactly the same guitar. I don't play the history.

It can't be the guitar player's mind which gives the character when it's the same guitar player and the Rick still sounds more characterful .

It's not an opinion being given as a fact either - it's something being said on an internet forum . If I meant it as a fact I would say *this is provable as a fact* or something like that…

As to the Pacifica, could you really hear one on a recording and say with any degree of accuracy *that sounds like a Pacifica*? No, because they don't have an inherent sound. They just sound like a guitar, of indeterminate make and type.

For what it's worth I would say the same about my Aria - you can tell it's a roughly Strat-like guitar, nothing more. It does not have any particular character of its own... I still like it.

xmrchi

I respect your opinion as you def know your onions, but I will still have to disagree  

dindude

This thread proves more than anything, judging by people's responses, that they really should make one with a grown up nut width.

Also, as you go up the range, it really is the same base guitar as the lowly one with better paint, pickups and hardware etc. Yamaha don't really taylor the neck shapes, wood etc to the vibe they are going for which is a (somewhat lazy) miss in my book.

Having said all that, I actually really like the look of them, hence I bought one, but I had to install added character by means of a Duncan distortion and a kill switch. Still not enough to get over the skinny nut and the worst acoustic sound of any electric I've owned though.

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/004_zps3c469056.jpg

cbilly22

ICBM;634548" said:

mrchi said:

Sorry @ICBM thats just opinion being given as fact, A PRS to the right person has bags of Character, I swapped a CS shop strat for a PRS, it has  more Character and tone Period because to me I have yet to find an application it cannot lend its hand to.. , it will also run rings around a Riccy in most environments, IMO a Riccky is a one trick pony a PRS can do it all, especially with the new generation pickups. 

If the rickenbacker was invented today without the history how would it compare then??

IMO its the guitar players mind which gives a guitar Character .





Wellllll… no, you're wrong .

Yes, I did find my PRSs characterful. They all sounded slightly different from each other. But identifiably so, and as a PRS, in a mix? Probably not.

No, a Rickenbacker is absolutely not a one-trick pony. I use mine for the same range of music that I did with my PRS. OK, it doesn't have a trem, and it only has three settings not six which cover a narrower range of sounds than the PRS did, but it's a complete myth that Ricks are limited to particular types of music or playing style. Still, it always sounds much more interesting and usually identifiable as a Rickenbacker, unless buried with tons of distortion.

If a Rickenbacker was invented today it would be exactly the same guitar. I don't play the history.

It can't be the guitar player's mind which gives the character when it's the same guitar player and the Rick still sounds more characterful .

It's not an opinion being given as a fact either - it's something being said on an internet forum . If I meant it as a fact I would say *this is provable as a fact* or something like that…

As to the Pacifica, could you really hear one on a recording and say with any degree of accuracy *that sounds like a Pacifica*? No, because they don't have an inherent sound. They just sound like a guitar, of indeterminate make and type.

For what it's worth I would say the same about my Aria - you can tell it's a roughly Strat-like guitar, nothing more. It does not have any particular character of its own... I still like it.

I kinda get where @ICBM is coming from. I love playing my Pacifica's but they don't sound like anything other than a super/rodded/modded stratalike. Now this is fine with me as I grew up listening to guys that played that type of guitar. But if you heard it live you wouldn't hear a strat, tele, les paul...whatever, you'd just hear a guitar.

Philly_Q

jd0272 said:

I'd love a higher end P, but the necks are just too small for me.

Pisses me right off frankly.

Agreed 100%.

I don't normally like "modern" guitar designs, but the Pacifica manages to be a bit superstratty without looking ludicrous in the hands of a more (ahem) mature player.  And they even make models with hardtail bridges and P-90s!

(I feel much the same about Ernie Ball/Music Man, incidentally.  More big necks please!)

  

stimpsonslostson

A mates 112 was my first experience of a "decent" electric guitar (I had a godawful Encore!)
I still have a soft spot for them. To me they're a bit like Honda cars- do exactly what's expected with a minimum of fuss, but they're unlikely to set your pulse racing on first sight. If you spend enough time with one & that reliability becomes a great asset. (For the record, I drive a Honda because of this reliability!)

That said, Soren Andersen seems to do a decent job with his:

blueskunk

Classic vibes just kill that price range if u arsk me.