Will Yamaha’s new Pacifica 612 HSS guitars reinvigorate the Pacifica series?
Will the two new HSS models mark a resurgence in its 30th year on the market?
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Yamaha has just announced that two new Pacifica 612 models are to be released in January 2021, namely the 612VIIFMX and 612VIIX. This release marks the 30th year of the Pacifica model, so it’s perhaps no surprise that these two guitars come with some quality hardware choices and stylish finishes.
Yamaha Pacifica 612
Yamaha’s new models are called the 612VIIFMX and 612VIIX. Both are at the higher end of the price scale for the Pacifica series, with some tasty hardware choices including Seymour Duncan pickups, Graph Tech TUSQ nuts and string trees, a set of Grover locking tuners and Wilkinson VS50 bridges. Both guitars have an HSS pickup configuration, featuring the Seymour Duncan TB-14 Custom 5 humbucker with push-pull coil splits and two SSL-1 single-coils. The pickups are wired via a five-way blade switch and a single Volume and Tone control.
Yamaha Pacifica 612VIIFMX · Source: Yamaha
612VIIFMX vs 612VIIX
The two models are differentiated by the finish options. The Pacifica 612VIIFMX comes with a flamed-maple veneer top with a Fire Red finish, whereas the Pacifica 612VIIX is available in Matte Silk Blue, Teal Green Metallic and a Yellow Natural Satin finish. Both versions have the same alder bodies with bolt-on maple necks and rosewood fretboards.
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- Pacifica 612VIIX Yellow Natural · Source: Yamaha
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- Pacifica 612VIIX · Source: Yamaha
Is the Pacifica still desirable?
The Pacifica model is generally a well-regarded model. And while both these guitars have great hardware specifications and finishes for their price range I wonder if they have enough flair to attract new buyers. The guitar world has changed a lot in 30 years and there are a lot of high-quality HSS ST-style guitars on the market these days. But although the competition will be stiff, I still like the Pacifica model a lot; all the ones I have played have been quality instruments overall.
RRP – USD 1050 each
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2 responses to “Will Yamaha’s new Pacifica 612 HSS guitars reinvigorate the Pacifica series?”
Offering an option or limited release for a bigger neck would be nice.
Is the Pacifica still desirable? Pretty sure it is, especially lower end models – they sell tons of them on reputation alone.
and they don’t even try or care too much – they just put out a yearly batch of new colors and that’s it for them in the Yamaha guitar department