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PSA: Yamaha Pacifica 904


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I have one of these. Top of the line for Pacificas. Comes with sheeit for pickups, but a qwik swap to SD A2's and a High Order Maximus and it is one of the great ones!! All those other guitars are moot, moot I say, after acquiring a 904.

Warmoth neck is sublime. Ash over Alder. Locking tuners. 4-way switch (a five way fits). Wicked sustain. Just very well done IMO.

Mine:

904 WCPG in Case.jpg

 

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Bang for the buck? I need a vibrato type guitar but the Strat types with the 3 control knobs buts that first volume control know too close to my big meaty hand. I have a G&L Legacy Deluxe but if just won't stay in tune.

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2 hours ago, JGale said:

I have one of these. Top of the line for Pacificas. Comes with sheeit for pickups, but a qwik swap to SD A2's and a High Order Maximus and it is one of the great ones!!

 

12 minutes ago, tomteriffic said:

As mentioned, there's nothing wrong with a Pacifica that a set of pickups won't fix.

I wonder why that is? Yamaha is usually pretty thorough about those details in their top-end guitars.

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It stays in tune pretty well, but then I no whammy and it's tight to the face. I had tuning problems with the 512, til I got a boner nut, decent bridge and locking tuners. Nut sauce is your friend.

The pups in mine were all single coils arranged HSS but with 4-way switching? It could have been a swap-in from a lessthanscrupulous owner sometime in the past. Fully lined with copper tape, it has become my favorite, even over the little 312 which now has a noticeably smallish neck in comparison. My God Warmoth. What a neck.

I just recently got it all assembled. Death to all pickup switching inventors. Is it supposed to be so hard to figure this stuff out? Of course there remains the subtle but distinct probability that I am an idiot.

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This is a completely different animal. It has the Ibanez profile skinny neck and all. A solid metal plate joins the neck and body together. HSH and a Floyd!

Pacifica 921

This model is closer to the 904 in terms of specs. Has decent pickups and bridge and it's newer.

Yamaha Pacifica 612 VIIFM 2017 Dark blue

Here it is $Tree-fiddy! Yamaha Pacifica 521, Duncan P-Rails

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I have never had much luck with floating trems, but I do like the sound of a vibrato with vintage springs in a stratty situations.

The 812V has a Yamaha 2-point floater with proprietary Yamaha saddles that add an un-mistakeable metallic ringing to notes. It is also on 58mm posts!!11lll.

Two solutions present themselves in aftermarket.

https://kg-guitars.gr/product/kluson-tv11c-tremolo-for-us-standard-strat-chrome/

58mm post spacing, 52.5mm string spacing. I have one of these, it is yours if you can use it.

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Righty BladeRunner Kit Two-Post Mount

Adjustable width accommodating up to 58.2mm post width and adjustable centering, and a 53.2mm string spacing!!

One of these will arrive here in the next few days. I will let you know. I talked to the shop owner. He has rescued several Pacifica 812vs over the years. I got the magnetic OMMMMM (centering) tremlock to go with it.

new_2_post_1.png

 

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My 312 has a pool rout.

No experience with 412.

512, 712, 912 have HSH rout as the body is common denominator for 510 (Esquire), 512 (HSH/HSS), 521 (HSH, Floyd). Although jury is still out on 510. If it has a pool or HSH rout it is a tremendous deal ($$). New pickguard and you there.

612, 812, 904 are HSH rout.

Note:

There are two distinct styles, 512/712 is all Alder with a metal plate neck/body connection, wide skinny Ibanez-ish neck.

912's are solid Ash, no veneer. Same body as 512/712.

812 is Alder with either a Flame Maple veneer or an Ash veneer. Neck is like a standard Fender C-shape, 1-5/8" nut.

904 is two piece Alder back one piece Ash top. Wicked Warmoth variable radius neck, C shaped.

Not the lightest axes in existence.

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In the past they have. It's not something they do now.

I can't locate the whole story in a quick search but my understanding was this was a one shot collaboration for a year of two with some guy who was active in the design and marketing of Ibanez models at the time. I recollect that the cool thing to do in those days was to take on California based designers to turn American heads and increase sales. Like foreign car manufacturers having a "design studio" in California.

Hipsters.

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On 12/3/2020 at 1:34 PM, JGale said:

I have never had much luck with floating trems, but I do like the sound of a vibrato with vintage springs in a stratty situations.

The 812V has a Yamaha 2-point floater with proprietary Yamaha saddles that add an un-mistakeable metallic ringing to notes. It is also on 58mm posts!!11lll.

Two solutions present themselves in aftermarket.

https://kg-guitars.gr/product/kluson-tv11c-tremolo-for-us-standard-strat-chrome/

58mm post spacing, 52.5mm string spacing. I have one of these, it is yours if you can use it.

spacer.png<--your a click track

Righty BladeRunner Kit Two-Post Mount

Adjustable width accommodating up to 58.2mm post width and adjustable centering, and a 53.2mm string spacing!!

One of these will arrive here in the next few days. I will let you know. I talked to the shop owner. He has rescued several Pacifica 812vs over the years. I got the magnetic OMMMMM (centering) tremlock to go with it.

new_2_post_1.png

 

Gracious offering. I almost pulled the trigger on this one but picked up a Mirage I instead. Most likely I made the wrong move but we'll see.

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1 hour ago, rugby1970 said:

Gracious offering. I almost pulled the trigger on this one but picked up a Mirage I instead. Most likely I made the wrong move but we'll see.

The Mirage I was the RIGHT MOVE!!!

Which one did you end up getting?

If you don’t end up liking the VSV trem, I *HIGHLY* recommend the Mannmade vintage trem. Installed one in my Mirage II and has a much smoother feel. Will be getting one for my Mirage I once I get around to it. 

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29 minutes ago, Pieman said:

What is the marking at the end of the neck near the neck pick up?

It appears to be a plastic tag reading ‘YAMAHA’ that’s partly worn off. The tag possibly covers an end of fingerboard truss rod adjustment access point. 

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On 12/5/2020 at 5:33 PM, Travis said:

The Mirage I was the RIGHT MOVE!!!

Which one did you end up getting?

If you don’t end up liking the VSV trem, I *HIGHLY* recommend the Mannmade vintage trem. Installed one in my Mirage II and has a much smoother feel. Will be getting one for my Mirage I once I get around to it. 

This one:

https://reverb.com/item/37448482-1995-hamer-usa-mirage-1-electric-guitar-w-case-natural-finish-koa-top-seymour-duncan-pickups

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