The non conventional recording mics and preamps that people don’t know about. Everyone knows about the sm57 but show your viewers other mics and ideas for recording.
I totally agree...... but I play Fender/Martin Guitars, Kawai Pianos, and I ride Honda motorcycles...... I have owned Yamaha in all three, but in all three they lack some kind of appeal. Like the cute girl next door who has a crush on you, but you just can't feel anything for her. She stays in the friendzone.
I've always been kind of skeptical of Yamaha because I *like* most everything they make! Stereo, Piano, Keyboards, their little lunchbox amps and even their motorcycles; I won't hesitate to buy their stuff.
@@18hot30 It's just a too good to be true feeling. For ANY manufacturer it is unexpected for so many products to be high quality at an affordable price. However, it seems to simply boil down to company philosophies and culture.
My first guitar was a Yamaha 1972 FG-160 acoustic guitar. My mom bought it for me new to learn how to play. My parents friends all played and they played Martins. Obviously she wasn’t going to buy me a Martin for a first guitar and we couldn’t afford it anyway but they called it a poor man’s Martin. I still have that guitar and it still sounds great. It’s one of the most resonant acoustic guitars I have including my Martins that I now own. I will never get rid of that guitar. I’m also never ashamed to pull that guitar out and play it. Thanks Yamaha for making me a great guitar and starting my guitar journey. I’m now almost 64 and am still on that journey!
for the cheaper end....guitar/bass/keyboards....they can't be beat.... I've still got a 5 string yamaha bass and a semi acoustic guitar from years ago....
I bought my young son a Yamaha Pacifica as his first guitar, being impressed by its quality over other student models. He has since developed into a lifetime guitar player.
It's amazing how significant a guitar's brand and image is. People pay many thousands to own a Les Paul even though an equivalent or even better guitar can be bought for a fraction of the price.
As a guitar luthier that has worked on MANY guitars, I can attest that Yamaha makes quality guitars. A Les Paul or U.S. made Strat, for example, is an investment that will likely hold or increase in value over time if it is cared for - that isn't so much the case with Yamahas. And I have pulled brand new Gibsons, Fenders and Yamahas (among others) from the case directly from the distributor and discovered that they often need some work to bring them into optimal playability; and strangely, it is often the Gibson and Fender that needs adjustment, where Yamaha seems to do a little better.
And acoustics. When I was learning I went in to buy a Martin. The store showed me that a Seagull would suit my learning path just as well and at 25% of the price at the time. Skeptical but I went with it. 17 years and a lot of playing the Seagull guitar is really a keeper.
@@calmnsenseNot disagreeing or making fun of you, but it is kind of ridiculous that everything has to be an "investment" nowadays. Even something as primal and simple as an instrument is a speculative asset where they're bough and sold to make buck off the name recognition. There are definitely way dumber things that guitarists care about (tonewood), but resale value irks me
I have a Yamaha dreadnaught acoustic as well. Amazing guitar for less than $200, it had a similar tone to the Taylor in the showroom with it (obviously the Taylor was a bit better, but was it $700 better? Probably not.)
I think they feel like they have no personality. Like, really good product, but you know when you want a Fender strat, or Ibanez instead of Yamaha guitars.
I bought a SG Yamaha guitar in 1976 in Japan when I was a teenager living on an Army base near Tokyo for about $120.00. It was in the clearance section and I worked my part time job for $1.60 an hour and was able to buy it. 20 guitars and 47 years later it still is one of the best I have.
Yamaha were making pianos (1900) and guitars (1940s) before they made bikes (1955). There's a reason the Yamaha logo is three tuning forks. They make great affordable instruments and good cheap instruments. They're also not afraid to innovate, however poor marketing means they often fall a bit flat. It's like they are too busy taking themselves too seriously to try to look cool.
Yamaha also make some pretty fine brass instruments too, my dear old dad treated himself to a new concert-grade Yamaha trumpet aboy 4 years before he died, kept saying he wished he had got one 30 years sooner.
I think their pianos are pretty popular, my friend has two a baby grand and an upright. The guitars are great I have the first edition Revstar 320 still original I wouldn't change a thing on it.
As a full time luthier with over 30 years in the biz, build quality is top shelf with these guitars! They deserve to be the hottest in that price point!
The problem is they had an opportunity for good, better, best with the 3 elements / standard / professional guitars in this range but it's not at all obvious why the professional is best or, indeed, why it's better in any way compared with the standard. Look on youtube or read forums and no one can give you an answer - and yamaha certainly haven't given an answer. They talk about this I.R.A thing perhaps some extra carbon in the body and a hard case. The consensus seems to be that it's just that Japanese workers get paid more - well you've killed your brand if your potential customers aren't aware why your most expensive product is better. At which point if you haven't created a more expensive guitar that people desire that kids wish they could afford you haven't elevated the standard to being a cheaper or value version of it. As such they end up like Cort, making guitars that are "good value for the money" but that's doomed creating a brand that people want to own and desire. That destroys their resale value and also means retailers can't sell at MRRP either. So you have discount the top level and that makes that guitar look cheap compared with the competition too. But looking cheap isn't the idea with the top tier. They're supposed to be overpriced to give the sense of being a luxury desirable item over and above the mass produced stuff (or, even if it is mass produced that you've still had some highly skilled staff checking it afterwards etc etc) Other than that I'd say this guitar is struggling for an identity. It seems the professional models in peach guitars no longer have the weird back piece behind the bridge which is a plus because to my mind, along with the tuners these things just makes the guitar look old fashioned and dated. When I see an old fashioned guitar I expect (from experience) it to be less playable than a modern guitar. Because pretty much everything vai and EVH did to develop guitars was to make them more playable. Now if you observe that Matteo Mancuso plays several of these guitars it's probably not true that they're unplayable or not as playable at all. But it's hard to shake the feeling from the appearance of the guitar. It doesn't look like a guitar that would be nice to play especially if you wanted to play fast runs. I can't help thinking the way the guitar looks puts off a lot of people from even picking it up or considering it when they pick a guitar. Similarly, SS frets etc are great - especially at the standard price point. But it doesn't appear to have locking tuners? And there's no model with a trem either. So what the customer for this guitar? What style of music are they playing? I don't see it has a good identity. Except, as I say, an old fashioned vibe. At best I can say, if I didn't mind losing the trem it would save me £500 from buying a prestige AZ - but as I say above being cheaper than the guitar a lot of youtubers are playing and raving about that has a plethora of custom signature versions in the hands of popular artists doesn't create a good brand does it? It just makes you look like a cheap brand alongside the others. To some extent you could argue that Ibanez AZ is just a cheap Suhr - but Ibanez have manipulated the market to make it seem that the Ibanez prestige AZ is a brilliant modern boutique stule guitar with their artists who are playing thousands of notes on them (many of whom abandoned Suhr at least publicly to play one) - Cort don't have anyone playing the guitars well and Yamaha have one guy but I do wonder for how long because no one else is using a yamaha guitar and a line 6 helix - so i suspect Matteo will switch to something that's more expensive. So, it's tempting to think that this is like the Cort G300 (and, the standard at least, probably made there?) it's a high spec, reasonably well finished guitar for £65 - but that's all - because they've failed, imo, to make the flagship £1600 version attractive or desirable. They've failed to even give any hint what the professional has the cheaper one doesn't. And again, it's £1600 everywhere (MRRP is over £2k) when typical prestige guitars from Ibanez that come in a hard case etc are £2k+ - so again yamaha have gone for being "cheap or value" even with the flagship - and perhaps they're forced to do that because they don't manage to create in the mind of reviewers and purchasers a reason to buy the £1600 version and retailers can't sell them at over £2k. If they did that then they could create a brand that wasn't just "value for money" - because most expensive guitars are not value for money but people still desire them and they often make the decision about a cheaper guitar based on their desires (even if those are bad decisions) And TBH it's the same with their pianos. Most people get a yamaha upright because it's great value for money - but they don't desire a yamaha grand they really want a Steinway. No matter how much anyone wants to talk about a yamaha grand - it's not a Steinway is it? Thus they are doomed to be the cheap or value for money piano makers too.
@@michael1all of this just boils down to a critique of their marketing primarily, right? Like, there's little in your comment about the actual quality of the guitars, or why you might not want to own one. (Outside of resale value and lack of trem, or I guess the embarrassment of being seen with one of the guitars?) I'm assuming the marketing angle is the point of your comment. I just wanted to check whether or not you meant to talk down on the product on account of their marketing strategy and lack of "perceived desirability."
@@calliopeshif7581 Well that's pretty much the only thing that sells guitars. The problem that you can't tell what the difference with the standard and professional is a thing - I mean it's been the subject of numerous forums posts, youtube videos etc. Most people come at it from 2 angles - they either decide the standard is really good value for money or they're more like me and thinking "Well, what's the deal with the professional? What would I be getting for 2.5x the money?" - and I'd argue the latter is going to put many people off buying it and instead they'll go to a brand where it's more obvious what you're getting for your money. I think they've made a big mistake not putting locking tuners on at least the professional model and you could argue that it's too cheap (although prices have risen), i.e if practically every other brand sells their top tier guitar for £2k-£3k then why is yours only £1600? Remembering that people buying your top tier guitar aren't looking for a bargain - that's what the standard is for. The bottom line is perception and I get the idea that a lot of people think that yamaha is a great guitar for the money at the lower price points and it's a much safer bet getting a standard than some of the other brands models that are built in indonesia or similar places, but they're more attracted to other brands at the higher price points - but the lack of people visibly playing your top guitar is going to hurt the lower tiers to some extent. It's like there are probably a lot of ibanez premium guitars sold to people who are watching youtubers playing prestige or signature AZ models right? Well Yamaha do have a couple of good guitarists playing revstar but not as many - and one of them has a guitar that makes more sense as the professional model (i.e he's changed all of the hardware, including locking tuners and used different pickups - well you know that's why Matteo Mancuso's tone sounds so good - it kills off the idea of me buying a professional revstar with humbuckers - because then I have to put locking tuners on and change the pickups - they should be doing that not me. In the case Chris Buck it's not so obvious what, if anything, he's changed, I think he may be using the stock p90 pickups so that's probably a win, because he has a great tone and puts out a lot of videos of him playing it - at which point the problem for me is a pragmatic one - the guitar store I would buy one from (a) Doesn't have any standard models and (b) Doesn't have any professional models with the p90 option - so I could find a different store, but again their marketing / retail strategy sucks - how does a guitar store end up with 6 humbucker models and no p90 models and only professional or element models? It could be that the p90 versions sell out. It could be that the guitar shop made a mistake, but unfortunately for yamaha it means I'm sat here thinking "I'll buy something else" - because I don't want my choice limited by someone else - albeit, as I say, I've really heard no good reason why I should get the professional either - and it's no longer easy in the UK to pickup a guitar before buying it. If it were obvious if you went to a store that stocked both and played both, fair enough, but from everything I've seen it isn't. So what's the point in having the expensive model?
@@michael1 i think yamaha doesnt rely on there guitar market for revenue and basically all desirable guitar brands only make guitar's nothing else so they dont spend much time on marketing and getting there name out there in the guitar market. they make way more money off there motorized vehicles.
When I was growing up I played a Dean Bass and was going to get into 5 string and was looking at Yamaha. I ended up getting a Traben and always regretted not getting the Yamaha. They just seem well made.
I've got an old BB300 and absolutely love it. I've done a video talking about it as well... I basically call it a really inexpensive (semi-vintage) P-bass.
While I’m studio qualified to play bass, I wouldn’t call myself a full time bass player. I always had a soft spot for the Fender bass, but one day I played a friends Gibson RD Artist bass at a studio and I was smitten.
Back in 1975, Yamaha directly approached Carlos Santana and gave him a specially built, double cutaway, SG-175 guitar with a Buddha inlay on the top. For one reason or another, he was not entirely happy with it, so they developed the Yamaha SG-2000 together, which he played up to 1982 before moving over to PRS guitars. You can hear the Yamaha SG-2000 on Moonflower (1977)-one of his best albums ever-which has songs like: “She’s Not There”, “Dance Sister Dance (Baila Mi Hermana)”, “Let the Children Play/Jugando” and “Europa”.
Yamaha guitars are criminally underrated. They provide high quality with great value. I have a Pacific electric and a AC5R acoustic, and love them both. They are fantastic guitars!
@@kippsguitar6539 You are 100% correct. When I went shopping for an acoustic, the Yamaha played and sounded better than all the other brands in that price range. You get a ton of guitar for the money. The Yamaha guitars punch well above their weight in sound and playability.
@@dewardroy6531 Yes. The AC5R is a great acoustic. I compared it to some Taylors and Takamines before I bought it, and it outplayed all of them. You get a ton of bang for the buck with Yamaha.
What’s weird is that I think the lower end Pacificas are unironically better than the higher end ones. Fretwork isn’t perfect, but it’s not great on the 600s either.
I agree. I started on a yamaha trbx204 about 5 years ago and the build quality absolitely eclipses anything else around the price. I started playing guitar last year and picked up a revstar and it is just an incredible instrument
Me three! Over 25 years of guitar playing, I bought my first bass guitar back in January: a cherry red Yamaha TRBX304 that i LOVE ! I decided on a Yamaha after having purchased a Yamaha trumpet & a used Yamaha Saxophone. Very impressed with the quality of their instruments at very affordable prices.
Same. I started playing bass with an RBX260. It was lighter and sounded better than similarly priced Squires and was easy to upgrade and looked more “expensive.” Yamaha just doesn’t market well.
man the BB2000, bb3000 and the TRB6P from the 80s-90s are some legendary bass, way better than fender in everyway possible. even those less known ibanez from the 80s, the musician serie were awesome. they had that alembic feel and aesthetic.
I also have one of this. However, the new acoustic Yamahas don't sound the same. They've been using bad wood for a few years now, and they don't sound like the Yamaha acoustics of 20 years ago.
Hi there, interesting topic indeed. Just a comment for younger guys : long ago, Carlos Santana stoped playing Gibson guitars (Les Paul Standard, Les Paul Custom and SG) and started to play Yamaha SG 2000. Only in the beginning of 80s, he migrated to Paul Reed Smith, and plays it until present day. The tone of Carlos Santana’s Yamaha SG 2000 guitar can be heard on a number of landmark recordings, one of the most notable being 1977’s Moonflower. From that record came the studio version of “She’s Not There,” along with live versions of “Dance Sister Dance (Baila Mi Hermana),” “Let the Children Play / Jugando,” and “Europa,” all of which blew away the previously released studio versions. Some of Santana’s straight-ahead rock hits, like “Open Invitation” and “All I Ever Wanted” were also recorded on the SG2000. Greetings from Germany.
Wow - your comment is "dead on" for me - long story short, Moonflower tone is pretty much WHY I bought a Yamaha SG2000. 45 years later - it's still a magical guitar.
I associate Yamaha with Santana's early recordings and I prefer the sound to the PRS. The PRS is a great guitar, but it makes it too easy for the player to get a certain great tone and just stay within those bounds. The Yamaha was more versatile and expressive, allowing for playing more like Peter Green, who would change the tone and dynamics for each phrase, sometimes each note in a phrase.
Moonflower changed my life and entire musical direction; it still excites me and was Santana’s pinnacle in my mind. As distinctive a voice on guitar as Beck, Hendrix, EVH…instantly recognizable. I was 17 when the album came out, and was fortunate enough to have a high school jazz band director who allowed the rhythm section to play Europa as a feature number….been feedback surfing ever since!
I still have my lawsuit SBG 2200 Yamaha SG with those Spinex pickups. Inspired by Carlos. I also have a Gibson L6-S played by Santana and Prince. This Revstar is pretty damn good, but I have a P90 LP 60's Tribute.
A friend of mine asked me to go with her to pick out an acoustic guitar. After playing a few in her price range (beginner), the Yamaha at the store stood out to me as a cut above the others. When I visit her place and play it, I am still impressed with how good it sounds, looks, and feels for the price she paid.
I did the same thing when I went to pick one for my stepson. Played every guitar in its price range and above and the Yammie was best. This was the FG820. A $300 guitar, I will pick it over any guitar twice the price.
Matteo Mancuso is an amazing player who plays Yamahas. I have a Revstar RS820 and they are criminally underrated, absolutely amazing guitar for the price.
I've had a Pacifica 612 for the past 12 months and it's criminally underrated. So versatile, excellent build quality and a joy to play. Superb value for the money.
@@Eliakim.H I just wish they made a higher end model for the Pacificas. would love a MIJ Pacifica. they also used to make a T style pacifica but now they only have the Mike Stern model
they are cool guitars but there is something about them i dont love , I had 2 of them and i got the second one as a replacement because the wiring in the first one was all messed up , When i recieved the second one i had the same issue which i know isnt a big deal but u dont pay 1.3 k (cad ) for a guitar that needs to be opened up and fixed, they sound great and a big selling point for me was honestly the p90s with the stainless steel frets but it just was not my vibe unfortunately
Chris' guitar is a Japanese-built custom shop one-off, with Radioshop pickups that literally no one else can get. The Indonesian ones are not at all the same quality.
Best bang for the buck... well said. Yamaha means quality. Just bought a RevStar Standard like the one in your video, and I am shocked how good it is considering its price point. Even brought to a gig to be the back up for my much more expensive main guitar, and ended up playing 3 songs with it. It sounded great and it looked amazing in the pics haha. Nice video, Rhett.
I recently bought a fairly low priced Yamaha acoustic after comparing it to higher priced guitars. The sound really stood out. Yamaha is definitely worth checking out.
my kids 3/4 size classical sounds great and looks as good as anything at the store that cost 6 times as much. the fret board is dyed and rubs off but you can't beat it for the price for learning
Every Yamaha guitar I ever had from cheap to pricey, ALL had AMAZING fret work!. They NEVER had buzzing frets and always played well all the way down the neck. I still regret selling my Yamaha Compass acoustic to this day.
had a bass from them, it was set perfectly, i think the price comes from sacrificing looks, advertisement, and sometimes material, and focusing on pure build quality.
I decided to upgrade my bass. I went to a local guitar center and played every bass on the wall. Hands down, I liked the feel of the Yamaha the most. I was shocked. I had never even though of getting a Yamaha, but im glad I did. It’s a truly solid instrument that has a great tone and feel.
Funny... During the video I thought of all the e-bass guitars I played and how Yamahas always felt uncompfortably clunky. From the body shape to weight and fretboard feel.. I just never got used to the instruments. In my opinion Ibanez is the universal weapon of choice, no matter what music you play. Just love the sleak designs, tonal variety and superb playability, even in the lower price regions. But as with most things in life, it comes down to personal preference. It's kind of weird to me, too because I like most other stuff Yamaha makes, especially in the music/audio sector.
Love my Yamaha bass, had it for over 30 years. Yamaha basses have a unique sound, IMHO for a passive bass, it is very versatile. Most of the studio work I have done, the musicians bringing me in were impressed by the sound too. They do sound different, but in a unique and solid way
I'll chime in - a year after this was posted. You're spot on with your take on Yamaha's marketing, as well as, in my opinion, aesthetics. In my opinion, Fender is killing it right now because almost every electric put out by Fender/Squier just drips "cool" and/or "classic." Everybody wants to be seen playing one. And we all know the sound of a strat, tele, jaguar, jazzmaster because those guitars have been foundational to the sound of many popular genres since the 60's. Aesthetically, I think Yamaha would benefit from softer/rounder edges on their electrics (I don't love the pointy edges of the Revstar or Pacificas) and making more than one original design since the Revstar is the only current offering that isn't a Fender inspired design as far as I can see and the Pacificas (the Tele Pacifica especially) look like an uncanny valley version of a Fender - I know what it's trying to be but it just feels "off" to me. I think if they went full-bore into creating some new models and shapes, even if they're not specifically catered to my personal "softer/rounder edges" tastes, they could easily start smoking the lower-tier electric market. If Yamaha made an electric that's fun, exciting and cool to hold in my hands (maybe even taking inspiration from the old Teiscos with lots of pickups, knobs, buttons, etc) and only costs $500, I'd totally play one because I know it's going to be miles better than anything else in it's price range because that's just what Yamaha stands for. I say all this as someone who isn't inspired by the look of their electrics but is chomping at the bit to get a Yamaha acoustic and one of their vintage studio rack reverbs. Much love to Yamaha for being consistently great at what they do, would love to see some new electrics from their corner of the market.
I once saw some old footage of a British live music show from the Eighties. EVERYBODY played an SG2000 from Yamaha. Probably because the Gibson Les Pauls of that period sucked? Even Carlos Santana had one...
Chris Buck singlehandedly put this guitar on the map for me, and I'm shocked it isn't bigger considering how great he makes it sound. I passed it up for the Rivolta Combinata, which is an absolute beast, as shown many times on this channel.
I’ve been wanting one of these since I played one in a local Music Store. My first decent guitar was a Yamaha Pacifica that was $150 brand new and honestly, it still plays very good after 20 years. The fit and finish on it is still better than a few of my more expensive guitars.
I bought my son a used Pacifica, and it's the bee's knees. I play a Yamaha bass, and own an older Yamaha synth (CS1x), and I have nothing but praise for their consistently high quality.
When, a lot of years back, i got my Pacifica 612 with Seymor Duncans, Wilkinson Tremoo and spertzel locking tuners, i really got into it. That guitar changed my musical life.
@@cleanclouds I mean he did it later, since it was the first word of his sentence, I'm almost 100% sure autocorrect presumed they wanted to start with "They're" instead.
Their first business was musical instruments (in the 19th century). It's why the logo has tuning forks in it. Their hand made acoustic guitars are excellent. I have one and am very happy with it.
I'd like to see more videos like this. I would assume the majority of your subscribers are just average people who just happen to love guitars. The guitars and the gear that cost thousands of dollars are cool and I loved your Les Paul video with Tim Pierce in particular, I like when you do videos on gear like this that is attainable to average viewers since you tend to be pretty honest with your opinions and that's helpful.
You said Sweetwater is help. Jeff Bohan was super helpful when we talked about what I needed after talking about old KRS and K recs. I was set on getting a Jaguar because I had a 62 reissue from around 2005 sold it and always missed it. He pointed out the 60th anniversary Jaguar. They released a strange looking black version. I’m curious if I should have got it. I got the mystic placid blue one. I ❤ love her. She’s stacked ! The only thing I would change would be the saddles to mustang/staytrem style. I believe that they don’t sell this model anymore but I would love to hear your feedback on the black version and the traditional model. That Yamaha was much nicer than my Epiphone sg. Love the Yamaha though really warm pickups and crunchy. Thanks for doing what you do
I have a PAC120H that cost me $300 and I love that thing to death. And with a good signal chain and in the hands of a good player (read: not me) I'd put it up against anything.
Yup, got one, too, and it blows my expensive Ibanez and cheap Epi SG out of the water. And the quality of my ol Motif, my Yamaha digital piano, my fretless, western and Steinberg stuff... Yamaha really make it easy to become a fanboi.
The Pacifica I had was a great guitar with super tone. The RGXA2 looks a bit strange but had awesome sound and weighed in around 2.5k, extremely light.
My friend , who is a GIT grad, and an amazing guitar player, swears by his Pacifica. He has all the expensive Les Paul's, and Ibanez guitars. But always goes back to that 500 dollar Pacifica. Yamaha just makes good stuff
I have one too. It's such a nice guitar, looks nice, plays nice, the components feel seriously good quality, but I'm no good at playing it - I actually play better on this cheap generic large music shop brand guitar, which is a real shame because I have a deep love for my Yamaha products
You've hit the nail on the head. I've owned and played Yamaha's almost exclusively for my entire career and absolutely love them & would pick them above other well-known branded guitars that cost many times more. Disregarding the other product divisions and looking at Musical Instruments (MI) their guitars have always suffered from lousy marketing & branding. They have such a market dominance in the piano, drums, orchestra & marching band segments that they somehow don't seem to mind to let their guitar & bass products languish in obscurity. Their artist relations are terrible & next to non-existent and in today's world if your brand is not connecting with younger players & audiences you are just setting things up for failure.
It's not often that quirky meets quality but I think it does in Yamaha. For any guitarist that doesn't need a Gibson/Fender/Martin etc. brand on the headstock to prop up their ego, I'd definitely go Yamaha or possibly Godin. I'd sell my Martin Custom-Shop HD28 before I'd part with my Yamaha SLG.
They have Matteo Mancuso and Chris Buck, and even still I don't see much marketing going on for them. Matteo being a once in a generation talent imo, you would think Yamaha would be trying to put him everywhere.
What you said about Yamaha prioritizing their piano/orchestral instruments is spot-on. I've been to a few different Yamaha Music stores in Japan, and while their other instruments are heavily represented, they give little (or even zero) floor space to their guitars. What guitars they have seem to usually be their entry-level acoustics.
Hi Rhett, ran across this video and thought I’d share my 2 cents… Basically, I bought a Japan made Revstar. Changed out pots, cap and pickups to PAF’s. This guitar has easily become my number 1. The neck on this guitar is hands down one of the best (factory run guitar) guitars in my arsenal… Note- the Indonesian made Revstars are amazing as well! I’m so glad I stopped getting hung-up on brand names many years ago… 🤠 Thank you for the awesome videos!!
Yamaha SG2000 is one of the finest guitars out there Matches up against LP's very well. Bill Nelson of Bee Bop Deluxe played one in his Live in The Air Age Tour. Fantastic sound!
The SG2000 blew Gibson Les Pauls away with the quality. I bought a rather beat up (well only the headstock was chipped & a small section glued back on but not a headstock break as per Gibson) Made in Japan Super Fighter Yamaha (late 1970's model) in the early 1990's which is somewhat similar but not quite the same shape or "quality" of the SG2000. Slab mahogany body, bolt on neck but even that you can tell it was a quality product & would be better than anything Gibson was putting out at that time (and probably even today).
I cannot rate these guitars highly enough! I've been a Yamaha player for years now, and treated myself a few months ago to this exact same model to scratch the P90 itch (at a discounted price too, for some reason the 'Hot Merlot' colour wasn't too popular, I think it's awesome, especially in person). What I wasn't expecting was it to so quickly become my main workhorse/go-to axe; the thing always, always sounds good. Those P90's are so creamy, and a lot more versatile than I thought, and are just killer with the 5 way switch too. The stainless frets continue to blow my mind, and make playing it a highly rewarding experience - seriously, you'll want those frets on all your guitars after trying it aha! Even the unconventional stringing method has become something I find really handy; string changes are quick, if a little fiddly, and there's no trying to route the string through the back (a very minor faff, but still). It's served me through plenty of long gigs without any issue, and I would happily recommend this beast of a guitar to any player, as with pretty much anything Yamaha \m/
I'm a huge Chris Buck fan and, because of that, would love to see his goldtop Revstar with P90's and the hardtail bridge as part of standard Revstar line. Also, Yamaha makes superb audio-video home receivers... they were one of the first, if not the first, to measure and model real acoustic spaces (such as The Bottom Line) and incorporate them digitally into their receivers.
I purchased one 5 years ago to take on tour. I didn’t want to beat up any of my existing gear and wanted something that was inexpensive and dependable. Boy was I blown away. It is one of my favorite guitars. I recently purchased Chris’s signature model as well. ❤❤❤
Modesty is a japanese trademark. Doesn't surprise me that they don't go all-out on marketing despite the amazing craftsmanship. Next time i step into a music shop I go looking for that revstar.
modesty? are you kidding me? they want to sell as much as they can. reality is their guitars are really good not great and their big $ is in high volume mid priced gear.
@@ltcuaawell it's humility. based on Indonesian virtues. even if you are the best guitar, don't show it. show the player that by using the guitar they can shine, feel better, and acknowledged. not shining the guitar alone.
Nothing to do with modesty. Been in Japan for over a decade, have friends in companies like ESP, has everything to do with culture of change for the sake of appearing to be doing something, aging top of companies paired with senpai/kohai culture that does not allow open questioning of bad choices. Like with friends at ESP knowing standard line being rebranded to EII was counter productive but knowing if they question it that it will mark them in bad light I am 100% sure there are Yamaha employees who felt same with late 90s shift to pacifica branding and shift to image of starter student guitars but just have to agree with the top or even face inner sabotage if they bring up wanting to go back as that sabotage would reinforce inner politics, see weird stuff like that in Japan often. So not humility but the opposite ego and pride in corporate hierarchy stuff that leads to stagnation.
@@XAVAKOFFICIAL you're talking about two different things here. Because Yamaha does indeed now have a great pro and mid tier guitar now, and you are talking about when they went to the student branding. The fact is, the Revstar and Pacifica brand changes over the past 8 years shows a company that is definitely aware of the shortcomings of their guitar brand and have moved to change it by improving quality, concentrating on high quality for lower price and creating a simplified yet clearly delineated model range. It's the EXACT OPPOSITE of what you are arguing. And I have also lived in Japan for over a decade and the kohei/senpai thing isn't universal, and it isn't always to the detriment of the company - you're making a lot of assumptions here.
@@zoeherriot buddy literally works at Yamaha and agrees with lots of my sentiments and my band uses the yamaha school coupled studios for rehearsals (and they do bad job on upkeep tbh)👍 even staff there who worked at main hamamatsu office agreed with me on lots of their past and current bad decisions but everyone has a line on what they think is good and bad. 😌🤌でもね、どう考えてもイメージが弱くなったぞぉ😌クオリティーの話じゃなくてブランディングの問題っしょw
It's not hat guitar players don't play Yamaha, it's that guitar players in North America don't play Yamaha. They're much more prominent across the globe outside of NA.
As a longtime Fender Strat player, I’ll admit that I wasn’t familiar with the Yamaha brand until recently. I just happen to play a RevStar Standard w/P90’s at my local shop and was blown away. I mean the quality, feel and sound were there. My first thought was, “Why haven’t I heard of this guitar”. Now I own two, both Standard models that are currently out. I’ve actually sold off some of my more expensive gear because these are just that good. To your point though, I agree that Yamaha hasn’t really pushed these into players hands and they lack on the social media platforms. Either way, I’m happy I found them and stand by the brand and these guitars.
I agree with a lot of your Yamaha points. As a guy that worked in a music store it was so clear that Yamaha’s were the best or close to at any price point you looked at. They clearly know how to make a good product, just look at how they completely revived and smashed it with Line 6. I just think they’d have been better off making a new brand under the Yamaha umbrella that focused on guitar. Rather than guitarists having that thought of “an external company making a guitar.” We’re very gatekeepy/old school like that.
Agreed. Also, no real endorsements from Players/Artists and no real history. Epiphone and Squier (as mentioned by Rhett) both have significant endorsements and history. I agree with you in that Yamaha should release guitars under a different/new company.
You are just thinking of American and British guitarists. Lots of Japanese guitarists have made careers on Yamahas amd there are tons of artist’s models. Ryuichi Sakamoto comes immediately,to mind. Also ever heard of a Mexican cat named Carlos Santana, or his British guitar buddy John McLaughlin? Yeah, no.
@@claesvanoldenphatt9972 True, and really good points. However, the Japanese market is small by comparison. As for McLaughlin and Santana, all of my guitar playing friends have heard of them, however I'm 62 years old now and my friends older. TBH, I can't understand how young people think or what they prefer (and I think that is a good thing 😉)
These videos pop up once in awhile and everyone is effusive about how good Yamaha is but the reality on the ground is this - music shops that stock Yamaha gear are unable to sell them unless it’s heavily discounted. I used to work in the industry as a product manager. Yamaha simply doesn’t move like other brands do. One striking instance I recall was when we organised a Yamaha brand and experience event. We got in a bunch of professional musicians to demo the Yamaha gear and conduct masterclasses in the hope that it would drum up interest. We spent a whole afternoon doing soundcheck to get things sounding good, sent all the demo instruments for a setup, new strings, professional sound crew etc. At the end of the day one of the guys picked up a Japanese fender strat, and his tone completely blew everything away. Everyone says Yamaha is great but when to comes down to it, Yamaha gear just doesn’t measure up and doesn’t sell.
i‘m sure they made chris buck a special one… the 800$ version i held in my hands did not resonate at all and was one heavy piece of gear… the neck felt like plastic. i do like my yamaha trans accoustic though…
@@freitopolis The Ibanez Prestige and Yamaha Pro lines are MIJ and wonderful. I also disagree with Rhett that they didn't do a good enough job putting these in Guitar players hands.. Every RUclipsr was sent one FFS. I doubt the low attachment rate has much to do with marketing.
Hi Rhett, I just bought a Revstar, and it's quality and playability has blown me away, it's an incredible instrument in my opinion. Keep making the brilliant content my friend, it too is exceptional, thank you! 👍❤️
The Yamaha SG fuelled almost the entire British post-punk sound. Just watch videos from the late 70s, early 80s and you'll be amazed. Seeing John McGeoch with Magazine and Siouxsie and the Banshees made me want one so badly. Finally got myself an SG2000 a few years back. I also have a Revstar, a Transacoustic and a 12-string from Yamaha. Love them.
I absolutely love my Revstar. It plays amazing and sounds the same. I also own two of their acoustics and a bass. If nobody doesn't get it then fine. I will own awesome sleeper instruments that everyone will want in twenty years(how it works)
This I get! I had a sleeper mid-80s Yamaha tuba that never really caught on, but 20 years later, everyone who had one knew it was a treasure. My Cerveny I had to work to play. My Alexander played itself, it was so effortless. And my Yamaha played me, it was so alive. I felt I was more its gear than vice versa.
Hi sir I've been gassing for one of the Revstar standard models with P90S and keep holding back as a Gibson player for many years without ever owning a P90 pickup guitar would you say in your humble opinion for the money that you couldn't go wrong with one of these guitars
I got my Yamaha Revstar Standard with P90 pups earlier this year and it has quickly become one of my favorites out of 20 electric guitars. BEST neck and frets, great P90 tones, Focus switch is useful tone shaping, excellent weight and balance.
Such a simple thing, not many reasonably priced P90 guitars. It's top of my list if I ever find room for another guitar. Did you try the Pro to see the difference?
I have not played the Professional model Made in Japan but the superb quality of my Standard model made in Indonesia is flawless so I can't imagine the need for the MIJ at twice the price. Weigh-wise, my Standard is almost 8 lbs. Not super light which is fine with me because I like guitars with some heft yet not back breaking like a Les Paul.
@bishimatsu actually looking for a light guitar...I am looking at the PRS Vela Semi-hollow.. Just wondering if there some other options out there...thanks
Had my Standard 22 p90 3 months ago. I can’t put it down. Surprise guitar. Love it. Playability/excellent Attack/excellent Comfort/excellent Fits in the collection and goes to almost all my gigs.
I have a Revstar Professional with P90 pickups and it is absolutely, without a doubt, one of the most enjoyable and inspiring instruments I own. I have high end Gibsons, Fenders, PRSs, and a couple nice Schecters in my arsenal, and this Revstar has easily and quickly worked its way to the top of my list. I LOVE THIS GUITAR! Can't say it enough :)
This friend of ours is right! Salli, from Naples, Italy.... I bought a element one, just a year ago. It has the dry switch, an high-pass filter, and it fel like going towards a single coil, but without losing volume. Maybe I would change for better pickups,sometime in future. Meanwhile, the guy just screams like crazy. I come from a strat, abd for me, it's been a real revelation. Yamaha has done a really great job on this one.
I’m in a similar position and I completely agree. I have a bit of a collection and the Rev’ stands out, holds its own and has a unique sound and vibe. Brilliant guitar.
@@danig77 well, the strat has a slimmer neck. But the rev's neck is amazing, and satin finish on the back. Beautiful! The element ine, the cheapest of the series, is unbeatable for the price.
the Yamaha classical introductory guitar is possibly the best guitar for a beginner. the quality of the fretboard and playability are amazing. the right tool to start the journey.
First guitar I got my kid was a Yamaha 3/4 scale classical guitar. Ten years later and the kid still plays that guitar more than his more expensive electrics.
You can buy a different brand. Doesn't matter which brand. But you must practice 8hours a day or more, every day. After one year, you will be a good player. 8hours a day or more. Don't take too many breaks. Every day.
Yamaha isn't just piano and motorbikes. They are one of the top brands for drums with the best hardware out there. They make fantastic brass instruments and they made the most legendary synthesizer ever! The CS-80!
While they have some nice cheaper synths now like the Refaces, they need to get back in the vintage analog game like Korg. A CS-80 might be asking a bit too much and it would be expensive as hell, but I'd love to see reissues of the smaller CS-line.
OK, I really like FM synth sounds, but, no other instrument since electric guitar (ok, maybe the first Minimoog) changed the music so much! Only Yamaha had enough resources (R&D) to be able to implement digital synthesis into affordable (for that time) product, and DX7 was used by everbody!
I own that exact guitar. It's frickin amazing! That particular version (RevStar 2.0) has only been available to the public for a few months. You forgot that it also has Stainless Steel frets!
Honestly, so fun to watch you running around setting stuff up. Fun to see behind the curtain and watch the set-up process we all go through. Keep it up Rhett, you're the king!
Got my Yamaha Revstar RSS20 back in January, the Humbucker version , Since then I am in love man , everything is so perfect about it ❤️ It's so versatile fits all my demands 🔥
I don't believe I've ever played a bad Yamaha. I had an FG acoustic for 15 years, and it was one of the most consistent playing instruments I've ever owned. Very dependable.
35 years ago I bought a Yamaha FS-310, just a fun, compact version of a dreadnaught because it sounds cool for a cheap guitar. Keeping in mind some classical guitars have laminated tops, the build quality is actually good. Taiwan China.
Absolutely I have an FG 730S that's been with me for about 15 years and I love it. Compared it to 2 of those $800 plastic Martins after I fixed the unbelievably stupid high action on them for a couple of friends and it was way better.
Elliott Smith played an old Yamaha FG-180 as his main acoustic. I bought one from 1971 recently and it is a fantastic guitar, and I have heard really good things about some of their newer acoustics
Big fan of yammy acoustics. Apx and cpx are great stage guitars. Put them through the behringer acoustic modeller pedal to remove the piezoelectric quackiness
Ive had the RSS02T (Revstar Standard with P90s, same one Rhett has, but in the black finish) for about 6-7 months now. It is my by far my favorite guitar i have ever owned. It feels and plays like a dream, sounds incredible, the fit and finish is flawless, i absolutely love the body and headstock shape, love the stainless steel frets, but the thing i love the most is the feel of the neck. I dont have a single bad thing to say about this guitar. I never considered Yamaha in the past, but It definitely peaked my interest in Yamaha.
I remember playing a Yamaha SG back in the eighties and it's probably still the best playing guitar I've ever played. I own Ibanez and Gibson guitars now and they're pretty fine too.
In the UK I recently bought a non active budget Yamaha bass that came with a nice bag, Fender digi tuner, Vox headphone effects plug-in and Fender 15w practice amp, altogether it came to just £200 ($225 approx) it needed setting up as the neck tension and action were way off but I did it, got it playing nicely, I love the thing, it just refuses to go out of tune from one week to the next, it's a real keeper now, love it!
Yamaha is a company that has so many talented engineers in so many disciplines… From electric pianos to YZF-R1 racing motorcycles… people often don’t realize that the Ford SHO engine as well as the screaming V10 of the Lexus LFA supercar were both designed by Yamaha. It really doesn’t surprise me that they have some amazing sleeper guitars as well. Now that I stop to think about it, the silent acoustic/electric that I travel with (half the frame breaks down so the guitar fits in an airplane’s overhead bin) is made by Yamaha! ☮️❤️🎶
yeah for a piano company they make some decent guitars... and motorcycles not like that tee shirt company that makes garage queens BTW: If you are going to demo an electric guitar, dont play it thru an amp with a mic, with reverb and distortion - play it CLEAN right into the audio jack on the camera SO WE CAN HERE WHAT THE GUITAR SOUNDS LIKE would you do that with a classical guitar, or a grand piano?!
I've been playing an RBX 375 bass for 11 years now, bought it on sale for $400. It is the most versatile bass I've had in my hands. It feels great, plays great, sounds wonderful wherever you plug it in. I've used it for recording, and it has held up excellently. It can fit into whatever genre you'd like to play. I really can't find anything wrong with it. It simply rocks and I love it.
I’ve been playing my TRBX 305 for around 10 years as well. I’ve replaced the stock hardware since (there’s nothing wrong with the stock, I just wanted gold and figured I’d upgrade the hardware at the same time). The Music Man style pickups are really good though, and it has a pick-up selector that makes playing different plucking styles live really easy. I can be playing a pick tone and switch to a slap tone for a single section in a song and switch back immediately. I’d never seen that on a bass before. Super versatile
I had that same bass but sold it because I’m a guitarist and had a long spell when I didn’t record anything so had no need for a bass. These days, I regret selling it and I still miss it.
as a bass player, i think the Yamaha based are also highly, highly underrated. they have them at every guitar center but they stay hanging on the wall because the branding makes people write them off. there are some absolutely amazing quality Yamaha basses and i want to see more of them out there SO BAD
I have a Yamaha TRBx147, literally their CHEAPEST model and it is an amazing bass guitar. I love it more than anything else I’ve played, pure quality build
I have a Yamaha trb1006j crb, for a Karnivool song, love it as much as my dingwall 5 string and Warwick streamer 4, (and it’s the cheapest of the bunch 🤔)
I wanted a yamaha bass when i bought mine, i didn't want anything else, so we do exist(yamaha believers). I am however a guitarist first and foremost, but i need a bass for recording at home, so i bought one for about 500 usd, and it didn't diappoint at aĺl.
I feel like Yamaha is extremely recommended for bass. Whether or not people take the recommendation when they're new, I don't know, but almost every bassist I know has played one at some point, if not landing on one permanently. Guitar, of course, is a completely different story... Sometimes you'll see a pacifica and that's about it.
My first experience with Sweetwater was a set of bridge pins for an acoustic guitar about three years ago, after a year I bought some strings, then a Hartke practice bass amp. Then I bought a Yamaha acoustic guitar. Most recently I bought a Squire Classic Series Tele. In every case, from the smallest to the most major purchase I've been treated great. I don't always trust on line companies but in Sweetwater's case I can definitely say I trust them.
Glad to hear you’re bringing back the gear reviews. I bought the same model Revstar last year after seeing Chris Buck play his and when Yamaha re-introduced their latest iteration of this model. I absolutely love mine; it’s my main P-90 guitar and I use it a lot for slide playing. Agree with your comments, it’s the best guitar I’ve seen under $1K!
The SG series was pretty popular in the 80s, Santana, John McGeogh and Bill Nelson spring to mind. I have a gold SG3000 which plays like a dream. The guy in the shop called it a "les paul killer"
EXACTLY the same here. I'm lefty so always struggled with getting guitars I like. The Pacifica was one of the first guitars I bought and sold it to 'upgrade'... Many 'upgrades' later (by upgrades I mean I spent more money), I went and bought another Pacifica, natural satin... and of all the guitars I now own, that one is still my absolute favourite and gives me the most joy to play... plus it looks so nice.
A bunch of the best, most serious jazz heads I knew back in the 80s swore by Yamaha’s high-end guitars. You’ve made me want to track one of these down and see if it’d work for me. Glad Gear Talk v2.0 is live!
I have one. Waited nearly a year for Sweetwater to get their shipment. So it must be more popular than you think as the Revstar lineup was back ordered. It’s a fine instrument. A joy to play. And works well in a multitude of musical settings.
I wonder if that has a lot to do with Chris Buck? He really has made a name for himself in the last couple of years. He has a great RUclips channel as well.
@@ElmanAuthementChris Buck is the reason I knew about these guitars in the first place. Then the positive reviews convinced me to buy one! And here in France too they were hard to find! Guitar stores didn’t know when they would be available so I ended up ordering one online. My RSS20 (the humbucker version) is definitely my favorite guitar, I love how it plays, sounds and looks. To the point when I’m not interested in buying another guitar anymore 😂 maybe I’ll sell my P90s Les Paul and get a P90s Revstar instead though.
As an older person (51), who started playing in the mid '80s ... when that style of fusion was super popular in the guitar community and Yamaha's BB series of basses owned pop music ... and who is old enough to remember Yamaha SG guitars (which the Revstar is based on) being all over the place in the early '80s, this was a really interesting perspective. I've always seen Yamaha as the professional, get the job done without caring about image brand and a lot of players who I came up with had the same idea about them. They were something to aspire to, once you got over Kramer or Gibson, or whatever brand's gimmick you were stuck on at the time. Having said that, I've played a number of them over the years, wanting to like them and they've always been very well-made, but seemed a bit sterile and uninspiring. Even though the bigger names don't make instruments that are technically as good, at the same price point, I think those flaws make them more interesting.
I totally remember the SG series guitars! I’ve always wanted one. Like, A LOT. I remember people saying that they recorded REALLY well. Maybe I’ll get one yet…
I would say they're more based on the SF Superflighter series... almost exact body shape. I've yet to play a bad Yamaha, even entry level Pacifica's are great for the money.
@@danielguedes702 I'd never heard of the Super Flighter line before, thanks for bringing it to my attention. It looks like the Revstar is a combination of the two. It's got the binding of the SG and the asymmetrical cutaways of the SF.
Thanks for a good review. Agree. I find Yahama a great quality brand. Like their pianos, guitars, drums and also to mention their sound gear. You’ve got a new subscriber from Sweden 🇸🇪. 👍
I own two Yamaha guitars, one of which is a 1980 SA-2000. That guitar was built to kill the Gibson ES-335 when their quality declined in the lates 70s and has reached legend status in the cult guitar world. It's a phenomenal guitar with so much mojo and personality, Yamaha is so underrated.
I've got a 1976 Yamaha SA700 - and I agree! I put after -market pickups in it at one stage and quickly went back to thew originals. A no-nonsense semi hollow that plays just beautifully.
I own a Yamaha Revstar. As soon as I played it five years ago, I knew I wouldn't need another electric guitar again. It plays like a high end guitar. Ever play a guitar that surprises you because you play better than you thought you could? That's what a high quality guitar does. I love the Revstar.
Back in the early 90s, the man i took guitar lessons from almost always played his Yamaha acoustic. It was he always said the finest acoustic guitar he had ever played and in his small studio, it put out so much sound on so many levels it was just mind blowing. He had a fairly extensive collection of guitars, too. Probably 50 or so. I can remember the sound of it distinctly 30 years later. Yamaha has an extremely interesting history as a whole and has been around for well over a hundred years, and they excel under the radar at everything they do.
Yamaha drums has some of the best hardware on the market today on par with DW. They make great kits but I find them a bit more expensive than the other Japanese drums.
I Have an Yamaha 8000 in my studio that went through years of touring, thousands of gigs, and is still living happily as a studio drumset these days. Just recorded an album for a band that used it and still sounds amazing!
I learned on a Yamaha GC-10 (?) classical guitar. It was a solid beginner's instrument that had good intonation, was well setup from the factory, and produced a decent tone. I traded it long ago and now wish I'd kept it. It would be a perfect camper guitar.
Love the Yamaha name, love the brand, love the sound, love the build quality, love the finish, love the price point, love the quality. love the fretwork, love the design concept, love the engineering, love the facts that Carlos Santana loved the classic SA 2000's - PuP's can be changed if you are not happy with the tone! and personally - I absolutely love the products - love the SA2200, knock spots of the Gibsons SA's, Love the Revstar, especially the P 90 versions, Love the FG 140, LA10 acoustics plus many, many more - Love everything about Yamaha - 'Why Guitar Players Don't Play Yamaha' Ah........maybe I'm not a guitar player!
Yamaha's pedigree stretches back further than 80s "jazz-fusion" players. Their SG-2000 was a hugely respected instrument from the mid-70s onwards. Great, influential punk/New Wave players like Jake Burns (Stiff Little Fingers), John McGeoch (Magazine and Siouxsie & the Banshees) Stuart Adamson ( The Skids & Big Country), Glenn Tilbrook (U.K. Squeeze) used it extensively on their classic records and live,
My first guitar was a Yamaha ERG121C, which came with the gigmaker package. My dad bought it for me 15 years ago or so. A couple years ago I decided to dust it off. I replaced the beaten mic switch, the nut and changed some new strings and it's actually my main guitar right now! The humbuckers have such a nice, creamy tone and the neck is nicely bulky and supportive for my sausage fingers. I also got a Yamaha FG800 acoustic for 300€ and use it regularly. They are a great brand.
Yamaha was my first electric guitar, and it's still my favorite to play. When I started playing, the guitar was about 20 years old and it still plays awesome.
I worked for the Yamaha wholesaler in London in the 1980s and early 90s. I think one of their biggest issues is they make so many different products and of course they're not all musical instruments. Most players want an instrument from an elite specialist maker.
I think this as well. They are one of those HUGE Japanese companies that are involved in everything. I think to a lot of people its weird to buy a guitar from a motorcycle company or whatever. I do think its funny that they are most often thought of as not a music company when their logo is 3 tuning forks. Its always been right there in front of us lol
Yamaha is the quiet kid in the group discussion. He’s taking notes, listening, and when he has something to say, it comes out fully formed and workable. When Yamaha makes a guitar, they listen, they find out what’s good, and they come out with a great guitar…. that nobody has heard of. Whatever you want from it, when you find the right setting, there it is. But the company has no brand image, no signature sound.
Exactly what I was thinking. For another example, Techmoan has a video on Kenwood electronics where he talks about his brother asking for brand recommendations for a new hi-fi system. His brother is immediately turned off by the Kenwood brand as soon as he discovers that they also make kitchen appliances. He assumes that just because a brand makes a wider variety of products, then there's no way that they could make them well. And of course Yamaha makes an even larger variety of products. I play drums and I'm a synth enthusiast, and Yamaha seems to hold their own in both areas. The DX-7 and CS-80 alone established them as an influential producer of synthesizers. And their drum hardware is, in my opinion, some the most reliable that money can buy. If you compare that to known guitar brands like Fender and Gibson, they rarely diversify much outside of Guitars, basses, amps and related accessories. For Fender, all I can think of is their line of PA systems? Gretsch at least is known for Guitars as well as drums, but they're still not even close to the product diversity of Yamaha. They're just not what comes to mind when you think electric guitars. It seems slightly less so with classical/acoustic guitars, which I think could be attibuted to Yamaha's reputation with pianos and thus classical musicians.
My first acoustic and electric guitar is a Yamaha. I’ve moved on to other guitars at this point, but my old FS and Pacifica still has a special place in my music journey.
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What do you want to see on Gear Talk?
Cort cr 250
Old Peavey heads and combo amps.
Sire guitars :))
Tone X You're a bit a tone snob. lol I wanna see you try it.
The non conventional recording mics and preamps that people don’t know about. Everyone knows about the sm57 but show your viewers other mics and ideas for recording.
As a person who has experience with a Yamaha guitar, a Yamaha piano and a Yamaha motorbike, I can say that everything they touch is quality.
... and my favourite drum kit was a Yamaha.
I totally agree...... but I play Fender/Martin Guitars, Kawai Pianos, and I ride Honda motorcycles...... I have owned Yamaha in all three, but in all three they lack some kind of appeal. Like the cute girl next door who has a crush on you, but you just can't feel anything for her. She stays in the friendzone.
Their outboard boat motors have this amazing transparent mid range
Love the R1!!
My trombone is a Yamaha. Best deal I ever got granted it was used.
I'm kinda blown away by Yamaha as a manufacturer in general. Everything they make is quality.
I've always been kind of skeptical of Yamaha because I *like* most everything they make! Stereo, Piano, Keyboards, their little lunchbox amps and even their motorcycles; I won't hesitate to buy their stuff.
why would u be skeptical? quality? bias?@@Napalmdog
@@18hot30 It's just a too good to be true feeling. For ANY manufacturer it is unexpected for so many products to be high quality at an affordable price. However, it seems to simply boil down to company philosophies and culture.
Their drums are amazing too!
My girlfriend says they make AWACS gear in addition to music stuff and small transports
My first guitar was a Yamaha 1972 FG-160 acoustic guitar. My mom bought it for me new to learn how to play. My parents friends all played and they played Martins. Obviously she wasn’t going to buy me a Martin for a first guitar and we couldn’t afford it anyway but they called it a poor man’s Martin. I still have that guitar and it still sounds great. It’s one of the most resonant acoustic guitars I have including my Martins that I now own. I will never get rid of that guitar. I’m also never ashamed to pull that guitar out and play it. Thanks Yamaha for making me a great guitar and starting my guitar journey. I’m now almost 64 and am still on that journey!
for the cheaper end....guitar/bass/keyboards....they can't be beat....
I've still got a 5 string yamaha bass and a semi acoustic guitar from years ago....
A lovely moms❤
I learned to play on an old FG 300. It had a design on the pickguard and adjustable saddles like an electric.
Nippon Gakki
As with so much, people care more about the sizzle than the steak.
I bought my young son a Yamaha Pacifica as his first guitar, being impressed by its quality over other student models. He has since developed into a lifetime guitar player.
I picked up a cheap pacifica many years ago and its still one of my fav guitars.
It's amazing how significant a guitar's brand and image is. People pay many thousands to own a Les Paul even though an equivalent or even better guitar can be bought for a fraction of the price.
As a guitar luthier that has worked on MANY guitars, I can attest that Yamaha makes quality guitars. A Les Paul or U.S. made Strat, for example, is an investment that will likely hold or increase in value over time if it is cared for - that isn't so much the case with Yamahas. And I have pulled brand new Gibsons, Fenders and Yamahas (among others) from the case directly from the distributor and discovered that they often need some work to bring them into optimal playability; and strangely, it is often the Gibson and Fender that needs adjustment, where Yamaha seems to do a little better.
And acoustics. When I was learning I went in to buy a Martin. The store showed me that a Seagull would suit my learning path just as well and at 25% of the price at the time. Skeptical but I went with it. 17 years and a lot of playing the Seagull guitar is really a keeper.
Logical: THOSE are the brands their heroes play (or played...). Btw: THAT IS testimonial marketing in its purest form.
And make no mistake, the revstar is a better instrument.
@@calmnsenseNot disagreeing or making fun of you, but it is kind of ridiculous that everything has to be an "investment" nowadays. Even something as primal and simple as an instrument is a speculative asset where they're bough and sold to make buck off the name recognition.
There are definitely way dumber things that guitarists care about (tonewood), but resale value irks me
I’ve never played a Yamaha electric guitar, but I’ve loved my Yamaha acoustic and it’s been great.
same here! had one in the early 80's that I kept for years. Guitar was great, I kinda sucked
I have a Yamaha dreadnaught acoustic as well. Amazing guitar for less than $200, it had a similar tone to the Taylor in the showroom with it (obviously the Taylor was a bit better, but was it $700 better? Probably not.)
I think they feel like they have no personality. Like, really good product, but you know when you want a Fender strat, or Ibanez instead of Yamaha guitars.
Looooove my Yamaha acoustic! Neck-through and just gorgeous woodgrain on the body. The best part, imo, is that neck. Just feels good to hold.
@@SoulSonder26 agreed, the neck on mine is awesome as well.
I bought a SG Yamaha guitar in 1976 in Japan when I was a teenager living on an Army base near Tokyo for about $120.00. It was in the clearance section and I worked my part time job for $1.60 an hour and was able to buy it. 20 guitars and 47 years later it still is one of the best I have.
Yamaha were making pianos (1900) and guitars (1940s) before they made bikes (1955). There's a reason the Yamaha logo is three tuning forks. They make great affordable instruments and good cheap instruments. They're also not afraid to innovate, however poor marketing means they often fall a bit flat. It's like they are too busy taking themselves too seriously to try to look cool.
Yamaha also make some pretty fine brass instruments too, my dear old dad treated himself to a new concert-grade Yamaha trumpet aboy 4 years before he died, kept saying he wished he had got one 30 years sooner.
They’ve been making instruments for 140 years, it’s why their quality is so consistently good
PIano company that began making motorcycles because they had the casting equipment for making piano soundboards for the war effort.
I think their pianos are pretty popular, my friend has two a baby grand and an upright. The guitars are great I have the first edition Revstar 320 still original I wouldn't change a thing on it.
Keith Emerson played a Yamaha GX-1. Nuff said
As a full time luthier with over 30 years in the biz, build quality is top shelf with these guitars! They deserve to be the hottest in that price point!
The problem is they had an opportunity for good, better, best with the 3 elements / standard / professional guitars in this range but it's not at all obvious why the professional is best or, indeed, why it's better in any way compared with the standard. Look on youtube or read forums and no one can give you an answer - and yamaha certainly haven't given an answer. They talk about this I.R.A thing perhaps some extra carbon in the body and a hard case. The consensus seems to be that it's just that Japanese workers get paid more - well you've killed your brand if your potential customers aren't aware why your most expensive product is better.
At which point if you haven't created a more expensive guitar that people desire that kids wish they could afford you haven't elevated the standard to being a cheaper or value version of it. As such they end up like Cort, making guitars that are "good value for the money" but that's doomed creating a brand that people want to own and desire. That destroys their resale value and also means retailers can't sell at MRRP either. So you have discount the top level and that makes that guitar look cheap compared with the competition too. But looking cheap isn't the idea with the top tier. They're supposed to be overpriced to give the sense of being a luxury desirable item over and above the mass produced stuff (or, even if it is mass produced that you've still had some highly skilled staff checking it afterwards etc etc)
Other than that I'd say this guitar is struggling for an identity. It seems the professional models in peach guitars no longer have the weird back piece behind the bridge which is a plus because to my mind, along with the tuners these things just makes the guitar look old fashioned and dated. When I see an old fashioned guitar I expect (from experience) it to be less playable than a modern guitar. Because pretty much everything vai and EVH did to develop guitars was to make them more playable. Now if you observe that Matteo Mancuso plays several of these guitars it's probably not true that they're unplayable or not as playable at all. But it's hard to shake the feeling from the appearance of the guitar. It doesn't look like a guitar that would be nice to play especially if you wanted to play fast runs. I can't help thinking the way the guitar looks puts off a lot of people from even picking it up or considering it when they pick a guitar.
Similarly, SS frets etc are great - especially at the standard price point. But it doesn't appear to have locking tuners? And there's no model with a trem either. So what the customer for this guitar? What style of music are they playing? I don't see it has a good identity. Except, as I say, an old fashioned vibe. At best I can say, if I didn't mind losing the trem it would save me £500 from buying a prestige AZ - but as I say above being cheaper than the guitar a lot of youtubers are playing and raving about that has a plethora of custom signature versions in the hands of popular artists doesn't create a good brand does it? It just makes you look like a cheap brand alongside the others. To some extent you could argue that Ibanez AZ is just a cheap Suhr - but Ibanez have manipulated the market to make it seem that the Ibanez prestige AZ is a brilliant modern boutique stule guitar with their artists who are playing thousands of notes on them (many of whom abandoned Suhr at least publicly to play one) - Cort don't have anyone playing the guitars well and Yamaha have one guy but I do wonder for how long because no one else is using a yamaha guitar and a line 6 helix - so i suspect Matteo will switch to something that's more expensive.
So, it's tempting to think that this is like the Cort G300 (and, the standard at least, probably made there?) it's a high spec, reasonably well finished guitar for £65 - but that's all - because they've failed, imo, to make the flagship £1600 version attractive or desirable. They've failed to even give any hint what the professional has the cheaper one doesn't. And again, it's £1600 everywhere (MRRP is over £2k) when typical prestige guitars from Ibanez that come in a hard case etc are £2k+ - so again yamaha have gone for being "cheap or value" even with the flagship - and perhaps they're forced to do that because they don't manage to create in the mind of reviewers and purchasers a reason to buy the £1600 version and retailers can't sell them at over £2k. If they did that then they could create a brand that wasn't just "value for money" - because most expensive guitars are not value for money but people still desire them and they often make the decision about a cheaper guitar based on their desires (even if those are bad decisions)
And TBH it's the same with their pianos. Most people get a yamaha upright because it's great value for money - but they don't desire a yamaha grand they really want a Steinway. No matter how much anyone wants to talk about a yamaha grand - it's not a Steinway is it? Thus they are doomed to be the cheap or value for money piano makers too.
@@michael1all of this just boils down to a critique of their marketing primarily, right?
Like, there's little in your comment about the actual quality of the guitars, or why you might not want to own one. (Outside of resale value and lack of trem, or I guess the embarrassment of being seen with one of the guitars?)
I'm assuming the marketing angle is the point of your comment. I just wanted to check whether or not you meant to talk down on the product on account of their marketing strategy and lack of "perceived desirability."
@@calliopeshif7581 Well that's pretty much the only thing that sells guitars. The problem that you can't tell what the difference with the standard and professional is a thing - I mean it's been the subject of numerous forums posts, youtube videos etc. Most people come at it from 2 angles - they either decide the standard is really good value for money or they're more like me and thinking "Well, what's the deal with the professional? What would I be getting for 2.5x the money?" - and I'd argue the latter is going to put many people off buying it and instead they'll go to a brand where it's more obvious what you're getting for your money. I think they've made a big mistake not putting locking tuners on at least the professional model and you could argue that it's too cheap (although prices have risen), i.e if practically every other brand sells their top tier guitar for £2k-£3k then why is yours only £1600? Remembering that people buying your top tier guitar aren't looking for a bargain - that's what the standard is for. The bottom line is perception and I get the idea that a lot of people think that yamaha is a great guitar for the money at the lower price points and it's a much safer bet getting a standard than some of the other brands models that are built in indonesia or similar places, but they're more attracted to other brands at the higher price points - but the lack of people visibly playing your top guitar is going to hurt the lower tiers to some extent. It's like there are probably a lot of ibanez premium guitars sold to people who are watching youtubers playing prestige or signature AZ models right? Well Yamaha do have a couple of good guitarists playing revstar but not as many - and one of them has a guitar that makes more sense as the professional model (i.e he's changed all of the hardware, including locking tuners and used different pickups - well you know that's why Matteo Mancuso's tone sounds so good - it kills off the idea of me buying a professional revstar with humbuckers - because then I have to put locking tuners on and change the pickups - they should be doing that not me. In the case Chris Buck it's not so obvious what, if anything, he's changed, I think he may be using the stock p90 pickups so that's probably a win, because he has a great tone and puts out a lot of videos of him playing it - at which point the problem for me is a pragmatic one - the guitar store I would buy one from (a) Doesn't have any standard models and (b) Doesn't have any professional models with the p90 option - so I could find a different store, but again their marketing / retail strategy sucks - how does a guitar store end up with 6 humbucker models and no p90 models and only professional or element models? It could be that the p90 versions sell out. It could be that the guitar shop made a mistake, but unfortunately for yamaha it means I'm sat here thinking "I'll buy something else" - because I don't want my choice limited by someone else - albeit, as I say, I've really heard no good reason why I should get the professional either - and it's no longer easy in the UK to pickup a guitar before buying it. If it were obvious if you went to a store that stocked both and played both, fair enough, but from everything I've seen it isn't. So what's the point in having the expensive model?
@@michael1 i think yamaha doesnt rely on there guitar market for revenue and basically all desirable guitar brands only make guitar's nothing else so they dont spend much time on marketing and getting there name out there in the guitar market. they make way more money off there motorized vehicles.
@@juan.rodz713
多くの楽器で価格に対してのYAMAHAのコストパフォーマンスは非常に高いと思います。
YAMAHAのギターはコストパフォーマンス的に言うならベストな選択の一つだと思います。
I'm a bassist with a massive soft spot for Yamaha. Their basses are always really good. They also own Ampeg.
They own line 6 too
That’s interesting. I didn’t know about Ampeg. My SBT sort of predates all that, though, I think. I definitely need to go shopping.
They make great basses for a very good price. I think in a bass world Yamaha is rated higher because some very notable bassists play Yamahas.
When I was growing up I played a Dean Bass and was going to get into 5 string and was looking at Yamaha. I ended up getting a Traben and always regretted not getting the Yamaha. They just seem well made.
@@CharliexRottentraben, a name I haven’t heard in years.
As a bass player, I’ve always loved Yamahas. Their basses, no matter the price point, are always quality.
I've got an old BB300 and absolutely love it. I've done a video talking about it as well... I basically call it a really inexpensive (semi-vintage) P-bass.
Billy Sheehan's been using them for years
Good enough for Nathan East, good enough for me
I didn't realize mine was hot merlot in color until just now.
While I’m studio qualified to play bass, I wouldn’t call myself a full time bass player. I always had a soft spot for the Fender bass, but one day I played a friends Gibson RD Artist bass at a studio and I was smitten.
Back in 1975, Yamaha directly approached Carlos Santana and gave him a specially built, double cutaway, SG-175 guitar with a Buddha inlay on the top. For one reason or another, he was not entirely happy with it, so they developed the Yamaha SG-2000 together, which he played up to 1982 before moving over to PRS guitars. You can hear the Yamaha SG-2000 on Moonflower (1977)-one of his best albums ever-which has songs like: “She’s Not There”, “Dance Sister Dance (Baila Mi Hermana)”, “Let the Children Play/Jugando” and “Europa”.
So Santana played a Yamaha on Europa? I play that with my band every weekend. it's our break song.....
He used to compliment its tone and sustain.
Santana pfft
I love how consistent they are! Every single guitar, drums, piano, etc.. always surprisingly resonant and very balanced all around
That's how Yamaha is about everything. Always solid, reliable, and fun, but never flashy or inspiring it seems.
Yamaha guitars are criminally underrated. They provide high quality with great value. I have a Pacific electric and a AC5R acoustic, and love them both. They are fantastic guitars!
Absolutely underrated, the acoustic guitars right now are as good as anything and great value
@@kippsguitar6539 You are 100% correct. When I went shopping for an acoustic, the Yamaha played and sounded better than all the other brands in that price range. You get a ton of guitar for the money. The Yamaha guitars punch well above their weight in sound and playability.
I also have an AC5R and I think it is a very fine instrument. Also, very loud in acoustic mode.
@@dewardroy6531 Yes. The AC5R is a great acoustic. I compared it to some Taylors and Takamines before I bought it, and it outplayed all of them. You get a ton of bang for the buck with Yamaha.
What’s weird is that I think the lower end Pacificas are unironically better than the higher end ones. Fretwork isn’t perfect, but it’s not great on the 600s either.
As a bass player, I think Yamahas are incredible instruments. My old BB3000 is a Fender killer in all aspects.
I agree. I started on a yamaha trbx204 about 5 years ago and the build quality absolitely eclipses anything else around the price. I started playing guitar last year and picked up a revstar and it is just an incredible instrument
Me three! Over 25 years of guitar playing, I bought my first bass guitar back in January: a cherry red Yamaha TRBX304 that i LOVE !
I decided on a Yamaha after having purchased a Yamaha trumpet & a used Yamaha Saxophone. Very impressed with the quality of their instruments at very affordable prices.
Same. I started playing bass with an RBX260. It was lighter and sounded better than similarly priced Squires and was easy to upgrade and looked more “expensive.” Yamaha just doesn’t market well.
man the BB2000, bb3000 and the TRB6P from the 80s-90s are some legendary bass, way better than fender in everyway possible. even those less known ibanez from the 80s, the musician serie were awesome. they had that alembic feel and aesthetic.
I play a BB400 from 1983 and I can confrim. This thing is a Fender killer in terms of quality and sound.
Ended up buying a Revstar after whatching this and Chris Bucks response! Love the Revstar!
I love my Yamaha acoustic FG410. 35 years and still hasn’t fallen apart, plays like warm butter and sounds amazing with fresh strings.
Same for my FG-200 from 1974 :D
@@brysimm404 Same (FG-345 from 1979)
Same here. I love my Yamaha acoustic guitar
I also have one of this.
However, the new acoustic Yamahas don't sound the same.
They've been using bad wood for a few years now, and they don't sound like the Yamaha acoustics of 20 years ago.
Why would it fall apart? Hahaha
Hi there, interesting topic indeed. Just a comment for younger guys : long ago, Carlos Santana stoped playing Gibson guitars (Les Paul Standard, Les Paul Custom and SG) and started to play Yamaha SG 2000. Only in the beginning of 80s, he migrated to Paul Reed Smith, and plays it until present day. The tone of Carlos Santana’s Yamaha SG 2000 guitar can be heard on a number of landmark recordings, one of the most notable being 1977’s Moonflower. From that record came the studio version of “She’s Not There,” along with live versions of “Dance Sister Dance (Baila Mi Hermana),” “Let the Children Play / Jugando,” and “Europa,” all of which blew away the previously released studio versions. Some of Santana’s straight-ahead rock hits, like “Open Invitation” and “All I Ever Wanted” were also recorded on the SG2000. Greetings from Germany.
Wow - your comment is "dead on" for me - long story short, Moonflower tone is pretty much WHY I bought a Yamaha SG2000. 45 years later - it's still a magical guitar.
I associate Yamaha with Santana's early recordings and I prefer the sound to the PRS. The PRS is a great guitar, but it makes it too easy for the player to get a certain great tone and just stay within those bounds. The Yamaha was more versatile and expressive, allowing for playing more like Peter Green, who would change the tone and dynamics for each phrase, sometimes each note in a phrase.
Carlos Santana is not real, lol nice try tho
Moonflower changed my life and entire musical direction; it still excites me and was Santana’s pinnacle in my mind. As distinctive a voice on guitar as Beck, Hendrix, EVH…instantly recognizable. I was 17 when the album came out, and was fortunate enough to have a high school jazz band director who allowed the rhythm section to play Europa as a feature number….been feedback surfing ever since!
I still have my lawsuit SBG 2200 Yamaha SG with those Spinex pickups. Inspired by Carlos. I also have a Gibson L6-S played by Santana and Prince. This Revstar is pretty damn good, but I have a P90 LP 60's Tribute.
A friend of mine asked me to go with her to pick out an acoustic guitar. After playing a few in her price range (beginner), the Yamaha at the store stood out to me as a cut above the others. When I visit her place and play it, I am still impressed with how good it sounds, looks, and feels for the price she paid.
my yamaha storia ii is one of the best feeling and sounding guitars ive ever played, at 1/4 of the price of the guitars that rival it.
In the 80s, everyone I knew played a Yamaha acoustic. They just sounded great...
I did the same thing when I went to pick one for my stepson. Played every guitar in its price range and above and the Yammie was best. This was the FG820. A $300 guitar, I will pick it over any guitar twice the price.
Are we talking about a Yamaha Pacifica here? If not, which one?
Thanks for shining a light on older videos by making shorts out of it. I wonder how I missed that one in the first place. Great video!
Matteo Mancuso is an amazing player who plays Yamahas. I have a Revstar RS820 and they are criminally underrated, absolutely amazing guitar for the price.
Same thing I would say…and Steve Lukather and Mike Stern and thousands of guitar player had played or plays Yamaha…🤷🏻♂️
Was going to say same thing. Mattuso has signature Yamaha.
@@kipponiMancuso
And Chris Poland
@luigimalanga7378matteo is so fun to listen to and watch. Super creative guy and super fun music. Makes me want to try a rev too! Lol
I've had a Pacifica 612 for the past 12 months and it's criminally underrated. So versatile, excellent build quality and a joy to play. Superb value for the money.
the whole pacifica series is the GOAT of "value for your buck"
i agree. i have one and love it
@@Eliakim.H I just wish they made a higher end model for the Pacificas. would love a MIJ Pacifica.
they also used to make a T style pacifica but now they only have the Mike Stern model
@@extraswaggeronithey do. they are out there. Also, once you hit 5 or 6 in the model number, i'm not sure what deficiencies you're concerned about.
@@Eliakim.H it sure is
Chris Buck is by far my favorite modern guitar player. He makes these sound and look cool. I’d definitely buy one.
You will have NO regrets (unless your friend gets one before you do and the shop runs out ....)!
they are cool guitars but there is something about them i dont love , I had 2 of them and i got the second one as a replacement because the wiring in the first one was all messed up , When i recieved the second one i had the same issue which i know isnt a big deal but u dont pay 1.3 k (cad ) for a guitar that needs to be opened up and fixed, they sound great and a big selling point for me was honestly the p90s with the stainless steel frets but it just was not my vibe unfortunately
Chris' guitar is a Japanese-built custom shop one-off, with Radioshop pickups that literally no one else can get. The Indonesian ones are not at all the same quality.
@@weschiltonHe also plays an Indonesian one just as much. Check out his assorted rig rundowns.
@@weschilton Why can't you just order some Radioshop pickups from them? They aren't the monster outfit. I'm sure they would accommodate you.
Best bang for the buck... well said. Yamaha means quality. Just bought a RevStar Standard like the one in your video, and I am shocked how good it is considering its price point. Even brought to a gig to be the back up for my much more expensive main guitar, and ended up playing 3 songs with it. It sounded great and it looked amazing in the pics haha. Nice video, Rhett.
I recently bought a fairly low priced Yamaha acoustic after comparing it to higher priced guitars. The sound really stood out. Yamaha is definitely worth checking out.
I'm not familiar with their electrics, but always thought their acoustics were really good quality for the prices. I was always pleasantly surprised.
my kids 3/4 size classical sounds great and looks as good as anything at the store that cost 6 times as much. the fret board is dyed and rubs off but you can't beat it for the price for learning
Every Yamaha guitar I ever had from cheap to pricey, ALL had AMAZING fret work!. They NEVER had buzzing frets and always played well all the way down the neck. I still regret selling my Yamaha Compass acoustic to this day.
had a bass from them, it was set perfectly, i think the price comes from sacrificing looks, advertisement, and sometimes material, and focusing on pure build quality.
yeah i have the compass 1000. I love it
Nope, had high action and dead spot on bending high e at 12th fret.
I have a 12 string acoustic from late 80's to early 90's. I need to check out the serial number. I traded a Strat for it.
I had a dead spot on mine at the 7th fret bottom E
I decided to upgrade my bass. I went to a local guitar center and played every bass on the wall. Hands down, I liked the feel of the Yamaha the most. I was shocked. I had never even though of getting a Yamaha, but im glad I did. It’s a truly solid instrument that has a great tone and feel.
Funny... During the video I thought of all the e-bass guitars I played and how Yamahas always felt uncompfortably clunky. From the body shape to weight and fretboard feel.. I just never got used to the instruments.
In my opinion Ibanez is the universal weapon of choice, no matter what music you play. Just love the sleak designs, tonal variety and superb playability, even in the lower price regions. But as with most things in life, it comes down to personal preference.
It's kind of weird to me, too because I like most other stuff Yamaha makes, especially in the music/audio sector.
Yamaha rules !
i've had a cheap yamaha bass for a while now and i'm still amazed how good it feels and sounds for that price
I've been playing bass for over 30 years. Hands down, the best bass I've ever owned was my Yamaha BBNE
Love my Yamaha bass, had it for over 30 years. Yamaha basses have a unique sound, IMHO for a passive bass, it is very versatile. Most of the studio work I have done, the musicians bringing me in were impressed by the sound too. They do sound different, but in a unique and solid way
I'll chime in - a year after this was posted. You're spot on with your take on Yamaha's marketing, as well as, in my opinion, aesthetics. In my opinion, Fender is killing it right now because almost every electric put out by Fender/Squier just drips "cool" and/or "classic." Everybody wants to be seen playing one. And we all know the sound of a strat, tele, jaguar, jazzmaster because those guitars have been foundational to the sound of many popular genres since the 60's. Aesthetically, I think Yamaha would benefit from softer/rounder edges on their electrics (I don't love the pointy edges of the Revstar or Pacificas) and making more than one original design since the Revstar is the only current offering that isn't a Fender inspired design as far as I can see and the Pacificas (the Tele Pacifica especially) look like an uncanny valley version of a Fender - I know what it's trying to be but it just feels "off" to me. I think if they went full-bore into creating some new models and shapes, even if they're not specifically catered to my personal "softer/rounder edges" tastes, they could easily start smoking the lower-tier electric market. If Yamaha made an electric that's fun, exciting and cool to hold in my hands (maybe even taking inspiration from the old Teiscos with lots of pickups, knobs, buttons, etc) and only costs $500, I'd totally play one because I know it's going to be miles better than anything else in it's price range because that's just what Yamaha stands for. I say all this as someone who isn't inspired by the look of their electrics but is chomping at the bit to get a Yamaha acoustic and one of their vintage studio rack reverbs. Much love to Yamaha for being consistently great at what they do, would love to see some new electrics from their corner of the market.
Some pretty well-known guitarists such as Bill Nelson, Big Country, Andy Taylor, and Santana all played Yamaha SG guitars back in the eighties.
Bill leverty, Michael lee firkins.
@@rampman8940 Bill Leverty is a badass. Chris Poland also plays (or used to play) Yamaha guitars.
And John McGeoch
masayoshi takanaka still plays one!!
I once saw some old footage of a British live music show from the Eighties. EVERYBODY played an SG2000 from Yamaha. Probably because the Gibson Les Pauls of that period sucked? Even Carlos Santana had one...
Chris Buck singlehandedly put this guitar on the map for me, and I'm shocked it isn't bigger considering how great he makes it sound. I passed it up for the Rivolta Combinata, which is an absolute beast, as shown many times on this channel.
Then you missed Matteo Mancuso as he was the first real deal who put this guitar on the map
@@atarijamthat would make Rik Emmitt the grandaddy of promoting Yamaha guitars, always gave one away at his Triumph band shows, back in the 80's
After hearing Chris Buck play one I really don’t care what they call the colours! The main barrier to getting one is my wife! 😂
I’ve been wanting one of these since I played one in a local Music Store. My first decent guitar was a Yamaha Pacifica that was $150 brand new and honestly, it still plays very good after 20 years. The fit and finish on it is still better than a few of my more expensive guitars.
lol. i just posted the exact same thing. are you me?
I bought my son a used Pacifica, and it's the bee's knees. I play a Yamaha bass, and own an older Yamaha synth (CS1x), and I have nothing but praise for their consistently high quality.
I’ve always felt that the Yamaha guitars were underrated I suppose a lot of it is due to headstock snobbery.
I put a PAF hum bucker in a 200$ PAC it sounds great
When, a lot of years back, i got my Pacifica 612 with Seymor Duncans, Wilkinson Tremoo and spertzel locking tuners, i really got into it. That guitar changed my musical life.
They're acoustic guitars are incredible as well! Not to mention their drums too.
+1 on drums!! i got a used kit for a great price. was happy to have found it, and be a solid brand like theirs.
Elliott Smith played one and he made it sound damn good
Their* It's goddamn 2023, can we type properly?
@@cleanclouds I mean he did it later, since it was the first word of his sentence, I'm almost 100% sure autocorrect presumed they wanted to start with "They're" instead.
Fart-flavored cheese logs and the black leather vest
Their first business was musical instruments (in the 19th century). It's why the logo has tuning forks in it. Their hand made acoustic guitars are excellent. I have one and am very happy with it.
I'd like to see more videos like this. I would assume the majority of your subscribers are just average people who just happen to love guitars. The guitars and the gear that cost thousands of dollars are cool and I loved your Les Paul video with Tim Pierce in particular, I like when you do videos on gear like this that is attainable to average viewers since you tend to be pretty honest with your opinions and that's helpful.
You said Sweetwater is help. Jeff Bohan was super helpful when we talked about what I needed after talking about old KRS and K recs. I was set on getting a Jaguar because I had a 62 reissue from around 2005 sold it and always missed it. He pointed out the 60th anniversary Jaguar. They released a strange looking black version. I’m curious if I should have got it. I got the mystic placid blue one. I ❤ love her. She’s stacked ! The only thing I would change would be the saddles to mustang/staytrem style. I believe that they don’t sell this model anymore but I would love to hear your feedback on the black version and the traditional model. That Yamaha was much nicer than my Epiphone sg. Love the Yamaha though really warm pickups and crunchy. Thanks for doing what you do
My primary guitar is a Yamaha Pacifica 112V! It's so versatile, the push-pull tone knob single coil is beyond amazing. I love that guitar so much
I have a PAC120H that cost me $300 and I love that thing to death. And with a good signal chain and in the hands of a good player (read: not me) I'd put it up against anything.
Yup, got one, too, and it blows my expensive Ibanez and cheap Epi SG out of the water. And the quality of my ol Motif, my Yamaha digital piano, my fretless, western and Steinberg stuff... Yamaha really make it easy to become a fanboi.
The Pacifica I had was a great guitar with super tone. The RGXA2 looks a bit strange but had awesome sound and weighed in around 2.5k, extremely light.
My friend , who is a GIT grad, and an amazing guitar player, swears by his Pacifica. He has all the expensive Les Paul's, and Ibanez guitars. But always goes back to that 500 dollar Pacifica. Yamaha just makes good stuff
I have one too. It's such a nice guitar, looks nice, plays nice, the components feel seriously good quality, but I'm no good at playing it - I actually play better on this cheap generic large music shop brand guitar, which is a real shame because I have a deep love for my Yamaha products
You've hit the nail on the head. I've owned and played Yamaha's almost exclusively for my entire career and absolutely love them & would pick them above other well-known branded guitars that cost many times more.
Disregarding the other product divisions and looking at Musical Instruments (MI) their guitars have always suffered from lousy marketing & branding. They have such a market dominance in the piano, drums, orchestra & marching band segments that they somehow don't seem to mind to let their guitar & bass products languish in obscurity. Their artist relations are terrible & next to non-existent and in today's world if your brand is not connecting with younger players & audiences you are just setting things up for failure.
The best Yamaha was the Bill Laverty the guitarist from the band Firehouse . That was a shredder !
Interesting. I google and found the model no. PAC1221/1221M. I own a bunch of Pacificas; a 112J, 612V (which I didn't like) and an 812V.
It's not often that quirky meets quality but I think it does in Yamaha. For any guitarist that doesn't need a Gibson/Fender/Martin etc. brand on the headstock to prop up their ego, I'd definitely go Yamaha or possibly Godin. I'd sell my Martin Custom-Shop HD28 before I'd part with my Yamaha SLG.
They have Matteo Mancuso and Chris Buck, and even still I don't see much marketing going on for them. Matteo being a once in a generation talent imo, you would think Yamaha would be trying to put him everywhere.
What you said about Yamaha prioritizing their piano/orchestral instruments is spot-on. I've been to a few different Yamaha Music stores in Japan, and while their other instruments are heavily represented, they give little (or even zero) floor space to their guitars. What guitars they have seem to usually be their entry-level acoustics.
Yamaha is my go to choice for bass, I got a BB404 and an RBX170 both modded with a 3 band EQ, and I'm just really impressed how solid they play
Nice Profile Pic
Hi Rhett, ran across this video and thought I’d share my 2 cents…
Basically, I bought a Japan made Revstar.
Changed out pots, cap and pickups to PAF’s.
This guitar has easily become my number 1.
The neck on this guitar is hands down one of the best (factory run guitar) guitars in my arsenal…
Note- the Indonesian made Revstars are amazing as well!
I’m so glad I stopped getting hung-up on brand names many years ago… 🤠
Thank you for the awesome videos!!
Yamaha SG2000 is one of the finest guitars out there Matches up against LP's very well. Bill Nelson of Bee Bop Deluxe played one in his Live in The Air Age Tour. Fantastic sound!
The SG2000 blew Gibson Les Pauls away with the quality. I bought a rather beat up (well only the headstock was chipped & a small section glued back on but not a headstock break as per Gibson) Made in Japan Super Fighter Yamaha (late 1970's model) in the early 1990's which is somewhat similar but not quite the same shape or "quality" of the SG2000. Slab mahogany body, bolt on neck but even that you can tell it was a quality product & would be better than anything Gibson was putting out at that time (and probably even today).
Santana played the SG2000 for years , was involved in the design , I'm led to believe
I purchased a Martin 000-28e, and a Mavis this year; the SA2200 is my next. They are GREAT instruments!
Geoff McGeoch from Siouxsie and the Banshees played one and those records sounded amazing
issei noro, santana, masayoishi takanaka all play sg2000s
I cannot rate these guitars highly enough! I've been a Yamaha player for years now, and treated myself a few months ago to this exact same model to scratch the P90 itch (at a discounted price too, for some reason the 'Hot Merlot' colour wasn't too popular, I think it's awesome, especially in person). What I wasn't expecting was it to so quickly become my main workhorse/go-to axe; the thing always, always sounds good. Those P90's are so creamy, and a lot more versatile than I thought, and are just killer with the 5 way switch too. The stainless frets continue to blow my mind, and make playing it a highly rewarding experience - seriously, you'll want those frets on all your guitars after trying it aha! Even the unconventional stringing method has become something I find really handy; string changes are quick, if a little fiddly, and there's no trying to route the string through the back (a very minor faff, but still).
It's served me through plenty of long gigs without any issue, and I would happily recommend this beast of a guitar to any player, as with pretty much anything Yamaha \m/
I'm a huge Chris Buck fan and, because of that, would love to see his goldtop Revstar with P90's and the hardtail bridge as part of standard Revstar line. Also, Yamaha makes superb audio-video home receivers... they were one of the first, if not the first, to measure and model real acoustic spaces (such as The Bottom Line) and incorporate them digitally into their receivers.
Chris Buck is great!
My first view of this channel. YOU certainly did a great job with “marketing” this guitar! You made me want one 😊
I purchased one 5 years ago to take on tour. I didn’t want to beat up any of my existing gear and wanted something that was inexpensive and dependable. Boy was I blown away. It is one of my favorite guitars. I recently purchased Chris’s signature model as well. ❤❤❤
Yamaha classical guitars are actually great. I've been playing mine for 37 years and it's still in amazing shape.
Nice! What model is it, and year, if you don't mind me prying?
Agreed my mum's had hers since the 80s still in great condition and plays so nice
Modesty is a japanese trademark. Doesn't surprise me that they don't go all-out on marketing despite the amazing craftsmanship. Next time i step into a music shop I go looking for that revstar.
modesty? are you kidding me? they want to sell as much as they can. reality is their guitars are really good not great and their big $ is in high volume mid priced gear.
@@ltcuaawell it's humility. based on Indonesian virtues. even if you are the best guitar, don't show it.
show the player that by using the guitar they can shine, feel better, and acknowledged. not shining the guitar alone.
Nothing to do with modesty. Been in Japan for over a decade, have friends in companies like ESP, has everything to do with culture of change for the sake of appearing to be doing something, aging top of companies paired with senpai/kohai culture that does not allow open questioning of bad choices. Like with friends at ESP knowing standard line being rebranded to EII was counter productive but knowing if they question it that it will mark them in bad light I am 100% sure there are Yamaha employees who felt same with late 90s shift to pacifica branding and shift to image of starter student guitars but just have to agree with the top or even face inner sabotage if they bring up wanting to go back as that sabotage would reinforce inner politics, see weird stuff like that in Japan often. So not humility but the opposite ego and pride in corporate hierarchy stuff that leads to stagnation.
@@XAVAKOFFICIAL you're talking about two different things here. Because Yamaha does indeed now have a great pro and mid tier guitar now, and you are talking about when they went to the student branding. The fact is, the Revstar and Pacifica brand changes over the past 8 years shows a company that is definitely aware of the shortcomings of their guitar brand and have moved to change it by improving quality, concentrating on high quality for lower price and creating a simplified yet clearly delineated model range. It's the EXACT OPPOSITE of what you are arguing.
And I have also lived in Japan for over a decade and the kohei/senpai thing isn't universal, and it isn't always to the detriment of the company - you're making a lot of assumptions here.
@@zoeherriot buddy literally works at Yamaha and agrees with lots of my sentiments and my band uses the yamaha school coupled studios for rehearsals (and they do bad job on upkeep tbh)👍 even staff there who worked at main hamamatsu office agreed with me on lots of their past and current bad decisions but everyone has a line on what they think is good and bad. 😌🤌でもね、どう考えてもイメージが弱くなったぞぉ😌クオリティーの話じゃなくてブランディングの問題っしょw
It's not hat guitar players don't play Yamaha, it's that guitar players in North America don't play Yamaha. They're much more prominent across the globe outside of NA.
As a longtime Fender Strat player, I’ll admit that I wasn’t familiar with the Yamaha brand until recently. I just happen to play a RevStar Standard w/P90’s at my local shop and was blown away.
I mean the quality, feel and sound were there. My first thought was, “Why haven’t I heard of this guitar”. Now I own two, both Standard models that are currently out. I’ve actually sold off some of my more expensive gear because these are just that good.
To your point though, I agree that Yamaha hasn’t really pushed these into players hands and they lack on the social media platforms. Either way, I’m happy I found them and stand by the brand and these guitars.
You had me at “I mean…”
I agree with a lot of your Yamaha points. As a guy that worked in a music store it was so clear that Yamaha’s were the best or close to at any price point you looked at. They clearly know how to make a good product, just look at how they completely revived and smashed it with Line 6. I just think they’d have been better off making a new brand under the Yamaha umbrella that focused on guitar. Rather than guitarists having that thought of “an external company making a guitar.” We’re very gatekeepy/old school like that.
Agreed. Also, no real endorsements from Players/Artists and no real history. Epiphone and Squier (as mentioned by Rhett) both have significant endorsements and history. I agree with you in that Yamaha should release guitars under a different/new company.
You are just thinking of American and British guitarists. Lots of Japanese guitarists have made careers on Yamahas amd there are tons of artist’s models. Ryuichi Sakamoto comes immediately,to mind. Also ever heard of a Mexican cat named Carlos Santana, or his British guitar buddy John McLaughlin? Yeah, no.
Matteo Mancuso.
Yamaha also revived Cubase.
@@claesvanoldenphatt9972 True, and really good points. However, the Japanese market is small by comparison. As for McLaughlin and Santana, all of my guitar playing friends have heard of them, however I'm 62 years old now and my friends older. TBH, I can't understand how young people think or what they prefer (and I think that is a good thing 😉)
These videos pop up once in awhile and everyone is effusive about how good Yamaha is but the reality on the ground is this - music shops that stock Yamaha gear are unable to sell them unless it’s heavily discounted.
I used to work in the industry as a product manager. Yamaha simply doesn’t move like other brands do.
One striking instance I recall was when we organised a Yamaha brand and experience event. We got in a bunch of professional musicians to demo the Yamaha gear and conduct masterclasses in the hope that it would drum up interest. We spent a whole afternoon doing soundcheck to get things sounding good, sent all the demo instruments for a setup, new strings, professional sound crew etc. At the end of the day one of the guys picked up a Japanese fender strat, and his tone completely blew everything away.
Everyone says Yamaha is great but when to comes down to it, Yamaha gear just doesn’t measure up and doesn’t sell.
Chris Buck plays them, and my word he plays. 😍
Commenting just on the basis of the title. Later found out Rhett mentions this in the video.
he shure does 👍
i‘m sure they made chris buck a special one… the 800$ version i held in my hands did not resonate at all and was one heavy piece of gear… the neck felt like plastic. i do like my yamaha trans accoustic though…
Chris Buck plays the Revstar Professional MIJ, I think, which is $2k.
@@freitopolis The Ibanez Prestige and Yamaha Pro lines are MIJ and wonderful. I also disagree with Rhett that they didn't do a good enough job putting these in Guitar players hands.. Every RUclipsr was sent one FFS. I doubt the low attachment rate has much to do with marketing.
Hi Rhett, I just bought a Revstar, and it's quality and playability has blown me away, it's an incredible instrument in my opinion. Keep making the brilliant content my friend, it too is exceptional, thank you! 👍❤️
The Yamaha SG fuelled almost the entire British post-punk sound. Just watch videos from the late 70s, early 80s and you'll be amazed. Seeing John McGeoch with Magazine and Siouxsie and the Banshees made me want one so badly. Finally got myself an SG2000 a few years back. I also have a Revstar, a Transacoustic and a 12-string from Yamaha. Love them.
both are great models
I believe the SG2000 was the first japanese import guitars that made players sit up and take notice.
@@MrTubularBalls They weren't called Gibson killers for no reason.
I played a Yamaha SG1000 a few yeas back. It played better than any les paul I've ever played and was just spot on
I absolutely love my Revstar. It plays amazing and sounds the same. I also own two of their acoustics and a bass. If nobody doesn't get it then fine. I will own awesome sleeper instruments that everyone will want in twenty years(how it works)
I had a dreadnought acoustic of there's, and it was awesome!
This I get! I had a sleeper mid-80s Yamaha tuba that never really caught on, but 20 years later, everyone who had one knew it was a treasure. My Cerveny I had to work to play. My Alexander played itself, it was so effortless. And my Yamaha played me, it was so alive. I felt I was more its gear than vice versa.
Hi sir I've been gassing for one of the Revstar standard models with P90S and keep holding back as a Gibson player for many years without ever owning a P90 pickup guitar would you say in your humble opinion for the money that you couldn't go wrong with one of these guitars
A future hipster in the making...
I have a buddy who has a Yamaha bass. Great quality, their bass guitars have been great for a long time.
I got my Yamaha Revstar Standard with P90 pups earlier this year and it has quickly become one of my favorites out of 20 electric guitars. BEST neck and frets, great P90 tones, Focus switch is useful tone shaping, excellent weight and balance.
Hey just curious how light is it?
Such a simple thing, not many reasonably priced P90 guitars. It's top of my list if I ever find room for another guitar. Did you try the Pro to see the difference?
I have not played the Professional model Made in Japan but the superb quality of my Standard model made in Indonesia is flawless so I can't imagine the need for the MIJ at twice the price. Weigh-wise, my Standard is almost 8 lbs. Not super light which is fine with me because I like guitars with some heft yet not back breaking like a Les Paul.
@@bishimatsu great to know, thanks!
@bishimatsu actually looking for a light guitar...I am looking at the PRS Vela Semi-hollow.. Just wondering if there some other options out there...thanks
Had my Standard 22 p90 3 months ago. I can’t put it down. Surprise guitar. Love it. Playability/excellent
Attack/excellent
Comfort/excellent
Fits in the collection and goes to almost all my gigs.
I have a Revstar Professional with P90 pickups and it is absolutely, without a doubt, one of the most enjoyable and inspiring instruments I own. I have high end Gibsons, Fenders, PRSs, and a couple nice Schecters in my arsenal, and this Revstar has easily and quickly worked its way to the top of my list. I LOVE THIS GUITAR! Can't say it enough :)
Thank you.
This friend of ours is right!
Salli, from Naples, Italy....
I bought a element one, just a year ago. It has the dry switch, an high-pass filter, and it fel like going towards a single coil, but without losing volume.
Maybe I would change for better pickups,sometime in future. Meanwhile, the guy just screams like crazy.
I come from a strat, abd for me, it's been a real revelation.
Yamaha has done a really great job on this one.
how is the neck? is it like a fender modern C neck or like an LP?
I’m in a similar position and I completely agree. I have a bit of a collection and the Rev’ stands out, holds its own and has a unique sound and vibe. Brilliant guitar.
@@danig77 well, the strat has a slimmer neck. But the rev's neck is amazing, and satin finish on the back. Beautiful!
The element ine, the cheapest of the series, is unbeatable for the price.
the Yamaha classical introductory guitar is possibly the best guitar for a beginner. the quality of the fretboard and playability are amazing. the right tool to start the journey.
That was the case forty years ago, too.
I was going to say the same thing
My son learned to play on a Yamaha CS40. They are the go-to for young learners who care about the quality of the instrument they play on.
First guitar I got my kid was a Yamaha 3/4 scale classical guitar.
Ten years later and the kid still plays that guitar more than his more expensive electrics.
You can buy a different brand. Doesn't matter which brand.
But you must practice 8hours a day or more, every day.
After one year, you will be a good player. 8hours a day or more.
Don't take too many breaks.
Every day.
Yamaha isn't just piano and motorbikes. They are one of the top brands for drums with the best hardware out there. They make fantastic brass instruments and they made the most legendary synthesizer ever! The CS-80!
While they have some nice cheaper synths now like the Refaces, they need to get back in the vintage analog game like Korg. A CS-80 might be asking a bit too much and it would be expensive as hell, but I'd love to see reissues of the smaller CS-line.
Yamaha literally defined 80s music when they made the best and the most important synth EVER - DX7!
@@stakor You could argue about the DX7 being the "best" Synth ever :D I for one don't like its sound at all^^
OK, I really like FM synth sounds, but, no other instrument since electric guitar (ok, maybe the first Minimoog) changed the music so much! Only Yamaha had enough resources (R&D) to be able to implement digital synthesis into affordable (for that time) product, and DX7 was used by everbody!
Yaeh, Yamaha also did Lexus LFA
I own that exact guitar. It's frickin amazing! That particular version (RevStar 2.0) has only been available to the public for a few months. You forgot that it also has Stainless Steel frets!
I’ve always thought that those Yamaha Revstars were really cool looking. They sound great. I don’t know why they don’t get more love.
I love SGs, so the Revstar is immediately attractive to me. Chris Buck certainly makes them sound incredible, as well.
CB plays a high end made in Japan model. This is made in Indonesia or SK .....can't remember.
@@bobalmighty2925 Buck's was made in california at the yamaha custom shop! Point stands tho
I think Matteo Mancuso, when I see a Yamaha Revstar
@@TubeTapeGecko He has more than one, they aren't all custom shop.
I was going to mention Chris Buck, but you beat me to it.
Honestly, so fun to watch you running around setting stuff up. Fun to see behind the curtain and watch the set-up process we all go through. Keep it up Rhett, you're the king!
Got my Yamaha Revstar RSS20 back in January, the Humbucker version , Since then I am in love man , everything is so perfect about it ❤️ It's so versatile fits all my demands 🔥
I have the older generation of this and I love it! People do not know what they are missing . Love thw pupa and the tones available.
I don't believe I've ever played a bad Yamaha. I had an FG acoustic for 15 years, and it was one of the most consistent playing instruments I've ever owned. Very dependable.
I had an fg 180 acoustic. Paid $150 with hardshell. Solid built guitar, played great. Wish I had never sold it.
Same here
35 years ago I bought a Yamaha FS-310, just a fun, compact version of a dreadnaught because it sounds cool for a cheap guitar.
Keeping in mind some classical guitars have laminated tops, the build quality is actually good. Taiwan China.
Absolutely I have an FG 730S that's been with me for about 15 years and I love it. Compared it to 2 of those $800 plastic Martins after I fixed the unbelievably stupid high action on them for a couple of friends and it was way better.
I also have an FGX730, had it for 15 years now play it everyday. Has held up well and still sounds great.
My Yamaha acoustic is truly one of my all time favorites I own. The TransAcoustic electronics are something unique
Having the effects around the campfire is a game changer
Elliott Smith played an old Yamaha FG-180 as his main acoustic. I bought one from 1971 recently and it is a fantastic guitar, and I have heard really good things about some of their newer acoustics
Big fan of yammy acoustics. Apx and cpx are great stage guitars. Put them through the behringer acoustic modeller pedal to remove the piezoelectric quackiness
Yes, I've got a 50 year old Yamaha acoustic and it's just perfect.
My Gibson j45 and Taylor 414ce are under the bed. I prefer my LL Ta Transacoustic
Ive had the RSS02T (Revstar Standard with P90s, same one Rhett has, but in the black finish) for about 6-7 months now. It is my by far my favorite guitar i have ever owned. It feels and plays like a dream, sounds incredible, the fit and finish is flawless, i absolutely love the body and headstock shape, love the stainless steel frets, but the thing i love the most is the feel of the neck. I dont have a single bad thing to say about this guitar. I never considered Yamaha in the past, but It definitely peaked my interest in Yamaha.
Worked at a guitar store for a long time… those Yamahas are so solid. Great build quality and so consistent. Always wanted a revstar
It does my heart good to see Yamaha finally get the recognition it deserves.
I remember playing a Yamaha SG back in the eighties and it's probably still the best playing guitar I've ever played. I own Ibanez and Gibson guitars now and they're pretty fine too.
In the UK I recently bought a non active budget Yamaha bass that came with a nice bag, Fender digi tuner, Vox headphone effects plug-in and Fender 15w practice amp, altogether it came to just £200 ($225 approx) it needed setting up as the neck tension and action were way off but I did it, got it playing nicely, I love the thing, it just refuses to go out of tune from one week to the next, it's a real keeper now, love it!
Yamaha is a company that has so many talented engineers in so many disciplines… From electric pianos to YZF-R1 racing motorcycles… people often don’t realize that the Ford SHO engine as well as the screaming V10 of the Lexus LFA supercar were both designed by Yamaha. It really doesn’t surprise me that they have some amazing sleeper guitars as well. Now that I stop to think about it, the silent acoustic/electric that I travel with (half the frame breaks down so the guitar fits in an airplane’s overhead bin) is made by Yamaha! ☮️❤️🎶
yeah for a piano company they make some decent guitars... and motorcycles
not like that tee shirt company that makes garage queens
BTW: If you are going to demo an electric guitar, dont play it thru an amp with a mic, with reverb and distortion - play it CLEAN right into the audio jack on the camera
SO WE CAN HERE WHAT THE GUITAR SOUNDS LIKE
would you do that with a classical guitar, or a grand piano?!
Yamaha designed the LFA Engine? Didn't know that. I'll have to go check that out.
But special that engine.. Guess that's why it sounds so great
Checks out
Also.. "the exhaust system was co developed with Yamaha's music division"
@@Seaby41 They also engineered the head on the sw20 MR2's engine.
I actually found a pair of Yamaha alpine skis a couple of days ago🤓 I also own a yamaha saxophone, motorbike, outboard engine, bass and speakers!
I've been playing an RBX 375 bass for 11 years now, bought it on sale for $400. It is the most versatile bass I've had in my hands. It feels great, plays great, sounds wonderful wherever you plug it in. I've used it for recording, and it has held up excellently. It can fit into whatever genre you'd like to play. I really can't find anything wrong with it. It simply rocks and I love it.
I’ve been playing my TRBX 305 for around 10 years as well. I’ve replaced the stock hardware since (there’s nothing wrong with the stock, I just wanted gold and figured I’d upgrade the hardware at the same time). The Music Man style pickups are really good though, and it has a pick-up selector that makes playing different plucking styles live really easy. I can be playing a pick tone and switch to a slap tone for a single section in a song and switch back immediately. I’d never seen that on a bass before. Super versatile
I had that same bass but sold it because I’m a guitarist and had a long spell when I didn’t record anything so had no need for a bass. These days, I regret selling it and I still miss it.
as a bass player, i think the Yamaha based are also highly, highly underrated. they have them at every guitar center but they stay hanging on the wall because the branding makes people write them off. there are some absolutely amazing quality Yamaha basses and i want to see more of them out there SO BAD
I picked up a little yamaha 1x10 bass cab from my local pawn shop a while back, for its size and weight it's absolutely amazing
I have a Yamaha TRBx147, literally their CHEAPEST model and it is an amazing bass guitar. I love it more than anything else I’ve played, pure quality build
I have a Yamaha trb1006j crb, for a Karnivool song, love it as much as my dingwall 5 string and Warwick streamer 4, (and it’s the cheapest of the bunch 🤔)
I wanted a yamaha bass when i bought mine, i didn't want anything else, so we do exist(yamaha believers).
I am however a guitarist first and foremost, but i need a bass for recording at home, so i bought one for about 500 usd, and it didn't diappoint at aĺl.
I feel like Yamaha is extremely recommended for bass. Whether or not people take the recommendation when they're new, I don't know, but almost every bassist I know has played one at some point, if not landing on one permanently. Guitar, of course, is a completely different story... Sometimes you'll see a pacifica and that's about it.
My first experience with Sweetwater was a set of bridge pins for an acoustic guitar about three years ago, after a year I bought some strings, then a Hartke practice bass amp. Then I bought a Yamaha acoustic guitar. Most recently I bought a Squire Classic Series Tele. In every case, from the smallest to the most major purchase I've been treated great. I don't always trust on line companies but in Sweetwater's case I can definitely say I trust them.
Glad to hear you’re bringing back the gear reviews. I bought the same model Revstar last year after seeing Chris Buck play his and when Yamaha re-introduced their latest iteration of this model. I absolutely love mine; it’s my main P-90 guitar and I use it a lot for slide playing. Agree with your comments, it’s the best guitar I’ve seen under $1K!
The SG series was pretty popular in the 80s, Santana, John McGeogh and Bill Nelson spring to mind. I have a gold SG3000 which plays like a dream. The guy in the shop called it a "les paul killer"
Its a 3k dollar guitar man, its gotta play well xD
@@matejcevnik7362 a out half that, heavily discounted
@capri2673Different SG, though.
I first learned on my childhood friend’s Yamaha Pacifica. We loved that guitar, and it’s still the best sounding budget guitar I’ve played
EXACTLY the same here. I'm lefty so always struggled with getting guitars I like. The Pacifica was one of the first guitars I bought and sold it to 'upgrade'... Many 'upgrades' later (by upgrades I mean I spent more money), I went and bought another Pacifica, natural satin... and of all the guitars I now own, that one is still my absolute favourite and gives me the most joy to play... plus it looks so nice.
The Pacifica is awesome for the money. Great price point guitar.
I used to love Pacificas too...
Pacifica was my first guitar too, and I totally agree with you. It is a really good quality budget guitar.
The Revstar Standard P90 in that color is one of my dream guitars. Great video.
A bunch of the best, most serious jazz heads I knew back in the 80s swore by Yamaha’s high-end guitars. You’ve made me want to track one of these down and see if it’d work for me. Glad Gear Talk v2.0 is live!
(The SG2000 in particular)
I have one. Waited nearly a year for Sweetwater to get their shipment. So it must be more popular than you think as the Revstar lineup was back ordered. It’s a fine instrument. A joy to play. And works well in a multitude of musical settings.
Same. About a year wait. It's one of my favorite that I own. I have the black version of this model.
Yeah, I was thinking that plenty of shops get them in and they all go, so obviously they sell. It would be interesting to see some real sales figures
I wonder if that has a lot to do with Chris Buck? He really has made a name for himself in the last couple of years. He has a great RUclips channel as well.
@@ElmanAuthementChris Buck is the reason I knew about these guitars in the first place. Then the positive reviews convinced me to buy one!
And here in France too they were hard to find! Guitar stores didn’t know when they would be available so I ended up ordering one online.
My RSS20 (the humbucker version) is definitely my favorite guitar, I love how it plays, sounds and looks. To the point when I’m not interested in buying another guitar anymore 😂 maybe I’ll sell my P90s Les Paul and get a P90s Revstar instead though.
As an older person (51), who started playing in the mid '80s ... when that style of fusion was super popular in the guitar community and Yamaha's BB series of basses owned pop music ... and who is old enough to remember Yamaha SG guitars (which the Revstar is based on) being all over the place in the early '80s, this was a really interesting perspective. I've always seen Yamaha as the professional, get the job done without caring about image brand and a lot of players who I came up with had the same idea about them. They were something to aspire to, once you got over Kramer or Gibson, or whatever brand's gimmick you were stuck on at the time. Having said that, I've played a number of them over the years, wanting to like them and they've always been very well-made, but seemed a bit sterile and uninspiring. Even though the bigger names don't make instruments that are technically as good, at the same price point, I think those flaws make them more interesting.
I totally remember the SG series guitars! I’ve always wanted one. Like, A LOT.
I remember people saying that they recorded REALLY well.
Maybe I’ll get one yet…
I agree, I also own a 1982 SBG 500.
A yes, in the eighties these Yamaha SG2000’s were everywhere. They called them the best Les Pauls that Gibson never made. ❤
I would say they're more based on the SF Superflighter series... almost exact body shape. I've yet to play a bad Yamaha, even entry level Pacifica's are great for the money.
@@danielguedes702 I'd never heard of the Super Flighter line before, thanks for bringing it to my attention. It looks like the Revstar is a combination of the two. It's got the binding of the SG and the asymmetrical cutaways of the SF.
Thanks for a good review. Agree. I find Yahama a great quality brand. Like their pianos, guitars, drums and also to mention their sound gear. You’ve got a new subscriber from Sweden 🇸🇪. 👍
I own two Yamaha guitars, one of which is a 1980 SA-2000. That guitar was built to kill the Gibson ES-335 when their quality declined in the lates 70s and has reached legend status in the cult guitar world. It's a phenomenal guitar with so much mojo and personality, Yamaha is so underrated.
I've got a 1976 Yamaha SA700 - and I agree! I put after -market pickups in it at one stage and quickly went back to thew originals. A no-nonsense semi hollow that plays just beautifully.
I actually like the looks a lot.
It balances modern and vintage looks very well.
I don't know why but to me the style screams "mod"- like it should be in an Austin Powers movie. I love it.
I own a Yamaha Revstar. As soon as I played it five years ago, I knew I wouldn't need another electric guitar again. It plays like a high end guitar. Ever play a guitar that surprises you because you play better than you thought you could? That's what a high quality guitar does. I love the Revstar.
Love it. I've played it numerous times and feels and sounds great every time. This will be my next purchase.
Back in the early 90s, the man i took guitar lessons from almost always played his Yamaha acoustic. It was he always said the finest acoustic guitar he had ever played and in his small studio, it put out so much sound on so many levels it was just mind blowing. He had a fairly extensive collection of guitars, too. Probably 50 or so. I can remember the sound of it distinctly 30 years later. Yamaha has an extremely interesting history as a whole and has been around for well over a hundred years, and they excel under the radar at everything they do.
Really love Yamaha instruments. Not enough to be said about them, especially their drums.
Yamaha drums has some of the best hardware on the market today on par with DW. They make great kits but I find them a bit more expensive than the other Japanese drums.
As well as their BB series basses!
I Have an Yamaha 8000 in my studio that went through years of touring, thousands of gigs, and is still living happily as a studio drumset these days. Just recorded an album for a band that used it and still sounds amazing!
I’d rather buy a guitar from a guitar company, not a dirtbike/TV/furniture/jetski/piano/archery equipment company.
@@brunswicksquaremusic5905
Yamaha was in music first.
They’ve been in the business since 1887.
I bought a Revstar 3 years ago and it is since than my No1 guitar! Versatile as hell... From Blues to Jazz to Metal. Wonderful to play!
Have a question... Would you say that the Revstar, as an instrument, inspires to play jazz? Wonder if I should have one or not...
I learned on a Yamaha GC-10 (?) classical guitar. It was a solid beginner's instrument that had good intonation, was well setup from the factory, and produced a decent tone. I traded it long ago and now wish I'd kept it. It would be a perfect camper guitar.
I bought one 14 months ago. One of my best guitar buys ever! Highly recommend.
Love the Yamaha name, love the brand, love the sound, love the build quality, love the finish, love the price point, love the quality. love the fretwork, love the design concept, love the engineering, love the facts that Carlos Santana loved the classic SA 2000's - PuP's can be changed if you are not happy with the tone! and personally - I absolutely love the products - love the SA2200, knock spots of the Gibsons SA's, Love the Revstar, especially the P 90 versions, Love the FG 140, LA10 acoustics plus many, many more - Love everything about Yamaha - 'Why Guitar Players Don't Play Yamaha' Ah........maybe I'm not a guitar player!
Yamaha's pedigree stretches back further than 80s "jazz-fusion" players. Their SG-2000 was a hugely respected instrument from the mid-70s onwards. Great, influential punk/New Wave players like Jake Burns (Stiff Little Fingers), John McGeoch (Magazine and Siouxsie & the Banshees) Stuart Adamson ( The Skids & Big Country), Glenn Tilbrook (U.K. Squeeze) used it extensively on their classic records and live,
I'm fairly sure McGeoch used SG1000s, but, sure, all of these high-end Yamaha SGs are fantastic guitars.
sgs are awesome.
As well as Rik Emmett from Triumph
Also Yuri Kasparyan of Kino is heavily associated with a pearl white SG-200. He's one of the most prominent figures in Soviet/Russian Rock.
If my memory is correct, I think you can add Bill Nelson to the list.
My first guitar was a Yamaha ERG121C, which came with the gigmaker package. My dad bought it for me 15 years ago or so.
A couple years ago I decided to dust it off. I replaced the beaten mic switch, the nut and changed some new strings and it's actually my main guitar right now! The humbuckers have such a nice, creamy tone and the neck is nicely bulky and supportive for my sausage fingers. I also got a Yamaha FG800 acoustic for 300€ and use it regularly. They are a great brand.
Yamaha was my first electric guitar, and it's still my favorite to play.
When I started playing, the guitar was about 20 years old and it still plays awesome.
Witch one do you have? I would like to buy one guitar now and I don't know what should I buy.
@@cringemeout Yamaha Pacifica 112 CPJ, great begginer budget guitar, I recommend it.
Totally agree. Don’t forget about the PAC611s and 612s. For under $800, those things smoke the Mexi Strats in the same price range.
I worked for the Yamaha wholesaler in London in the 1980s and early 90s. I think one of their biggest issues is they make so many different products and of course they're not all musical instruments. Most players want an instrument from an elite specialist maker.
I think you nailed it.
I think this as well. They are one of those HUGE Japanese companies that are involved in everything. I think to a lot of people its weird to buy a guitar from a motorcycle company or whatever. I do think its funny that they are most often thought of as not a music company when their logo is 3 tuning forks. Its always been right there in front of us lol
Yamaha is the quiet kid in the group discussion. He’s taking notes, listening, and when he has something to say, it comes out fully formed and workable. When Yamaha makes a guitar, they listen, they find out what’s good, and they come out with a great guitar…. that nobody has heard of. Whatever you want from it, when you find the right setting, there it is. But the company has no brand image, no signature sound.
Exactly what I was thinking. For another example, Techmoan has a video on Kenwood electronics where he talks about his brother asking for brand recommendations for a new hi-fi system. His brother is immediately turned off by the Kenwood brand as soon as he discovers that they also make kitchen appliances. He assumes that just because a brand makes a wider variety of products, then there's no way that they could make them well.
And of course Yamaha makes an even larger variety of products. I play drums and I'm a synth enthusiast, and Yamaha seems to hold their own in both areas. The DX-7 and CS-80 alone established them as an influential producer of synthesizers. And their drum hardware is, in my opinion, some the most reliable that money can buy.
If you compare that to known guitar brands like Fender and Gibson, they rarely diversify much outside of Guitars, basses, amps and related accessories. For Fender, all I can think of is their line of PA systems? Gretsch at least is known for Guitars as well as drums, but they're still not even close to the product diversity of Yamaha. They're just not what comes to mind when you think electric guitars. It seems slightly less so with classical/acoustic guitars, which I think could be attibuted to Yamaha's reputation with pianos and thus classical musicians.
My first acoustic and electric guitar is a Yamaha. I’ve moved on to other guitars at this point, but my old FS and Pacifica still has a special place in my music journey.