This is the best Pacifica guitar

When you bump up to level 5, you really get something good.

The Yamaha Pacifica is a guitar I've mentioned before but am mentioning again, because if you want to put some money into something you can call "the good guitar", this is it...

...and it's well under $1,000 even though it could easily sell for that much.

What you see above is the top of the range model, the PAC611HFM. From that link you will see there are several finish options available, including a rather awesome Translucent Black and even a ridiculously cool Translucent Purple. Don't like purple? You will after seeing how Yamaha does theirs.

Pacifica comes in 5 model ranges with 600 series being the best one. Unfortunately, it's ordinarily true the only one you see in guitar stores is the low end 100 series, but there is 200, 300, 400, 500 and 600 on top.

What makes the 600 a rather large jump up compared to the 100 is a TUSQ nut, real-deal Seymour Duncan pickups, full push-pull split control on the humbucker, real-deal Graph Tech string saver saddles and real-deal Grover locking tuners. Yes, locking tuners. The body is maple and alder, and of course the fingerboard is real rosewood.

In other words, zero modifications are needed to make this guitar great. What you get out of the box is already great.

The Pacifica 600 series is for many players a dream guitar, and the only reason more people don't buy it is because they weren't aware it even existed. Hardtail Strat style body, well-voiced splittable humbucker at the bridge, awesome P90 at the neck, great body shape, balanced just right (absolutely zero neck dive), clean understated look without looking dopey... everything is there.

It's also nice that Yamaha did not put a paper thin neck on this guitar. First fret neck depth measures at 20.9mm (0.82") and 22.9mm (0.90") at the 12th. It's a very nice thickness.

The fingerboard is nice and flat at 350mm (13.77"), allowing for ridiculously low action and easy note bending.

Pacifica 600 is built to be a player's guitar first, and it's nice it exists. What you pay for here is "all guitar", which is an increasingly rare thing these days.

Published 2020 Nov 24