Yamaha Revstar 2 Standard - A real winner.

[sb-SG]

A bit off topic but, when I look at the Revstar, I always think of the SG's.
I always liked them ever since I saw Martin Barre play one.
But if you look at the cost of a new one now....€3600.... that's steep for any factory made guitar in my book.
That's what I paid for my custom made Larkins.
But it won't stop me gassing for a nice Yamaha SG

Yep, with you there but with a few reservations in the full width models are ******* heavy and the (diving) neck was too deep for me. But they sound and play quite uniquely. I still have a SG1200S which is a slimmer version (Including neck) and love the alnico pickups. Yamaha quality varies across the range vs cost but its always seemed consistent.

 

[marsonic]

Is it weird that I want an 02T with humbuckers because I think they look the best but don't like single-coil hum....?

 

[lscottk]

Is it weird that I want an 02T with humbuckers because I think they look the best but don't like single-coil hum....?

Very little to no hum on my RSP02T. The electronics cavity seems to be well protected from RF. I have good wiring in my house, and haven't yet taken it to my weekly church gig, so not sure how well it will play out in the real world. But at least at home, I have no problems with hum. I have a Baja Tele that I wouldn't say this about.

 

[guitaroholic]

Loved my Original Revstar and sold it to get this, it arrived last week
Yamaha, Sleeper guitars such an amazing guitar for the price

View attachment 116505

RSP20 right?
Opened it up yet? I hear the guts are supposed to be same as the Standard. Did it look like this below?
Are the tuners on the Pro branded in any way? I dropped locking Gotohs in.
My switch was crackly so I sprayed some de-oxit.

And I hope the finish on the Pros isn't as soft as the standards. Paper towels or even a sweater will put swirls in it instantly. Unreal.

 

[guitaroholic]

Here are some pics of my RSP02T

View attachment 116587View attachment 116588View attachment 116589View attachment 116590View attachment 116594

Does G&B make the P-90s too?
Have a pick of the wiring cavity?
Are the tuners branded on the Pro's or same as Standard?

 

[Stonetone]

RSP20 right?
Opened it up yet? I hear the guts are supposed to be same as the Standard. Did it look like this below?
Are the tuners on the Pro branded in any way? I dropped locking Gotohs in.
My switch was crackly so I sprayed some de-oxit.

And I hope the finish on the Pros isn't as soft as the standards. Paper towels or even a sweater will put swirls in it instantly. Unreal.

View attachment 116949View attachment 116950View attachment 116951

Mine is the RSS20 Standard So far so good on finish no spider webs , as for the Electronics dunno work good and feel solid
its a steal at the price they are selling them at

 

[lscottk]

Does G&B make the P-90s too?
Have a pick of the wiring cavity?
Are the tuners branded on the Pro's or same as Standard?

I'm not sure about the pickups. Advertising literature says that electronics on the Standard and Pro are identical, so I would presume that both the pickups and electronics are the same. I haven't opened up the wiring cavity so I don't have picks. The tuners are not branded. Just nice, shiny, chrome.

 

[Andy Eagle]

Tuners are Sung il not the absolute worst ( but close ) and G&B are a generic budget pickup maker in about the $10 range. The electrics are very low end apart from the switch and that is because there isn't a budget version. G&B are not terrible and they make a lot of pickups for a lot of brands . The build quality is actually very good and the overall quality is only really limited by the specifications and the budget materials they work with. At this price point only Fender and Charvel have used better. Charvel often fit Duncans in guitars where they would cost half the guitar and Fender Mexico use CTS pots.

 

[lauke-lux]

Yamaha have great instruments for the money but after a few experiences with other brands selling midrange priced instruments, I'd wait a bit for saving money and go for the real thing, get the pro versions.
With the lower or standard stuff it's always something, the hardware, pick-ups, frets, bridge inserts. Let's be clear : miracles do not exist in this matter.

 

[lscottk]

Okay, previous comments about low quality parts have me wondering now about my Pro 02T. I think that it sounds awesome. I have two Knaggs - a Kenai T2 with Dave Price P51 pickups, and Kenai J with Seymour Duncan pickups. The Knaggs both use Humbuckers, so not apples to apples comparison. However both of the Knaggs have tone mojo. From the "mojo" perspective, my RSP02T holds is own with either guitar. Of course this is just my opinion. YMMV. I'll put together a sound clip this weekend and post it to compare.

These P90s sound great to my ear. Maybe I was wrong in my earlier post about the pickups/electronics on the Pro being the same as on the Standard . . ? Someone more knowledgeable than me might have a definitive answer. The only thing that I'm still getting used to with this guitar is the stainless steel frets. I like how they feel. But there is a stainless steel "plink" that shows up with pick attack. I am adjusting my pick attack technique to minimize the effect. But in the end I think that I prefer nickel frets to stainless steel.

I have limited experience with P90 guitars, so my opinion is not as informed as others. The only other true P90 guitar that I've had prior to this one was a mid-90s USA made Hamer in avocado green. It was heavy and I never bonded with it. Otherwise, I had a PRS SE Bernie Marsdon with Seymour Duncan PRails in it. Not true P90s though, so it doesn't count to compare.

To my ear this guitar sounds great. I'd recommend getting a Pro version no problem. Not sure about the Standard. Hopefully the hardware and electronics are top notch. But who knows . . In the end I just like the guitar. I am planning on it being a keeper, as long as I can get used to the stainless steel frets.

 

[Sorenspete]

Wow, those fret ends look pretty good!

 

[skolacki]

Okay, previous comments about low quality parts have me wondering now about my Pro 02T. I think that it sounds awesome. I have two Knaggs - a Kenai T2 with Dave Price P51 pickups, and Kenai J with Seymour Duncan pickups. The Knaggs both use Humbuckers, so not apples to apples comparison. However both of the Knaggs have tone mojo. From the "mojo" perspective, my RSP02T holds is own with either guitar. Of course this is just my opinion. YMMV. I'll put together a sound clip this weekend and post it to compare.

These P90s sound great to my ear. Maybe I was wrong in my earlier post about the pickups/electronics on the Pro being the same as on the Standard . . ? Someone more knowledgeable than me might have a definitive answer. The only thing that I'm still getting used to with this guitar is the stainless steel frets. I like how they feel. But there is a stainless steel "plink" that shows up with pick attack. I am adjusting my pick attack technique to minimize the effect. But in the end I think that I prefer nickel frets to stainless steel.

I have limited experience with P90 guitars, so my opinion is not as informed as others. The only other true P90 guitar that I've had prior to this one was a mid-90s USA made Hamer in avocado green. It was heavy and I never bonded with it. Otherwise, I had a PRS SE Bernie Marsdon with Seymour Duncan PRails in it. Not true P90s though, so it doesn't count to compare.

To my ear this guitar sounds great. I'd recommend getting a Pro version no problem. Not sure about the Standard. Hopefully the hardware and electronics are top notch. But who knows . . In the end I just like the guitar. I am planning on it being a keeper, as long as I can get used to the stainless steel frets.

Don’t worry about the brand of the pickups. The sound is all that matters. I have 3 P90 guitars, and my cheap Indonesian Hamer Jr with a G&B P90 is the best sounding P90 I have. The guitar rings like a bell unplugged, action is as good as my more expensive guitars, and the pickup snarls and barks in a very good way.

I put P-rails in my US PRS and love them, and use the P90 most of the time. I guess having the rail so close to the P90 will change it somewhat. I don’t know the science behind it, but those are the Duncan Vintage 90’s. Sounds very good to my ears, but the G&B in the Hamer does the P90 thing better. Has a lot to do with the guitar itself of course, and the player. I have a MIK Ibanez that just doesn’t have the mojo, and stopped throwing pickups at it. Some guitars have it, and some don’t. The odds of a guitar having ‘it’ go up with price, but some of the cheap guitars do indeed have the mojo.

 

[Stonetone]

only thing that counts really it feels amazing sound great and you love it .... everything else does not matter
Those Pup's are designed to YGD specs for the Revstar but built at G&B so its only a matter of if you like the toanz not who and where they were made

 

[lscottk]

Wow, those fret ends look pretty good!

The craftsmanship on this guitar is first rate. No complaints from me on fit and finish. It's a nice weight too. I don't have a scale, but my guess is it weighs just about 8lbs, which is often considered ideal weight for a Les Paul. It resonates really nicely as well. The neck is D shaped, leaning towards C shape. I like thick necks and this guitar is on the lessor end of thick, if that makes any sense. The neck has a really nice satin finish. Very smooth and not at all sticky. The finish and binding are near perfect as well. I told my rep at Musician's Friend when he asked me about the guitar that I think that this will be a collectible guitar in 10 - 20 years, especially for 2K new. You can spend way more for a guitar with much less character. But I guess only time will tell.

 

[lscottk]

only thing that counts really it feels amazing sound great and you love it .... everything else does not matter
Those Pup's are designed to YGD specs for the Revstar but built at G&B so its only a matter of if you like the toanz not who and where they were made

I totally agree.

 

[lscottk]

Don’t worry about the brand of the pickups. The sound is all that matters. I have 3 P90 guitars, and my cheap Indonesian Hamer Jr with a G&B P90 is the best sounding P90 I have. The guitar rings like a bell unplugged, action is as good as my more expensive guitars, and the pickup snarls and barks in a very good way.

I put P-rails in my US PRS and love them, and use the P90 most of the time. I guess having the rail so close to the P90 will change it somewhat. I don’t know the science behind it, but those are the Duncan Vintage 90’s. Sounds very good to my ears, but the G&B in the Hamer does the P90 thing better. Has a lot to do with the guitar itself of course, and the player. I have a MIK Ibanez that just doesn’t have the mojo, and stopped throwing pickups at it. Some guitars have it, and some don’t. The odds of a guitar having ‘it’ go up with price, but some of the cheap guitars do indeed have the mojo.

I have a Guild M-75 with gold foil pickups that kills. It was made in Korea (I think) and it plays great and kills tonally. I paid $325 for it used. It needed a fret job, which cost me another $125, but for $450 I got a killer guitar that plays great. So I understand what you're saying 100%

 

[Stonetone]

The only thing i plan to change hardware wise is to add some locking tuners
because i like the convenience, I also ordered a cream pickguard and cream humbucker rings
i may want to replace the pickup covers to nickel those chrome humbuckers are just yukkk for my taste
on my previous Revstar the Pickups were nickel and looked a lot cooler

 

[lscottk]

The only thing i plan to change hardware wise is to add some locking tuners
because i like the convenience, I also ordered a cream pickguard and cream humbucker rings
i may want to replace the pickup covers to nickel those chrome humbuckers are just yukkk for my taste
on my previous Revstar the Pickups were nickel and looked a lot cooler

I may put on some locking tuners as well. I also like them better for convenience. But I've only had the guitar for a couple weeks, so not ready to start making mods yet.

 

[lscottk]

I may put on some locking tuners as well. I also like them better for convenience. But I've only had the guitar for a couple weeks, so not ready to start making mods yet.

I'd appreciate it if you let me know if you find some good locking tuners that are drop in replacements. I don't want to drill any new screw holes or ream out the tuner post hole. I'll stick with the stock tuners if I have to carve or drill out the guitar.

 

[lscottk]

Oops, I quoted my own post. I meant to quote your post, @Stonetone