The Yamaha Revstar is, on paper, my ideal next guitar. But does it deliver on Yamaha’s promises?
I’ve touched on the Yamaha Revstar and, in particular, the humbucker-equipped Yamaha Revstar RSS20 before. But now I’ve laid my hands on one,F do I still want to buy one? Not any more, and here are 10 reasons why.
1 – Electronics
Small, non-CTS pots and a less-than-premium switch betray Yamaha’s scarce but assured claims of the modern take on the Gibson Les Paul punching above its weight. This is the first of many well-hidden clues that the Yamaha Revstar isn’t the guitar it’s cracked up to be. Pickups are Yamaha’s own VH5n and VH5b Alnico V Humbuckers which may not be a concession but may not be anything exotic or groundbreaking either.
2 – Switching
On paper, an in-built boost and 5-way dual-humbucker arrangement with out-of-phase single coil options seems like all my Brian May tone dreams come true, but in practice? it’s been mentioned by a number of my favourite YouTube guitar reviewers already (namely the Guitaristas and John Nathan Cordy) that these features aren’t really useful or desirable in practice. Personally? The boost isn’t impactful enough with gain to qualify for a solo boost and clean it’s a ‘just add mud’ switch.
Traditionally, this type of switching on humbucker-equipped guitars has been employed to clean up the signal, rather than Yamaha’s opposite direction of boosting it, but at the end of the day, a lot of players (including me) would rather the less-is-more approach of not having a switch at all.
As for the in-between options? Well, It’s certainly not Brian May. It’s not phasey or squealy enough with gain, and next-to-unusable clean. It’s a bit of a niche, cocked-wah thing going on, especially with the boost.
I get it. Guitarists are traditionalists, and Yamaha is going for something a little different, but I don’t believe those differentiated elements have been given enough thought as to their usefulness in practice.
3 – Hardware
I’ve mentioned the switch earlier, but the stop/tailpiece arrangement is standard on all Les Paul-type guitars and the controls themselves seem to be taken from Gretch’s affordable range. We don’t even get the nicety of a Graph-Tech nut, present on Epiphones at even half the price. Again, it appears corners have been cut to get this guitar to a price point.
4 – Fretwork
Stainless steel frets eh? On an affordable guitar? Well, although there’s no argument that they last longer than nickel, there is nothing special about the fretwork. On a shop-floor model, even with a high-ish action, I was still choking out on the higher, and, it has to be said, scratchy-feeling frets. Stainless steel frets are no substitute for a good fretwork.
5 – Neck
The Yamaha Revstar’s neck falls between the two stools of the slinky playability of a Strat and the chunky, premium feel of a Gibson Les Paul. It’s inferior to both and lacks any personality or identity of its own. Picking up a Strat immediately after this feels like home and picking up a Les Paul (even the equivalent Epiphone) feels like a jump up a price band.
And that’s starting to feel like the whole problem with the Yamaha Revstar. It’s advertised as its own thing, but it appears to be devoid of personality, especially when pitted against the classic designs.
6 – Colors
Up until now, I can see why Yamaha has made the decisions they’ve made with the Yamaha Revstar. Try something different, include some unique switching options, but keep it in the Les Paul ballpark. But what’s with the awful colour options? The hideous Flash Green, the almost passable but not quite Hot Merlot, the strange and very acquired taste of the vertical Sunset Sunburst (similar to those ugly Player Plus Strats). They’re all bordering on the offensive, bar the safe and only option for me of Black.
I just don’t get it. Why shoot yourself in the foot like that Yamaha?
7 – Looks
The colour options are indeed awful, but going for the black option still doesn’t rid you of those bizarre racing stripes, which have no place on a guitar, no matter what Yamaha says about its background of cafe-racer motorcycles and other irrelevances.
If this guitar was supposed to be the spiritual successor to the legendary and inarguably beautiful Yamaha SG, why did they ruin it with these colours and stripes? Why did the design team take their cues from a motorbike and not a guitar?
I think this is another hint that businessmen, not guitarists or guitar builders, were in the driving seat of this project. Sure, it’s not an ugly guitar, it could have been a lot worse, but at the same time, Yamaha seems to have missed an open goal with the Yamaha Revstar, considering the history and reputation of the Yamaha SG.
I mean, just look at the Yamaha SG….
The Yamaha Revstar really should have looked a lot better than it does.
8 – Value for money
This is a guitar made in Indonesia costing £550+. So what are you getting for your money? The stainless steel frets were a false positive, unbranded pickups, cheap hardware, cheap electrics, and switching options nobody really wanted.
But the Yamaha brand counts for something right? Yamaha is a solid guitar company, right?
In my history of owning Yamaha guitars, they’ve always been unassuming, reliable guitars that gave me bang for my buck, but with the Yamaha Revstar, I’m just not so sure as that’s a lot of money for Indonesian manufacturing. I’m just not entirely sure what I’m paying for. Please tell me it’s not the innovative chambering pattern nonsense.
9 – Competition
So would I rather have my Fender Player Stratocaster? Yes, because it plays better, it looks better, it has better hardware and it sounds like a Stratocaster.
What about an Epiphone Les Paul Standard? Again, yes, because It plays better, it looks better, it has better hardware, and it sounds much closer to a Gibson Les Paul than the Yamaha Revstar.
Purchasing an Epiphone Les Paul, support the blog by purchasing here.
Ok, a lot of you want something different, but nobody wants anything worse.
10 – Feel
This last point is the most important, as it encompasses most of the factors mentioned above. The Yamaha Revstar is touted as something modern, different, and versatile, but in the acclaimed guitar lineage of something special.
But it just doesn’t feel special at all.
It’s made in Indonesia but is over £550. It’s a cookie-cutter cheap and generic feeling instrument with cheap and generic parts. The colours are awful and it doesn’t look right. It doesn’t play well and it has complex switching you won’t use.
Before picking one up, I thought Yamaha’s playbook of not pushing their instruments was a clever one. They didn’t need to shout. Only people in the know bought one, sneaking off in the knowledge they were one step ahead, and had invested in a superior instrument. Yamaha was the dark horse.
Nowadays? They’ve been sidelined for a different reason.
Conclusion
In answer to my first question. No, Yamaha has not delivered on its promises.
I really wanted to love the Yamaha Revstar. To own a Yamaha SG for the twenty-first century, something modern and unique, not just another Les Paul or Strat, with complex switching options and an onboard boost to emulate my guitar hero, a cleverly thought-out chambered body to aid sustain and stainless steel frets for a perfect playing experience.
But sadly none of the above is true and/or matters, because the end product turns out not just to be inferior to its competition, but also to Yamaha’s incredible guitar-making past.
To put it bluntly, If I want a Yamaha SG, I know the best option is still a Yamaha SG, even an old cheaper one, like a Yamaha SG500.
