Yamaha Revstars three years on. Hit or miss?

bazxkr

If the guitar feels right and sounds good in your ears (& you like the look of it of course) then it is the right one for you irrespective of colour/shape/brand etc. Best to try as many as you can and you will learn which types work and which don't

Three-ColourSunburst

bazxkr said:

If the guitar feels right and sounds good in your ears (& you like the look of it of course) then it is the right one for you irrespective of colour/shape/brand etc. Best to try as many as you can and you will learn which types work and which don't

Wise words. But I do like Paul Kossoff, and we all know what he played. I also realise that choosing a guitar simply because one of one's guitar 'heroes' played the same model is the first step towards believing in fetishism and other assorted mojo. 

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/227630822_Making_Magic_Fetishes_in_Contemporary_Consumption

bazxkr

Nothing wrong with fetishes, it's what keeps life interesting haha Altho' will admit my other 'alf is getting tired of the same ol' branding iron in the fire haha..............

Your money, your choice, if you wanna LP that looks like kossoffs, do it, scratch that itch and then move on to the next one

I have several artist signature guitars purely out of curiousity to a degree on what they are like to play, no way I'll ever play like any of them

Three-ColourSunburst

This is quite interesting, in that it explains how the 'cafe racer' thing arose out of the desire to emphasize the "Yamaha-ness" and "Japanese-ness” of the new range. Sounds good until one get to the dreaded 'in a way reminiscent of' bit.

The process of designing the Revstar started by taking a look back at Yamaha's history and extracting the most appealing elements of the brand’s identity. Diverse set of minds from around the world were interviewed to help devise a next-generation electric guitar that captures "Yamaha-ness" and "Japanese-ness”.

This research helped to understand the two strongest symbols of Yamaha: musical instruments and motorcycles. Trying to find the bridge between the guitar and motor worlds – special inspiration came from the café racer motorcycles. Just like the modern café racer stripped of unnecessary parts to increase performance, the goal was to design a simple, beautiful guitar with a similar less-is-more custom made vibe. One of these touches is the shape of the pickguard, which is cut off at the bridge in a way reminiscent of café racer’s cropped fenders.

http://piotrstolarski.com/index.php/work/yamaha-revstar/

Edit.  I was getting to think of choosing between a Revstar and a Les Paul shaped guitar was a bit of a head vs heart thing, especially as the Revstar would be cheaper and on a purely mechanical level would probably 'work' better for me than a relatively clunky but charismatic Les Paul type. 

However, perhaps it would be fairer to say it is really a choice between two myths / narratives. On the one hand that of 'Japanese quality and innovation' and on the other the tradition and 'X played one shaped like this' mojo of a Les Paul shaped guitar. Perhaps I should just split the difference and get a Japanese built LP type'!

bazxkr

Why not get a Gibson LP Tribute or similar...… I got a 50s tribute 2017 goldtop (think they were £699 new so have to be around £500 SH) and it is really good. Don't think I'd notice the difference between is and a £1500 standard cos I ain't good enough. Sure they did a burst style that looked like the kossoff 59. Someone did a post on here first half 2017 with one and lots of pics. Looks way more expensive than you'd expect for a low range Gibbo. With guitars I always go with my heart not my head.

http://www.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/2017/USA/Les-Paul-Tribute.aspx

That honeyburst not a millions miles from the kossoff look without breaking the bank. So you tick most of your boxes with something like that

Danielsguitars

I've only played one and it was ok, nothing more but it also sounded really dark and I'm not sure that could be sorted with pickups and parts etc, it was also heavy which i didn't like

Bigsby

Three-ColourSunburst said:

Phil_aka_Pip said:

The thing that turned me on least about Revstar was the alleged link to the company's motorcycling past.

I also think that this was a rather odd, and narrow, cultural touchstone to hang the image of a whole range of guitars on, especially when the term 'cafe racer' tends to bring to mind 60's Brit bikes, rather than the later Japanese bike which aped the same styling cues.

In addition to the whole 'Revstar' branding thing, the 'racer' stripes, the copper pickguards and galvanized looking pickup covers on the top models also suggest that the styling of these was the product of some pretentious marketing / design agency, rather than an individual or small team with a passion for guitars.

I've always tended to suspect the whole 'motorcycle' thing to be an after-the-event marketing/styling strategy. The Revstar shape could be linked back to Yamaha's 'super flighter' range, but with the bound body, styling features and dry switch (a.k.a. bass contour), this model seems much more inspired by Reverend's Sensei platform. Could it just be that Yamaha simply spotted a growing place in the market for 'non-classic' guitar shapes (i.e. not yet another strat/LP/Tele clone), and have simply copied Reverend, rather than finding something new. (Especially as Ibanez now also seem to have a Reverend inspired model in their line up). This of course, would be all about Yamaha employing marketing/design people for their products, in contrast to Reverend being a bunch of creative guitar-heads, doing what they do best.

On another note, I'm always puzzled by the term 'bland' when it comes to guitars. Bland in what way? Is it the sound, and if so, what's the difference between 'bland' and 'not bland' in terms of sound? - I literally don't know! But I suspect there might be clearer ways of expressing it. Is it the look? Because I'm not seeing 'bland' when I look at a Revstar, compared to, say, the average 'not-quite-a-copy' guitar. Is it the feel? Surely, in a musical instrument, you don't want the feel to get in the way when playing, so 'bland' should be an asset. Yup, I'm puzzled by this term.

Phil_aka_Pip

Three-ColourSunburst said:

Phil_aka_Pip said:

The thing that turned me on least about Revstar was the alleged link to the company's motorcycling past.

I also think that this was a rather odd, and narrow, cultural touchstone to hang the image of a whole range of guitars on, especially when the term 'cafe racer' tends to bring to mind 60's Brit bikes, rather than the later Japanese bike which aped the same styling cues.

In addition to the whole 'Revstar' branding thing, the 'racer' stripes, the copper pickguards and galvanized looking pickup covers on the top models also suggest that the styling of these was the product of some pretentious marketing / design agency, rather than an individual or small team with a passion for guitars.

Perhaps I just need to take the time adapt to the traditional Les Paul shape. This would  at least open up a whole world of choices. Then again, the Revstar I tried was so much more ergonomic!

Edit. it seems someone called Piotr Stolarski was the main designer. He has also produced an interesting range of coffee tables, floor lamps and porcelain mugs!

http://piotrstolarski.com/

Clearly a guy that knows how to design guitars then

Phil_aka_Pip

You reckon @rossyamaha will read this? It might be constructive when yamaha are thinking of a title for their next range of guitars.

LooseMoose

To be honest they could be called rapiststar for all I care, if it was a guitar I clicked with, I’d buy it.  Unfortunately the ones I tried, whilst perfectly
good guitars, were just like the other Yamahas I’ve had access to - endlessly dependable, versatile, well-built but just not the sort of guitar you can’t resist picking up each time you pass.

Matt_McG

I've only played a couple of Revstars. RS502T (the one with the tailpiece and the P90s) and the RS820CR. I liked them both a lot. Felt and sounded good to me.

Maybe not particularly inspiring in the way that certain other guitars are, but I'd certainly choose one over a current Gibson SG, for example. 

antonyiv

I've played a couple of them - from the cheapest ones to the most expensive ones. 

Here's the proof:



Felt somehow similar to my PRS Stripped 58 because of the neck joint and the belly cut. 

Lovely guitars, really enjoyed playing all of them, especially the Japanese made ones were awesome. Value for money ratio is really good. Slim, fast neck, feels flat in a good way. 

With all that being said, I would always prefer the SA 2200 model. But maybe one day I will get a Korean Revstar. 

Schnozz

The Yamaha SG is far more appealing than a Revstar, same as the old BB when compared to the new BB.

Someone told me that the newer models were more traditional with interchangeable parts, but in my mind, they're just stripped down versions that are more expensive.

I would always buy Yamaha instead of Gibson and G&L instead of Fender, but now both ESP and Yamaha have priced themselves outside of the market, which is why I now go for LAG, Momose/Bacchus etc.

polotska

I briefly owned an MIJ RSP20CR—it was faultlessly made and very good sounding, but my SG1000 sounded better (which is admittedly my favorite solidbody): richer and more complex. That said, I prefer my SA2100 to both.

I also recently had an SG1802 goldtop, which I didn’t especially like either—the stock Seymour Duncan ceramic P90s don’t really suit the guitar—they’re too hot and congested-sounding—and the other changes from the traditional SG line (off-the-shelf hardware, no carve on the back, etc.) did not strike me as improvements.

As a Yamaha fan, I continue to find it mysterious that they offer the Revstar and the SG1802/SG1820, but not the SG1000/SG2000 at present—though I’m sure their sales data must bear that out.

guitars4you

Phil_aka_Pip said:

Edit. it seems someone called Piotr Stolarski was the main designer. He has also produced an interesting range of coffee tables, floor lamps and porcelain mugs!

http://piotrstolarski.com/

Clearly a guy that knows how to design guitars then

Did not know that - I think I'm with you on this Phil in that I always kind of felt as though such guitars are  'CAD CAM' designed and as a result missing something - Not knocking the build quality one Iota - Bland might be to severe a word but I know what you mean ref those who have passed similar comments above

Ref @ICBM - Yes I agree with your comments regarding the tone of an APX - I know they sell and they are popular but I've never got a decent tone from one

Phil_aka_Pip

@guitars4you I agree, will not criticise build quality, but IMO you need an affinity with both the instrument and its users to create something with the mojo that makes players want it

oneinoneout

I didn’t like the cafe racer link which makes more sense to the brand than the average buyer. 

I played several for ages in the Yamaha music store a while ago- I’ve always had a soft spot for Yamahas as my first guitar was one of the cheaper SGs. 

The (non weird bridge) P90 model was genuinely ace. Even through a THR10 in the store it was fantastic. I didn’t have the funds to buy at the time but I will pick one up at some stage. 

I was less enamoured with the more expensive HB models which I found lacking a bit, while still well made and nice to play. A pick up change would probably do it. 

id say overall the range is more ‘miss’ but it is a big ask to take a chunk of the sub 500 quid solid body market especially with a brand that’s so lacking in focus. I can’t think of a single company that makes a range as broad as musical instruments of many kinds, stereo equipment, and motorbikes. 

Which is probably the main problem, and an ill advised marketing campaign won’t solve that no matter how good the product is. 

absolutpepper

Ive liked Revstars since they were released but wish they’d done it with the SG headstoock shape

Phil_aka_Pip

absolutpepper said:

Ive liked Revstars since they were released but wish they’d done it with the SG headstoock shape

That would probably look quite nice

ICBM

The headstock was one of the few things I liked . Much more distinctively 'Yamaha' and Japanese-styled than the SG one which is too 'Gibson' and American.