Description
Review of the Yamaha Pacifica PAC112JL YNS Left-Handed Electric Guitar
The Yamaha Pacifica PAC112JL YNS is a left-handed, double cutaway solid body electric guitar built around an alder body, a maple neck and a rosewood fretboard. It runs a humbucker at the bridge with two single coils, on a vintage style tremolo. It is aimed at left-handed players who want a versatile first or second electric rather than a specialist metal instrument.
Pros & Cons
- Genuinely left-handed, not a converted right-handed body. The body contour, control layout and headstock are all built for a left-handed player, which matters because a flipped right-handed guitar puts the forearm bevel and volume knob in the wrong places.
- H-S-S pickup layout covers a lot of ground. The bridge humbucker handles thicker, louder overdriven sounds while the two single coils stay brighter and thinner, so one guitar can move between styles instead of committing to one voice.
- Alder body is a known quantity. Alder is the traditional choice for this style of guitar because it is light enough to wear for a long session and tonally even rather than heavily weighted to bass or treble.
- Tremolo bridge adds pitch movement. The vintage style tremolo lets a player add vibrato or dip the pitch of a held chord, an effect a fixed bridge simply cannot produce.
- The listing contradicts itself on the body wood. The manufacturer description says solid alder body, but the spec table on this page lists the top material as maple while giving alder for the body and back. Those two statements cannot both be true of a single-piece solid body. Treat the alder figure as the one the manufacturer states directly and the maple entry as unexplained.
- No scale length, nut width or fret count is published. Those three numbers decide how far apart the frets sit and how wide the string spacing feels, and none of them appear anywhere in the data for this listing. Anyone with small hands is buying without the measurement that matters most.
- Nothing is included beyond the guitar. No amplifier, cable, strap, tuner, gig bag or picks appear in the listing, so an electric guitar arrives unable to make an amplified sound until further purchases are made.
- A tremolo complicates string changes. Floating tremolo systems shift as string tension changes, so tuning and bridge height need rechecking after a string swap rather than being a straight replacement job.
Detailed Product Description
The body is a double cutaway solid body in alder, with both cutaways letting the fretting hand reach the upper frets. The finish is Yellow Natural Satin, a satin rather than gloss treatment, which shows the grain and does not fingerprint as readily as high gloss. Listed weight is 7.48 pounds and listed dimensions are 14.17 by 3.54 by 38.58 inches, which puts it in normal territory for a full size solid body.
The neck is maple with a rosewood fretboard. Maple is stiff and stable, which is why it is used for necks that carry string tension for years. Because the rosewood board is left unlacquered it feels drier under the fingers than a finished maple board. No neck profile, radius or fret count is stated in the listing.
Electronics are H-S-S: a humbucker at the bridge and two single coils. In practice the bridge humbucker is the loud, thick position for driven rhythm and lead, the neck single coil is the rounder clean sound, and the middle and blended positions give the thinner, glassier tones associated with this body shape. The tremolo bridge is described as vintage style, meaning it pivots on screws at the front edge and returns to pitch, rather than a locking system that clamps the strings at the nut.
Strings are listed as alloy steel in a medium gauge. Medium gauge on an electric means more tension and a firmer feel than the light sets many beginners prefer, which is worth knowing before deciding whether the first setup should include a lighter set.
What Comes with the Product
The listing covers one left-handed electric guitar and nothing else. There is no amplifier, no instrument cable, no strap, no gig bag or case, no tuner, no strings beyond those fitted, and no picks or hex keys mentioned. An electric guitar makes very little sound unplugged, so an amplifier and a cable are a functional requirement rather than an upgrade. The accessories a beginner actually needs guide covers what to add first.
Who It Suits
This fits a left-handed player who wants one electric that can cover clean and driven sounds without swapping instruments, and who already owns or intends to buy an amplifier. It also suits a right-handed household buying for a left-handed learner who has already found that a flipped guitar is uncomfortable. Look elsewhere if a complete plug-in-and-play bundle is the requirement, since nothing here is included, or if the player wants a hardtail bridge for simpler string changes and steadier tuning. Players comparing left-handed options can also read left-handed guitars for beginners and browse the wider left handed guitars and electric guitars sections. The LyxPro left hand electric guitar kit and the Donner DST-100BL left-handed kit are the bundle-style alternatives, while the Yamaha PAC012 is the closest right-handed relative.
How to Maintain
Wipe the strings down after playing, since skin oils dull steel strings fastest. Keep the rosewood board from drying out with a suitable fretboard conditioner when the strings are off, and avoid household polishes on bare wood. Because the bridge is a tremolo, change strings one at a time so spring tension never fully releases, then recheck tuning as the new strings settle. Store the guitar away from radiators and out of an unheated car, since humidity swings move the neck more than anything a player does to it.
Tips and Recommendations
Budget for a setup. A factory setup is a starting point, and the action and intonation on an inexpensive electric usually improve once the truss rod and saddle heights are adjusted. If the medium gauge strings feel stiff, a lighter set will bend more easily, though the tremolo springs may need rebalancing afterwards. Buy the amplifier and cable at the same time as the guitar, and pick an amp size that matches the room rather than the stage.
Product FAQ
Is this a true left-handed guitar? Yes. It is listed as a left-handed double cutaway electric, built left-handed rather than restrung.
What pickups does it have? A humbucker in the bridge position with two single coils, listed as an H-S-S configuration.
Does it include an amplifier? No. The listing includes the guitar only, with no amplifier, cable, strap or bag.
What wood is the body? The manufacturer description states solid alder. The spec table also lists maple as a top material, which conflicts with a solid alder body, and that disagreement is not explained in the listing.
