KVR Audio

morelia · Post by **morelia** » Fri May 08, 2026 11:19 pm

YnJ wrote: Tue May 05, 2026 7:22 pm
morelia wrote: Sat May 02, 2026 7:55 am Yamaha Pacifica. Surprisingly tough sounding for high gain.
Yeah, what's the deal with the Yamahas? I have two, both $500-600 guitars, an HSS with a tremolo and an HH hardtail. They both sound amazing, for no apparent reason. Nothing unusual about the materials and unbranded AlNiCo V pickups

Absolutely. I was blown away when I plugged into a heavy Marshall sound. Honestly, for a decent budget guitar I can't go past a Squire or Pacifica. At least you know what you are getting. The Yamaha in particular is a great starter. I might buy one just as a drag around on holidays guitar.

Andreya_Autumn · Post by **Andreya_Autumn** » Sun May 10, 2026 5:21 pm

Oh Jojje died? That's sad to hear. R.I.P.

Andreya_Autumn · Post by **Andreya_Autumn** » Sun May 10, 2026 5:28 pm

Anyway, as for the topic itself: Anything from late 70's Music Man that isn't a Stingray Bass. Those basses are non-sleepers obviously and have been copied a thousand times over. You find a '79 original it'll cost you a fortune as a collectors item because of the status that model achieved. But Music Man in that era also made other stuff of the same quality. Stingray guitars, Sabre guitars and Sabre basses, and those pop up here and there at around a kilobuck, sometimes less. *Great* guitars, I have a Sabre II as my main since many years now.

TechHaus · Post by **TechHaus** » Sun May 10, 2026 5:38 pm

My guitar is a cheap Tagima that got set up really nicely (needs non-chinese ceramic pickups someday), but my AMP is the sleeper.

I got a Crate V30 V3112 for free. Covers a lot of ground to go with my solid state Yamaha Thirty112.

I used to have a JCM800, Twin Reverb, and Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifer when I had a studio, but I am happy with these two amps now.

Sorry to bring it over to amps. If you can find one of those "Crates" locally you will be in for a treat for less than $200. Maybe everyone uses amp modeling now, though. I have no idea.

I used to love my late 70's Yamaha acoustic red label that is in my parent's garage..forget exactly which model, but I hope I get my hands back on it someday. Lots of bands used it in my studio.

Uncle E · Post by **Uncle E** » Sun May 10, 2026 7:14 pm

TechHaus wrote: Sun May 10, 2026 5:38 pm Maybe everyone uses amp modeling now, though.

A modeling pedal with a cheap amp can be pretty amazing. I use Tonex with a Pignose bass amp and used to use it with a Line 6 AmpliFi.

Ibanez Prestige's are sleepers, considering how good they are. Suhr quality for under $1,000.

Uncle Bastard · Post by **Uncle Bastard** » Sun Jun 07, 2026 9:01 pm

I had a Yamaha AES820, great guitar especially after a coil split and push/pull pots. I ended up giving it to my brother- long story.

Shane Sanders · Post by **Shane Sanders** » Wed Jun 10, 2026 8:40 pm

For guitars that I didn't design myself, I really love the Steinberger Synapse models—own three of them now. They often have chunkier 50s neck profiles, which I'm starting to like. Plus, active pickups mean they're amazingly quiet with a versatile sound. I put EMG P90-esque pups in one of mine and it's the perfect machine for clean tones with no hum.

Uncle E · Post by **Uncle E** » Thu Jun 11, 2026 1:02 am

Which EMG is that?

EyeCloud · Post by **EyeCloud** » Thu Jun 11, 2026 3:56 am

One of the best guitars I ever played (sadly it wasn’t mine) was an early 1980s Yamaha SG1000. It played like a dream and sounded so good though the battered old AC30 that the owner played it through.

Shane Sanders · Post by **Shane Sanders** » Thu Jun 11, 2026 6:41 am

Uncle E wrote: Thu Jun 11, 2026 1:02 am Which EMG is that?

I went the the H for my neck position, but they have a few options for single-coils that buck the hum. It's a truly different beast than the typical 81/60 or 81/85 combos.

https://www.emgpickups.com/guitar/humbucking/h.html

And they have P90s, too, but it's the wrong footprint for most HH guitars.

Uncle E · Post by **Uncle E** » Thu Jun 11, 2026 6:45 am

Thanks! I use the 89 and 89RX, I wonder how similar the single coil sides of those are to that.

Shane Sanders · Post by **Shane Sanders** » Thu Jun 11, 2026 6:45 am

EyeCloud wrote: Thu Jun 11, 2026 3:56 am One of the best guitars I ever played (sadly it wasn’t mine) was an early 1980s Yamaha SG1000. It played like a dream and sounded so good though the battered old AC30 that the owner played it through.

Those are really fine guitars! I have an SBG-200 that was a pearlescent white. I was still a teen and started stripping the paint off and never finished. Then life happened. It's in a gig bag in the garage. Killer sounding guitar, but I have so many now that I'm not motivated to bring it back to life. Perhaps when I'm bored one summer.

Sleeper guitars