Hi all, I’m doing up an old Yamaha Pacifica that I bought on eBay for about £35. I’ve got another of these and it might be one of my favourite guitars to play.
I’ll use this thread as a project update track where I’ll share my progress and hopefully inspire other people to do the same!
It doesn’t look so bad from far away but it’s in a bit of a rough shape. Paint work shabby, electronics in a state, rusty screws, not particularly playable I’d say.
I don’t have an end goal per se but I’m going to keep making tweaks until I’m happy with it, then it’ll hopefully be my main gig guitar for my tribite band Catfishing the Bottlemen.
Did my woodshop induction today (thanks @BozTM) and got straight to it sanding down the blue paint with the orbital sander.
On my other guitar I just sanded the flat surfaces and left the sides and curved parts alone. Quite like the way it turned out here so I might keep it the same.
Nothing wrong with a Pacifica. Good luck with the project - keep us updated. There is a nascent luthuers group here at the Maker space - @luthiers . We haven’t met in a while, maybe we should soon.
If the body is routed correctly at source and there are no knots on the wood, whatever work you will do will raise the quality and playability of the instrument.
I was meant to stop for a chat last night when I saw you sanding, but I was a tired, I’ve been at the place most of the day and needed some dinner.
Looks really cool! I’d be curious to see what the grain looks like when oiled!
A good fret levelling, crowning and polishing and this is going to be a beast! I have a Yamaha neck pickup that I’ve taken out of my SA-500 if you feel like going the HSH way
Me too! I’d definitely like to bring out more character in the wood but I’ve never done anything like that before - oiling, staining, painting, etc. Is that something you could give me some tips on?
Thanks for the offer, I’ve got 2 noiseless p90s ready to go which I’m very curious to try!
I do not personally have experience with staining but like you I’d love to give it a go. I’ve oiled, varnished and painted wood before thought! I’m thinking of putting together a baritone electric inspired by Nova – pine body, roasted maple neck and rosewood fretboard. Would be fun to try stains on that body!
