Yamaha Revstar - Best jazz guitar you don’t know about!

[deanmartian]

I'm of the camp that you can play jazz on anything... but what a great tone he gets on a Yamaha Revstar. I agree with him that it's Focus Switch knob makes it sound similar to a semi-hollow.

[Christian Miller]

Do people actually buy these or do they just get given to popular guitar YouTubers and Instagram virtuosi?

(I’m not popular or virtuosic enough)


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[Christian Miller]

Oh I guess they do. No accounting for taste, can’t say I’m a fan of the things cosmetically.

Not being funny, but anything sounds like a ‘jazz guitar’ if you roll off the tone and use reverb and play convincingly like this guy. I mean everyone’s been doing that since the 70s, no? A ton of modern players seem to play ‘normal person’ guitars.

It’s a nice sounding guitar and probably built really well.

Personally I’ve really found myself moving away from this type of sound even for modern stuff. Quite a few of the more recent players seem to be exploring different sounds. Julian Lage in particular springs to mind. Also Reiner Baas uses basically no reverb, which I like. Not that there’s anything wrong with effects, but I like the idea of having them as a conscious artistic choice.

It’s become a bit of default tone for modern guitarists since ECM in the 70s but I don’t connect it with being a ‘jazz tone’ per se which is something quite a lot brighter, less sustained and with little or no electronic reverb.

But what he’s doing does work. In a live mix you might need a different EQ.

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[joe2758]

"it's a guitar that's really popular, actually." huh? Everything about this is very guitar convention, but he only has 350 subs? Good player.

[kris]

I"m going to the store to test this guitar.
Matteo Mancuso and Yamaha Revstar -This is his basic guitar as far as I know.

[Christian Miller]

Also there’s reverb and reverb. My ears have got very tired of the standard plate and hall patches you get on everything - such as on the AER amps (I think there’s one chip they use for everything?) but the high end Lexicon digital reverbs from the 80s are some of the most beautiful sounding things ever. It’s the soundscape of Vangelis/Blade Runner…

But that was super expensive rack mount gear, although I believe Ben Monder uses one of the less high spec vintage Lexicon units.

OTOH I do like real Fender spring reverb, just a touch.

And the ECM ‘big dark room’ sound is iconic.

But increasingly I just like the sound of the room, provided it’s a nice room, and if it isn’t there’s only so much you can do.

OTOH I tuned into a Cecil Alexander vid the other day and he seems to going DI no plugins with a solid body guitar haha. Hardcore! Must be making a point. (It is the best way to judge your playing, no makeup.)


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[Christian Miller]

Also, I suspect the reverb thing comes from the fact that close miking almost always sounds bad for jazz guitar.

I would regard the production on Aaron Park’s “Peaceful Warrior” as case in point. I think they were going for a super dry Nigel Godrich with Radiohead vibe but it’s just brutal - Mike Moreno can play past it of course, but compare to other records he’s done….

I think they added it on some of the Wes live stuff maybe for this reason.

A bit of room always helps, which is what the reverbs were for I guess but for recording we have other options now.

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[Christian Miller]

I"m going to the store to test this guitar.
Matteo Mancuso and Yamaha Revstar -This is his basic guitar as far as I know.

I played one and I was able to play exactly like Mancuso right away and I got 100000 follows on IG. No word of a lie. But at what cost?

Actually I’m fairly sure Yamaha still goes out of its way to build relationships with up and coming players… it was well known for this back in the 80s when they snapped up all the top fusion guys, and I think it’s the case today. they are a good company to get involved in. Smart too because they know they aren’t rock and roll so they have to be seen as the virtuoso musician’s choice. And the instruments are very good tbf. Solid touring instruments.

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[kris]

I played one and I was able to play exactly like Mancuso right away and I got 100000 follows on IG. No word of a lie. But at what cost?

Actually I’m fairly sure Yamaha still goes out of its way to build relationships with up and coming players… it was well known for this back in the 80s when they snapped up all the top fusion guys, and I think it’s the case today. they are a good company to get involved in. Smart too because they know they aren’t rock and roll so they have to be seen as the virtuoso musician’s choice. And the instruments are very good tbf. Solid touring instruments.

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There are several versions of Revstar.
Those produced in Japan are professional models.
Standard models, I don"t know where they are produced, but they are three times cheaper than Japanese ones.
Which model did you play on?

[mr. beaumont]

I like these things...Yamaha makes some nice guitars. I'd play one of these.

[John A.]

Also there’s reverb and reverb. My ears have got very tired of the standard plate and hall patches you get on everything - such as on the AER amps (I think there’s one chip they use for everything?) but the high end Lexicon digital reverbs from the 80s are some of the most beautiful sounding things ever. It’s the soundscape of Vangelis/Blade Runner…

But that was super expensive rack mount gear, although I believe Ben Monder uses one of the less high spec vintage Lexicon units.

OTOH I do like real Fender spring reverb, just a touch.

And the ECM ‘big dark room’ sound is iconic.

But increasingly I just like the sound of the room, provided it’s a nice room, and if it isn’t there’s only so much you can do.

OTOH I tuned into a Cecil Alexander vid the other day and he seems to going DI no plugins with a solid body guitar haha. Hardcore! Must be making a point. (It is the best way to judge your playing, no makeup.)


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Digitech used to make a reverb pedal (RV-7) that uses a Lexicon chip. I have one, and It sounds very good. It's WAY better than the reverb in a DV Little Jazz, but not so much better than the one built into my Quilter that I bother to use it on my typical gigs (small places, marginal room for a pedalboard, not much time to set up). I do like the sound of a good spring reverb, but tend to think of it more as a distinct color/effect than as "space". When I do use the RV-7, I tend to use the plate setting, which kind of splits the difference between reverb-as-space and reverb-as-effect.

[GuyBoden]

There are several versions of Revstar.
Those produced in Japan are professional models.
Standard models, I don"t know where they are produced, but they are three times cheaper than Japanese ones.

Made in Indonesia

Edit: I have a lot of respect for Yamaha instruments and equipment, I had a blonde Yamaha 335 copy in the early 1980's, made in Japan, a fantastic guitar, probably better than the equivalent 1980's Gibson 335.

[Christian Miller]

There are several versions of Revstar.
Those produced in Japan are professional models.
Standard models, I don"t know where they are produced, but they are three times cheaper than Japanese ones.
Which model did you play on?

I was joking. I don’t get to try guitars out anymore which is probably just as well given I don’t have any money


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[Christian Miller]

Made in Indonesia

Edit: I have a lot of respect for Yamaha instruments and equipment, I had a blonde Yamaha 335 copy in the early 1980's, made in Japan, a fantastic guitar, probably better than the equivalent 1980's Gibson 335.

The only thing that puts me off Yamaha semi hollows is the poly finish


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[Christian Miller]

Digitech used to make a reverb pedal (RV-7) that uses a Lexicon chip. I have one, and It sounds very good. It's WAY better than the reverb in a DV Little Jazz, but not so much better than the one built into my Quilter that I bother to use it on my typical gigs (small places, marginal room for a pedalboard, not much time to set up). I do like the sound of a good spring reverb, but tend to think of it more as a distinct color/effect than as "space". When I do use the RV-7, I tend to use the plate setting, which kind of splits the difference between reverb-as-space and reverb-as-effect.

I used to use the Digitech iStomp which I think had the RV 7 as a patch (certainly a lexicon reverb). It was very nice.

Shame the pedal was a flop and lost support. The sounds were all very good, and incredibly good value.

Boss seem to be doing the same thing now only at many times higher price lol.

I gather from the synth nerds that the pedal isn’t the same thing as the super expensive rack mount stuff that was being used back in the day which surprised me because I would have thought we could emulate anything like that on modern tech. I think that’s why Ben Monder still uses that old unit.

I see reverb more as an effect/colour now not an inherent part of my sound. I think I was using it to compensate for the fact that i hadn’t come to terms with the sound of an amp in a room. That basic sound isn’t what you want for all music, but I do think it is what I want for straight-ahead acoustic jazz.

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[kris]

I was joking. I don’t get to try guitars out anymore which is probably just as well given I don’t have any money


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I"m going to sell a few of my guitars....
I don"t want to collect them by force.

[GuyBoden]

The only thing that puts me off Yamaha semi hollows is the poly finish

I don't think a thin Poly finish sounds any different than a thin Nitro finish. (Thin Shellac is my fav.)

Modern(ish), very thick Nitro finishes are tone suckers, thick Poly finish too.

Nitro finish is much easier to fix.

[Jim Soloway]

I've tried several of these, both the higher end Japanese and lower end Indonesian versions and both the older and newer versions. They were nice guitars but I found the weight was consistently higher than I'm willing to consider.

[AllanAllen]

I like poly because I can clean the guitar with windex.

[GuyBoden]

I like poly because I can clean the guitar with windex.

As a guitar cleaner, I like applying highly inflammable lighter fluid to potentially explosive Nitro (Gun cotton).

[Doctor Jeff]

I like poly because I can clean the guitar with Windex.

True statement. Or Simple Green or Mrs. Myers Clean Day.

I read something recently to the effect that modern manufacturers recognize that some purists prefer poly, but the vast majority of guitar buyers want their guitars to stay as shiny as long as possible, hence the ubiquity of the poly finish.

Hey I'm not immune to that. I like the aged nitro of my Gibsons and a few other vintage guitars, but for my Gretsch and Cordoba--bring on the poly. Those guys look showroom shiny.

[Jim Soloway]

True statement. Or Simple Green or Mrs. Myers Clean Day.

I read something recently to the effect that modern manufacturers recognize that some purists prefer poly, but the vast majority of guitar buyers want their guitars to stay as shiny as long as possible, hence the ubiquity of the poly finish.

Hey I'm not immune to that. I like the aged nitro of my Gibsons and a few other vintage guitars, but for my Gretsch and Cordoba--bring on the poly. Those guys look showroom shiny.

Both from my experiences as an owner of a nitro guitarvand as someone who owned a small guitar company, I hate nitro. It's slow, laborious, fragile and very prone to damage during its long curing process. The only obvious benefit is that it scratches the purist itch for what was done 60 plus years ago.

[fep]

I have a RevStar RS620. It's been my favorite guitar since I got it in 2020.

[DawgBone]

I like poly because I can clean the guitar with windex.

Poly is superior in a gigging instrument. Couple times the guitar/case got wet at a rain out and I just tossed it in there and dried things out when I got home. I have hundreds of gigs on my poly Edwards and the paint still looks nearly as good as the Gibson I have owned for a month, LOL.

[pauln]

I like poly because I can clean the guitar with windex.

ArmorAll weekly forever
PlastX (polyurethane headlight restorer) every six months
All Class valve, slide, and key oil for the pick guard
ChapStick for the finger board
WD-40 for glamour photos (polarization filter effect)