OffsetGuitars.com

Well, this came out of the blue. Sold several pieces of gear on consignment at my old shop simultaneously with me lamenting not owning something in the Gibson-y sonic realm. This was the answer.


It’s a lot of guitar for $499. Body is mahogany (or nato, per the specs). Pickups are Alnico V. They skipped the coil-tap and gave it a “Dry” switch, which is a high-pass filter. I’m happy with that, it's very usable. And it has a blade pickup switch (I smack upper-horn switches). Also, rosewood fretboard.

This is built in Indonesia and the workmanship is solid. My favorite bit of attention-to-detail is Yamaha designing a little flat notch for the strap button on the upper horn. Also, the cool aluminum knobs have set screws, and the fretwork is even and clean. Only little thing is the rosewood board has some dry spots on the treble side near the body. But it’s nice to get a guitar under a grand I don’t feel like I need to change anything on.


Well, I get to put this in the win column. As I explained to a friend, it has the HH tones I didn't already have and feels like the guitars I already did have. Handy combination!

Congratulations!
I’ve been curious about these since they came out a couple of years back but haven’t seen one out in the wild. How does it compare to, say, a Gibson SG?

Nice ! The 420 is on my wish list. The higher numbered models are nicer in some ways but have thicker necks. Revstar feeds a McGeoch itch maybe without the weight of 1970's SG1000/2000 etc. How heayy is it ?

If I wasn't currently inclined to diminish, rather than augment, my guitar collection, I think a P90 Revstar might be top of my wants list at the moment.

Enjoy your RS420!

timtam wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 20, 2021 8:13 pm

Nice ! The 420 is on my wish list. The higher numbered models are nicer in some ways but have thicker necks. Revstar feeds a McGeoch itch maybe without the weight of 1970's SG1000/2000 etc. How heayy is it ?

It's 8.5lbs. Heavy enough for me to think twice about getting it! But I wore it for an hour recording early this week. Turned out fine, thank goodness.

wproffitt wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 20, 2021 8:02 pm

Congratulations!
I’ve been curious about these since they came out a couple of years back but haven’t seen one out in the wild. How does it compare to, say, a Gibson SG?

On a strap it hangs like a Fender. And it's got some mass to it, so it's a bit beefier sounding.

timtam wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 20, 2021 8:13 pm

Nice ! The 420 is on my wish list. The higher numbered models are nicer in some ways but have thicker necks. Revstar feeds a McGeoch itch maybe without the weight of 1970's SG1000/2000 etc. How heayy is it ?

One thing I forgot to mention in my post:
When the shop owner (my old boss) went to re-order the RS420 the Yamaha rep told him manufacturing for the Revstars has been suspended for the time being. We could only guess that it was to accommodate an increase in demand for economy models like the lower-end Pacificas et al.
When I was looking around at Revstars online before I bought I noticed the supply was drying up at the major retailers. Makes sense now.