Yamaha unveils the new RevStar Series, featuring seven solidbody electric guitars inspired by ’60s era racing motorbikes.
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It’s been decades since the company last made a major electric guitar release, and as such the firm wants this new line to make an impact, especially since this new line is released in conjunction with Yamaha’s 50th year in guitar manufacturing.
The story goes that Yamaha collaborated with London-based consultancy firm Forpeople to come up with a fresh new design. They ended up drawing inspiration from London and Tokyo’s vintage street-racing motorcycles, resulting in a retro looking instrument that’s different from the firm’s current catalog.
While the design indeed looks new, at least when compared to Yamaha’s line of Fender and Gibson clones, there was something familiar about it. And after some thinking I realized that there is an eerie similarity between the retro style design of the new RevStar and the design used by Reverend Guitars, another guitar builder which coincidentally have a similar sounding first syllable! Regardless, the RevStar’s design do stand out and looks pleasing to the eye.
Following the vintage Café Racer theme, Revstar guitars come with custom hardware. An example of which is the RevStar Professional which has unique pickup covers and a raw copper scratchplate. The RevStar RS502T has a custom floating aluminum tailpiece.
In addition to the guitar’s looks, the RevStar line features a new contoured double cutaway body. It has a deep belly cut, hidden forearm contour and a newly designed neck joint that improves upper fret access. All of which work together to give the guitar a sleeker appearance and more comfortable playing feel.
Another interesting feature is the use of a proprietary Dry Switch, in place of coil splitting. It is basically a passive filter that reduces the lower frequencies to give humbuckers the sound similar to single-coils, without actually splitting the coils. And finally, RevStar guitars come in a wide variety of color finishes.
Yamaha Marketing Manager for Electric Guitars Armando Vega said, “Reflecting the raw power, high-performance aesthetic of vintage street-racing motorbikes, RevStar guitars are meticulously crafted to sound as good as they look. We spent years perfecting these models, making certain that RevStar guitars include the right balance of engineering, technology and innovation that will inspire players who seek to go beyond the ordinary.“
Below are the RevStar models and their pricing (MSRP):
- RS320—$629
- RS420—$779
- RS502—$999
- RS502T—$1,129
- RS620—$1,159
- RS720B—$1,549
- RS820CR—$1,549
For the complete specifications of each Yamaha RevStar guitar, and to checkout the video demos for other models, visit Yamaha.
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