Elusive MIJ guitars
Two weeks without an update. Yikes. Work on the Borbely amp is at a standstill right now and I’m restless. I’m spending far too much time looking at various guitar and guitar amp websites. It’s not good for me, I know, but I get a weird thrill out of finding oddball, esoteric gear.
I’m still trying to track down more information on the Yamaha Weddington I have such a jones for. I’ve not found much, other than that they might have been designed by Rich Lasner while he was working for Yamaha. Rich worked for Ibanez in the late ‘80s, desiging things like the Radius, Maxxas, RG and others, then jumped over to Yamaha sometime in the early ‘90s to design some of the Pacifica line and, apparently, the Weddington. After Yamaha, Rich went to work for Peavey for a short time before starting Modulus Graphite. Currently, Rich is working for Line 6. There’s an interview with Mr. Lasner, mainly focusing on his work with Ibanez, on the Ibanez Register site. All of this is really tangential to the quest at hand, namely, information about the Weddington.
I haven’t found any official mention of the Weddington series on Yamaha’s site, and hard facts are few and far between. The Weddington were made sometime in the early- to mid-‘90s, which coincides with Mr. Lasner’s employment with Yamaha, but beyond that the trail grows quickly cold. There are some pictures, though. The best set I’ve found so far is on a guy named John Morris’ web page. There are a few others as well, mostly pictures of guitars people have sold over the years and then regretted later. Interesting how many people regret selling Weddington, even the “low end” Weddington Special. Specials do show up on eBay from time to time, and the price seems to vary greatly on condition and finish. No surprise, there. (And, yes, I will probably look around for a solid Special at some point, but I will likely refinish it. Maybe in a light yellow with a white pick guard.) Although the Weddington seem to have something of a cult status among members of a lot of Internet forums, they are far from collectible. Just great instruments that players enjoy, well… playing.
Looking into Rich Lasner-designed Yamahas opens up another interesting, if similarly elusive Made-in-Japan (MIJ) guitar, the Yamaha Pacifica 1412 and the 1421. Information on the 1412 and 1421 is scarce, even compared to the Weddington series. For example, there’s only one review on Harmony Central for the 1412 and only five reviews of the 1421. Try Googling “yamaha pacifica 1412” and you won’t find much solid information—go ahead, I’ll wait—but I did find one guy (probably the same guy who posted the H-C review) who has pics of his two 1412s up on Photobucket. The photos are here if you’re interested.
I’ve never been a big fan of the Jackson Soloist “super strat” style guitars, but the 1412 appeals to me somehow. I do like how it’s put together; neck-through construction with a mahogany body and a nicely figured maple top. I also think the mult-piece laminated neck makes sense as it must go a long way toward preventing the neck from shifting or warping over time. (The Weddington feature laminated necks as well.) I also like the simple control layout. As with the Weddington’s I’m not as keen on the ivoroid-bound fretboard, but the inlays more than make up for the binding.
So the quest for elusive MIJ Yamahas continues, and expands. Now I’m looking for a Yamaha Weddington Custom and Special, and a Pacifica 1412. Maybe I’ll visit a couple of the vintage guitar shows that will be in the area this fall. The hunt is more than half the fun!
I have a yamaha 1412 in seriously mint condition. It is posted on ebay, check it out.