Yamaha Pacifica PAC612VIIFMX - Part 5

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Wilkinson VS50 Disassembled

In today's exciting episode, the Wilkinson VS50 Vibrato Bridge has been taken apart for evaluation and servicing. At a glance, it's obvious that most of the components are tarnished, while the screws and bolts have begun to rust. Now, while a bit of spit and polish should take care of the tarnish, I'm quite certain those rusty components will need to be replaced.

Individual Saddles Disassembled

Base Plate/Tremolo Block - Top

Base Plate/Tremolo Block - Underside

Tuners and Neck Plate

The Grover locking tuners, featuring the same satin chrome finish as the saddles, are just as tarnished as the latter. Yes, time for a little polish and lots of elbow grease. And, though the bushings themselves are largely in good shape, a number of washers show signs of rust. As for the "Yamaha" neck plate and screws, they'll look much better after some Autosol.

Grover Locking Tuners Disassembled

Neck Plate - Top

Neck Plate - Underside

More About the Neck

Looking at the butt end of the maple neck, it's safe to conclude that the lumber is rift sawn. Equally interesting are the neck heel and neck pocket stamps. We'll start with the neck pocket, then. Here, the "23 NOV 2021" stamp tells us exactly when the body was milled. Meanwhile, the "1412 - 2021" neck heel stamp suggests that the neck was also manufactured in 2021.

Neck Pocket Stamps/Markings

Neck Heel Stamps/Markings

Neck Heel - Right Side

Neck Heel -Left Side

Neck Heel - Butt End

Fretboard and Frets

The rosewood fretboard has definitely seen lots of use with probably zero cleaning and conditioning. Hopefully, we'll be able to remove all the crud and grime with naphtha. Now, the frets. The owner was complaining about fret buzz when he sent his PAC612VIIFMX in, and after closely examining the frets, I can see why. Frets 1 to 16 suffer from a combination of divots and flat spots. No spot leveling here, folks. We'll be going the whole hog and dressing all the frets.

Frets 1 - 2

Frets 3 - 4

Frets 5 - 6

Frets 7 - 8

Frets 9 - 10

Frets 11 - 12

Frets 13 - 14

Frets 15 - 16

Frets 17 - 18