The Best Yamaha Electric Guitars Under £300

Why Yamaha Is Great for Budget Electric Guitars

Yamaha stands out among budget electric guitars for its unmatched trust, quality, and sound. For entry-level players, Yamaha is hard to beat.

Choosing an entry-level guitar can be confusing. How do you know which style, sound or design will suit you? What features do I need? What's a pickup?

This article introduces you to Yamaha electric guitars under £300, which is the sweet spot when student and intermediate players are buying their first guitar. It'll explain what to look for in an electric guitar, including the advantages of starting your guitar journey with a Yamaha Pacifica for its reliability and affordability.

Yamaha electric guitars at this price point often compete with Ibanez and Squier in the entry-level market, so we'll explore why Yamaha is a solid choice alongside these brands. Yamaha's under £300 models offer competent build quality, solid pickups, and exceptional playability, and are trusted among many players worldwide.

History of The Yamaha Pacifica

Since 1980, the development of a mass-market electric guitar was on Yamaha's horizon, and by 1990, they released their first Pacifica model, the PAC912. It was designed to have a custom feel with mass-market appeal. It featured the familiar body style, HSS pickup design (humbucker/single-coil/single-coil), and a bolt-on neck. It was also the first time Yamaha used quality third-party components such as DiMarzio pickups and Wilkinson tremolo systems.

Over the years, the Pacifica took many forms, from the USA1 and USA2 models with alder bodies and figured maple tops to the Pacifica PAC120, which featured a pair of humbucker pickups and a hardtail bridge.

Nowadays, the Yamaha Pacifica has six models at varying levels of quality and components, and it's these entry-level models that make up some of the best Yamaha electric guitars under £300.

What to Look for in an Electric Guitar Under £300

When buying a guitar under £300, there are several features and components to look for, because there are some really poor examples out there. It's important that you check these when purchasing your new electric.

Yamaha is renowned in the music world as a trusted, high-quality brand that creates well-made instruments, from entry-level pianos to premium electric guitars. Pacifica's entry-level models have always been known for their high quality, perfect for beginners and intermediate guitarists.

Body Woods Commonly Used

Check what wood the guitar's body is made from. Inexpensive woods include alder, basswood, and nato, all suitable for guitar bodies. Pacificas tend to be made from alder, a good, balanced, full-bodied wood with good sustain.

Neck Construction and Fretwork

See what the neck is made from. Most electric guitar necks are made of maple, with a maple or rosewood fretboard, which is the most common.

Many brands use other similar woods to rosewood for the fretboard, such as Indian laurel and pau ferro. Neck shape is also worth trying. Some guitar necks are thick, while others are thinner. Make sure you test the neck with your fretting hand to ensure it's comfortable.

Pickups and Tone

The most common pickups available for electric guitars are single coils and humbuckers, which sometimes look like two single coils together. Single coils produce a bell-like tone, whereas humbuckers are thicker-sounding and are generally associated with rock and metal music.

Versatility for Different Genres

You can select different pickup combinations, giving you different tones to play with. Pacifica models commonly come with an HSS setup (humbucker/single-coil/single-coil), but other versions are available. Having a good setup like the HSS allows you to create a wide range of sounds, perfect for exploring and practising many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, and pop.

Playability

Having a well-balanced instrument to start with is key to good practice. Although everyone loves the Les Paul and Yamaha SG guitars, they're quite heavy and not always the best guitars to start with. Entry-level Yamaha guitars, such as the Pacifica, feature a lightweight body with a two-horn or double-cut design, which provides greater access to the frets for long melodic solos.

Action and Comfort

The action is the distance between the strings and the fretboard. Too high, it's difficult to press on for chords; too low, the strings rattle on the frets. (The frets are the metal strips across the guitar neck that divide notes.) When choosing your new guitar, make sure the action isn't too high, and it feels comfortable.

Practice chord shapes to check the action and neck comfort. The top of the guitar can be turned to tune it, usually with a tuner. Check these when looking at your new guitar to ensure they're not loose and the electric guitar can be easily tuned.

Bridge Stability

There are lots of variations of bridges, but for beginners, you'll generally come across two types: hardtail and tremolo.

A trem or tremolo style bridge moves using the trem arm, where you can bend notes, create shimmers, and perform other sound manipulations.

Hardtail bridges are generally more stable, but many guitars come with a trem option for versatility.

Electronics Durability

Electric guitars have various buttons, knobs, and switches that help you switch between sounds. Most electric guitars have a pickup selector that selects different pickup combinations, along with tone and volume knobs.

The tone knob, when turned, rolls the high end off the sound, and the volume, well, reduces the volume. Check these when plugged in to ensure they work correctly. There are sometimes push-pull coil splitters on the guitars. Yamaha Pacificas offer this option, turning the humbucker into a single-coil pickup for extra tones.

Yamaha Pacifica Series – The Best Budget All-Rounders

The Yamaha Pacifica series has been a staple in the electric guitar world since the 1990s. Trusted by guitar teachers, players, and students alike, it remains a versatile instrument suited for a variety of musical genres. With Yamaha's reputation for quality, the Pacifica stands out as a strong option for those seeking a budget-friendly all-rounder.

Yamaha Pacifica 112V

The Yamaha Pacifica 112V sits just below the £300 line and is one of the most popular Pacificas in the series. There are plenty of colour options, including blue, black, natural, and sunburst, among others. It features the traditional Pacifica HSS pickup setup, with a powerful Alnico humbucker at the bridge for hot, dynamic leads and two single-coil pickups for bright, articulate cleans.

A rosewood fretboard and a bolt-on maple neck make the Yamaha Pacifica 112V easy to fret and make chord work simple and easy. The vintage-style tremolo bridge allows expressive effects from wavey shimmers to bold bends, while tone and volume controls give you complete control over the spectrum of sounds.

It's an amazing sub-£300 guitar that delivers everything you need in a beginner electric guitar, playing with conviction and doing everything it says on the tin. The alternative Yamaha Pacifica 112VM is slightly cheaper, and the only main difference is a maple fretboard instead of rosewood. Rosewood gives a warm, sustained tone to the mix, while the maple fretboard adds a bell-like sparkle. It also comes in alternative colours, being sonic pink, metallic red, grey, and ice blue.

There is also the Yamaha Pacifica 112VMX, which has the same specs as the 112VM and is finished in a satin natural finish with a black scratch plate.

For those who might struggle to reach the sub-£300 mark, Yamaha offers alternatives in the Pacifica 012 and 112J. The Yamaha Pacifica 112J is a more affordable option than the 112V and 112VM, featuring ceramic pickups instead of Alnico. Ceramic pickups are brighter and a little harsher over alnico, and don't have the warmth and vintage aspects you might get with the alnico set.

The 112V also features minor differences, such as a 1-ply scratchplate (purely cosmetic) and a slightly different trem. If you want a very playable first guitar and keep it under £200, then a Yamaha Pacifica 112J is certainly a great choice. It still features excellent playability and Yamaha quality.

And for those who have money and still want Yamaha quality, check out the Pacifica 012. A mahogany body, ceramic pickups, and a single-ply scratchplate keep the price in check.

If the Yamaha Pacifica doesn't tickle your fancy, alternative guitars in the sub-£300 mark include the Ibanez GSA60 Electric Guitar, which has a similar pickup configuration, and the Ibanez GRG121DX, which has a pair of humbuckers and leans toward the more modern and classic metal music genres.

Are Yamaha Guitars Good for Beginners?

Yes, often recommended by guitar teachers and music shops such as 8Music, Yamaha guitars across the whole board, including bass guitars like the Yamaha GSR series and the acoustic range, have a great reputation.

Yamaha guitars are known for excellent playability, with comfortable neck profiles and a range of good, solid sounds. The factory setup is usually spot on, making them easy to play straight out of the box. They retain their long-term value and are not just beginner guitars, with many players holding onto them for years. It's quite difficult to get something of the same quality at the same price bracket.

There is even talk of some guitarists swapping their more expensive electric guitars for their old faithful Pacifica in the studio.

Final Thoughts – The Best Yamaha Guitar Under £300

Saying Yamaha is one of the most reliable brands for budget electric guitars might sound like quite a bold statement. But seriously, it is. There are plenty of options for beginners, with the Yamaha Pacifica 112V electric guitar being a top choice that balances affordability with quality and features. Excellent pickups delivering a huge palette of tones to play with, alongside easy playability, make it a no-brainer when it comes to buying an entry-level guitar.

Ready to get your Pacifica? At 8Music, you’ll find a wide range of Yamaha electric guitars, including the ever-popular Pacifica models that deliver incredible value for money. Whether you're picking up your first guitar or looking for a reliable upgrade, Yamaha’s reputation for quality, playability, and durability makes the Pacifica series a fantastic choice for players of all levels.

Explore the range today and find the Yamaha guitar that’s right for you.