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Yamaha Revstar Standard RSS02T Electric Guitar - Hot Merlot

Solidbody Electric Guitar with Mahogany Body, Maple Top, Carbon-reinforced Mahogany Neck, Rosewood Fingerboard, and 2 Single-coil Pickups - Hot Merlot
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Yamaha Revstar Standard RSS02T Electric Guitar - Hot Merlot
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Raising the Revstar Standard

Yamaha’s Revstar Standard RSS02T is an update of the original Revstar series of guitars, refined to offer improved comfort and even more striking visuals! This maple-topped double-cut’s lightweight chambered mahogany body is loaded with two rich and warm sounding VP5 pickups that deliver classic P-90 tones — from clean jazz textures on the neck pickup to wild overdriven leads on the bridge. The neck is comprised of carbon-reinforced mahogany so that it will stay straight and true in even the most challenging of environments. What’s more, Yamaha has equipped this Revstar with their proprietary “focus” switch that shifts your tone’s resonant frequency and supercharges your pickup’s power. If you’re looking for a high-performance, no-nonsense axe with explosive tones, rock-solid playability, and sleek modern aesthetics, the RSS02T sets the standard.

Comfortably curved Revstar body

The Revstar’s curvy lines and classic aesthetics are said to be inspired by the utilitarian British Café racer motorbikes found in 1960s-era London, adding a tough no-frills attitude to these sleek guitars. The unique double-cut chambered body was developed using Yamaha’s Acoustic Design process to optimize the Revstar’s balance, deliver a resonant tone, and reduce weight. One strum of the RSS02T is all it takes to see how Yamaha’s research paid off: the Revstar’s body is a supremely comfortable design that showcases Yamaha’s steadfast dedication to musical innovation!

Yamaha-designed P-90 pickups deliver iconic tone

As far as we're concerned here at Sweetwater, every guitarist should have a guitar loaded with P-90 single-coil pickups in their collection. You get the snap and spank of a single-coil pickup, but with the girth and low-mid richness that you'd expect from a humbucker. The custom-designed VP5 P-90 pickups in the RSS02T utilize Alnico V magnets, a silver baseplate, and plain enamel wire, creating a clear, vintage-inspired tone with plenty of bite. Set your tube amplifier at its breakup point, and you'll be able to take the RSS02T from clean and chiming to blazing overdrive just with the volume knob.

Bring your sound into focus

Yamaha’s Revstar line already introduced us to their clarity-boosting “Dry” switch, and the RSS02T offers another distinct tonal feature to stand out from the crowd: the “Focus” switch. This dual-purpose push-pull switch adjusts the resonant frequency of your guitar’s tone and kicks up the power. When testing it out at Sweetwater, we found that it’s an incredibly versatile feature that’s just as good at achieving “rolled off” jazz tones as it is for boosting your amp into overdrive territory.

Yamaha Revstar Standard RSS02T Electric Guitar Features:

  • Ultra-comfortable and lightweight chambered mahogany body with a maple top
  • 3-piece carbon-reinforced mahogany set neck with double-cutaway offers incredible upper fret access
  • Yamaha VP5 P-90 pickups deliver pristine and organic clean tones, with the classic P-90 bite when overdriven
  • “Focus” switch shifts your tone’s resonant frequency and amps up your power
  • Jumbo stainless steel frets are highly resistant to wear
  • Highly playable 12-inch fingerboard radius
  • Rock-solid Tune-o-matic bridge and sleek racing tailpiece

Why Buy Your Guitar from Sweetwater?

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Tech Specs

  • General
  • Number of Strings 6
  • Left-/Right-handed Right-handed
  • Body
  • Body Type Solidbody, chambered
  • Body Shape Revstar Standard
  • Body Material Mahogany
  • Top Material Maple
  • Body Finish Gloss Polyurethane
  • Color Hot Merlot
  • Neck
  • Neck Material 3-piece Mahogany
  • Neck Shape Revstar
  • Neck Joint Set Neck
  • Radius 12"
  • Fingerboard Material Rosewood
  • Fingerboard Inlay Pearloid Lines
  • Number of Frets 22, Jumbo Stainless Steel
  • Scale Length 24.75"
  • Nut Width 1.649"
  • Nut Material PPS
  • Hardware
  • Bridge/Tailpiece Tune-O-Matic Bridge with Racing Tailpiece
  • Tuners Die-cast
  • Electronics
  • Neck Pickup VP5n Alnico V Single-coil
  • Bridge Pickup VP5b Alnico V Single-coil
  • Controls 1 x master volume, 1 x master tone (push/pull focus switch)
  • Switching 5-way blade pickup switch
  • Miscellaneous
  • Strings Elixir, .010-.046
  • Case/Gig Bag Gig Bag
  • Manufacturer Part Number: RSS02T HML

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Customer Reviews

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Rated 5/5

Yamaha Revstar - Beautiful & Easy to Love

I've had my eyes on one of these Revstars since their reintroduction. I finally got mine, a stunner in Hot Merlot with a tailpiece and P90's. The deep color matches the fine red wines I enjoy!

This Yamaha is by far the easiest to play guitar I've tried. Low action, comfortable body cuts, satin neck, and super smooth frets. This guitar is very resonant with great sustain and articulate, bell-like clarity pickups. Loving the variety of tones I can get with the five-way selector. There's some cool quack in the out-of-phase 2 and 4 positions. Middle position silences all 60-cycle hum and with the focus switch engaged approaches humbucker growl.

I'm a 60 year old beginner and this guitar inspires me to pick it up and play daily to learn and improve. I added Gotoh locking tuners to ease string changes (I'm clumsy working with the B and high E strings). These tuners fit exactly and match the stock Yamaha keys in color and style.

I really like the communication I get from Josh Hacker and team. Especially the emails with high res pics and how carefully they inspect, pack and ship. I would not hesitate to purchase my next gear from Sweetwater.
Rated 5/5

Grandpa Rock Star With His New Yamaha RevStar

I'm pleased with this beautiful guitar - Plays and Sounds Great! - Great customer service as well - Thanks, Sweetwater!
Rated 5/5

Maybe my last guitar

I have owned maybe 150 or so guitars, almost every brand there is, many high end, signature guitars, custom shop guitars. A couple of high end Yamaha guitars, my first introduction to them. This Yamaha Reverse may be the finest guitar I have ever played, not one complaint, the 5 position switch along with the add boost knob give 10 different tones. The only thing I did was put 9-42 strings, and readjust the action. But out of the box it is awesome. I recommend this guitar highly, more than that I recommend Sweetwater music store, I haven't bought from anywhere else for the Las 10 or so years. Thank you Ryan Sloan for all that you do.
Music background: Guitar, keys, most stringed instruments over 55 years
Rated 5/5

Very quality and good for the money

Well, the factory set up left much to be desired as the action was way too high. I lowered the action and wham it was not good to go. Bends were fretting out. I don't know what the fretboard radius was but it wasn't compound for sure. A bit more tweaking later and all the strings were difficult to bend. Changed to Elixir Optiweb 9 42 and it instantly felt like a new guitar. Got the action just where I wanted it to be and this guitar has been a keeper ever since. The ebony fretboard felt great in the hand as did the satin finish on the back of the neck. The tuners were really smooth and tactile compared to other budget guitars and the tuning stability was excellent so I didn't feel a compelling need to change to locking tuners.The rest of the hardware including the pickup selector switch and the volume and tone knobs were also excellent and felt high quality. I have no idea why one of the reviewers didn't like his pickup selector but I reckon qc failed him or her. I liked the tones I was getting from the P90 pickups but this is my first foray into them so take that for what it is. There's minimal hum and the middle position is hum cancelling. It really growls and rocks on an overdrive setting. The stainless steel frets in combination with the ebony fretboard makes playing the guitar slinky and nice. Put on a new set of strings and you are good to go and it gets even slinkier. Overall the guitar feels quite good to play but the strings can be slightly difficult to bend. It is much easier now after dialing in the action and changing to a lighter guage of strings though. I love this guitar but for some reason, I love my Cort les paul copies more. Both of them are on an even kneel though.One thing I don't like about this guitar is that even with the action low the bridge has to be way up high. Such that there is always no gap between the end of the tune-o-matic and the wierd stop=tail piece. Also I found the experience of changing strings with that stop tail piece using allen keys a bit different. At the end of the day guitars are just tools for creating the music through your hands and amplifier and this is an excellent tool of a guitar. Thanks for reading.
Rated 4.5/5

This guitarist is a keeper. It rocks.

Wanted this guitar for awhile. Read reviews and watched video demos before reaching the decision to get it. Came out of the box almost perfectly set up. Played it for just a few minutes and said yeah! Took it to a gig that night and played it during the second set. The sound jumped out my amp right away. It roared. It snarled. Other band members who also own Yamaha acoustics gave it big thumbs up. Much pleased with this baby.
Music background: 60 years playing a number of different styles.
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