Yamaha PAC212VQM vs Harley Benton Fusion-III HSS Roasted
Reasons to Get
Yamaha PAC212VQM over Harley Benton Fusion-III HSS Roasted
Reasons to Get
Harley Benton Fusion-III HSS Roasted over Yamaha PAC212VQM
Other Key Differences
Yamaha PAC212VQM vs Harley Benton Fusion-III HSS Roasted
Shared Features
Yamaha PAC212VQM vs Harley Benton Fusion-III HSS Roasted
Common Strengths
- Pickup Alter Switch/Knob
- High-Quality Frets
Common Weaknesses
- Neck-Through Build
- Weight Relief
- Stays in Tune (Evertune)
- Compound Radius Fretboard
- Luminescent Sidedots
- Strap Lock
- 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- Active/Passive Preamp
Table of Contents
Price History Comparison
These are affiliate links. We may earn a fee if you purchase after clicking. These prices are prone to error. Make sure you're buying the right product after clicking on a link from our site. We are not liable if you buy the wrong product after following these links. As an Amazon Associate site we earn from qualifying purchases.
Which One is Better Overall?
After going through our comparison algorithm, the results show that the Harley Benton Fusion-III HSS Roasted is probably the better product overall with its final score of 74 compared to the Yamaha PAC212VQM's 64 score, which is a significant difference.
The Harley Benton Fusion-III HSS Roasted wins when it comes to sound, playability, build quality, value for the money. This means that it wins over the Yamaha PAC212VQM in every aspect.
If you got small hands, you'll probably feel more comfortable playing the Harley Benton Fusion-III HSS Roasted.
Which One is Better for Beginners?
If you're looking for your first guitar to learn how to play, the Harley Benton Fusion-III HSS Roasted is the better choice.
The Harley Benton Fusion-III HSS Roasted meets 6 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, while the Yamaha PAC212VQM meets only 5. This takes into account the type of frets, scale length, nut width, bridge type, fretboard radius, and neck profile to determine the easiest combination for new players.
New Player Friendliness
Yamaha PAC212VQM- Comfortable shape
- Easy-to-use bridge
- Tall frets
- Narrow nut
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable fretboard
- Short scale
- Locking tuners
New Player Friendliness
Harley Benton Fusion-III HSS Roasted- Comfortable shape
- Easy-to-use bridge
- Locking tuners
- Tall frets
- Narrow nut
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable fretboard
- Short scale
Nevertheless, when it comes to choosing an instrument, you should pick the one more compatible with your personal style. Still, below we'll try you to give you our results as objectively as it's possible to help you decide.
Yamaha PAC212VQM Overview
- From Yamaha's 2011 Pacifica series
- Made in China
- 6 strings
- 25.5"'' scale
- 13.78" Fretboard Radius
- Quilted Maple top
- Maple/Alder/Quilted Maple Laminated body
- Maple neck
- Rosewood fretboard
- Bridge pickup: Alnico Humbucker (Humbucker/Passive)
- Middle pickup: Alnico Single Coil (Single Coil/Passive)
- Neck pickup: Alnico Single Coil (Single Coil/Passive)
- 1 volume and 1 tone Dome knobs
- 5-way Switch
- Vintage-Style Tremolo with Block Saddle bridge
- Pacifica C Bolt-On neck
- 22 Medium frets
- Die-Cast tuners
- Compare Specs >
Harley Benton Fusion-III HSS Roasted Overview
- From Harley Benton's 2021 Pro series
- Made in Indonesia
- 6 strings
- 25.5"'' scale
- 12" Fretboard Radius
- Nyatoh body
- Roasted Maple neck
- Roasted Maple fretboard
- Bridge pickup: Roswell HAF-B Alnico-5 (Humbucker/Passive)
- Middle pickup: Roswell S74-M AlNiCo-5 (Single Coil/Passive)
- Neck pickup: Roswell S74-N AlNiCo-5 (Humbucker/Passive)
- 1 volume and 1 tone Dome knobs
- 5-way Switch
- Wilkinson Tremolo bridge
- Harley Benton Modern C Bolt-On neck
- 24 Medium Jumbo Stainless Steel frets
- WSC staggered locking die-cast tuners
- Compare Specs >
Sound Quality Comparison
The wood used in an electric guitar or bass is not as important to determine the final tone. However, some people prefer specific wood types, so we'll take a look at those first. Then, we'll take a look at the electronics to determine the versatility and sound quality of each instrument.
Woods Used in the Yamaha PAC212VQM
Maple is one of the most popular necks for good reasons. It is a strong wood that is relatively cheap to make and looks beautiful. The highest quality maple is the hardest that comes from North America. Find out more about Maple.
Rosewood is an almost purple-looking wood that is used mainly for fretboards since it's heavy, rare, and expensive. It's sometimes used on acoustic guitar bodies to create stronger warm tones. Find out more about Rosewood.
Alder is the most popular wood that Fender uses in most of their guitars nowadays. Even though they say it's because of its balanced tone with an emphasis in the upper midrange, it probably is because it isn't too expensive, and it's also pretty lightweight—more than Mahogany. Find out more about Alder.
Woods Used in the Harley Benton Fusion-III HSS Roasted
Roasted Maple is just maple without a finish. It's technically cheaper than regular maple, but it doesn't have any extra disadvantages because of this. The color is darker, and it's lighter weight and very stable even when there's a lot of humidity.
Nyatoh has been replacing Mahogany for guitar building. It's fairly hard, durable, more sustentable and common than Mahogany. Find out more about Nyatoh.
Winner: Yamaha PAC212VQM.
Pickup Configuration
Both pickup configurations are HSS. HSS provides a great balance if you like to play with a lot of distortion, but also love to use clean tones. You'll get a lot of output at the bridge position, but you'll be able to play bright clean tones at the other positions.
Pickups Quality
The Harley Benton Fusion-III HSS Roasted pickups from a more specialized brand than the Yamaha PAC212VQM. Its pickups should give you a fuller, richer sound, although it all depends on what type of music you're going to play. We recommend these pickups for Hard Rock and similar genres.
Both use Passive pickups. This is what's used for most music genres. They have a regular output and will serve you for both high-gain and clean tones. The alternative (Active pickups) offer a higher output that is mostly used for heavy music.
Winner: Harley Benton Fusion-III HSS Roasted.
Versatility Comparison
Some instruments offer you more ways to explore your creativity than others. Below you'll find how both compare when it comes to versatility.
Switch Options
Both are equal when it comes to the pickup switching option.
Both offer you the same type of pickup mod: Coil Split.
Coil Split lets you disconnect one of the pickup coils. When used with humbuckers, it turns them into single-coil with lower output and cleaner tone.
They both share the following switching options:
When evaluating versatility, we also take into consideration bridge and neck joint type, number of frets, switch options, amount of pickups and more.
Winner: Harley Benton Fusion-III HSS Roasted.
Final Sound Quality Scores
Build Quality Comparison
When it comes to build quality, we like to take into account everything used to build the instrument. This includes materials, hardware and the quality control expected depending on the country where it was built. Let's see how the Yamaha PAC212VQM compares to the Harley Benton Fusion-III HSS Roasted.
Country of Origin
The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. The Yamaha PAC212VQM is built in China while the Harley Benton Fusion-III HSS Roasted is made in Indonesia.
China has a bad reputation when it comes to building quality. However, times have changed and now respectable brands use China's cheap labor to build good instruments for a lower price. Don't discount a guitar only because it was built in China, but also expect more quality from countries like Korea.
Indonesia is becoming the most popular country for guitar building because they can make good instruments for a low price. Some people think that they're 'the new China' when it comes to build quality. But the truth is that Indonesian guitars are more consistent, although Chinese quality has improved a lot in the last few years.
Winner: Harley Benton Fusion-III HSS Roasted
Nut Material
If you want your guitar to stay in tune and sound good, you need a well cut nut. Nut quality can be inconsistent even when comparing two copies of the same model. The best way to make sure you're nut will be well done is by getting a nut made by an expert company like TUSQ or Micarta.
The Yamaha PAC212VQM has a Plastic nut. This is a low-quality nut that you might want to consider upgrading soon. Bone and TUSQ nuts are the best for guitars with a fixed or simple tremolo bridge.
On the other hand, the Harley Benton Fusion-III HSS Roasted comes with a Ivory Tusq nut. Ivory used to be considered the best material for guitar nuts due to its beauty, durability, and the rich harmonics and sustain you could get from a guitar with it. However, the way to obtain it is simply unethical. Enter TUSQ ivory nuts, which are made synthetically to imitate ivory. Technically, it's better than ivory because it is consistent piece-to-piece, while natural materials can vary a lot, even if they're made from the same.
Winner: Harley Benton Fusion-III HSS Roasted.
Fret Material
Most fret wire is made of nickel silver. This material eventually wears down after a lot of use and most instruments end up needing a complete fret replacement. However, some expensive models come with stainless steel frets. This is what you should aim for if you can afford it.
In this comparison, the Harley Benton Fusion-III HSS Roasted is the only one that has stainless steel frets. These frets will basically last for the entire life of the guitar. They will never need polishing nor replacement. And not only that, but some people also notice that bending and vibratos are much easier to perform when they upgrade to stainless steel.
Winner: Harley Benton Fusion-III HSS Roasted.
Bridge
The perfect bridge for you will depend on your playstyle because they all have advantages and disadvantages. However, some bridges are more expensive—like Floyd Roses and Evertunes—and thus add more value to a guitar.
Both come with a similar bridge: Tremolo. Tremolo bridges give you more versatility than fixed bridges. They let you perform the intense vibrato effects that would be impossible with a fixed bridge. However, since the bridge floats and there's less contact with the body, the strings lose sustain slightly faster. They can also be a bit harder to restring and set up correctly than fixed bridges.
Since we need to be objective, the most expensive type of bridge will be the winner of this section. In the end, this doesn't matter if you're not going to use the bridge for its original purpose, so choose the bridge that fits your playing style better.
Winner: Tie.
Tuners
The Harley Benton Fusion-III HSS Roasted has the best tuners of the two because they are locking tuners. They'll help to keep your guitar in tune because they allow you to tune it without wrapping the strings around the posts. This avoids variations in the tuning due to the strings changing position at the post after a bend. They come at the disadvantage of being slightly heavier than regular tuners. Also, it makes it a lot easier to restring.
Winner: Harley Benton Fusion-III HSS Roasted.
Neck Joint
Contrary to popular belief, the difference in sustain and tone that some neck joints give to a guitar is simply unperceivable—if they're all well built. However, some of them do have advantages over the others.
Both have a Bolt-On neck joint. This neck is joined to the body by 4 bolts that you can simply unscrew. This allows you to replace the neck or take it off for travel. It's the most common and cheapest way to build a guitar.
Winner: Tie.
Here is the list of features that were considered when choosing the winner in the Features subcategory:
Yamaha PAC212VQM
- Expensive Wood
- Coil Split Pickups
- Tremolo
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- Made in China
- No High-Quality Nut
- No Top Brand Pickups
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Weight Relief
- No Luminescent Inlay
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
Harley Benton Fusion-III HSS Roasted
- Stainless Steel Frets
- Locking Tuners
- Ivory Tusq Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Coil Split Pickups
- Tremolo
- Made in Indonesia
- No Expensive Woods
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Weight Relief
- No Luminescent Inlay
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
Final Build Quality Scores
Playability Comparison
Let's now compare their playability. Bear in mind that the instrument will feel different depending on your hand size and play style. That's why you should always test before buying. But if you can't or want a second opinion on it, we can still take a look at each of the important measurements of the instrument for you. This way, we can predict how easy a guitar might be to play, or how different it will feel compared to the other.
Remember that, even though the difference might seem small, every inch counts when it comes to feeling of the instrument in your hands. Any variation can completely change how comfortable a guitar feels in your hands.
Nut Width
The nut width will affect the separation between strings at the nut. In this comparison, the Harley Benton Fusion-III HSS Roasted has the wider nut with 42mm (1.654'') vs 41mm (1.614''). This is a 1mm (0.04'') difference
This means that it will be more difficult to do bar chords on the Harley Benton Fusion-III HSS Roasted, especially closer to the nut. However, it's also easier to play without muting strings accidently. This favors people with big hands.
Scale Length
The scale length is one of the things that influences playability the most. This is the distance between the nut and the bridge and will affect everything from low action allowance, difficulty to perform bends, fret separation, and even tone.
In this case, both have a scale length of 25.5".
This is the scale used in most Stratocasters. It's slightly longer than the typical 24.75'' size found in Les Pauls, and it's one of the main reasons why Stratocasters have such a bright sound in general. A longer scale also means that the strings will have higher tension. This will help you get lower action without suffering fret buzz, which will also be helpful when playing in lower tunings without having to increase your string gauge.
However, this also means that there will be more separation between frets, which can make it more difficult to play. Also, bending the strings will require more strengths due to the increased tension, but remember that a tremolo guitar will offset this difficulty.
Lastly, remember that you can also affect the tension of the strings by changing your string gauge. You can use a thicker gauge for more tension and a lighter one for less tension.
Neck Profile
No single neck shape is better than others. However, most people tend to prefer a thinner necks because it doesn't get in their way when playing fast and most hand sizes can adapt to it pretty well. However, some people still prefer thicker necks for a better grip, especially if they have big hands.
Both the Yamaha PAC212VQM and the Harley Benton Fusion-III HSS Roasted have a C-shaped neck. This is what you'll find in most modern guitars. Most people feel like the thickness of a C neck is simply the less intrusive one for playing fast, while at the same time allowing you to grab the neck easily for resting if you want to.
Fretboard Radius
Most guitar fretboards are not flat; they usually have a curve or arc across their width. A curved fretboard will make it easier to perform chords without muting strings, while a flatter one will make it easier to play single notes, which is good for bending and soloing in general. The best fretboards have a compound radius that varies across the fingerboard, but they're not common since they take a lot more work to build.
In this case, the Harley Benton Fusion-III HSS Roasted's fingerboard radius is smaller, which means it's more curved than the Yamaha PAC212VQM's. This extra arc will make playing chords easier in this model. You won't be as likely to mute the strings, especially if you have big hands. However, playing single notes and bending will be easier on the Yamaha PAC212VQM.
Still, both tend to favor soloing over chords, so if you're looking for a guitar for playing rhythm, you might want something else with a radius closer to a Stratocaster's 9.5''.
Hand Size Comfortability
Everyone has a different hand size, and that's why it's recommended to try a guitar before buying, even if others tell you that it's comfortable to play. However, we can know whether a guitar favors small or large hands just by knowing its exact measurements.
And after taking into account the scale length, nut width, neck profile and fretboard radius, we can conclude that the Yamaha PAC212VQM favors large hands more than the Harley Benton Fusion-III HSS Roasted. But it's still more comfortable for people with small hands, as you can see in the score meter below.
Yamaha PAC212VQM:
Harley Benton Fusion-III HSS Roasted:
Fret Size
The Harley Benton Fusion-III HSS Roasted has Medium Jumbo frets, which should be taller than the Yamaha PAC212VQM's Medium frets.
Some people prefer taller frets because they result in more sustain since the strings get pressed cleanly without interference from the fretboard. However, if they're too tall—like Jumbo frets—, you might change the pitch of the strings accidentally if you press too hard because you won't be touching the fretboard with your fingers. This is also why some guitarists with a heavy grip prefer smaller frets. They like to feel the fingerboard to avoid pressing down too hard and getting out of pitch.
