Plato! - 2008 Yamaha Pacifica 112XJ

Meet Plato 

Honestly, we’re not sure his previous owner played him at all. There’s not a mark on this guy, so it’s safe to say, he’s desperate to finally start living at 17 years old.

“The measure of a guitar is not found in what it costs, but in how well it helps you find your own voice.”

Well… Plato probably didn’t actually say that. If he’d discovered the electric guitar two and a half thousand years ago, though, we’re fairly sure he’d have approved of this one.

This is a 2008 Yamaha Pacifica 112XJ, finished in Yamaha’s elegant Misty Silver. It’s one of those colours that quietly changes with the light. Sometimes silver, sometimes carrying the faintest hint of blue, but always effortlessly classy. For a guitar that’s approaching twenty years old, his condition is honestly remarkable. No abuse. No battle scars. No questionable modifications. Just one incredibly well cared for instrument that’s spent far too much of his life waiting for someone to plug him in.

There’s a reason the Pacifica has become one of the most recommended electric guitars in the world. Yamaha didn’t chase gimmicks or trends; they simply built an instrument that works. His comfortable alder body, smooth bolt-on maple neck, rosewood fretboard, 25.5” scale length and modern playing radius make him feel instantly familiar whether you’re picking up a guitar for the first time or have been playing for decades.

The 112XJ also has a little personality of its own. With its distinctive black appointments paired against that beautiful Misty Silver finish, he stands out from the crowd while still retaining the understated style Yamaha do so well.

His HSS pickup configuration is where the Pacifica really earns its reputation. The bridge humbucker has enough punch for rock and metal, while the two single coils deliver sparkling cleans, warm blues and everything in between. Add Yamaha’s five-way selector and you’ve got one guitar that genuinely refuses to be pigeonholed.

As always, he hasn’t simply been dusted off and pushed out of the workshop.

Jordan has levelled, crowned and polished every fret before carefully rounding the fret ends and rolling the fretboard edges, giving him that wonderfully broken-in feel you’d normally expect from a guitar that’s been loved for years. The rosewood fretboard has been thoroughly cleaned and conditioned, the electronics flushed and cleaned, the hardware polished, the truss rod adjusted, the action and intonation dialled in, and he’s been restrung with a fresh set ready for his next adventure.

Perhaps Plato knew something so frequently forgotten these days.

True quality isn’t measured by price tags. It’s measured by how long something continues to do exactly what it was built to do.

Seventeen years on, Plato is proving that point rather beautifully.