Tokai serial number search
Mahogany neck with rosewood fretboard and crown inlays.
#Tokai serial number search full
A stunning burst, our favourite is this violin finish, two-piece centre-joined Mahogany back with full thickness maple cap finished in a great burst. One piece mahogany back solid maple top with light flame, mahogany neck and rosewood fretboard. These Reborn Old guitars have a satin nitro cellulose finish, aged nickel hardware, PAF mk 2 pickups.
Reborn models on the other hand only use the first digit still.Tokai Guitars. The Love Rocks models use the first digit of the serial number for the year, while the Love Rocks used the first two digits for the year. Tokay guitars use a seven digit serial number that is pressed on the back of the headstock for the Gibson model replicas. One interesting unique feature of Tokai guitars is the use of model numbers which can be used to identify specific models and those with particular collectible value. By managing to produce the same products for less, they undercut the original manufacturer. And interestingly, these guitars are now actually considered collectible in their own right! In short, the company had actually managed to beat the original at their own game. In fact, Fender actually went on to make a deal with Tokai in The agreement stipulated that Tokay guitars could continue to be made as long as they featured subtle changes to the branding and headstock shapes.īut in return, the company would actually supply Fender with the guitars and materials they would need for the real thing.
Engineers literally stripped them down for parts, took measurements, wrote notes, took photographs, and then recreated them from the ground up.Īnd despite being technically knock-offs, the quality of these guitars was second to none. This was built to the original specifications and was accomplished by reverse engineering the original vintage Strats. To that end, the Japanese firm started producing its first reissue - a Stratocaster replica - during the mid 70s. Tokai was in an ideal position to execute on this concept. It was in the 70s that Tokay guitars really struck gold.Īt the time, Fender was actually struggling with its own products, when Tokai and several other similar companies identified a niche in the market for high quality, vintage reissues of classic guitars.
While many companies start out this way and never grow to become anything else, Tokai eventually went on to develop a more serious name in its own right. Partly, this was likely due to the fact that many patents, trademarks, and copyrights are very difficult to police overseas. In fact, they were sometimes referred to affectionately? Despite some flagrant attempts at intellectual property infringement, Fender never went as far as to sue Tokai. At this time though, the guitars were still considered effectively knock-offs. These were able to accurately recreate the old-school sounds of those instruments, while costing far less than the originals.ĭemonstrating just how successful the Tokay guitars had become, Stevie Ray Vaughn was seen posing with the Tokai Spring Sound on the cover of the album Texas Flood in Similarly, Billy Gibbons took a Tokai replica on the road with him during a tour. Initially, this was sparked by the creation of some replica Fender and Gibsons. Is the fame well-earned? Are they better than American or European guitars? And how do you go about choosing the best ones? Back then, it was just a small and obscure instrument manufacturer operating out of Japan, and with nothing particularly setting it apart. So, what do you need to know about Tokai guitars? Big in Japan: Tokai’s Controversial Takes on American Classics
This is the most popular guitar brand in Japan, and the guitars themselves are very highly regarded by musicians the world over.