Tokai Hummingbird 1960s classic from Japan

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I know, I know, I know...

It's been FAR TOO LONG.  Time to get our arses into gear.  Thanks to Rich who kept the ship afloat for a long while in my absence.

I've got lots of things I want to tell you guys about.  New guitars and basses of my own, plus a couple of projects I've been working on.

Meanwhile I just want to bask in the gloriousness of this piece of 1960s Japanalia (is that even a word?) that is the Tokai Hummingbird. Yes, we've seen them before on this blog, but they look good enough to warrant another post.

This baby has a built-in distortion effect too... I'm guessing that's the battery access on the side of the guitar near the output jack.

But it ain't a cheapie. An eBay Buy It Now price of US $1,550.00 for this example illustrates just how popular these old Japanese guitars have become in recent years and how yesteryears oddities are now so supremely collectable.

G L Wilson


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1985 Tokai Paisley Telecaster copy

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I almost bought a 1980s MIJ Fender paisley Telecaster once. It was in a pawn shop in the early 1990s for $400 Canadian. It was a time before anyone could easily find out that the MIJ Fenders of that era were so incredible, and the price reflected that. I knew, but I was a student and had no money and all my credit was used up. I still regret it though. I think that was when I really started to covet the paisley Telecasters, with that missed opportunity.

What I did not know was that Tokai had done a copy of the paisley Telecaster. This 1985 Paisley Telecaster clearly shows its age. But I think that makes it all the better.

R.W. Haller

© 2015, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
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Tokai Woody Talbo Hollow Body Rare Made in Japan

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We've looked at the Tokai Talbo before, but here is a newer one that is not made of aluminum.

I'm having a hard time finding anything not to like on this Tokai Woody Talbo. It has a great unique body shape that is both modern and retro at the same time. I love the Hamilton Green colour, which is very seafoam or surfy. I also like the look of the replacement pickguard that is, according to the seller, too flexible for a secure mounting of the pickups. That would be an easy fix or replacement.

Currently listed on eBay for $559.99 US

R.W. Haller


© 2015, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
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Japanese-made, possibly prototype, Tokai Tsunami looks strangely familiar

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Damn, that's a good looking guitar. And as a Japanese-made Tokai, it ought to be beautifully crafted and a fine player to boot! It's a Tokai Tsunami and while it isn't a copy of any previously known guitar, I think everyone would agree that the Rickenbacker influences in the design are screamingly obvious. It's like the solidbody Rickenbacker that never was. (Having said that, I think there's also a touch of my beloved Yamaha SG-3 in the design too).

The guitar is from 2002 or thereabouts, is in as new condition, and the eBay seller claims that this particular example is a prototype although as far as I can fathom that claim is made due to the apparent lack of a serial number and pickups that differ from known production examples.

Currently listed on eBay with what seems like a wholly reasonable Buy It Now price of US $599.

G L Wilson

© 2014, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
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Could this Tokai MIJ doublecut electric possibly be a Black Widow?

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This guitar, supposedly a Tokai doublecut, made in Japan, is currently listed on eBay by the dreaded music-outlet-shop of Cologne. As usual, this seller gives zero information and only one very small photo of a guitar which it is asking quite a large amount of money for.

I suspect that this may be one of the guitars that Tokai made for Acoustic Corporation / Bartell as it looks remarkably like the Paul Bartell designed Black Widow guitars, although perhaps the pickups have been swapped out for something a little more generic. The two-tone sunburst is unusual for a Black Widow which usually were only available finished in black (...if Henry Ford had made guitars!).

If anyone knows any more about this model, please leave a comment below.

This guitar is currently listed on eBay priced at $990.

See also: The Acoustic Black Widow Fan Page

G L Wilson

© 2013, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
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A Pink Paisley Les Paul? Surely not?...

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Here's one that could well cause you to perform a double take... it's a Les Paul with a Fender-esque pink paisley finish!

But of course, it's not a Gibson. It's a Tokai Love Rock, and Tokai of course are known for their high quality replicas of guitar designs by Fender and Gibson. They even made a Telecaster in pink paisley in the early 1980s before Fender themselves decided to re-issue the same model. (The Fender Telecaster in question was a Fender Japan guitar, and very likely came off the same production line as its Tokai "counterpart").

On a related note, the Fender Custom Shop's latest models include Telecasters in a choice of pink, blue and green paisley finishes.

Meanwhile, this Tokai Love Rock in Pink Paisley is currently listed on eBay with a starting bid of $939. Oh, and I've seen a Tokai SG in the same finish too.

G L Wilson

© 2013, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
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Sigma by C.F. Martin Tele-style guitar (made by Tokai)

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Here's an unusual but mighty fine-looking Telecaster Guitar from C.F. Martin's Sigma brand. Made in Japan for Sigma by Tokai guitars, it rather unusually - for a Tele - sports a headstock with three tuners to each side. From the photos I'd guess it was also of a slightly shorter scale length - a Gibson-esque 24" perhaps?

The seller claims that this is one of only 49 examples produced (When? 1970s? 80s?), and is "one of the best playing electric guitars I have ever encountered." This guitar is currently listed on eBay UK with a starting bid of £449.

G L Wilson

© 2013, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
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Tokai Talbo B-135 Bass Guitar

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The seller of this great looking bass must be among the coolest Ebayers out there. Nothing seems to excite him. Not even the prospect of getting a pile of cash for this first class instrument. This guitar really deserves selling up, I think.

To me, this a superb contemporary instrument. It absolutely looks the business, from it's smooth metallic surfaces to its roundy/spiky contours, to it's individual string pickups. I can imagine thumping those strings and it sounding like slamming the lid on a grand piano. Wow! This Tokai Talbo Bass just oozes class!

The Talbo Blazing Fire, to give it it’s full name, was made from the same aluminium alloy (AC-4B) that racing car engines were made of and were first produced in early 1982 but the B-135 bass wasn’t introduced until 2000.

The long, 24 fret, neck and that stretched top horn combine to create a very elegant looking instrument.

One of the quirks of the guitar is that the neck angle adjustment is achieved by a hex nut on the side of the neck at the 20th fret. The, however, bass seems to use the more common, heel adjustment, accessed through a hole in the pickguard, which seems pretty archaic these days.

According to Wikipedia:
The Talbo Bass featured a stylised aluminium body (which featured internal cavities), and the TB-8AL circular pickup. Combining active circuitry with the metallic body, Tokai claimed that the sound was both unique and versatile.

The seller says nothing about this beautiful instrument beyond listing its spec as follows:

Tokai Talbo B-135 Bass Guitar.
Specifications:
Body: Cast Aluminium Alloy AC-4B
Finish: Nickel plated
Neck: Maple
Fingerboard: Rosewood 400R
Scale length: 34" - Long Scale, 24 frets.
String spacing at bridge: 19mm between string centres
String spacing at nut: 30mm E-G
Weight: 4.6kg
Single TB-8AL pickup with active volume, bass and treble controls
Wilkinson WBG-4 bridge

David in Barcelona

© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - 10 years and counting!

1980s Tokai Talbo Blazing Fire aluminium-bodied beauty

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Here's a proper 1980s-era Japanese-made Tokai Talbo Blazing Fire with aluminium body, and definitely not to be confused with the later Korean-made wooden bodied versions. In fact the wooden-bodied Talbo is an oxymoron, since the very name "Talbo" is a portmanteau of "Tokai ALuminium BOdy". The seller describes this guitar as playing "like a Stratocaster on steroids" and you can be sure that given the body material this guitar is going to be seriously resonant.

Currently being auctioned on eBay UK with a starting price of £499.

G L Wilson

© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Robin Raider with Mosrite-inspired body made in Japan by Tokai

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Here we see a Robin Raider guitar from the now legendary Robin Guitars of Texas. This is an early Robin from the period 1982-1986 when their guitars were made in Japan. After 1986 production moved to the USA ... which makes a refreshing change from the way things are usually done as so many American guitar companies used to build in the USA and then transferred production to the Far East. Robin designs were often Fender-inspired so it's nice to see the nod to Mosrite guitars on this model.

In keeping with the Mosrite-theme it's one of those rare breed of right-handed guitars that look as if they should be left-handed! The illusion is further enhanced by the upside-down headstock.

Currently being offered for sale on eBay with a very fair sounding Buy It Now price of $449. Sale ends very soon!

G L Wilson

 © 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

1968 vintage Tokai Humming Bird - cool Japanese-made rarity

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Here's quite a glorious Tokai Humming Bird from the late 1960s way before Tokai had gotten into the swing of producing such accurate and well-made replicas of Fender and Gibson guitars that those companies became seriously worried by the Japanese competition.

The Humming Bird is a guitar of its age. It has the same generic pickups that we see on other Japanese guitars of the same era, plus a very basic sub-Bigsby vibrato arm. The body horns are quite pointed which again brings to mind various of its Japanese-made contemporaries (e.g. Yamaha's early solidbodies, the SG-2 and SG-3) and the body has some German carve contouring around the top edge. The front pickup is angled a la Mosrite guitars. (Mosrites were famously used by The Ventures, a band who were seriously BIG in Japan).

I admire the seller's honesty when he/she says that it is "not the best playing guitar ever made by far, but more of a desirable collectors item". There's no BS and no hyperbole, it's just telling it like it is, and I wish more eBayers would take a leaf out of this seller's book.

Likewise, the pricing is not out of this world. The starting price is £250 and the Buy It Now price is £375 (currently listed on eBay UK).

G L Wilson

© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

A 1980s take on the extravagant Tokai Hummingbird

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Unfortunately I couldn't find any information about this Tokai, but you can't deny that it looks to the Tokai Gakki Hummingbird like the Yamaha SC looks to its SGV predecessor: a toned down metal-oriented guitar. Having lost its German carve, contoured pickguard and slanted singlecoil neck pickup, it's a perfect 1980s hair-metal instrument, with violent red finish, one zebra humbucker in bridge position and Floyd Rose trem.

Isn't it a clear denial of the psyche-surf-pop brilliancy of the original Hummingbird? I would have overlooked it if I hadn't kept in mind the subtle finish of the SC-600 I posted about a couple of weeks ago, and how it reveals that even dulled in dull times, these crazy Japanese designs stayed above the lot! 

Bertram

© 2011, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

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Tokai

Diodati doubleneck made by Tokai and with fluorescent artwork by El Daga

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The Diodati Guitar Company describe themselves as "a small Christian-owned firm located in Southern New Hampshire" in the USA, with guitars being made at overseas facilities and distributed by Pete's Trading Center. The owner, Peter J. Diodati, Jr. explains that by cutting out all the middlemen associated with all the big name guitar companies, he can sell to the consumer at approx half the price an equivalent "name" guitar would cost.

Diodati use the same factories as the big companies; in the case of the doubleneck pictured here, it is made by Tokai (Tokai Gakki Co., Ltd) although whether that is at their original facility in Japan or one of their Korean or Chinese plants, I couldn't tell you.

This particular doubleneck features fluorescent artwork by the artist El Daga. I can't work out if the the black circle between the pickups on the 12-string side of the guitar is a soundhole or part of the artwork.

This guitar is currently being offered for sale on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $1,995. That doesn't appear to be one of the affordable prices that Diodati pride themselves on, but then this would appear to be a rather special model.

G L Wilson

© 2011, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Tokai AJG88 Silver Star

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This 2011 custom order Tokai AJG88 Silver Star really appeals to me as a stripped-back version of the Fender Jazzmaster; it has a basic layout with no fancy switches and no trem, but still manages to look über cool in this burgundy mist finish.

The spec is as follows:

BODY : Solid Alder
NECK : Maple
FINGERBOARD : Rosewood
FRETS : 22F (Regular)
BRIDGE : LS-VB Bridge LS-VT Tailpiece
NUT Width : Bone(42.0mm)
PICKUPS : PAF-Vintage MK2×2(Japan)
CONTROLS : 1V.,1T.3way Toggle SW
COLOR : burgundy mist metallic
WEIGHT : About 3500g

G L Wilson

© 2011, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Tokai Talbo A-140S -Red Skeleton

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With Hallowe'en just around the corner, who would be without a skeleton guitar to usher in the creatures of the night?

What you haven't got one! Well, luckily for you, I've been checking out eBay on your behalf. This beauty in a deep devilish red could be just what you need. Fortunately for us the seller has posted a bunch of great photos so it's well worth nipping over to eBay to check it out. Unfortunately he doesn't say very much about the guitar so I'm not sure if it's an aluminium body. It's from the 90s so it probably is. A wicked looking guitar, whatever it's made of.

I tried a little Googling on this beastie but haven't come up with another with the Skeleton moniker. So I can't see where the connection is. Maybe the seller is trying for a festive sale.

David in Barcelona

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!

Vintage Tokai Japan 60s Pre Talbo Weird Cool Teisco!

Another case of an eBayer who, not knowing the manufacturers name, lists a couple of fairly smart guesses including the all embracing "Cool" and the inevitable Teisco! - The exclamation mark did not go unnoticed.

Whatever it is, one thing's for sure. It's a corker. And, after a little research - it's a Guyatone Victoria.

The beauty at the bottom is from a Japanese site and there is yet another on Craigs List. The CL pictures are very poor and it's hard to tell anything except that it's bright blue. I think it's a fairly rare item as Google throws up very few examples and fewer still with decent pictures.

David in Barcelona

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Tokai Blazing Fire

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Hey Gavin, I don't know if you guys are still on vacation but this Tokai caught my eye, copy of a Talbo.

http://page6.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/f93274195

Description says, "The body isn't aluminum, it's Basswood"

Ken Shima

Hi Ken

The irony of having a wooden-bodied Talbo is not lost on me, since the name Talbo is derived from Tokai ALuminium BOdy. I am aware of the Tokai Talbo Woody series (surely a prize example of an oxymoron), but this Blazing Fire edition would seem to be yet another wooden-bodied variation.

It's still quite a cool original design from a company largely known for their replicas, but for myself it doesn't have the appeal of the original metal-bodied Talbo.

G L Wilson

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!

Upside-down Tokai Gakki Hummingbird

guitarz.blogspot.com:

There are two beautiful ultra-rare Tokai Gakki Hummingbirds for sale on US eBay these days, but one of them (the one on the top) is somehow a monstrosity since it's an upside-down lefty model turned into a righty.

The characteristic of this genius and totally psychedelic guitar (produced around 1967) is its longer pointy lower horn, as you can see on the right - that makes it a kind of hysterical Mosrite (that also inspired the inclined neck pickup).

Hard to tell how this lefty was reversed but I can imagine that an uninformed musician could think it's all normal since thus it goes back to what Leo Fender set as the electric guitar common design.

As a player, I wouldn't like to play on such a genuine and expensive vintage guitar that would feel better in a museum or (unfortunately) a safe. Happily this one as been recreated by Eastwood (I know, I know, it's not the same, the original is better, etc), and that is one of the guitars on my middle-term GAS list (oups, I made another free ad for Eastwood! You know how to find me, guys!)

Bertram

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Sorry, but what's it got to do with Tony Zemaitis?

Now, don't get me wrong, I think this aluminium-bodied Tokai 'Zemaitis" Talbo is a really tasty looking guitar, but why tag on the totally spurious Zemaitis connection?

The late Tony Zemaitis created some amazing high quality "boutique" guitars, and was quite an innovator with distinctive designs such as his engraved metal fronts and pearl mozaic tops. (See the Official Zemaitis Guitar Owners Club website).

I was alarmed a couple of years ago when the Japanese appropriated his name and began making faithful replicas (see www.zemaitis.net). They are high-quality replicas, but personally I find the idea of putting them out under the "Zemaitis" banner a little bit tasteless.

Now this Tokai Talbo is one step further away again. It's a Tokai Talbo (which always was a metal-bodied guitar) but with a Zemaitis-shaped headstock. As far as I am aware there is no genuine Tokai/Zemaitis connection so, again, this seems improper.

A fine guitar, but why cash in unnecessarily on the late Tony Zemaitis' name?

Gibson fights to keep classic guitar its own: defiantly trying to protect the Les Paul design from copyists such as Tokai and PRS. See also: Gibson Guitars Sues Competitors Over 'Imitation' Models