Tokai 335 identification help!

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holomiitti

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Hello!

I have offered to buy this tokai es335 style guitar. The seller claims it is a MIJ (not korea) tokai from 1982 or 1999.
The serial is six digit 095896 no prefixes. not 7 digit! serial is the sticker inside guitar. no stamped serials.
model say es60
Truss cover is 3 screws. Block inlay (not dots). and looks like it has fret edge binding

photos:

http://i811.photobucket.com/albums/zz40/oskari_martimo/tokai es-60/25022011430.jpg

http://i811.photobucket.com/albums/zz40/oskari_martimo/tokai es-60/25022011429.jpg

http://i811.photobucket.com/albums/zz40/oskari_martimo/tokai es-60/25022011428.jpg

http://i811.photobucket.com/albums/zz40/oskari_martimo/tokai es-60/25022011426.jpg

http://i811.photobucket.com/albums/zz40/oskari_martimo/tokai es-60/25022011425.jpg

http://i811.photobucket.com/albums/zz40/oskari_martimo/tokai es-60/21022011415.jpg

Is this possibly japanese made? ok korea, what do you think ?

Thanks, Oskari
 
Pretty sure all ES 60's are either made in Korea for the earlier models, or China for the newer ones. If I'm right and I think I am, they won't be nearly so good as MIJ guitars but that doesn't make them bad guitars.

just so long as you don't pay MIJ prices for it. :eek:
 
yea, i know MIK guitars might not be bad at all. I just have this psychological block not buy guitars made in korea, indonesia, china etc...

I'm wondering because the seller insists this is a japanese made guitar. but doesnt look like that to me. the serial is only thing that i wonder about..and also the block inlays that are not typical.

oskari
 
The Tokai ES 135 has block inlay and it is made in japan. If you google Richtone Music you will see an example of one. However I am 99.9% positive that ES 60's are only either made in Korea or China. I think the first model number for the MIJ guitars was ES 100 but there are more knowledgeable folk on here than me who can advise you more.
 
holomiitti said:
Is this possibly japanese made? ok korea, what do you think ?
Click to expand...

MIK, definately. The bridge hardware and the 3-screw TRC are the big giveaways without even looking at the model number.

Seller could be genuinely ignorant. Maybe point him in the direction of the forum?
 
I own an ES60 but mine is dot inlay. If it doesn't have a letter in the serial number I am pretty sure it is a new Chinese model. The older ES60's that were made in Korea had a letter in the serial number.

I doubt it is a 1999. It is more probably a recently made guitar from China. I love my ES60 and will be upgrading the pickups and nut very shortly. Mine is made in Korea. It says so right on the back of the headstock. Ask for pictures of the back of the headstock and then you will be certain...
 
The confusing part is the block inlays, the MIC ES60s are all 'dots, and the current ES160 is the only MIJ model with block inlays.
The MIC sticker is irrelevant because everyone removes it the day they get the guitar.

I'd say a MIC ES60, but I don't understand the block inlays.
 
the seller says there is no stickers and no mark of either MIJ or MIK anywhere.

It's definetely older than 6 six years because he's had it for at least that time. He is not the first owner. the serial could also read 995896..
could this be from 1999. Anyway it can't be MIC since it's bit too old for that?

The six digit serial with no letter is also strange, as is the block inlays.

hhhm..could it be japan?
 
The bridge has the Korean shaped saddles, the knobs are the same colour as the Korean models.

Block inlay, never seen them before on an ES60. The 3 screws in the TRC are black, the same as the Korean FA70's. The plastic nut has been changed for a smaller vintage sized, presumably bone item, there is the giveaway gap betwwen the nut and TRC.

The sticker....it should say ES60SR (for See thru Red) the red oval sticker always has the colour of the guitar, not just ES60. I've still got a few that I had to remove from guitars because the serial number on the sticker and back of the headstock did not match. (how hard is it to get that one right?) The Korean ES60's did not come with a sticker inside the body, only Japanese or Chinese, of which this is neither.

If it is a Korean Tokai (not Fakai), it will have Made in Korea, in gold on the back of the headstock.

What country is the guitar in now?
 
hmm..

well i'm pretty sure it"s not a fake. the guy is sincere and willing to try it out if necessary. hes the second owner.the guitar is in finland where it was sold originally in a music store. it was bought around year 2000 and price then was something around 700 euros. i dont know what tokais used to cost back the 335 models...

the guitar has no other marks or indications of origin than the sticker. it has been been adjusted by a pro at some point which explains the nut.

bit confusing...
 
holomiitti said:
could this be from 1999. Anyway it can't be MIC since it's bit too old for that?

The six digit serial with no letter is also strange, as is the block inlays.

hhhm..could it be japan?
Click to expand...

I'm inclined to think MIK rather than MIC, but that's just a feeling. Definately not MIJ, the hardware is all wrong and that's the one thing that never lies.

I can't see any 335-a-likes in the '99 catalogue, they do appear in the 2000 catalogue though and are ES60's, but the block inlays are still a mystery.

holomiitti said:
and looks like it has fret edge binding
Click to expand...

Missed this. If you look closely you'll see it's an optical illusion - regular unbound fret ends.
 
Another thing.

The MIC ES60s I have all have the white binding/paint in the F holes...even the MIJ ES models don't have that.

Here's one of mine.

es60sb3.jpg
 
I may of seen this guitar , or one like it before about a week ago when I was looking on the net about ES60 s.
It may of been on you tube or through google images ?
The guy said he had the block inlays put in by a friend.
 
I seem to recall a thread where there was some talk of an "ES80" which would have been the ES60 with block inlay...
 

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