Hi all,
I joined the Tokai Registry forum last week but thought i'd await my new - vintage 1982 Tokai Silver Star before posting anything.
Thanks to everyone for posting such thorough info on Tokai's - this really helped with my purchase of a 1982 Tokai Silver Star from Japan - via Ebay for $267 + $140 postage [i'm in South Australia and you dont see many here in the shops etc].
I didn't buy the Tokai SS hoping to get a cheap stratocaster - but because I love Japan - their culture etc and the quality things they produce. Also after researching the brand on this site and the www I found "my" guitar and won the bid [it was the 3rd guitar I bidded on coming out of Japan in ebay.com instead of ebay.com.au thats used in Australia - but it turned out better than I thought price wise I think]
So, about the guitar:
After it arrived and I unpacked it I found the gig bag it came in was real leather - had the smell of age and actually has "Tokai" something something print on it in a couple of places... it's a bit unuseable right now as the head stock has ripped the foam lining to shred and it now dusts the guitar in tiny foam bits I originally thought were wood shavings!... I will get it repaired just to keep it original one day..
It came with a new set of #9 D'addario strings and whammy bar in the gig bag pocket..
On pulling the guitar out of the gig bag I was pleasantly surprised to find the strings on the guitar had been loosened for the trip [which only took 8 days from Japan to South Australia]
The pictures probably tell a lot about the guitar, but to be sure I did not get ripped off I immediately took the old strings off the guitar, and carefully removed the neck and pickgaurd.
I found the neck stamp matched the body stamp, and also found the neck and body routes matched photo's I have seen of legitimate Tokai strats on this site and the www.
I cleaned up the guitar with a bit of soapy water, cleaned the rosewood fretboard too and eyed off the pots, pickups, wiring and other parts to see if the looked original to the guitar and they all matched up - I noticed a few tells of age having pulled off pickgaurd from a few strats and would be amazed if anyone had bothered to pull it off before...
The guitar sounds just like a good strat should, think Jimmy Vaughan/Hendrix = lovin it!!!
Details:
Tokai Silver Star stratocaster replica
Headstock serial # dates to 1982 on guitar registry online
Neck/body stamps: 7=16 / 7=16 BB
Black body with black/white/black pickgaurd
Maple neck with rosewood fretboard
Greyback pickups and stock pots/5 way switch
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I joined the Tokai Registry forum last week but thought i'd await my new - vintage 1982 Tokai Silver Star before posting anything.
Thanks to everyone for posting such thorough info on Tokai's - this really helped with my purchase of a 1982 Tokai Silver Star from Japan - via Ebay for $267 + $140 postage [i'm in South Australia and you dont see many here in the shops etc].
I didn't buy the Tokai SS hoping to get a cheap stratocaster - but because I love Japan - their culture etc and the quality things they produce. Also after researching the brand on this site and the www I found "my" guitar and won the bid [it was the 3rd guitar I bidded on coming out of Japan in ebay.com instead of ebay.com.au thats used in Australia - but it turned out better than I thought price wise I think]
So, about the guitar:
After it arrived and I unpacked it I found the gig bag it came in was real leather - had the smell of age and actually has "Tokai" something something print on it in a couple of places... it's a bit unuseable right now as the head stock has ripped the foam lining to shred and it now dusts the guitar in tiny foam bits I originally thought were wood shavings!... I will get it repaired just to keep it original one day..
It came with a new set of #9 D'addario strings and whammy bar in the gig bag pocket..
On pulling the guitar out of the gig bag I was pleasantly surprised to find the strings on the guitar had been loosened for the trip [which only took 8 days from Japan to South Australia]
The pictures probably tell a lot about the guitar, but to be sure I did not get ripped off I immediately took the old strings off the guitar, and carefully removed the neck and pickgaurd.
I found the neck stamp matched the body stamp, and also found the neck and body routes matched photo's I have seen of legitimate Tokai strats on this site and the www.
I cleaned up the guitar with a bit of soapy water, cleaned the rosewood fretboard too and eyed off the pots, pickups, wiring and other parts to see if the looked original to the guitar and they all matched up - I noticed a few tells of age having pulled off pickgaurd from a few strats and would be amazed if anyone had bothered to pull it off before...
The guitar sounds just like a good strat should, think Jimmy Vaughan/Hendrix = lovin it!!!
Details:
Tokai Silver Star stratocaster replica
Headstock serial # dates to 1982 on guitar registry online
Neck/body stamps: 7=16 / 7=16 BB
Black body with black/white/black pickgaurd
Maple neck with rosewood fretboard
Greyback pickups and stock pots/5 way switch
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