What kind of Tokai Guitar is this?

shyroseca · Sep 14, 2005

I have had this Tokai Guitar for at least 35 years. The Model # is 7646 and Serial # 71050329. It was made in Japan and built expressly for and distributed by G.M.C in Cleveland, OH. This is not an electric guitar. I searched all over, even the registryon this site and couldn't find anthing. Maybe someone out there knows something? Thanks in advance for any info you may have.

Shyrose

hans-j?rgen · Sep 14, 2005

Any pictures? Without them it's a bit hard to guess...

chrisheyes · Sep 15, 2005

shyroseca Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2005 4:34 pm Post subject: What kind of Tokai Guitar is this?

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I have had this Tokai Guitar for at least 35 years. The Model # is 7646 and Serial # 71050329

Welcome to the Tokai Registry and Forum shyroseca

You could try some detective work along these lines

Use a website language translator like

http://www.worldlingo.com/en/products_services/worldlingo_translator.html

and paste this link in to the website translator section and in the boxes below set it to translate Japanese to english

http://members7.tsukaeru.net/levante40/

This is the Japanese based website registry for Tokai's Acoustic Guitar made under the name "Cat's Eye's"

There is a sub section of the site which assists you to verify the age of the guitar. There are also lots of old product catalouges which have been scanned in.

hans-j?rgen Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2005 4:49 pm Post subject:

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Any pictures?

Hans-jurgen is spot on, as always. 8)

A photo would be very helpful, also a desciption of the woods use for the soundboard, neck, fingerboard, sides and back.

Alternatively you could email, including a photo

Kazuhiro Yoshida on [email protected]

Kazuhiro is the person who runs this Cat's Eyes website and he has a contact within Tokai Gakki. This is very very rare. Many of us in this registry have tried to contact Tokai with no response.

However, I recevied an email from him the other day regarding a similar made for export guitar:-

Hello Chris

There was an answer from the manufacturer about the matter
of the question the other day.
TCD-286 is manufactured for the United States in 1999.
The main specification is as follows.

Top:Solid Spruce
Back&Sides:Rosewood
Neck:Mahogany
Fingerboard:Rosewood
Finisholyester
Bracing:Scaropped
PG:Tortoise shell tipe
Head Inray:Flower Pot
Bridge:Long Saddle
Posision Mark:non
Binding:Tortoise shell tipe
Top Color:Old Color Finish

Thank you!

Kazuhiro Yoshida

Let us know how you get on with your research

Regards

Chris

hans-j?rgen · Sep 15, 2005

There is a catalog from 1973 on the main site, by the way, and it has some acoustic guitars, too.

shyroseca · Sep 15, 2005

Hi Hans,
I tried that catalogue but its not in there and couldn't find this particular guitar. I was trying to figure out how to send u a pic. maybe u can give me a clue? Thanks

hans-j?rgen · Sep 15, 2005

You can click on the email button underneath my postings and mail me one if you don't have an own web space provider or picture service where you could upload it. But please don't send the high resolution version with 1 MB size or more... :wink:

shyroseca · Sep 15, 2005

Hi Chris,

Thanks for your welcome, I also sent an email off to gentleman from Cat eyes, Did you say it was rare to receive a reply from them? If so, I must be lucky(':lol:') I''

luis · Sep 15, 2005

It's not so rare,but remember being extremely kind and patience when you are contacting to japanese people.What is usual for you cannot be for them(very different mind,you know).And you have to follow some kind of etiquette to conduce to them.Sometiemes we occidental people make some move in a wrong way(with no intention of course because it is correct for us).

I have learn a lot from Kazuhiro's site,so if he is reading this topic I would like to say a big thank you for him.It is a great site and the reason(with my kind friend Peter Mac) why I bought a CE-1000 from '81.
And asking him perdon if I 'd caused him any inconvenience for sending Ned a link to his fantastic site.

chrisheyes · Sep 16, 2005

Shyroseca

Did you say it was rare to receive a reply from them?

I was refering to Tokai themselves

Kazuhiro is a very honorable gentleman

I thank him for his time and understanding. His wisdom is very wide on acoustic guitars

hans-j?rgen · Sep 16, 2005

Here are the pictures that shyrose sent me yesterday:

Looks like a normal concert guitar with nylon strings to me, probably rosewood back and spruce top.

luis · Sep 16, 2005

Because headstock and internal Tokai logo is similar to '83-85/86 Silver Stars I bet being from that period.I have seen several classical Tokais but from early era that they seems a bit cheesy.
This one is the first I see with this logo script.
Ask for what is written inside the box, there is where can be the key.

shyroseca · Sep 16, 2005

Hi Luis,

Inside the Guitar it says Model No. 7646. Tokai Guitar of Quality Built Expressly for and Distributed by G.M.C. Cleveland, OH Serial No. 71050329. Made in Japan. I have seen some others but mine seem to be older than the others. I have not seen my model or serial number anywhere.

shyroseca · Sep 16, 2005

I forgot, on the side of the head of the guitar, there are some fancy carving in the steel plate if that helps.

shyroseca · Sep 22, 2005

Hi all,
I received a reply from Mr. Kazuhiro Yoshida today, he said and I quote " This catalog is a thing in about year of the '74. If Back & Sides are Jacaranda, it is TC-600 though cannot distinguish in the image. If Back & Sides are solid Rosewood, it is TC-500. Though it is pleased when the label is seen more clearly..." I don't know anything about wood so I'm not sure which one it is, but at least I know what kind of Takai I have.

hans-j?rgen · Sep 22, 2005

Wow, that's a nice surprise, isn't it? This means you've got one of the Tokai top model nylon string guitars if they used the same numbering system for them as they do now. The model number is the original list price in Yen x 1,000, i.e. yours was available for at least 500,000 Yen in 1974 which is a whole lot of money (~3,700 EUR or ~$4,500 nowadays). I would have expected that there was more inlay stuff on such a guitar then.

By the way, Jacaranda is Brazilian Rosewood, an expensive rosewood variant usually found on fingerboards only.

hans-j?rgen · Oct 4, 2005

Correction: Tokai used an additional zero in the model number on their early acoustic guitars, so the list price was 50,000 Yen. See also this thread:

http://www.tokaiforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=18550

luis · Oct 4, 2005

Thank you and Kazuhiro Yoshida for let us know shyroseca.
Because Kazuhiro's website I learned how to date Cat?s Eye acoustics guitars and I bought a '81 CE-1000 in fact because the interest was born in me.
One tip: erly(75/76) Tokai acoustics have a CATS EYE logo whereas later acoustics have a Cat?S Eye logo....very funny!
So your guitar is a pre-Cat?s Eye era,it's the first time I've seen any like yours.

With your post I realized where Tokai got his logo for '83-later Silver Star models......

hans-j?rgen · Oct 4, 2005

Here's the complete link to a Google translated version of that web site again:

http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fmembers7.tsukaeru.net%2Flevante40%2F&langpair=ja%7Cen&hl=en&ie=UTF8

shyroseca · Oct 4, 2005

You're welcome Luis. After a long search and not finding any other guitars like mine, I was happy to find out directly from the makers. I'm glad you got some answers too.

Later....

dragonfehr1 · Jan 14, 2006

I too am having the same problem as this gentleman and maybe you can be of help. Mine just gives the model no. 10 and There is no serial number. I am not sure how to post the images directly but I did manage to get a good shot of the label. Here is the URL where they can be found:

http://spaces.msn.com/members/getnailedat2doorsdown/PersonalSpace

I am going to be selling this guitar on ebay soon and I need to know the specs on it as well as est value so I don't screw myself over. The lady that gave it to me said she bought it in 1968. She didn't play it very much so it has been in the case most of the time and it is in mint condition for its age. I have restrung it with Jose Ramirez nylon strings and that was only the second set of strings that this baby has ever seen. I really don't want to sell it, but I never get to play it either and I would realy like to see it used for what it was meant for. Can you take a look and tell me what you can?

Thank you
dragonfehr1 is my seller id if anyone is interested when I get it listed

What kind of Tokai Guitar is this?

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