1978 ST-42 - My First Tokai (detailed info)

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siamackz

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Hi All,

This is my first post because I just got my first Tokai :) It's a modest ST-42, with the original paperwork. After a few weeks of setting up, it's become a joy to play!

Vintage guitar collecting is a new hobby for me. I have been collecting and restoring vintage fountain pens for a few years though, and last year I happened to find my old Ibanez in the attic and decided to restore it. I thought maybe I could transfer some pen repair skills to the guitar. After a successful restoration, I started re-learning the guitar and this got me exploring vintage guitars.

I love doing research on vintage instruments! I have a whole website dedicated to research about the history of vintage pens, and so it was only natural for me to want to document the research on my Tokai too. So, if you're interested check out this link - https://www.siavintageguitars.com/tokai-st-42

I know very very very little about guitars, and this website is really just for me to document information about my own guitars - I am not attempting to make it a repository of information for the public. I am an absolutely newbie, so please feel free to correct me on anything I have mentioned on the site. I learned so much from veteran collectors when I started off with vintage pens and I am sure this forum's members will be equally generous in guiding me through my exciting new journey in vintage guitar collecting.

I can't seem to attach pictures here but you can check out the website link if you like.

Thanks!
 
"These guitars were becoming an actual threat to Fender’s own sales at the time. But, instead of suing Tokai, Fender entered into an agreement with them to manufacture Fender guitars at their Japanese factories in the late 1990s."

This kind of glosses over a bit of history where Tokai and Fender were in negotiations in the early 80s which didn't go well, and resulted in part with Tokai suffering financially, entering bankruptcy I believe, and only much later working out a business relationship with Fender after many difficult years.

This thread on the Hamamatsu factory talks about this a little:

http://www.tokaiforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=25815
 
That is a gorgeous webpage that you’ve produced, siamackz!! Well written, beautifully photographed, and impeccably researched and sourced! (and your guitar is stunning, as well!!)
 
Sigmania said:
"These guitars were becoming an actual threat to Fender’s own sales at the time. But, instead of suing Tokai, Fender entered into an agreement with them to manufacture Fender guitars at their Japanese factories in the late 1990s."

This kind of glosses over a bit of history where Tokai and Fender were in negotiations in the early 80s which didn't go well, and resulted in part with Tokai suffering financially, entering bankruptcy I believe, and only much later working out a business relationship with Fender after many difficult years.

This thread on the Hamamatsu factory talks about this a little:

http://www.tokaiforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=25815

Very interesting! I will study through and edit my content. This is quite contrary to what other sites like the Reverb article state. Initially, I thought there was a law suit, but that Reverb article suggested otherwise. Thank you for correcting me. I’ll try and find more information about the law suit.
 
Stringzy said:
That is a gorgeous webpage that you’ve produced, siamackz!! Well written, beautifully photographed, and impeccably researched and sourced! (and your guitar is stunning, as well!!)

Thank you so much for your kind words and encouragement!
 
Hi,

I gotta agree with all these guys - the website is fantastic and the pics gorgeous, very well documented.
There are a few small items incorrect though...
1) the pickups used Alnico V magnets - not ceramic, with the "U" having a slightly higher output than the 'E'
2) the neck shape was considered a '58 shape 'U' used on ST-42, ST-50 and ST-60. The '54 shape V was used on ST-80 and ST-100. This is in Tokais own information for the Maple necks. Rosewood boards were added late in '78 and had more a '64 'C' shape. All maple necks for Springy sound are 1 piece with no laminated fingerboard.

Hope this helps...
regards
Peter Mac
 
Peter Mac said:
Hi,

I gotta agree with all these guys - the website is fantastic and the pics gorgeous, very well documented.
There are a few small items incorrect though...
1) the pickups used Alnico V magnets - not ceramic, with the "U" having a slightly higher output than the 'E'
2) the neck shape was considered a '58 shape 'U' used on ST-42, ST-50 and ST-60. The '54 shape V was used on ST-80 and ST-100. This is in Tokais own information for the Maple necks. Rosewood boards were added late in '78 and had more a '64 'C' shape. All maple necks for Springy sound are 1 piece with no laminated fingerboard.

Hope this helps...
regards
Peter Mac

Thank you for the encouragement, especially coming from an expert like yourself. Thanks for suggesting the edits too, I am learning so much from the community here! I will make the necessary edits.
 

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