1981 ES-150J (ES-335 Style Tokai)

[_JDZ]

I've only recently joined, but been following for some time.

Figured I'd share my favorite of the Tokai's I have.

It's an 81 ES-150J. ES-150 and ES-100 were new models in 1981 and each came in Rock and Jazz versions. Mine is a Jazz version, which means it has the Jazz, rather than Rock pickups.

The 100 and 150 are very much the same guitars, with the differences being the 150 has birds eye maple, a cashew lacquer finish (love the amber tone to it), ebony fretboard and upgraded electronics including oil condensers.


On both guitars Tokai used 3-ply maple (all three ply's are maple), single piece mahogany neck, MOP dots on the fretboard, same neck profile as used on 59 and 60 335's, 5-ply long pickguard, and solid maple center block sandwiched between spruce. Tokai’s catalog says they did exhaustive research into the details of ’58 to ’64 ES-335’s and all those details are just how the originals were made.

I’m really into vintage MIJ copies of ES-335’s and trying to document many of them more fully as the details on them aren’t nearly as well known as the Les Paul copies.

And if you are wondering, yes, the guitar plays and sounds fantastic.

John

DSC00757 by JDZ, on Flickr

DSC00740s by JDZ, on Flickr

DSC00750s by JDZ, on Flickr

20180205_203145s by JDZ, on Flickr
DSC00742s by JDZ, on Flickr

NeckCavity_s by JDZ, on Flickr

DSC00743s by JDZ, on Flickr

DSC00749s by JDZ, on Flickr

 

[villager]

Hi John the 150 does not actually have cashew Lacquer, that was only used on the 200 models, that finish on the 150 is beautifully aged nitrocellulose...

 

[_JDZ]

Hi Mark. The translation I have of the '81 catalog shows the 150 is finished in cashew:

"The whole series comes in black sunburst (SB), Tokai red (TR) or natural (N), with classic lacquer finish on the ES100 R and ES100J or cashew nut finish on the ES150R and ES150J"

Shows the same in the specifications grid.

 

[marcusnieman]

Very nice. My 81 ES100J has a fair amount of birdseye in the body wood as well

 

[villager]

ah thats very interesting... i was always under the impression it was nitro!! cool..

 

[guitar hiro]

that is an amazing looking ES 8)

what is the neck thickness like at the first fret?

 

[_JDZ]

Very nice. My 81 ES100J has a fair amount of birdseye in the body wood as well

I have an 81 ES100 as well
The top on it is very nice - a lot of figure in the wood and plays to the light.

 

[_JDZ]

ah thats very interesting... i was always under the impression it was nitro!! cool..

Thing that is really confusing is trying to understand what cashew lacquer is - made from cashew nuts.

 

[_JDZ]

that is an amazing looking ES 8)

what is the neck thickness like at the first fret?

Thanks!

0.84" / 21.3 cm at 1st fret
1.01" / 25.7 cm at 12th fret

Per the catalog it's a '59 ES-335 profile:
"The construction of the neck grip remains absolutely faithful to the production cut on guitars made in ‘59 and ‘60—we can promise that musicians who know will recognize the difference. "

 

[togps]

When cashew nut finish is used you can ID it on yellowish body and neck binding.
Also the Tokai logo appears yellowish

 

[guitar hiro]

that is an amazing looking ES 8)

what is the neck thickness like at the first fret?

Thanks!

0.84" / 21.3 cm at 1st fret
1.01" / 25.7 cm at 12th fret

Per the catalog it's a '59 ES-335 profile:
"The construction of the neck grip remains absolutely faithful to the production cut on guitars made in ‘59 and ‘60—we can promise that musicians who know will recognize the difference. "

Thanks for the reply.
I was thinking these (earlier) Tokai ES examples likely have a 'smallish' neck profile.
I have owned several 2000 & later Tokai ES examples but I eventually sold them all because of the smaller necks.

.840" is actually smaller 1st fret thickness than any (Gibson) style guitar I have.
.875" to .900" 1st fret thickness seems to be a good area for my preference.

Would love to locate an early Tokai ES with a larger neck but I don't believe Tokai ever made any that fit that description, at least from what I have heard from owners/players.

 

[villager]

its strange the Tokai LPs vary a lot in neck size, but the ES series do seem to be relatively uniform...

 

[duff]

I had 3, still have 2 and they all differ in neck thickness.. the sunburst one had a really thick neck, similiar to my gibson es-175 vos. The natural one and cherry have a thinner neck.

lovely es-150! The binding on those is always more yellow then on the es-100's. Definitely different lacquer. They are my favorite tokai's as well.

 

[luis]

I will check my ES100 SB 1981 finally restored back to stock and with Antiquities, TVT pots and Sprague Hyrel (PIO military 50s) caps.

 

[Emiel]

A friend of mine has a '81 ES100 that is just three serial numbers apart from my '81 ES100. His has a noticable thicker neck and soundwise a little bit more low end, other than that they are identical. Fantastic guitars!

 

[marcusnieman]

My 81 ES100J has a beefy neck - very much a 59 profile.

Serial number:

 

[duff]

A friend of mine has a '81 ES100 that is just three serial numbers apart from my '81 ES100. His has a noticable thicker neck and soundwise a little bit more low end, other than that they are identical. Fantastic guitars!

did he recently buy it? might be my old one.. big neck, sunburst.

 

[Emiel]

A friend of mine has a '81 ES100 that is just three serial numbers apart from my '81 ES100. His has a noticable thicker neck and soundwise a little bit more low end, other than that they are identical. Fantastic guitars!

did he recently buy it? might be my old one.. big neck, sunburst.

No, his is a natural one

 

[_JDZ]

Here are neck measurements from all three of mine:

ES-150 - 1981 (in the pics)
0.84" / 21.3 mm at 1st fret
1.01" / 25.7 mm at 12th fret

ES-150 - 1981
0.85" / 21.6 mm at 1st fret
1.02" / 25.9 mm at 12th fret

ES-100 - 1981
0.87" / 22.1 mm at 1st fret
1.04" / 26.2 mm at 12th fret

 

[playeditwrong]

The one I sold in San Diego in around 1985, the dealer (a stocky white athletic guy with short hair) said "feels like a baseball bat!" and started noodling around with it having a lot of fun. Probably a guitar center near Balboa Ave in Kearney Mesa.

I think it was a 100. There was a slight round blemish somewhere on the headstock finish that looked like a cigarette burn. Translucent red, birdseye maple.

Selling it was emblematic of a series of mistakes I made in the 80s...

The only objects from the 80s I have now are Noad's The Classical Guitar with the cover ripped off, and a handmade R. Allen shakuhachi signed and dated 1987. If it could only have been my Tokai ES 335 that survived

Seriously I wonder what the chances would be of tracking down that very guitar???

This must be my "Rosebud" moment...