1989 Greco SS-600P2, Tokai-made (?) signature SG

Tokai Forum

Help Support Tokai Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Voidoid56

Well-known member
Joined
May 29, 2012
Messages
338
Reaction score
207
Location
Sweden
A nice guitar that passed through here recently: a 1989 Greco SS-600P2, signature model for Kanako Nakayama, guitarist for the 80s - 90s J-pop band Princess Princess (hence P2).

It's different from the standard SS-600 in several ways. Most obviously, the neck has dot fret markers, not block inlays. I've limited experience of standard SS-600s of the time, but the neck profile seemed deeper and slightly narrower (42,4 mm wide at the nut). The neck may look like it's off a SS-500 SG Special copy but the feel is very different from the flat oval profile of that one.
Standard SS-600 pickups are Screamin', but the ones in the P2 model are noted as "Screamin' KN" in the catalog, so obviously tweaked for the player. The resistance values were in the 7.3-7.4k range, so slightly underwound compared to the standard model, giving a somewhat brighter and more open sound.

It lacks a serial number, which together with build details (such as the control rout shape) apparently identifies it as a Tokai build. I've zero experience of Tokai SGs, so please help me confirm that.
Interestingly, the same model seems to have been manufactured by Fujigen at the same time as well, which is unusual, I think? There are 89's with serials and Fujigen routing around, I'm kind of temped to pick one up just for comparison... :cool:

2023-05-22 07.39.18.jpg

2023-05-22 07.39.24.jpg 2023-05-22 07.39.29.jpg

2023-05-22 19.59.36.jpg 2023-05-22 20.03.00.jpg

Tokai rout? The screening paint is suppsed to be a tell as well? One cap is replaced and probably a tone pot as well, it certainly looks old enough, but it's of a different (and undateable) type. The SE-600P2 was launched in the 1990 catalog, so the July '89 pots indicates that it's a very early build.

2023-05-21 19.49.48.jpg 2023-05-21 19.50.13.jpg

2023-05-19 17.04.30.jpg 2023-05-19 17.04.35.jpg

2023-05-20 10.07.41.jpg 2023-05-22 20.04.50.jpg

Browsing the catalogs, it turns out there were other Kanako models as well, at least going by the model numbers. It starts out as -600P2, then -60P2 (due to a change in the numbering system), the briefly -65P2. By 1997 (the year Princess Princess broke up), there are two models: the SS-80P2, which seems to be basically the same as the earlier guitars, and the SS-90P2, an tasty-looking variation with a quilted maple body and black pickup cover. I can't immediately recall seeing one for sale, so they're probably pretty rare.
There's also some general mumblings out there about an SE-540P2 variation, apparently the same as the -600, only with no fretboard binding. haven't been able to find pics, though

Skärmavbild 2023-05-29 kl. 11.24.01.png 17131790731_4c37b17325_z.jpeg

17132424835_6e68ae0184_z.jpeg SS-600P2 catalog.png
 

Attachments

  • 17132424835_6e68ae0184_z.jpeg
    17132424835_6e68ae0184_z.jpeg
    136.9 KB · Views: 0
I find it fascinating that during a period when Tokai's own product line had shrunk in the late 80s and early 90s that they seemed to shift their business model to becoming more of an OEM mfr which reached a zenith in their production of Fender guitars 3 years after this Greco was made.

So much about Tokai was under the surface.

Thanks for posting.
 
Those pickup routes are almost certainly Tokai, if it's an '89 or '90 model without a serial number, it's probably met all the criteria for being Tokai made. For reference here's the control cavity of my 1984 Tokai TSG50, looks pretty much alike to me...

IMG_0177.jpg


20150622_190501.jpg
 
Back
Top