Help Identifying Love Rock with 8-Digit Serial and Odd Original Pickups (China/Korea)

[jfxberns]

I love a good challenge, and I hope you do to... I have spent hours trying to identify this Tokai Love Rock, but the only one I find online is one I bought from a friend years ago!

It does not look like it's been modified; solder joints are original, etc.

Unique features:

• 8-digit all-numberic serial number "11040061". YYMMXXXX format (just a guess)??
• Pickups on back have a very large embossed Tokai on back plate. "Since 1947 Hamamatsu Japan". (Has anyone ever seen these pickups in the wild? I can't find this pickup anywhere on the Internet.")
• Push-pull pots on the back tone pots for coil-splitting the brige and neck pickups

Other things ot note:

• 3-point arch truss rod (Korea or China).
• Zebra pickups, no sign cover was un-soldered to remove it
• Brigde and tailpiece are Sung Il BM002 Korea
• Wheel-type height adjustment for tune-o-matic type bridge
• Fingerboard has a very dark wood, without the typic rigidly vertical grain; the grain has some swirl to it.
• One-piece mahogany body
• Honeyburst finish with maple neck
• Decent flamed maple top, probably not AAAA

 

[Sigmania]

That’s very odd. The serial number is wrong for 2011 made in China. The font is wrong too and it should have a CN prefix at that time if it is 2011, so I looked at other features.

The headstock logo with the sharp “h” fits these apparently Korean builds.

Another oddity is those pickups. Never have seen Tokai pickups acid etched with a logo like those.

The dark fretboard makes me think it has decent specs. Which makes me think of unauthorized builds made for the Canadian market collectively known as Fakais around here.

Sunburst neck is also odd and makes me think of someone having it made for them with given specs which also sounds like a Fakai tbh.

Neck looks like maple.

I’ve looked at probably thousands of Korean and Chinese Tokais and have never seen one like this which raises some flags.

I’m out in of town. I had to evacuate for a hurricane. Will have to think about this one. It’s definitely a challenge. Thanks for posting.

 

[Sigmania]

Also, I’m not sure that is a mahogany body. Or 1 piece.

There is a knot in the wood



and on the right edge of the lower bout the grain seems to change direction.



Also possible seam just right of center.



Really hard to tell from a photo though.

 

[Sigmania]

Also, is that a scarf joint in the neck?

 

[Sigmania]

This looks like your guitar?

MIK Tokai Love Rock(Les Paul)

Description
Rare Made in Korea Tokai Love Rock. Comes with Made in Japan Tokai pickups with coil spilt, upgraded to Gotoh Japan vintage style machine heads. Gibson style tune'o'matic bridge(rare for Far East copy). Setup with D'addario 11-52. One small chip on the headstock otherwise nothing much to report. This model doesn't come with pickguard so there's no ugly holes where they would be. Way better quality than Epiphone IMO and with a nicer headstock. Less $50 if you want to buy without the pickups.Lowered from $400. Trades welcome.

 

[Sigmania]

Everything is pointing to unauthorized Korean build in my opinion.

Some people really like these as long as you don’t pay too much or expect they are Japanese.

And in spite of what that carousel listing said I would guess those are Korean ceramic pickups. Equivalent to MKIII or MKIV.

 

[jfxberns]

As far as your comment about the multiple pieces; yeah. it's definitely a seperate piece on the right wing and you are probably right about it being having another seam to the right of center.

The KNOT is NOT my fault. Hahahah.

 

[jfxberns]

Indeed that does seem to be a scarf joint. The grain / lines almost masked that! Good eye.

 

[jfxberns]

A closeup of the fingerboard wood. Nice and dark, interesting grain, not typical straight rosewood.

 

[jfxberns]

Higher res photos of the back of the pickups if you are interested.

It seems really odd that a company would make that much effort to make a non-standard copy of a Tokai pickup.

 

[jfxberns]

This looks like your guitar?

MIK Tokai Love Rock(Les Paul)

Description
Rare Made in Korea Tokai Love Rock. Comes with Made in Japan Tokai pickups with coil spilt, upgraded to Gotoh Japan vintage style machine heads. Gibson style tune'o'matic bridge(rare for Far East copy). Setup with D'addario 11-52. One small chip on the headstock otherwise nothing much to report. This model doesn't come with pickguard so there's no ugly holes where they would be. Way better quality than Epiphone IMO and with a nicer headstock. Less $50 if you want to buy without the pickups.Lowered from $400. Trades welcome.

View attachment 83680

Looks like? That IS my guitar! I bought that from my friend Simon in Singapore.

 

[jfxberns]

Of course the wiring could be non-original, but have you ever seen Tokai factory-installed push-pull pots for splitting humbuckers? Especially odd on the tone pots; most of the guitars I've played have the switches up-front on the volume knob pots.

Thanks for the info. I really enjoy geeking out on the details of guitars. I have found some unique Gibson's and Fenders by doing some serious sleuthing.

 

[Sigmania]

Thanks for posting these. It’s another puzzle piece. My guess would be Korean build. Similar type of customization we see in early 2000s unauthorized builds that popped up in Canada in particular.