Identify an old tokai japanese or not?

[bcs.arno]

Hello!
This is my first post on this forum, I bought several tokai guitars through the last years and always been happy with the quality of these.
I sold an ES210 last week and since I'm more a Les Paul player I'm on my quest to find a nice japanese Lester.
A guy contacted me (I live in Sweden) and offered an old tokai that belonged to the guitarist of Hanoi Rock. According to him an old tokai rebranded Gibson (fake logo).
I really need your help and knowledge to decide if it's a real tokai and which model
As you can notice, it has Seymour Duncan antiquities... Sweet!
I attach the pictures he sent, thanks for your help folk!
Arnaud

 

[Sigmania]

The routs for the pickup tabs look really weird, like someone was messing around with it after it was routed?

And Tokai did not typically finish the entire pickup cavities.



And holes in the bridge cavity look like someone had used a P90 in there?



It has fret edge binding so it was not a cheap guitar,



and the back looks like there might be a center seam?



In my opinion I don't think it's a Tokai.

I think the routs for those tabs would be more square if it were a Tokai. Hard to tell from the pictures, but should look like this:



Maybe someone else will know more about other mfrs?

 

[Sigmania]

And obviously if anyone obscures a serial number that is a big red flag that it may be stolen.

 

[bcs.arno]

Thanks Sigmania!
I also thoughts the routing looked strange for a tokai...

 

[Sigmania]

You're welcome.

LS80 and up had FEB, but also a one piece back.

 

[bcs.arno]

I don't think it was the goal with that when they took away the serial number but it doesn't help me for sure

 

[bcs.arno]

He wants 10000 kr för it, approximately 1000 dollars but I don't know which guitar or brand it was from the beginning...

 

[bcs.arno]

Let's hope someone will jump in and solve the mystery!

 

[Sigmania]

I don't think it was the goal with that when they took away the serial number but it doesn't help me for sure

Why else would someone remove a serial number?

It’s deception one way or another.

 

[bcs.arno]

Nobody?

 

[bcs.arno]

It looks a lot like a Gibson pickup cavity when I googled it... But a bit less neat

 

[Sigmania]

I’m not up on Orville by Gibson, but could it be something like that?

Could be any number of brands I guess. Doesn’t look like a Tokai.

1990 Orville by Gibson Les Paul Standard LPS Vintage Sunburst w/ USA Bill Lawrence Humbuckers

 

[bcs.arno]

I'm gonna check some pics of the routing of the Orville, thanks!
The seller is gonna meet the salesman in the store that used to own and sold this guitar to him to get more infos, hopefully today

 

[Fisch]

Whoever made it, if it is a Hanoi Rocks guitar, and there is any sort of proof or photo with the band, it seems like a killer score. I love that sort of story and mojo. And another reason to remove a serial of course, is to disguise that it isn't a Gibson, which is what you mentioned in the first post, so it makes sense to me that they'd remove the Tokai serial.