SIGMA Electric Guitars By..... ?
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bluejeannot
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https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v118/turquoisemoleeater/More%20Guitars/SigmaTele_zps3207ea1c.jpg
bluejeannot
Well-known member
bluejeannot
Well-known member
https://www.ebay.it/itm/175034437754?hash=item28c0dd907a:g:fMcAAOSwd4tTxtP8 Martin Sigma LP made by Tokai.
bluejeannot
Well-known member
https://www.mylespaul.com/threads/sigma-les-paul.360202/#lg=post-7918963&slide=1 better images here.
Interesting post, interesting brand.
When I grew up in the 70's, Sigma was a quite a common cheap guitar brand here in Sweden. Lots of acoustics, but also many Japanese-made electrics, your standard copies of the usual suspects, Strats, LPs, SGs etc, almost as often seen as Ibanez and Aria.
But when I started taking an active interest in MIJs about a dozen years ago, I found very little info about Sigma electrics, and what little that came up mostly concerned the weird, early-70s, apparently Tokai-made semi-copies of Teles, SGs and P-basses which were also sold under the Ampeg brand (Big Stud etc) for a while. If not, the guitars concerned were almost always sold in or posted from Sweden.
I looked into it closer, and it turns out that Sigma (usually in caps, along with the sideways M sigma symbol or in an oval) was used as an importer brand by Swedish guitar manufacturer and distributor HC Levin during the 2nd half of the 70s and until they folded in 1982. And yes, there's a CF Martin connection there, Levin having been acquired by them in 1972 (apparently mostly to get at their stock of woods). It seems they borrowed their parent company's brand for their own importation of low-end/mid-level Japanese guitars for the Swedish market.
The origin of the guitars is a bit murky. So far, I haven't been able to get a really close look at any of them, but I see no real evidence of any Tokai connection. I'm not sure if that's even to be expected if we're talking say 1976-82 or so. I've seen some possible Fujigen builds, some seem more likely to come from low-end specialists like Kiso Suzuki or Matsumoto Union/Chushin, but I really can't say.
Some pics of the guitars I'm talking about. All are from Swedish sources.
When I grew up in the 70's, Sigma was a quite a common cheap guitar brand here in Sweden. Lots of acoustics, but also many Japanese-made electrics, your standard copies of the usual suspects, Strats, LPs, SGs etc, almost as often seen as Ibanez and Aria.
But when I started taking an active interest in MIJs about a dozen years ago, I found very little info about Sigma electrics, and what little that came up mostly concerned the weird, early-70s, apparently Tokai-made semi-copies of Teles, SGs and P-basses which were also sold under the Ampeg brand (Big Stud etc) for a while. If not, the guitars concerned were almost always sold in or posted from Sweden.
I looked into it closer, and it turns out that Sigma (usually in caps, along with the sideways M sigma symbol or in an oval) was used as an importer brand by Swedish guitar manufacturer and distributor HC Levin during the 2nd half of the 70s and until they folded in 1982. And yes, there's a CF Martin connection there, Levin having been acquired by them in 1972 (apparently mostly to get at their stock of woods). It seems they borrowed their parent company's brand for their own importation of low-end/mid-level Japanese guitars for the Swedish market.
The origin of the guitars is a bit murky. So far, I haven't been able to get a really close look at any of them, but I see no real evidence of any Tokai connection. I'm not sure if that's even to be expected if we're talking say 1976-82 or so. I've seen some possible Fujigen builds, some seem more likely to come from low-end specialists like Kiso Suzuki or Matsumoto Union/Chushin, but I really can't say.
Some pics of the guitars I'm talking about. All are from Swedish sources.
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Very cool. Thanks for sharing all of that!
And yes it’s very murky. But what you shared is more information about the electrics than I had heard up until now.
I posted in another thread an Ampeg Big Stud side by side with a mid 70s Tokai. Extremely similar headstock and multi lam neck.
Thanks for moving the ball forward. Maybe someone else will have another piece of the puzzle and come along soon.
Thanks!
And yes it’s very murky. But what you shared is more information about the electrics than I had heard up until now.
I posted in another thread an Ampeg Big Stud side by side with a mid 70s Tokai. Extremely similar headstock and multi lam neck.
Thanks for moving the ball forward. Maybe someone else will have another piece of the puzzle and come along soon.
Thanks!
I think I have a set of pics featuring those early Tokai electrics in Sigma, Ampeg and Tokai versions. Possibly just the one of the latter, the PB-ish bass, I don't remember. I dug them up to write Tokai an email to ask about them, I reckon they didn't have any answers, because I never heard from them again, sadly. I'll see if I can find them, they're probably on another computer.
I know there are local ppl researching the history of Levin guitars (they were made in Gothenburg, my hometown), I've been thinking about trying to locate one and ask if there are any records of the Sigma importation available. It would be interesting to see if there's any info about who made them as well as how they were sold to Levin. I have no idea if importers generally dealt with the manufacturers directly or if there were agents.
I know there are local ppl researching the history of Levin guitars (they were made in Gothenburg, my hometown), I've been thinking about trying to locate one and ask if there are any records of the Sigma importation available. It would be interesting to see if there's any info about who made them as well as how they were sold to Levin. I have no idea if importers generally dealt with the manufacturers directly or if there were agents.
Very cool. Here is the post I mentioned.
http://www.tokaiforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=25808&start=45
Sigmania said:
http://www.tokaiforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=25808&start=45
Interesting stuff.
Looking at the Tokai-logo'd one, I kind of wonder if they could have made later reissues of those instruments?? As far as I can see, the logo looks exactly like the post-'82/current script logo. Or maybe that logo style was actually RE-introduced in '83?
Looking again at the Levin Sigmas, the Strats seem to have bullet truss nut and four neck screws, something that neither Tokai, Fujigen or (to my knowledge) Matsu ever did. Another pointer to a smaller manufacturer, possibly Kiso Suzuki.
Looking at the Tokai-logo'd one, I kind of wonder if they could have made later reissues of those instruments?? As far as I can see, the logo looks exactly like the post-'82/current script logo. Or maybe that logo style was actually RE-introduced in '83?
Looking again at the Levin Sigmas, the Strats seem to have bullet truss nut and four neck screws, something that neither Tokai, Fujigen or (to my knowledge) Matsu ever did. Another pointer to a smaller manufacturer, possibly Kiso Suzuki.
You’re right. That logo was reintroduced. I made a thread recently about how that all changed on the Fender clones.
http://www.tokaiforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=26227
http://www.tokaiforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=26227
Sigmania said:Another interesting thing is that the new "script logo" is essentially the old logo used in the 1970s on some Tokai acoustics, and possibly earlier.
Full circle.
(early Tokai acoustic with a zero fret and 3 screw TRC on the head stock)
Ok, thanks, that kind of settles where the script logo comes from.
Regarding the block logo: it seems to me that basically all of those instruments went to the UK. I used to check eBay UK fairly regularly for a while (but kind of gave up in frustration - UK private sellers tend to refuse to ship) and that's where they turn up, almost exclusively. And if found on other sales platforms they're mostly also in the UK or originated from there. In ten years of haunting Yahoo Japan Auctions, I can't recall ever seeing a single one. I have one piece with that logo on it: one of those oxblood faux-leather soft cases which arrived from the US with an '82 ST-60 in it. The block logos come both as Springy Sounds and and Goldstar Sounds, so that transition seems to have happened during 1983.
I looked for those pics I had of Sigma-Ampeg-Tokai guitars and here's what I've found. Note that both Teles have a different headstock shape than the Ampeg version. One I know I had is missing, a bass with a Tokai logo that matched the Ampeg version, a sort semi-copy of an early 50's P-bass with a 2+2 tuner headstock (can't recall which shape it had). I'll post it if it turns up again.
Regarding the block logo: it seems to me that basically all of those instruments went to the UK. I used to check eBay UK fairly regularly for a while (but kind of gave up in frustration - UK private sellers tend to refuse to ship) and that's where they turn up, almost exclusively. And if found on other sales platforms they're mostly also in the UK or originated from there. In ten years of haunting Yahoo Japan Auctions, I can't recall ever seeing a single one. I have one piece with that logo on it: one of those oxblood faux-leather soft cases which arrived from the US with an '82 ST-60 in it. The block logos come both as Springy Sounds and and Goldstar Sounds, so that transition seems to have happened during 1983.
I looked for those pics I had of Sigma-Ampeg-Tokai guitars and here's what I've found. Note that both Teles have a different headstock shape than the Ampeg version. One I know I had is missing, a bass with a Tokai logo that matched the Ampeg version, a sort semi-copy of an early 50's P-bass with a 2+2 tuner headstock (can't recall which shape it had). I'll post it if it turns up again.
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Very cool. And I’m not sure when Tokai stopped making Sigma acoustics but there was a definite design change in the mid/late 1970s where Sigma guitars were suddenly more faithful Martin clones without a TRC, no big paper label, and a logo on the headstock mimicking CFMartin. It’s very curious.
Circa 1974 Tokai made SIGMA electric?
Episode 219 - Sigma Guitars — The High Gain
MARTIN GUITARS Sigma Line Promo Poster 1980's VINTAGE ADVERTISING EPHEMRA (14) | eBay
Episode 219 - Sigma Guitars — The High Gain
MARTIN GUITARS Sigma Line Promo Poster 1980's VINTAGE ADVERTISING EPHEMRA (14) | eBay
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I gotta preserve the pics from that listing. Those are awesome!
Sigma Martin SBG2-9 Electric Guitar + Case / Tokai SG Copy / Ampeg Stud 1973-1974 Natural | Reverb
Sigma Martin SBG2-9 Electric Guitar + Case / Tokai SG Copy / Ampeg Stud 1973-1974 Natural | Reverb
