TE80A Breezy Unusual 1 Piece Ash Tele Often Confused With The TE120

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Sigmania

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1989 catalog
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I have seen a number of TE80A guitars understandably confused with the TE120.

Seems like a good idea to point out what to look for to tell them apart since TE120s can sell for big money.

Note: The TE80A is high spec one piece ash body and likely sold for more than 80,000 yen originally.

The TE120 and TE80A look VERY similar on the surface, both appear to be 1 piece bodies, both have a fancy abalone binding, but they are from two different periods.

The TE120 was introduced in the 1982 catalog, so 1981 examples exist. I have one. So the serial numbers are either the old 7 digit pattern, 10xxxxx or Fender style numbering (4 digit for maple board, L serial for rosewood).

TE120 "Arabesque Model"

The TE80A came out later, after 1984. Known examples have six digit serial numbers and range from 1987 to the early 90s. They have a - symbol in the neck or body codes.

2xxxxx serial numbers follow the Fender style serial number system and date from the latter part of 1986 and 1987.
01xxxx serial numbers are early to mid 1990s.

Besides the serial numbers, the TE120 had a cashew finish. The binding will be an amber color as well as the abalone purfling. If you hit it with an LED light it almost fluoresces.

TE80A has a white binding that does age to a cream color.

My 1981 TE120 with cashew finish over the binding making it appear yellow.
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The cream color binding of Cliff's TE80A
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TE120 and the TE80A like other Breezys have rounded corners in the neck pocket.

1981 TE120
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Cliff has an amazing TE80A with great pics that show the construction and how it is similar to the TE120.

Note the rounded corners in the neck pocket and the hole drilled from there to the control compartment to run the cables from the neck pickup.

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I doubt these sold for 80,000 yen. They seem to be pretty high spec.

I have seeen another Tokai that was high spec that seemed to not fit the price/model pattern, the TST50A.

Mary Kay Goldstar Gallery

Note that it too ended with an "A". I have read that the A likely stood for ash, as in swamp ash.

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1990s 01xxxx serial number
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- symbol in the body code that first appears around 1985.
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Grain of the 1 piece swamp ash body.
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Side by side.

"Silver & Gold"

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TE80A (left) and TE120 (right)


May 30, 2009.

...I've got two of these, the RW board is on a '7' decal neck and I think it's a 120 from the very early 80s. The other is probably a TE 80A (the 'A' stands for Ash) from the late 80s. The earlier guitar has more of a V neck, the later a C or soft V. It's very hard to tell them apart. The later guitar has TEAs (one put in by me) and I can't work out what the pickups in the other one are.

They're drop dead gorgeous in a rather flashy way - it's almost impossible to get a picture that does them justice. And, yes, one is silver and the other gold.

Please identify my new Breezy

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Beautiful!

That 01xxxx six digit serial number dates to the early 90s based on my research. 1991 confirmed so far.

Six Digit Serial Numbers Starting With 01xxxx and Mystery HSS SSH Goldstars

The Fender style serial numbers go through at least the first half of 1986 based on what I have seen.

Have you checked for a pot code?

The pots should be the “MY X” pattern code as Voidoid56 calls it,

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or the ink stamped in two rows: value and Made in Japan.

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Awesome. It may even be that they are all 1991?

The only pot date I have for an 01xxxx is 1991, and after that they apparently switched to the ones that don't have a pot code. That brand of pots only go up to 1`991 I believe? (Also used on Burny and ObG I believe).

I was just thinking that after the 01 that leaves less than 10,000 units on a six digit serial number.

Either they switched to only using their serials to limited product lines like ST and TE, or production plummeted from 1987 when they raced through numbers, or this is a single year?

The more information and data points we have the more clear this picture will hopefully be. It has a been a muddy one for a long time, and the period after about 1986 is largely neglected as far as ST guitars go.

Really appreciate the help!
 

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Interesting posts from 2002 by Pleasant_plucker who was checking one of these out at a local music store.

NOS Mid 90's Custom Breezysound

"I think my dealer is telling porkies about the date of this TE80A - The s/n begins with 012XXX which, according to other posts dates it as a 2001 !! Not that this makes it any less of a stunning guitar. Can Anyone tell for how long these models were produced and when production was stopped? I'm hovering at the dealers door with my credit card, but I just need a bit more info ... Thanks Guys ...
Andy"


He ended up buy it.


"The story goes that the dealer bought this gem from the distributor some 6 or so years ago - It was alledgedly one of only 2 that had been imported to the UK - and has been around the shop and unused ever since ...


Spec. -
Ash Body bound with Abalone/pearl
- One piece (I think) Maple Vintage style Neck (super comfy)
- Tokai Vintage Pickups
- Kluson style 'Deluxe' tuners
- 6 way bridge (at least the intonation should be right)...

Sounds and looks GREAT .. If anyone else has one of these,let me know.."
 
pics added to my recent post...
Wow. That’s huge!

That’s confirmation of a 1991 production date.

Pots are dated March 1991.

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What are the neck and body stamps?

First number should be 3 or higher.

Thanks!
 

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1987/88 TE80A Custom Edition

Tokai TE80A "Custom Edition" TE120 export model ash body - 30,000 yen OFF | eBay

TE with abalone binding, which is the specification of TE-120 in Japan, is miraculously dead mint condition as TE80A for export.

While the domestic specification TE80 had an alder body and the TE120 had a sen body, the biggest feature of this product is that it has an ash body with an A in its product name.

In addition, the 1P maple neck has a fat neck grip, probably because it is for export, and it has a comfortable grip that is not too thick. It is also a nice point to come!

Similar to the TE120, the binding is made of abalone shells, the head logo is the Tokai Custom Edition script logo that was later adopted in Japan, and the pickup is original with the front TEA and rear TEB stamps.

Weighs 3.45 kg, and burns low chords with live sound! It has a pleasant sound and loud ringing unique to Ash, and a wonderful sound that reminds me of the plug-in sound that Telecasters should be like.



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Looks like this model persisted well into the 1990s.

Here is a version in the 1994 catalog that I had not noticed before.

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