Someone who likes vintage style strats and doesn’t want to spend for an MIA or CS should snag this puppy before it’s gone. No affiliation. It just popped up in my feed.
Tokai sighting!
- Thread starter Jakedog
- Start date
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BB
Poster Extraordinaire
That there is a beauty. I am lucky to have an early 80's 2 tone sunburst model (57 clone?) with the most wonderful soft V maple neck. I've had it since finding it in parts around 1982-83.
After 40 some years with it, (and 20 years as my #1 gigging guitar) I still dig it as much as ever. I've played many a Fender strat in my years on this earth, and I can honestly say I prefer this Tokai to any of the others.
IMHO, you can't go wrong with an older Tokai.
After 40 some years with it, (and 20 years as my #1 gigging guitar) I still dig it as much as ever. I've played many a Fender strat in my years on this earth, and I can honestly say I prefer this Tokai to any of the others.
IMHO, you can't go wrong with an older Tokai.
I have no idea what these normally sell for….but you can definitely buy a used USA-made Strat for less than $1500.00.
Or am I missing something here?
Or am I missing something here?
badinfinities
Friend of Leo's
Mid-80s Tokai Strats have a great rep. A lot of people swear by them.
I am very familiar with them as I was a dealer for Tokai in the mid 80’s. The store stocked a boatload of their guitars….including the famous/infamous Talbo model electrics….which were actually good guitars….certainly different….but in a good way.
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No wang bar in the pics…
I hope a standard replacement will fit
I hope a standard replacement will fit
What is standard? I’m serious. Is there one that’s considered standard? I’ve got at least 5-6 different sizes in my parts pile. Seems like MIA, vintage, MIM, MIJ, etc and then all the off brand imports all have their own diameter and thread.
tonepoet333
Tele-Holic
I found this info out looking around the web.
That guitar at Reverb may have the DiMarzio VS-1 pickups. They are very clear, articulate pickups made back in the 80s. DiMarzio said the "VS" stood for Vintage Strat. They also came stock in the mid-1980s Guild Detonator model.
My Guild Detonator that has DiMarzio VS-1 (neck/middle) and a DiMarzio PAF (bridge)
tonepoet
www.jackshiner.com
- ST-80 (1979–1983): V-shaped neck, nickel or gold hardware, Kluson-type tuners, DiMarzio VS-1 alnico pickups, 2-piece ash or alder body with nitro finish.
That guitar at Reverb may have the DiMarzio VS-1 pickups. They are very clear, articulate pickups made back in the 80s. DiMarzio said the "VS" stood for Vintage Strat. They also came stock in the mid-1980s Guild Detonator model.
My Guild Detonator that has DiMarzio VS-1 (neck/middle) and a DiMarzio PAF (bridge)
tonepoet
www.jackshiner.com
nvilletele
Friend of Leo's
And same for Teles too.
A lot of people (well, 2 of us) swear by this one: 1985 Love Rock Custom
New Member - Tokai Pics
Further to my recent post in Welcome Wagon and pics of one of my teles, here are some pics of my 1985 Tokai Love Rock Custom. Picked this one up on ebay some years ago for $850 (would have been a lot less had that one Swiss guy not also been lusting after it . . . oh well, it was still worth it).
www.tdpri.com 
Yep. That's just a 1980 MIJ Fender with a different logo. Not worth anywhere near that price in my book.
Supertwang
Tele-Afflicted
Hello tanned Sunburst beautiful,....what's your name? Wanna come over and party with me & my girls??
Attachments
Yeah, I dunno!
I struggled with what to put there. My Ibby is a push-in and I already know a Fender replacement won’t work. But I imagine replacing that Tokai wang bar is going to be a journey of its own
I dunno. I’ve never owned one. I have played them. The general consensus when I was growing up was that they were much closer to actual vintage fender spec than any of the reissues made back then. The pro/working players down in Texas in the 80’s and early 90’s were all of the opinion that it was no contest, like not even close. Most of those guys were still gigging pre-CBS Fenders in those days and nearly all had the opinion that if you couldn’t get your hands on a real 50’s strat, you should get one of these.Yeah, I dunno!
I struggled with what to put there. My Ibby is a push-in and I already know a Fender replacement won’t work. But I imagine replacing that Tokai wang bar is going to be a journey of its own
But the Japanese factories also have a long standing reputation for standard fender parts not fitting. Personally it wouldn’t matter to me, because I won’t play a strat with a functional tremolo. But I realize I’m deep in minority territory where that’s concerned.
Diytelecaster
Tele-Meister
I had a springy sound in the early 90s. It was very good but I replaced it with a Squier silver series. For me the Squier was nicer sounding and had more mojo
Supertwang
Tele-Afflicted
Most of the imports are 6mm. Most of the USA Fender are 5mm. A very few are 5.5mm. IDK about real vintage examples. And the rest are kinda a misc
Supertwang
Tele-Afflicted
You can buy a new USA Performer for like $1300-1400. If you could spend some time with an ‘80s MIJ Tokai I think you’d understand. Japan produced the best most accurate ‘50s Fender clones until Nash and Fender CS became a thing. The pics don’t do them justice. I’m biased and I do currently own MIJ, MIA, and MIM Strats and Teles. They all can be excellent but some of the MIJ Strats simply stupidify me. The good ones feel @ 5% more “compact” or “handy” than most Strats. Most Strats feel kinda clunky and like bolted together assemblies and appendages.
Holy smokes
Friend of Leo's
All the prices on that page were unbelievable high except for the contemporary . Wow they have lost their mind
