Mystery Tokai Custom

[Gerard Davey]

Hi,
My love for MIJ guitars began with a Tokai in 2016.. and it continues.
What is this headstock design called?
Is this a Japan made guitar?
Do guitars come with such a switch for coil tapping on the front?
Are the pickups.. DiMarzio's ?
Is the guitar from 1999 and is the serial legit?
Thank you so much
What is the model number?

 

[Sigmania]

Hard to say. We really would need pictures inside the pickup cavities to know much.

It does appear to be from 1999.

This is during the period when Tokai in Japan was making guitars for Fender. Gibson style guitars were still being made at their Japanese factory but the product line was greatly reduced compared to the 1980s.

Your guitar is a Custom model. This right handed guitar does not appear in the 1999 and 2000 catalogs that I have.

Some features look Korean (white compartment covers, red and blue wires typical of MK3 or MK4 pickups), some Japanese (serial number).

Pics of the pickup compartment showing routs would help. And the underside of the pickups.

I have seen other guitars from the 90s that look Korean and have a Japanese style serial number.

Post pics of the pickup cavities when you can.

 

[Gerard Davey]

Thank you so much for the information and taking the time to reply. Here are some pics...

 

[Sigmania]

Thanks. Really hard to see much in that picture. What I can see is that it has the squarish tab rout typical of Japanese Tokais.

I was hoping there might be a model number stamped in there but looks like the cavity is painted with black paint. Maybe for grounding.

Did you get a picture of the back side of the pickups?

Thanks

 

[Sigmania]

And to state the obvious, it looks like major mods have been done to this guitar, so that is where the confusion is coming in.

The mini switch jumps out for starters. That would tell me that someone overhauled the electronics on it and in the process painted all the cavities with grounding paint, and probably changed the pots and the pickups as well.

Tuners were changed in the process to the black Grovers.

Truss rod cover is something I don't recognize. Another mod.

The white cover plates are odd and something we see on Korean builds, but with the other mods, who knows where they cane from?

It's really hard to say what you have beyond a heavily modded 1999 MIJ (most likely) Tokai Custom in wine red (WR) finish.

And that in lay that you have was introduced around the time this guitar was made on LC models. I have never heard an explanation of where it came from or what it means if anything. Probably just moving away from anything that seems remotely like Gibson.



Modifications include:

Added miniswitch
Shielding paint
Pickups
Pots
Bridge
Tailpiece
Tuners
TRC
Control compartment cover
Switch compartment cover
Pickguard removed
End pin changed



It probably originally looked similar to this LC70 pictured in the 2000 catalog showing the headstock new Custom in lay design.