New Springy ST-60 in the house -- question about gig bag

[Backdoor Man]

I just picked up a nice 1980 Springy Sound ST-60 on Yahoo Japan. It has a rosewood fingerboard and E-stamp pickups, my two required specs. The color is Golden Sunburst, not my first choice. But the bidding was subdued, and I got it for a price too good to pass up: 37,500 yen. It seems to me Tokai prices in Japan are a bit depressed these days, maybe because of the earthquake, and now's a good time to buy.

The guitar arrived today and appears to my untrained eye to be all original. It's in great shape, with a few dings and scratches but no electrical or mechanical issues or rust. The E-stamp PUs are just as advertised. The neck PU has lots of chime, and the guitar quacks in the 2 and 4 positions.

I have a Silverstar as well. I love the neck PU on it, but am not impressed with the middle or bridge PUs. Looking for more of a classic Strat sound, I picked up a Goldstar Sound a while back. It sounded weak compared to the SS and I sold it right away. This Springy is just what I was looking for to compliment my ES-100.

One question. The guitar came in a gig bag. It's reddish-brown in color and has a black lining. I have seen photos of Tokais in similar gig bags before. Are they original? If so, is there some way to identify them as original? If it's original, I suppose I should hang on to it.

 

[Cali Girl]

If it is original, the gig bag will say Tokai on the flap of the pocket.

 

[jacco]

Didn't know that these generic brown leather gig bags had the brand name on them. I have had 7 and all had nothing on it.

 

[muccax]

hi jacco
i do own a brown gig bag with a tokai logo one it
and i think i got one with yamaha somewere too
all the best
otto

 

[jacco]

Good to know Otto, I know you have 80 of those

 

[Backdoor Man]

If it is original, the gig bag will say Tokai on the flap of the pocket.

Thanks. Since it has no Tokai logo on the pocket flap, I suppose it's an after-market gig bag.

 

[muccax]

no no ,,,,, only 60 ,,,
got a few flight cases too
all the best
otto

 

[swerty]

That was an enlightening post as I learnt a thing or two from it as well!! I must keep a lookout for Tokai?s now as the bought mentioned was bought at almost a throwaway price and it surely must have been because of the recent earthquake in Japan without a doubt!!

 

[Backdoor Man]

That was an enlightening post as I learnt a thing or two from it as well!! I must keep a lookout for Tokai?s now as the bought mentioned was bought at almost a throwaway price and it surely must have been because of the recent earthquake in Japan without a doubt!!

I've seen even lower prices on Springys since. Nice ones going for 30,000 yen to 35,000 yen. Good prices on used made-in-Japan ES models too. Definitely a buyer's market.

 

[sneakyjapan]

I think it`s the economic situation as a whole in Japan, the quake and tsunami couldn`t have come at a worse time, but some folks seem to be buying however it depends whats for sale. But no doubt about it...tougher these days. The Fukushima situation is no closer to betting solved than it was 4 months ago, doesn`t help either...people have a lot of things to worry about these days, guitars are not a priority up here in Sendai right now...most folks are still waiting for their lives to get sorted.

 

[wulfman]

I think the lack of US buyers with the low-value US$ also takes some demand out of the market. I have seen prices down 10 to 20 percent I would say but not so much of a drop on really high end stuff.
A ST-50 just went for 42k tonight which is not that cheap IMO.

 

[Koubayashi]

hi jacco
i do own a brown gig bag with a tokai logo one it
and i think i got one with yamaha somewere too
all the best
otto

Is there any interest in those gig bags?
I got tonnes of Greco, Tokai, Fernandes and Orville/Orville by Gibson.

The old Tokai and old Grecos are really kinky

 

[Koubayashi]

I think the lack of US buyers with the low-value US$ also takes some demand out of the market. I have seen prices down 10 to 20 percent I would say but not so much of a drop on really high end stuff.
A ST-50 just went for 42k tonight which is not that cheap IMO.

Second that!

There are plenty of unsold gems for cheap prices but most of them can be found at same price over here in Europe these days.
Just picked up a nice Super Real JB80 at app 400? inc shipping in Sweden.

Also, the auctions I looked at lately had no bidders from the bidding sites.