can you experts tell me if this is a Tokia ??

Hello everyone
I've been on the Fender forums trying to identify my guitar . I bought in 2004 for £500 in the UK from a small independent guitar shop and it was in a very nice condition (and still is). It has a serial number 63699 that matches the Fender Telecaster serial database as being from circa 1962, but it clearly is not an original Telecaster.

Anyway, Fender guys advised me to look at the pocket and neck end but there was limited info. It does appear to say ATE-55 (therefore a Breezysound they advise) however there is no Tokai branding on the neck.

My question is - did Tokai produce official Fender clones branded as Fender at some point, and could this be one of them? speculation has been that this is a Partscaster with a different neck added later, but that doesn't feel right to me just because of the quality of the build and they just look and feel 'right' together. It was also sold to me as a Fender 60s reissue (from memory). I am no guitar expert at all so need assistance!

many thanks

It's a Tokai body by the markings, not sure on the neck.

Any marks in the electronics cavity ??

I don't know if it helps - but there's a wiki page which certainly confirms a manufacturing link up between Tokai and Fender..

"Tokai and Dyna Gakki produced the Fender Japan solid-body models from 1997 until the end of the Fender Japan joint-venture in 2015."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tōkai_Gakki

Seems Tokai began building Japanese Fenders about 6-7 years before you bought yours, and continued for a fair while afterwards - so might well match up.


edit: If it is one of those btw, the serial number won't tell you much - and finding a similar one in the Fender database was probably just coincidental:

"The Tokai Fender replicas have a production number serial number that contains no year information."

No need to login and check the answers btw - or thank anybody - all part of the service the good folk on here provide.

Always a pleasure dealing with one-post transients, yessiree

thanks for your responses

Very interesting....

The countersunk holes in the neck pocket are a trait of Tokai bodies.

The bound body would not be an ATE55 though. In the 1980s those were usually TE70s. No idea about later on.

And no idea about the neck. Not sure why it has those extra holes?

I believe Tokai made Fenders for much longer than is generally accepted, although there are very likely prohibitions on folks at Tokai talking about it due to contracts between Tokai and Fender (and/or Fujigen if they subcontracted).

Check out this thread where I have started to try to put together some of the pieces from here and there. Your guitar may be a part of this puzzle.

Tokai Built Fenders