Bought as a TL-120 ???

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CliffsGuitarWorld

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Aloha,

Ok my Tokai friends, purchased this as a 1980 TL-120 ...........have at it

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http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn103/cliffjordan1/TOKAI/1980%20TL-120%20Breezy%20Sound/P1020468.jpg[/IMG
[img]http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn103/cliffjordan1/TOKAI/1980%20TL-120%20Breezy%20Sound/keicyonn-img600x450-1331441724aehq8v1814.jpg
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Really hard for me to distinguish between a TE-80 and a TE-120.

Mark (Villager) has a later, 1984 on his site, and even he has it listed as either an 80 or 120.

Also, in the Registry photos, there is an entry - from 2002 - of a TE-80.

Looks very nice however you slice it!
 
It has a late 1980 serial number.
With the absence of the 1980 catalog, it's best to use the 1981 flattop catalog.
In that catalog the highest TE model is the TE-85 which is the natural finish equivalent of the TE-80. None of the TEs in that catalog have the specs yours has.
However the next to last page of that catalog speaks of custom orders and shows your TE in a pic and also speaks of the TE-120, must be a TE-120.
Interestingly enough there are also custom order ST-140 and 120, even a LS100.
 
Nice one Cliff! It looks like there were a few higher end models that are not so common. The highest Tokai tokai model I ever saw was an all-rosewood TL-200 that was for sale at Studio 102 in Tokyo so they are out there.
 
I was expecting to see something wriiten or stamped in the neck pocket but no such luck.... It does appear that tape was applied over the wood before finishing and then removed. I do see faint pencil marks but cannot make it out.

Any ideas how to read the neck codes??
 
If numbers are probably month=day, it'snot very common that K... the little ink mark on the left should be the quality checker/builder sign... there is always one...
are there stamps in pick up-control cavity?
 
Neck 11 of july 1980
body 12 of February 1980 (a lot before the neck)
N is for natural finish...
K?custom order (body neck codes doesn't match)?
leftovers assembly?

Z should be for export model...
 
I think the body has been oversprayed or refinished.

I have not see that kind of neck pocket spray pattern in a Tokai. Usually the whole bottom of the pocket is raw wood. Here we only have half of it like a Fender. The body also looks very glossy in the pictures with thick reflections - it certainly raises my suspicions.
 
I've been fooled by that too :) Buffing compound from a refinish can look similar.

You've got it in hand so you are the best judge of it.
 
Hi guys,
So what's the problem - can't tell if the TE is an 80A or 120???
SO it is definately high-end (pickups TE-A, not TE-B)Ash body, pronounced V-neck and round string tree.
The main feature is the abalone inlay on the body which brings it down to 2 models. I could also tell you the other 5-6 changes that makes it the model it is, but I dont want to alert the forgers out there.
Send me a PM and I will tell you exactly what is, when it's birthday is and what it wants for Xmas.
regards
Peter Mac
 

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