Tokai ES-130 - No serial number??

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boneyguy

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Hi...new member here...

I'm going to be looking at an ES-130 in a couple days. I spoke on the phone with the guy who's selling it and to first appearances he seems to be honest and believable. He says the guitar is MIJ but has no serial # on it because it was made during a lawsuit period. He bought the guitar from a friend in 2008 and figures the guitar dates to 2005-2006.

So, my question for the Tokai experts is...does any of this ring true or accurate? I've done lots of online reading since talking to the guy but I can't find out what I really need to know. It seems to me it's probably not a Canadian Fakai because apparently they didn't make that model and they have MIK on the back of the headstock. Do ALL MIJ Tokais have a serial #?

When I finally see the guitar I'll be looking for the orange sticker in the bass 'F' hole and the MIJ stamp on the back of the headstock. What else should I be looking for to help me identify this ES-130 as a real MIJ guitar?

Thanks for any help you can offer.

Glenn
 
It's probably legit - there's a forum thread on that specific topic:

http://www.tokaiforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=175201&sid=77f40500578d1c6f915590c9f56a06d5

Should have the orange label in the body - serial number and model number stamped on it. This one looks like it's a 2007

http://allegro.pl/tokai-es-130-gibson-es-335-mono-case-vertigo-i7090435353.html#thumb/5
 
boneyguy said:
He says the guitar is MIJ but has no serial # on it because it was made during a lawsuit period.

Your seller sounds clueless, but that doesn't mean the guitar isn't legit.

Two screws in the truss rod cover. Thin bridge posts, with no screwdriver slots, screwed directly into the body. Nickel hardware. Orange sticker.

The MIJ stamp depends on when it was made. Obviously photos would help a lot!
 
Thanks for the help! I had already assumed the guy was a bit clueless, which, as you rightfully point out, doesn't mean the guitar isn't what he says it is.

He hasn't posted pics with his online ad but as I say I'll be seeing the guitar in a couple of days so I hope everything pans out because I think, if it's a real MIJ ES-130 the price is pretty reasonable from what I'm seeing from online searches.

Oh, also he says the guitar is blue but I have not turned up any pics of blue ES-130's.....(blue is my least fave guitar colour but I work for a guy refinishing and aging vintage (as well as modern) guitars so I can always re-paint it if I wind up buying it.

Thanks again!
 
There were fake Tokai 335's made for Canada.

Especially blue

Beware.

https://www.kijiji.ca/v-guitar/hamilton/tokai-electric-guitar-gibson-330-style/1333449185?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true


FAKE AS THE DAY IS LONG !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This red one is real if you'd like a comparison.

https://www.kijiji.ca/v-guitar/markham-york-region/2013-tokai-es-138-sr/1318204232?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true
 
My understanding is that the Canadian fake Tokais all said Made In Korea on the back of the headstock. I read part of an interview with a Japanese rep of the Tokai Gakki factory who said that the Canadian company had made some LS guitars before they shut down that production but he didn't mention any other styles like the ES line.



I realize there are other fakes out there as well though. Are their fakes that go to the extent of having the MIJ stamp on them as well as the orange sticker inside the 'F' hole?
 
Well i haven't been keeping up with the various fakes i must say, The MIJ Tokai's are very easy to tell from others. If you know what you are looking for. Never seen a fake with a MIJ stamp. Never seen a real Blue one though either.
Tons of fakes out there, a dude from "music express canada" was behind the last flood of fakes. I'm not sure why Tokai's are faked here as almost noone has heard of them.

https://www.musicexpresscanada.com/?s=tokai

I'd ask for some pictures before i'd go myself. Who doesn't put up pictures of what they are selling ?? He's got to have a camera or a smartphone.
 
He's not far from me....I'll just see the guitar in a couple days and make my determination. Thanks for the info.
 
http://www.tokaiforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=163651&sid=ee161406cbcae63d2e582ae9f5412084


Scroll down to the images - last one, back of headstock. Some of the fake Canadians being discussed say MAKE (not made) IN KOREA - made by Dillion.
 
marcusnieman said:
http://www.tokaiforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=163651&sid=ee161406cbcae63d2e582ae9f5412084


Scroll down to the images - last one, back of headstock. Some of the fake Canadians being discussed say MAKE (not made) IN KOREA - made by Dillion.

Thanks.....I'll have a look at that.
 
Okay, I just looked at the online ad again and he's added pics....definintely NOT a MIJ. So, I'll save myself the trouble of looking at it I guess.

Can anyone identify where this guitar was probably made?

Also, some of the text that he's used in the ad was lifted directly from a Reverb.com ad which I discovered during my searching for info....he's modified it a bit. Originally his ad said it was Made In Japan....he's taken that out now but that's what he told me over the phone.

https://www.usedvictoria.com/classified-ad/335-Tokai-Gibson-E335-copy_31360512

Sorry, I can't quite figure out how this forum let's me post pics....
 
boneyguy said:
Okay, I just looked at the online ad again and he's added pics....definintely NOT a MIJ. So, I'll save myself the trouble of looking at it I guess.
..

Ouch. Classic Korean-made fake.

Try to direct the seller to this thread, he may simply be unaware of the situation. If he won't listen, report the listing. The price he's asking is probably reasonable for an ES130 but for that guitar it's about 4 or 5 times too much.

EDIT: 2000 posts! Yay!
 
Paladin2019 said:
boneyguy said:
Okay, I just looked at the online ad again and he's added pics....definintely NOT a MIJ. So, I'll save myself the trouble of looking at it I guess.
..

Ouch. Classic Korean-made fake.

Try to direct the seller to this thread, he may simply be unaware of the situation. If he won't listen, report the listing. The price he's asking is probably reasonable for an ES130 but for that guitar it's about 4 or 5 times too much.

EDIT: 2000 posts! Yay!

So is it one of the 'infamous' Canadian fakes made in the same Korean Tokai factory?
 
These came in before the "Make in Korea" fakai's i believe but if you search for a similar headstock symbol it's pretty easy to figure out who made them. Dillion

$900 rofl. These came with the junky Bigsby as well, so he was either fed that by the last guy or is making it up. Gordon's music my arse.

Glad you came here first. So many don't and it's a bitter pill to swallow sometimes.
 
brokentoes said:
These came in before the "Make in Korea" fakai's i believe but if you search for a similar headstock symbol it's pretty easy to figure out who made them. Dillion

$900 rofl. These came with the junky Bigsby as well, so he was either fed that by the last guy or is making it up. Gordon's music my arse.

Glad you came here first. So many don't and it's a bitter pill to swallow sometimes.

Thanks for all your help...much appreciated.

I'll call him and let him know what he's got....maybe he is truly ignorant about....who knows....and who knows, it may be an okay guitar but certainly isn't worth what he's asking. Thanks again!
 
Just got off the phone with the guy selling the guitar.....I gave him all the info about it that I had gathered and informed him of what he had.

He seemed to be genuinely surprised because what he had been told about the guitar was obviously very inaccurate. He was actually grateful that I called him and gave him the info and he is going to adjust the price in his ad accordingly. He seemed sincere to me so I'm inclined to believe him.
 
boneyguy said:
He seemed to be genuinely surprised because what he had been told about the guitar was obviously very inaccurate. He was actually grateful that I called him and gave him the info and he is going to adjust the price in his ad accordingly. He seemed sincere to me so I'm inclined to believe him.

Not everyone selling fakes is an a-hole, many of them were genuinely duped and remain in ignorance.

I can see he's revised the listing. Sadly it still contains several inaccuracies (like implying it's a real Tokai, or that the bigsby is aftermarket) and it's still way overpriced. But there's only so much you can do. I do sympathise with him, he's probably just trying to make his money back, but now that he knows better he should be making more effort to be accurate.
 
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