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plc123

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Hi everybody,
I am interested in a Tokai love rock that popped up on yahoo jp. However, the seller could not provide any information about the guitar. Would any experts here kindly tell me more about the guitar(where it was made in and what exact model is it). Here are some of the photos. Any input is appreciated:)

https://imgur.com/ElPR8jP
https://imgur.com/poiBtlF
https://imgur.com/zJPNazS
https://imgur.com/Mm4tudM
https://imgur.com/3zsGbmZ
https://imgur.com/fft6ij5
https://imgur.com/BTBXa8T
 
Well, it's definitely MIJ, so that's good. The truss rod cover looks mid-90's to me but I could be wrong. It's obviously a flametop veneer over a maple cap, no fret edge binding and the surface chipping look like poly so I reckon it's a mid-range flametop MIJ (LS65F?). But there's some worrying elements here.

There doesn't look to be a serial number on the headstock and the volute shouldn't be there. There's an uneven mark running along the back of the neck so I think this thing has had a major headstock break & restoration.

The finish checking (age-related surface crackling) is obviously artificial.

If the seller isn't talking then I would walk away from this one. And once I was out of sight I would run away very fast.
 
But what if the owner is asking only for 30000yen, for which I could barely get a MIK one. Do you think it is worth the price tag?
Also, to my limited knowledge, I have only seen nitro finishes crack. I wonder if it would be possible for a poly finish to crack?
Btw, thanks a lot for your information.
 
plc123 said:
But what if the owner is asking only for 30000yen, for which I could barely get a MIK one. Do you think it is worth the price tag?

That's entirely up to you. For me, I can see that this guitar has a complicated history. In order to make an informed decision I would need the seller to be VERY forthcoming about it. Since they're staying silent, I assume they have something to hide. On a guitar like this, it's probably serious.

plc123 said:
Also, to my limited knowledge, I have only seen nitro finishes crack. I wonder if it would be possible for a poly finish to crack?
Btw, thanks a lot for your information.

Poly finishes can crack, but not like that. In fairness, whoever did it has done a good job of recreating the effect of an old nitro crazy-paving pattern but you can see that it was done with a razor and the wear pattern doesn't match the real chips and dings you can see on the rest of the body and headstock.

EDIT: I've just looked at the pictures on my PC. With the benefit of a decent monitor I now see that the Tokai logo is a cheap transfer. Game over for me.
 

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