What are Tokai bodies made of?

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kalamath7

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I have a tokai strat copy that I love, but am interested in what the body is made of. It has a serial # of L2XXXX, and appears to be a early ('60-'64) fender strat copy. It is painted (factory) black, and appears to be a single piece of wood as I don't see any seams through the finish as you can find on fenders. Any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks.
 
Hi kalamath7

Its probably going to be alder. Go to http://www.tokairegistry.com/ and use the info in the 'Guitar' and 'Catalogs' pages to identify the specific model.

James
 
With the L serial it probably is a '64 replica. Most of the strats from the 80's have alder bodies.

Michael
 
Hi.
I have seen an L prefix R/N S/B Goldstar sound Strat at a local music shop.It's up at ?299, but has a slight problem with the vol control, in that it doesn't turn the sound fully off.Just a minor fault I think.
They will take ?240 as seen for cash, as they're having lean times.The only thing is, the sunburst looks a bit brash and yellowy compared to my own M/neck model.Doesn't sound such a bad deal though.What do you think ??
 
I saw the chart too, but it has a 50's fender pickguard w/ only 5 screws (no extra holes like those found in '60's fenders). Very strange. Also, I am suprised at the bodies weight- it's very light, like swamp ash, not alder. I guess I have a super light piece of alder, which is the ideal strat tonewood. How does the Tokai body routing compare to 50's or 60's fender routing? Is more wood removed that might justify the light weight?
 
Sorry, I ment 8 screws, not 11. My mind is typically stuck in tele-land... It has a maple/maple neck, with a dead on "small" fender headstock shape.
 
Hi kalamath7,
The body would definately be alder as Tokai did not use ash bodies for solid color guitars. What is strange though is the "L" plate as your guitar should have a 4 or 5 digit plate instead.

Peter
 
Khalamat,as I,ve told before my ast-56 got a L serial number.Very strange.
 
Thank you for the information. It must be a '56 copy. This is my first, but not last Tokai, and am amazed at the workmanship, sound, and playability. They must be the best kept secret in guitars. I have 13 guitars, all vintage 50's and 60's Gibson and Fender stuff, but this recently acquired Tokai is already my favorite. I can't put it down. Part of me wants to tell everyone of their virtues, but the other (greedy) part doesn't. I'm scared their value will skyrocketing before I get more. Viva Tokai!
 

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