Congratulations on finding that info! Very cool.
I think the total of 6 units claim by
richmca is still unsubstantiated? Could be more. We have now seen 3 and he claimed he saw 2 in addition to his own. Possible, but also likely to be higher than that in my opinion based on my experience of how often we see other models that were made in large quantities and rarely surface. The 20 or 28 number could be more accurate? Will be interesting to see if more pop up.
Would be very interesting to track down one of the other examples and see if it has a different number similar to your "12 - 20". Like "8 - 20" or something. That would be strong evidence of the total number of units made I think.
And seems like it is the neck construction that really sets these guitars apart from other high end ES models (fretboard wood, fret edge binding FEB, thicker profile, "Love Rock" script).
So far you have found that this model is:
labeled "ES Custom"
“ES 205 CM” in pencil in cavity
limited 2008 run
flame maple top, sides & back
3 colors (red stain
SR, vintage natural
VNT, and sunburst
SB),
possibly Honduras rosewood fret board
fret edge binding
fatter neck profile
mahogany neck
different resistance on the pickups than typical Keiyo MK2 sets
From that other thread:
richmca said:
I'm not sure about the neck pickup - seems a bit underwhelming, but the bridge is wonderfully uncouth.
richmca said:
All I know is it's a short run - apparently - of top-spec ES with Honduras rosewood and mahogany, fatter neck profile (although it's not all that fat in my opinion), and the Love Rock headstock. The label inside reads ES-Custom. I'll post pics as soon as I can - in a couple of days.
richmca said:
As far as I know from my supplier, there are only 6 of these, and since I've only seen two others for sale, that probably means the varnish is still drying on the other three.
http://www.tokaiforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=11782