Tokais Made In China

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Sigmania

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Collecting MIC Tokai pics.

It seems like the thinking on this forum is that Tokai moved production of lower priced models from Korea to China around 2005?

It seems like the switch over to China was not so clear cut.

Starting out looking for patterns in the serial numbers of what are possibly Chinese versus Korean builds.

Using only examples I have actually seen photos of.


Fender Copies
CH Serial Numbers
C Serial Number AST Guitars
CN Serial Number Fender Copy Guitars


Gibson Copies
CH Serial Numbers
FC Serial Numbers Fine Corp Made In China
06 Six Digit Serial Number Made In China
07 Six Digit Serial Number Chinese?
07 Seven Digit Serial Number Chinese?
08 Six Digit Serial Number Chinese
09 Six Digit Serial Number
C Serial Number Gibson Copies, Made In China C08 C09 C10
CN Serial Number Gibson Copies




Chinese Tokais:


FC + 7 digits
(2006, 2007) Fine Corporation
CH + 6 digits (2005,
CH + 8 digits (2008,
7 digits (2009, ex. 9061006
C + 6 digits (2008, 2009, 2010,
CA + 9 digits (2010,
CN + 8 digits (2010-)
8 digit Fender clones "CE" mark (2015, 2016)


Questionable serial numbers:

6 digits
white paint (2005, ex. 05xxxx
6 digits gold paint (2006 ex. 06xxxx) Some confirmed Made In China
6 digits impressed digits
8 digits (2009,
CH15 + 6 digits (2015
TM + 6 digit "Legacy Series" (2016,
TL Legacy Series guitars.
TW + 8 digits



Chinese factories making Tokais likely includes:

Fine Corp
(2006 -2007) ? >
Fine Corporation - guitar, electric guitar, bass - EC21 Mobile
FC Serial Numbers Fine Corp Made In China



2005


21043-43fff137b59725a5085ccc6732e835d3.jpg

CH + 6 digits
CH Serial Numbers

2006

09w2bem.jpg


"06" six digit impressed
Six Digit Serial Number Gibson Copies

wlZrkm5.jpg


"06" six digit gold paint
Tokais Made In China

bnCb0sk.jpg


"FC06"
FC Serial Numbers


2007

KbJGz8U.jpg


"FC07" serial number



s-l1600-10 2.jpg

07 seven digit
07 Seven Digit Serial Number Chinese?

2008

4kpBkvI.jpg


"08" six digit serial
08 Six Digit Serial Number Chinese

DWiAs2N.jpg


"CH08" serial number (Chinese)
Tokais Made In China

LA7WDhD.jpg


"C08" serial number (China)
C Serial Number Gibson Copies, Made In China C08 C09 C10
C Serial Number AST Guitars



2009

Screen Shot 2023-05-15 at 7.50.33 PM.png
"09" six digit
09 Six Digit Serial Number


sm975xv.jpg


"90" seven digit
Tokais Made In China

B6UNkxk.jpg


"09" eight digit
Tokais Made In China

RCOXxST.jpg


"C09" serial (Chinese)
C Serial Number Gibson Copies, Made In China C08 C09 C10
C Serial Number AST Guitars



2010


18418-cbaf0ea862f9c1b0a930cfd6a444accf.jpg


"C10" serial numbers
C Serial Number Gibson Copies, Made In China C08 C09 C10


Screen Shot 2023-02-20 at 12.18.58 PM.png

CA serial number
CA Serial Numbers CA10 2010


5aJxvOR.jpg


CN serial (Chinese)
CN Serial Number Gibson Copies
CN Serial Number Fender Copy Guitars


21468-0ff0f3885fc8e60a85fcfb67e44b8d5f.jpg
Fakes?
CH Serial Numbers that Look Odd Suspicious Fake

41395-2e96a81b4c03ad32eccea84dda6df9e2.jpeg
Fakes? And then these odd ones that are hard to pin down. Made in 2015 & 2016
Odd (Non CN) No Prefix Serial Numbers, Chinese? 2015, 2016


42116-8816ddf1fd5b1748ab5180f84b789cd9.jpg

Fakes? TM Serial numbers and Legacy Series guitars. 2016
TM Serial Numbers, Chinese? 2016
Legacy Series


41831-6d1dde70f36997993028656b6b43abd6.jpg

Fakes? TW Serial number guitars. 2018
TW Serial Numbers, Chinese? 2018

f442dc2b9399fcb18c5d2092061c3281 2.jpg

CW Serial numbers?
CW Serial Number Tokais Chinese China
 
Last edited:
2008 ALS48 CS?

"CH08" serial number.

Made in China with white cavity covers.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/225243561099

Tokai Love Rock Les Paul 6 String Electric Guitar
Cherry Sunburst
2008
Hard Case

Excellent Condition Tokai Love Rock
Made In China Under Japanese Quality Control Finish
One Or Two Minor Marks As Expected With A 14 Year Old Guitar

Solid Body Electric Guitar,
Heritage Dark Cherry Finish
Top: Flamed Maple AAAA (Veneer)
Back: Mahogany
Neck: Canadian Maple Set-Neck, U Shape
Fingerboard: Carbonized Jatoba Wood,
22 Frets
Scale Length: 628 Mm (24,72")
Nut Width: 43 Mm (1,69")
Korean Hardware
2 X Volume, 2 X Tone, 1 X 3 Way Switch


3xWivgi.jpg


s88EZ5J.jpg


68Dnh7y.jpg


JpFN862.jpg


KVFGPt3.jpg


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lPomnD7.jpg


5cKUpm9.jpg


iGomyX2.jpg
 
I would have passed this one off as totally fake becasue of this unusual "CW" serial number were it not verified by the Australian distributor, TF member tokaiaustralia, who apparently got it when visiting the factory in Hamamatsu.

Made by Tokai in recent years, this Love Rock model came to us directly from the factory in Hamamatsu, Japan. There was a big factory clear-out of old stock, prototypes and factory seconds when the company changed ownership late last year and this is one of the guitars unearthed in that process. As the new Australian distributor of Tokai we were given loads of these guitars and will be re-homing them as we get them serviced!

Made in China, it weighs 3.8kg’s, it’s built with a laminate flame top and mahogany body. Rosewood fingerboard and a maple neck with a slim 60’s style profile. Stock pickups with what looks to be a full factory hardware loadout, looks to likely have been a demo for the factory in China to show Japan what they were capable of.


https://mojostompboxes.com/products/tokai-love-rock-les-paul-standard-honeyburst

DuSSpWU.jpg


i0QWjOY.jpg


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6UC2Mcm.jpg


mGga3sM.jpg


b1L4caS.jpg


ZeFjWNz.jpg


TkwoxD4.jpg


8VCbN3C.png
 
There were some overlaps in 2008/09 of serial number schemes.

Possibly Chinese vs. Korean?? Who knows?

Examples:

90xxxx 7 digit serial number

09xxxxxx 8 digit serial number

C09xxxxxx



Xo9c5bT.png


PYsuYsk.png


g9x093a.png
 
2013 Price List

nNoZ6xG.png


http://www.usamusic.nl/uploads/2/4/0/4/24048927/tc_retail_oct_2013.pdf

2014 Price List

PPnS155.png
 
2019 ES78

"CW" serial number?


okai's Traditional range of electric guitars offer amazing playability, finish and sound at an unmatched price point.

The ES-78 revives the iconic semi-hollowbody, electric-spanish design. Featuring the classic arched maple top, two LSC-F humbucking pickups and medium U style neck profile, the Tokai ES-78 screams vintage style and tone - without the vintage price tag.

BRAND: Tokai
MODEL: ES-78-VNT
SERIES: Traditional
INSTRUMENT: Electric Guitar
SHAPE: ES
COLOUR: Vintage Natural
DEXTERITY: Right
STRINGS: 6
STRING TYPE: Steel

BODY: Maple
NECK: Canadian Maple Set-Neck
NECK STYLE: Style U
FINGERBOARD: Carbonized Jatoba Wood
FINISH: Polyurethane
MACHINE HEADS: Vintage Style
BRIDGE: LS-VBC Bridge
PICKUPS: LSC-F x 2 (Made In Korea)
ELECTRONICS: 2V, 2T and 3-way switch
WIRING: Modern Style
SCALE LENGTH: 24.75"
NUT: Bone 43mm
FRETS: 22
COUNTRY: Made in China
HARD CASE: Tokai Padded Gig Bag

LENGTH: 1070mm
DEPTH: 65mm
UPPER BOUT: 285mm
WAIST: 230mm
LOWER BOUT: 410mm
WEIGHT: 3.3 kg Approximately



4DjsVQj.jpg


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6q1J84a.png


GTVPJMs.jpg


https://therockinn.com/products/cop...ollow-electric-guitar-made-in-japan-pre-owned
 
Notable quote by mdvineng in another thread:

mdvineng said:
There is more than one Chinese factory making Tokai guitars. Some legit guitars and some hooky ones. The Chinese are only using a licence to make them and not as a sub contractor supplier to Tokai Japan. There are some dealerships around the world now having their own spec Tokai's made from these factories, currently all low model numbers. Tracking and tracing them is impossible.

I once worked for a company as the Engineering director, this company decided to move manufacturing from Europe to China despite me warning them about the potential for cheaper copies hitting the market. The directors only saw potential profit margins increasing. First 6 months went OK and I was derided. Next 12 months saw the company go into liquidation due to cheap copies coming out of the back door of the same factory in China.

http://www.tokaiforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=26110

reborn old on MIC Tokais:

"I recently confirmed Tokai used more than one manufacturer in China. Certain minor details varied from factory to factory."

https://www.mylespaul.com/threads/tokai-facts-theory-photos-id-thread.167940/page-6
 
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