Tokai Springy Sound History

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Sigmania

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Is this true???

"Tokai began planning a product line of Stratocaster replicas in the mid-’70s that would be built to the original vintage specifications.

To this effect, the company’s engineers got ahold of genuine vintage Strats, took them apart, and took measurements and photographs – a technique that Fender and Gibson would later adopt for their own vintage reissues.

https://reverb.com/news/a-strat-by-any-other-name-the-tokai-springy-sound
 
If this is actually true, then when did it happen?

Was it during the period Tokai was making strats for Fernandes? 1975-1977? Was it before that?

I would assume that after being able to study real vintage Fenders up close there would have been noticeable design changes?

So just curious about when they may have had vintage Fenders in hand to measure and disassemble?
 
Tokai made guitars for Conn of Illinois 70<73
Aria pro2 are Tokai linked/made
Fresher also
C F Martin and Hamer USA

73 Onwards would be my guess as through connections with Martin they bought up the good woods from the USA that Fender and Gibson no longer used due to cost and quality cuts they introduced.
 
mdvineng said:
Tokai made guitars for Conn of Illinois 70<73
Aria pro2 are Tokai linked/made
Fresher also
C F Martin and Hamer USA

73 Onwards would be my guess as through connections with Martin they bought up the good woods from the USA that Fender and Gibson no longer used due to cost and quality cuts they introduced.

How does that relate to the rumor of Tokai getting vintage Fenders to measure and photograph?

I think you were answering a different question and this was for that other thread?
 
Here is this story repeated again... I would just like to know what it is based on? Any primary sources out there?

"Tokai started producing Fender replicas started around '75 and really were one of the first Japanese manufacturers to actually try their hand at vintage true replicas of Fenders years before Fender caught on to the idea. Tokai actually took real vintage Fenders apart and measured every last details and set up manufacturing to replicate these instruments precisely, something the Fender custom shop would do years later. Tokai did such a great job with these that by the early eighties Fender had entered into an agreement with the Fugigen factory to start making licensed versions of Fenders to try and slow the "made in Japan" copies that were spreading out around the world, spearheaded by Tokai."

https://tymguitars.com.au/blogs/blog/late-70s-tokai-silver-star-strat
 
The story is important because around 1977 Tokai switched from making guitars with other people's names on the head stock to making guitars with their own name on the head stock...

If they had their hands on the original instruments, that would have given them a design advantage and an opportunity to launch their own line and cut out the other party (Fernandes?), and make more profit.

That is why I am trying to figure out the timeline re: Fernandes builds, taking apart vintage Fenders, and the launch of the Springy line, etc.

Same situation with the "Les Paul Reborn" line that came out in 1977. Did they get their hands on a 50s Les Paul?

Would be nice to know.
 
To launch a new line in 1977, it would make sense that if this happened (having up close access to vintage Fenders) that it happened before that, likely 1976 or before? That puts it around the time the Fernandes association started? Curious how that all played out?

I can imagine Tokai being pressed to get a real copy of a Fender to study before or while making guitars for Fernandes. And I can imagine that Fernandes would not have had any sort of rights to measurements of a Fender guitar, so Tokai was free to then use that knowledge to build their own guitars.

All speculation. Again, would be nice to know the truth... 8)
 
This timeline, if true, has me looking at that 1975-1977 period for possibly having access to vintage Fender guitars to study.


The following are short explanation of Fernandes Strat Replica history

1973-74 Traditional Type "Fernandes" Logo --- Kawai --- conducted by Mr. Omote and Mr. Shiino
1975-77 Spaghetti Type "Fernandes" Logo --- Kawai/Tokai --- conducted by Mr. Omote
1978-79 Stone Type "Fernandes" Logo --- Tokai
1980-81 Stone Type "Fernandes" Logo --- Changed to 22F --- Tokai
1981-90 Revival Series Logo --- Probably Tokai
2003 Revival Second Generation --- No idea about the MFG



http://www.music-trade.co.jp/fenandeshistory.html
 
Note that when Tokai launched their own Fender clone line, Springy, etc., that the logo for Fernandes switched to non spaghetti and Tokai then used the spaghetti logo, more closely mimicking Fender vintage guitars, another advantage for Tokai.....

http://www.tokaiforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=25811&p=193457#p193457
 
Sigmania said:
mdvineng said:
Tokai made guitars for Conn of Illinois 70<73
Aria pro2 are Tokai linked/made
Fresher also
C F Martin and Hamer USA

73 Onwards would be my guess as through connections with Martin they bought up the good woods from the USA that Fender and Gibson no longer used due to cost and quality cuts they introduced.

How does that relate to the rumor of Tokai getting vintage Fenders to measure and photograph?

I think you were answering a different question and this was for that other thread?

You were right but the last sentence was in the correct thread
 
Very very interesting letter......

See part about "late 1977...."

Was that as Tokai or Fernandes??

WoAFoJU.jpg



http://www.tokaiforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=21672
 

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