A TOKAI By Any Other Name?

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Looks like another Humming Bird with a mustache bridge.


https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/tokai-gakki-artist-ltd-acoustic-11807964

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Similar guitars discussed here.

https://www.tdpri.com/threads/tokai-hummingbird-96f-acoustic.581362/
 
More on the Hummingbird brand in an eBay post.... Wow. Never know where you will find information.

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https://www.ebay.com/itm/184454678403

"Tokai HummingBird Custom W-300, CF Martin D28 replica, Made in Japan 1973

The HummingBird series was manufactured by Tokai Gakki in 1970-1974 during their partnership with CF Martin

The Predecessor of their more familiar Cat's Eyes series


2LpdvB1.jpg


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokai_Gakki
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Brian May has had his Tokai HummingBird Custom since the Queens Sheer Heart Attack Tour in Japan in 1974 and also on A Night At The The Opera album 1975.

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http://www.brianmay.com/brian/brianssb/pix/CIMG3003BriHubirdguitar690.jpg

https://youtu.be/0plWNDyA6Ig

https://youtu.be/LiKpJxI7rOI
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Brian May on his favorite acoustic guitar - Tokai HummingBird

Brian May’s Red Special - The Book Launch

@34:04 "...HummingBird which I bought in Japan many years ago."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFssjJKqSQY"
 
And the original foray into guitars for Tokai was apparently classical guitars in 1965.

Here is an image of an early Tokai classical. Not sure of the year.

egyQUy3.png
 
So back to the timeline....

So now we have two completely different guitars made by Tokai called Hummingbirds...

An electric line of Hummingbirds in 1968 that look like Mosrite guitars. Still not sure if they were made for Mosrite at this point or if that came later?

RsvOLBw.jpg


And an acoustic line called Hummingbird beginning in 1970.


ikxPygN.png
 
Tentative Tokai guitar timeline:

1947 Company started by making harmonicas and pianos
1965 Began making classical guitars
1968 First electric guitars (Mosrite clone "Hummingbird")
1970-74 "Humming" and "Humming Bird" line of acoustic guitars, domestic deal w/ CF Martin?
1970-73 Made Conn acoustics
1972 Began making Sigmas for CF Martin
1973-74 Tokai Gakki Acoustics with logo like CF Martin
1975 Began making Cat's Eyes acoustics
1975/76/77? Began making Fernandes Fender clones with Spaghetti logo, etc
1977 Tokai "introduced replica models of yours" Mr. Adachi states in letter to Leo Fender dated April 8, 1982
1978 Tokai "Les Paul Reborn"
1989-91? Tokai making some guitars for Greco?
1997-2015 Tokai making guitars for Fender
 
https://spinditty.com/instruments-gear/Japanese-Manufacturers-of-Made-In-Japan-Badged-Guitars-from-1950-to-1980
 
mdvineng said:
https://spinditty.com/instruments-gear/Japanese-Manufacturers-of-Made-In-Japan-Badged-Guitars-from-1950-to-1980
Click to expand...

"It's suggested that Tokai made Hummingbird acoustics as well, but if these were related to those made by Humming Bird I haven't quite sorted out yet."

There is this.... 8)

thX8z3l.png
 
Here's a hummer https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/T-550R-Humming-Bird-/363383580102?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286
 
https://guitarz.blogspot.com/2012/08/robin-raider-with-mosrite-inspired-body.html Robin by Tokai.
 
I would just say, don't assume that because Tokai made 'em, they use the same parts.
I've a Japanese Fender and my father has a JV Squier, which I believe was made by Tokai, but while the build quality is there, the parts aren't the same.
 
Yep. And it looks like to me that all of the Japanese builders were struggling with quality and design issues until around 1977/78. I saw that with Ibanez/Fujigen guitars and others.

In my opinion something changed around then. Whether it was Tokai getting a hold of vintage Fenders and Gibsons and doing a deep dive into their construction, or a different management style that encouraged input, innovation, and refinement?

I don’t know, but for me the golden age is centered around 1980 plus or minus a couple years. But that’s just my opinion.
 
Add Robin guitars to the list.

ned said:
In the 80's Robin Guitars was a big importer of Tokai's. The early Robin's were built in the same factory. Growing up in Houston and hanging out at the retails store Rockin Robin there were always a bunch of Tokai's which is where I learned about them. The retail was the same as the guitar manufacturer - Robin Guitars.
Click to expand...

http://www.tokaiforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=26137&p=196945#p196945


bluejeannot said:
https://guitarz.blogspot.com/2012/08/robin-raider-with-mosrite-inspired-body.html Robin by Tokai.
Click to expand...

http://www.tokaiforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=26103&hilit=robin+guitars
 

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