Tokai Guitar

Tokai Guitars Company Ltd., also known as Tokai Gakki is a Japanese guitar manufacturer founded in 1947 and situated in the Hamamatsu district. Tokai Guitars produces acoustic guitars, electric guitars and electric basses.

Guitars branded with the Tokai name are made in Japan and Korea. The Japanese built instruments are very highly regarded amongst players and collectors, as equal or higher quality to USA made Gibson and Fenders. Some vintage models can fetch as high a price as 'genuine' guitars from the same period. This was during the so called lawsuit era of the late '70s and early '80s.

Tokai guitars made in Korea (MIK) are of a lower quality, similar to modern Epiphone guitars. The guitars can easily be differentiated by the truss rod cover, Japanese guitars (just as USA made guitars) have 2 holes, whereas Korean guitars have 3 holes. MIK models usually have white plastic plates on the back of the guitar, too, as well as a different bridge in "Nashville style", i.e. with additional bushings for the posts instead of the ABR-1 bridge with its thinner posts directly drilled into the wood. Furthermore MIK copies have a maple neck instead of mahogany like the Japanese models, and the body wood usually is either alder, agathis or nato instead of mahogany, too.