A Tokai TLS-50 produced in 1984.

This guitar was made in 1984, just around the application of Corporate Rehabilitation Law to Tokai Gakki.  Considering such a condition, I hesitate to say that this is an honest guitar than expected.  Two-piece hard maple top and mahogany(Khaya) back, basic specification was retained.

Yutaka Satou who managed a repair shop ”Fist Touch” in Akita said that its dressing board of headstock was maple.  In those days the craftsmen treated guitar as genuine woodwork and handcrafted with more process than now even if the lowest grade guitars.  At present, even famous guitar companies use plastic board instead of wood.

Over-binding fret was applied.  Fret edge binding structure is usually applied to high grade Les Pauls, but is a time-consuming job.  And if looked from functional view point, the former wins.  Over-binding fret lets us play guitar more easily and also makes exchange of frets easy.  

In manufacturing musical instruments, time and labor consuming jobs doesn’t always reinforce instrumental function.  That may be inevitable because musical instruments have two aspect, one is aspect of pure music tools, and the other is artistic work which inspire buying desire.  No one is going to buy a guitar simply made of one slab and one club.

Tokai 57’PAF pickups are mounted, but a little short of low frequency component and make slightly compressed sound.  If exchanged, it will become more good one. 4.13kg(includes strings). (Updated 2016.8.27)