Made in Japan

Pics, info, thoughts on old and/or hairy gear.

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Fuzzisthebest
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Re: Made in Japan

Post by Fuzzisthebest »

I was in Tyms guitars retail shop yesterday and he had dozens of Japanese Guitars on the walls . I agree with HorseyBoy ‘77-84 .
Although it could be argued that the Yamaha SG 175 born in 1974 was the guitar that started it all .
The Japanese golden era pretty much coincided with America’s worst period of Guitar manufacturing.
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innerflight
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Re: Made in Japan

Post by innerflight »

^ I noticed on Tims (Tyms) website he had a Lefty Greco from that era, I reckon after Japan, you Aussies seem to have the pick of them :hihi:

^^Cheers HB, I was hoping you would chip in :tu: yes please to some pictures, I was going to put this in the 'ThisnThat' thread but was hoping it would turn into a pr0n thread too :badlove:

Always wondered on the MIJ v CIJ thing, what is the difference? its always believed that MIJ is better

One of the best guitars ive ever heard/seen belonged to a guy who used to give me the odd lesson years ago. He had a (think early 80's) Tokai Strat, it was made of ash (one piece?) and weighed more than a LP, sounded glorious. A lefty one popped up on Reverb recently (1st one i've ever seen) but I hesitated and it flew by :doh:
’brutish in character but not thug like’
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Philip
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Re: Made in Japan

Post by Philip »

Hah, what ever the thing, there is always looking glass deep geekness to be found. :badteeth: :hihi:
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Sauniere
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Re: Made in Japan

Post by Sauniere »

Early 80s Tokai are phenomenal for Les Paul types. I own Laundromat’s old LS-80 and a LS120. An ‘81 and ‘83. Can’t remember which is which. Swapped pickups and wiring harnesses. Neither came to me stock, so no idea how the original pickups are. LS80 has a thicker neck. LS120’s slimmer neck is more comfortable for me. Both ring like bells and have a great balanced tone between neck and bridge. I had a ‘02 LS200 for years and the neck position was muddy no matter what pickup was in there. Both are light for Les Pauls...under 9lbs.

I also own a ‘84 Tokai Strat. Best Strat I e ever owned. Kind of a beater, but so comfortable and tonefull. Didn’t care for the grey bottom pickups, even though they are highly regarded. Installed some Electric City pickups, but I think I preferred the Dimarzio Areas I had in there before. Doesn’t get played as much these days.

MIJ Fender stuff is great too. I have a 90s(?) MIJ Tele Custom. All stock. Pickups are great! Just clipped the bright cap as I can’t stand them.

If you can find the early handmade Bacchus stuff...extraordinary stuff! I have a SG that is absolutely awesome! Has all the vintage vibe you could want in a guitar. Stock pickups were garbage though. Thin and strident.

Burny’s are a great value too. Had a Les Paul and a SG that were both great. Only the earliest models have nitro though.

Greco’s are another great brand. I have a 90s SG Special with stock P90s that are awesome! I hear the high end Les Pauls, 1800 series are as good as it gets.
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HorseyBoy
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Re: Made in Japan

Post by HorseyBoy »

All right, first ever family photo:

Image

And the Grecos side by side:

Image

@Philip: Yep, once you go down the rabbit hole, there's no coming back.

@Fuzzisthebest and inner flight: Yep, Tym LOVES his Japanese guitars. And we do seem to have a lot of great old Japanese guitars here in Oz. Geographically much closer than the States and a bunch of guitars (and pedals) seem to have made the trip. That said, I got my Yammy and Greco Strat in Japan, and the guy I got the Greco Les from also picked that up in Japan. Japan has even more Japanese guitars than Australia. :badteeth:

@Sauniere: Tokais from that era are incredible. As for Greco Les Pauls, the really high end models like the EG1800 Super Reals are super rare, but all the Super Reals are excellent and a lot of the time there are weird anomalies (e.g., it's rare for an EG500 like mine to have a "Super Real" headstock and nitro finish, but some of them do).
Good info on specs and differences here: http://forum.japanaxe.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=1070
And this page of scans from the 1980 Super Real catalogue is awesome: https://guitarism.wp-x.jp/post-913/
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Philip
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Re: Made in Japan

Post by Philip »

Nice! :badlove:
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SilverTightrope
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Re: Made in Japan

Post by SilverTightrope »

Nice guitars gents! Bought this one new in ‘87 at Rudy’s in NYC...MIJ ‘57 Reissue:
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~Actually I think Art lies in both directions - the broad strokes, big picture but on the other hand the minute examination of the apparently mundane. Seeing the whole world in a grain of sand, that kind of thing~ Peter Hammill
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jerms
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Re: Made in Japan

Post by jerms »

:badlove: :badlove: :badlove: that yammie!!
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HorseyBoy
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Re: Made in Japan

Post by HorseyBoy »

jerms wrote: Mon Apr 09, 2018 7:01 am :badlove: :badlove: :badlove: that yammie!!
Yeah, every now and then I forget what a killer guitar it is. Then I plug it in or listen to some Link Wray and remember. :freakout:
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innerflight
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Re: Made in Japan

Post by innerflight »

Love that red Strat Silver :freakout:

Awesome collection Horsey :badlove:


A great source of info, pr0n and to buy here in the UK is www.japanguitars.co.uk
’brutish in character but not thug like’
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