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SOLD: Early 1980s Tokai Cat's Eyes CE250 Acoustic Guitar

simonroberts788simonroberts788 Frets: 8
edited October 2018 in Acoustics £
Early 1980s Cat's Eyes CE-250 acoustic guitar made in the famous Tokai Gakki factory in Hamamatsu, Japan. This model is based very closely on the popular Martin D-28 model and as you can see by the pictures, it gets pretty darn close! This guitar was made in the same factory and at the same time as the highly sought-after Martin-stamped Sigma range, which now attract lots of attention for being *almost* as good as the real thing. There were a lot of very high-quality acoustic guitars coming out of the Japanese factories in the early 1980s, which prompted the lawsuits from the big American makers, Fender, Gibson, Martin, etc. as the Far Eastern guitars were rivalling those coming out of the North American factories for tone and looks, and were available at a fraction of the cost. This guitar is no exception. It feels really close to a Martin D28 in your hands with its solid build quality and practically identical appointments - I've got an OM28 and the Tokai really holds its own sound wise. I admit it doesn't quite have the power and projection on the bottom strings of the D28 but the tone is big, balanced and rich with excellent sustain and it brings a smile to your face when you're playing it. Even though the 250 is nearer the bottom of the range (this one has a laminated spruce top and laminated rosewood back and sides, a three-piece heel and scarf jointed headstock) the tone and build quality really are pretty bonkers in my opinion when you consider this is a laminated guitar. The rosewood is lovely and dark and the spruce top looks just like an 80s Martin with that pale natural look. The bridge appears to be ebony and the fretboard to me looks like rosewood that's been stained black as the grain is too pronounced for ebony. The guitar is strung up with a D'Addario 12-53 EJ16 set and the action is what i'd call medium - chords are easy to fret in first position but things get a bit a trickier as you move close beyond the seventh fret and the saddle is pretty much as low as you can go without shaving the bridge. When i bought the guitar it was strung with 11s and this brought the action right down - too low for me though as i like an acoustic to fight back a bit. The truss rod works fine and i gave it a quarter turn when I went up a string gauge and it's got the right amount of relief now. The neck feels identical profile-wise to my Martin. There's a small amount of wear around the bass side of the rosette and on the pick guard but other than that the guitar is in exceptional condition for a 35 year-old. The frets look like new indicating that the guitar has never been played hard. Having said that the finish on the back of the neck is starting to thin a bit at first position. The guitar is in St Agnes, Cornwall but I'll pack it well and ship it at the buyer's risk, as i've got a sturdy guitar box and i'll bubble wrap the neck. It comes with a thin Yamaha gig bag. I've been buying and selling guitars for 25 years and have owned and played all sorts of high-quality instruments. I'd be happy to play this guitar out no problem and it really sounds far superior to a modern guitar, even many that i've played from reputable makers and with all solid woods. Contact me with any questions.
£400

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0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
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