NGD - Tokai ES-90

pottolom

Just bought this. Photos below.

I already had a 2003 ES-120, which I decided to sell to make way for this ES-90. I know it sounds a bit silly, but I really wanted one with the 'right' headstock and truss rod cover. I hadn't had the 120 very long, but saw this one and couldn't resist.

Oh, a little lesson for those who don't know: Tokai numbers its ES series based on the price in yen. So the ES 90 was 90,000 yen in 1993, the ES 120 was 120,000 yen in 2003 and so on. The model number keeps going up as its price rises due to inflation. It was called the ES 162 last time I looked.

It's been used a fair bit over the years by a gigging musician, but is in very good condition overall bar a few marks here and there. I do love a played-in instrument.

This appears to be a fairly rare guitar as there's hardly any info on it online. Plenty on 1980s ES100 guitars, and 2000s ES120s and up, but nothing really on the ES-90, so I'm going to attempt to describe it here.

It plays great. Very similar to the ES-120 I had overall. The neck has a nice taper, but isn't too thick. My ES-120 was of similar thickness at the first fret, but I'd say this is 9/10 of an inch at the 12th, whereas the 120 was probably a full inch (I haven't got callipers, so this won't be very accurate). I prefer the slightly shallower profile on the ES-90 as I find I can play with a bit of neck vibrato, which I wasn't really able to pull off on the 120.

The frets are medium.

Pretty sure the finish is poly.

Neck is mahogany, one-piece. Body is laminated maple. Fretboard rosewood. Just like a 60s Gibson. 

Subtly flamed top, back and sides. Top and back have a seam in the centre, which according to some internet forums was quite rare on 60s Gibson 335s and is now sought-after.

Judging by the patina, the tuners and pickguard holder are nickel, whilst the pickup covers, bridge and tailpiece are chrome. Hardware looks to be Gotoh.

How does it compare to the ES-120? The main differences I can think of:

- It's much less flamey - although the photos below show a lot of flame, it's much more subtle in person. It looks more like the flame you sometimes see in 1960s Gibsons. The ES120 by comparison had very vivid flame, perhaps a bit too much for my taste, but still looked great. The ES-90 is centre-seamed top and back, the ES-120 was one piece top and back (although of course, that doesn't mean much as the bodies are in reality a laminate, as is a Gibson ES 335);

- No 'Made in Japan' text on the back of neck on ES-90, the ES-120 has this;

- Slightly thinner neck at the 12th fret as described above;

- The 'right' headstock shape and truss rod cover, versus the dimple and Tokai TRC on the 120;

- It's lighter in weight than the 120. The 120 was already light at 7.5 lb, the ES-90 is the lightest 335 I've personally ever held at just over 7 lb;

- It's got a brighter, more open tone than the 120, with better picking dynamics. To my ears, the best 335s sound a bit like early 50s Telecasters, but 'bigger'. To me, the ES-90 has more of this than the ES-120 I had. 

I've photographed the pickups below, has anyone seen these in a Tokai before? According to the 1990 catalogue, the ES-90 comes with PAF Vintage MK1.

I have had about 20+ guitars over the past 5 years or so. For me, this ranks as the nicest alongside a 52 reissue Telecaster I sold earlier this year.

Will I keep it? Who knows. I'm a notorious flipper of instruments. I'll play this one a while first though.

stimpsonslostson

I love that. I've never really been interested in 335s before but that has caused an eBay search. 

Ive no idea of the value, but it looks worth every penny. 

Basher

Wowzer. Love that!

Very much approve of the colour, and more subtle flame. I'm not mad on flamed 335s but that looks great.
Killer weight too.

I don't know about the tele comparison as I'm not very well up on Teles. What I do think is that a nice 335-type can sound a bit "plunky" for want of a better word. It seems to translate into a slightly more open and organic sound than a full solid, although it's a very mild thing (I couldn't tell them apart on a recording).

I had an ES120 and that had a poly finish. A lot of dealers at the time were saying they had nitro lacquer but I emailed the distributor who denied this. Maybe some of the earlier models were but pretty sure the 120s were not. Absolutely not an issue for me as I've no problem with poly (it's easier to look after) and even if you believe the whole "breathability" thing (I don't) a 335 is unfinished on the inside so it's very breathable in there!

I also liked the PAFmk2 pickups in my ES120. Had some Seth Lovers installed - which I liked a lot - but they weren't a night-and-day difference. That suggests that the Gotohs were very much in the right ballpark for a nice PAF-ish sound.

Anyway, it looks great and, from what you said, sounds it too. Enjoy and don't flip it too soon!

Lebarque

Love it. Good purchase, mate.

riffpowers

I've had 2 gibson es335's and a tokai es135.

The tokai was by far my favourite!!

Good score!!

Neil

pottolom 

Oh, a little lesson for those who don't know: Tokai numbers its ES series based on the price in yen. So the ES 90 was 90,000 yen in 1993, the ES 120 was 120,000 yen in 2003 and so on. The model number keeps going up as its price rises due to inflation. It was called the ES 162 last time I looked.

Surely the most ridiculous designation style known to man? 

I've come across it before, the same model having different numbering.

Why don't they just stick to the original name like Gibson's ES 335?

 
 

SteveRobinson

I believe that the Gibson ES-335 was called that because it was originally priced at US$335, so I suppose they are honouring a tradition?

Neil

SteveRobinson said:

I believe that the Gibson ES-335 was called that because it was originally priced at US$335, so I suppose they are honouring a tradition?

That's right, the difference is that Gibson kept the designation 335.

Using the Tokai tradition it would be called the ES 2999 or something nowadays.

Just ridiculously confusing.  

57Deluxe

In The Blues on YT loves his...

pottolom

Changing strings tonight, and my inner nerd got the better of me - I got my callipers out. 

Nut width 1.65" / 41.91 mm 
Width at 12th fret 2.06" / 52.34 mm 

Depth at 1st fret 0.85" / 21.5 mm 
Depth at 12th fret 0.935" / 23.75 mm 

I didn't measure my ES 120 before I sold it, but there are measurements in this post which sound about right: http://www.tokaiforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=29197&highlight= and show it to be slightly narrower at the nut and 12th fret, but slightly deeper at both. So the ES 90 is a little wider and flatter, which seems about right judging by the feel. 

Still significantly deeper than a modern ES-335 though, according to the post linked to above, which is only slightly wider at the nut than the ES-90 and by the 12th fret is narrower.

iseverynamegone

Glad you got sorted. Looks lovely.