Tokai MAT Strat

This guitar is a Tokai MAT strat-like guitar, it has a humbucker at the bridge and two single coils, I do not know which make of pickups but they are stock. It has a five way selector switch which has easy access when playing but also can be unintentionaly be moved whilst strumming if you are not careful.
The difference with this and a strat is that it only has two controls volume and tone and, more substatially, that it is made out of a man made material - carbon/fiberglass(?).
The neck, as I said is made out of some form of carbon/fiberglass and is attached to the body with three bolts and has what looks like a rosewood fingerboard with small inlayed dots which add to the 80s vibe of the guitar.
Bridge is stock and Fender-like, tuners stock non-locking but good quality.

I play a variety of styles within my general range of competence, that is nearer to 50s and 60s R and B and NOT like the string and Whammy shredders.
I play through small Fender amps to suit the pub-type gigs I usually play in.
The guitar is not noisy in the least except of course at high gain levels with the single coils, I've played strats and teles that are much noisier. It has what I would call a 'bright' sound, when played accoustically it is louder and zappier than most solids and keeps this brightness in its amplified sounds. The question of variety of sounds is dependant on a lot of things - pedals, amps etc - but I get a good choice of voices from each of the settings, dont get this kind of guitar is you want the fullness and depth of humbucker only guitars, the humbucker on this one is lighter in character than on a gibson-like guitar, but suits the family of sounds that it is set up for.
You either like the start sound where the bass notes have more definition or the strength of the gibson sound where the bass notes can easily get muddy.

I got this second hand so the action and set up is how I found it - I tend to adjust my playing to suit the guitar and sometimes this makes me find new things, so as long as the set up is OK I am happy.
The finish is very difficult to spoil - I doubt if it will wear gracefully as wooden guitars do - it looks brand new now and it is 19-20 years old!

I have put it through its opaces in practice and it is a delight to play, I can see no problems in giging situations. I always gig with a more than one guitar so always have a backup.

Tokai UK have been very friendly and responsive, especially as my questions were about a second hand guitar rather than their current brand. I have not had to get the guitar repaired as yet, but would use a local repairer anyway, dont we all?

I have been playing at various levels for longer than I care to remember. I have started to gig again after a long 'retirement' and am only doing local small gigs. I have a Gordon Smith G2 (they are called the English Gibson and in truth they make excellent hand-made electics) an old Ibenez (law suit) Tele from the late seventies, an anicient Gibson Les Paul with P90s that was once a gold top, and a Vox Tornado.
If this were stolen I would probably buy another Tokai, I am very interested in Japanese guitars from the late seventies early eighties so would probably buy another strat-a-like - all this generation of guitars are of very high quality, and I would reccommend them to everyone before the market gets around to hiking the prices as they become more and more collectable.
What I like about this guitar is that it feels great to play and suits what I want to do and how I want to sound. It performs better than some Fender Strats I have tried. I am attached to all my guitars for various reasons, they make me play in different ways - I have to adjust to their qualities rather than play in one way all the time. I am always learning but I have found that when something doesnt work it is generally me that is at fault and not the guitar.

Okay, this is number 7 in a row. I notice there's a gap, Harmony Central did not take my review on number 5, the MAT from Norway. Oh well, I'll make a new review of that one later.

Anyway, this is a W1202. Built in 1987 or 1988 it is exactly the same as my second MAT (1201) except for the fact that this sucker sports two splittable humbucking pickups and all hardware is chromed. The color is dark green see-through.

Active electronics on this one, all original. Very quiet guitar indeed.

Since the pup's are splitable you can get almost any sound out of this guitar; well, have you ever heard of a Tokai that didn't sound good?

The finish is very strong but obviously it has experienced some wear over the years. The previous (first) owner - Sonny - got this guitar in 1995 so it must have been NOS. He moved to Amsterdam so I was surprised to discover I wasn't the only one in Holland with a MAT guitar. It took me two (!) weeks to get this guitar from him...

Action can be set very low, all materials fit perfectly.

As all of my Tokai guitars also this one will be very reliable.

Don't think I'll need it

Check my other entries

Number 6, how many will follow? Someone (Freek?) called me the MAT Cat, hey I don't mind....;-) This one I bought almost two years ago from an American teacher who stayed at the University of Maastricht for a couple of months, he brought the guitar with him especially for me from the States, great guy! Came with the original Tokai case too.
The fun part is that this guitar (CM 801) was a prototype that was handed out one night by Mr Adachi when this guy performed with his band in Japan. The other players also got MAT guitars except for the drummer, of course.
Fiberglass body, graphtech neck, ebony fretboard, 3 SC pickups, all black.

By now I've been playing over 25 years. My collecting days are over more or less, however if you have an old Tokai MAT guitar or parts let me know, always interested. It seems I'm one of the few guitarists that don't mind playing a 'plastic' guitar.....

And yes, number 4. Tokai MAT number 5 coming up soon, still on it's way from Norway. This one I bought in Japan at Scratch Guitar Shop. Made around 1986 it's completely made of FRP/carbon with a beautiful smooth polished rosewood fretboard. White body, black neck and headstock, Kluson type tuners (also black) but the original electronics were removed and replaced with Schaller single coils with bigger pole pieces. Slightly modified vintage tremolo (2-point), black with chrome saddles. Black matte pickguard, 5-way switch, one volume and one tone control. The normal output has been covered with a plate, the output is situated at the side of the body. Great quality, it's at least 15 years old but still looks as new, I guess the previous owner did not play that much.

After shielding it and cleaning the switch and pots it sounds good, very good. As the other MAT guitars a bright and strong sound. What can I say more about this? Especially the neck pickups gives a great Strat sound when put through overdrive, a real strong SRV sound.

After adjusting the neck (had to loosen the truss rod a little) and the saddles the action is low again without buzzing, once again a great neck to play.

Completely carbonmade it should still be around in a couple of centuries :)

Don't need it.

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This is my third MAT guitar, it's a model M-453. It's the most basic version of the MAT series. FRP body and neck, rosewood fretboard etcetera, just a basic Strat setup with a humbucker at the bridge. Made in 1986 I guess in Japan, of course. Both body and neck are cream/white and have aged nicely. I bought it equipped white pickguard and a DiMarzio DP102 (X2N) at the bridge but I also got the original black scratchplate and bridge pickup and I decided to rebuild it like it was. The original Tokai bridge pickup appears to be a huge loudmouth, just like the X2N so I am glad I used that one again. The only disadvantage is that Tokai used cheap tuning machines on their cheapest models although all other parts were exactly the same as the more expensive models. Fortunately they work well so I do not need to replace them. Like the other MAT guitars the neck is bolt-on but one of the previous owners decided to glue it. Don't know how to get that undone without causing damage so I'll leave it this way.

This is the good part, unplugged it has a strong clear sound and a certain 'ring'. Plugged in it sounds great, very strong and powerful yet clear. Lots of bass without getting muddy. You have to like it and being able to handle the extra frequencies but if you know how it's great and versatile.

Did everything myself, I rebuilt it after receipt. No work needed, nice low action without buzzing or dead spots, great fretwork.

Very reliable and solid.

It's almost 18 years old so no warranty. Don't need it, it became a great instrument after the rebuild.

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This is my second MAT Strat, a W1201. The other one with FRP body (also mine) is probably a M-702. The W-1201 look a lot like an Ibanez Blazer Deluxe however the body is exact Strat shape. Quite heavy, I believe it is maple (Tokai just said selected wood). Dark shine-through red. The neck however is interesting, it is made of carbon and has an ebony fretboard. Small dot inlay, Kluson type tuning machines. Standard tremolo. All hardware goldplated. The pickups are three basic single coils, originally the guitar came with an active onboard system that would generate a higher output and make it a low impedance signal. Unfortunately, when the guitar arrived from Ishibasi, I discovered the circuit was removed. I am planning on installing a similar Jackson USA circuit.

Without active electronics it sounds as a Strat, a little brighter perhaps but the output is too weak. The pickups were probably designed to match with the electronics so you might need that to generate a sufficient output.

Finish is rock solid, although it is a 3-bolt neck (like the old Fender guitars) it is a tight fit. Professionaly made guitar.

It's very well built so it will last a long time

No warranty, no support needed. The parts are probably not available anymore so why bother?

Published in the 1985 Tokai Japan catalog, it is either a M-702 or a M-752. It is a Strat model with 2 humbucking pickups, FRP body (sort of fiber I think?), chrome finish. The catalog says the neck should be FRP too but mine is maple with a rosewood fretboard with 22 frets. Volume, tone and 3-way switch. Tokai tremolo system with fine tuners and top lock. Neck is mounted with 3 screws. Kluson style tuning machines. No accessories, I bought it on eBay. I think the difference in neck material can be found in the fact they probably never made too many of these guitars, maybe just a bunch of prototypes and sold those. They all might differ a little.

It sounds very bright and snappy but not cold. The humbuckers are PAF types, enough power for a nice overdrive. Has a real Strat-like character but different. Hard to explain.

Disassembled, cleaned and rebuilt the guitar myself. Did a little fretwork and adjustments. Now it has a nice low action, plays smoothly, very wll built neck. Did not have to replace any of the hardware, it's all good quality and can last for another 18 years I think. Finish is still good although there are obviously some scratches and dings here and there.

This guitar is solid, good hardware. Always take a backups with you but this one is dependable. If anyone has another Tokai MAT around somewhere and willing to sell please contact me.

I do have a good contact with the company but that's about new guitars. I don't need support on this guitar, it's still okay.

Well, since 1979, own some nice guitars etcetera. Take a look at one of my other reviews....