70' + 80's Japanese copies your Favor...

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Author Message Shane P Posted on Friday, October 08, 2004 - 11:03 am:    I'd like to start a new thread regarding Japanese copies other than Ibanez.A lot of good quality instruments came out during this time.Tokai, Fernandes, Aria, Kasuga,Pearl and others.I have a beautiful Aria LP copy.All Maple natural solid body with a great flametop.Gold hardware Gotoh tuners.Sounds great.What do other have. andy Posted on Friday, October 08, 2004 - 11:03 am:    I am a great Tokai fan especially the Fender copies, I own a P bass (hard puncher) which is really good and am searching for a telecaster (breezy sound). In Fender copies Tokais are much better than Ibanez'. Tokai maple necks are 1 piece - not capped like Ibanez. These come as close to an old American Fender as it gets. I have skipped on a few mainly because of Colur - I ma looking for a natural body. I also have a Levinson Blade copy of a Tele thinline which is not very Japanese but so far better than any Fender I tried or owned (it cost more than a Fender so it should). Shane P Posted on Friday, October 08, 2004 - 11:03 am:    They same to be quite rare here in OZ I have been looking for something like that or a silver series Ibanez strat.HOw would you compare the pickups to fender of the same era.Is it a vintage neck profile.I want to get a high quality jap strat, the older the better and put some Kinman pickups in it. Challenger Posted on Friday, October 08, 2004 - 11:03 am:    The Challenger. This Strat copy does not have a capped neck. It has a one-piece neck with a plug at the headstock and a skunk stripe down the back and should not be confused with the Silver Series. Silver Series are not as well-made as the Challengers. The pickups are high-quality, and sound excellent. I wish more people knew about them. Their opinions on Ibanez copies would shift toward the positive. p.s. I just purchased a high-quality Yamaha Strat copy, (Super R'n'Roller, never heard of it before) which is better than the Silver Series are, but not as good as the Challenger, to give an idea of the grade being discussed. Hope to see more on this. Steve Kellett Posted on Saturday, March 10, 2001 - 7:48 am:    I've got a Kimbara Strat copy. Sen body finished in natural (how very 70's), maple neck with seperate maple fingerboard, white scratchplate, no bullet truss rod and a four bolt neck joint. The only things that stopped it being a perfect Fneder replica were the nut, which is Gibson style, and the frets, which again are Gibson style. Of course, I fitted a Kahler fulcrum whammy and a behind the nut lock in the mid 80's... Still got it though Winnie Thomas Posted on Wednesday, November 21, 2001 - 1:54 pm:    I have a Suzuki set-neck LP custom copy. It has an "almost" open book headstock. That is it's close, but not identical. The guitar is Cherry sunburst gold hardware Suzuki inlayed logo and a fancy "S" (not the Suzuki motorcycle "S". something different) It has a rosewood board in stead of the Gibson's ebony, and the top is raised rather than solid, leaving a small chamber beneath it. The instrument is really beautifully made. Does anyone know where this guitar may have been manufactured? Thanks in advance. Winnie Thomas maarten Posted on Friday, November 30, 2001 - 2:25 pm:    A friend gave me an old, wrecked Ibanez guitar. It appears to be a Melody Maker from between 1976 and 1979 and most probably the 2343. However, as the picture I found on the internet was quite dark, I am not sure. (Obviously, on the guitar itself no seriesnumber can be found). I wonder if you could give me some information on the melody maker-series. I mean, is this guitar worth trying to fix up? It seems to me that the melody maker-series is a so called "copy"-model. Probably worth nothing by now and the guitar misses quite a lot of features. There is no pick-up anymore for example. Pick-ups (good onces) are rather expensive, I wouldn't want to waste a lot of money on restoring a worthless guitar. I hope you can give me some information/advice regarding this.. Thanks, Maarten Johnm (Johnm) Posted on Saturday, December 01, 2001 - 5:31 pm:    I just replied on the same post here: http://209.86.138.29/discus/messages/12/3330.html?1007245575#POST7163 ============================ John Muijen Coming soon: http://www.vintage-ibanez.com Doc (Doc) Posted on Sunday, April 18, 2004 - 6:21 am:    I have a rare type Silver Series, actually never seen one like it although that don't mean much I guess ... it has the small "L Series" style headstock not the larger CBS style. SR: B782514 It has a one piece maple neck with skunk stripe exactly like a Fender, no cheapo capped neck on this baby. It is a great player, although the pickups are not original. I have owned it since new and thus know the body and neck are original. Wouldn't trade it for ANY strat from ANY manufacturer. White (mountain ?) ash body (one piece no laminate) clear blonde finish and rock maple neck. Don't assume that all Silver Series were not available with one piece solid necks or bodies, mine obviously was. Doc Username: Doc Registered: 04-2004 Posted on Wednesday, September 20, 2006 - 2:19 am:    Further investigation has revealed that my 1978 Silver Series is actually a Challenger branded as a Silver Series. So far looks like they might have only built two of these, both in February 1978. I got lucky 28 years ago it would seem, and never even knew. Doc Username: Doc Registered: 04-2004 Posted on Monday, September 25, 2006 - 12:12 am:    These pics for you Challenger, it's a '78 Challenger that was branded at the factory as a Silver Series. Best damn guitar I ever played, including quite a few Fenders. Pick-ups are not original although I still have them too. Kaviray Username: Kaviray Registered: 10-2006 Posted on Wednesday, October 11, 2006 - 4:11 pm:    hey this sure looks alot like my elDegas.I just put some pictures up today .let me know what you think.thanks kaviray

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