Tokai Cat's Eyes CE-400

As Fujigen was troubling Fender with the quality of Strats and Teles, Hamamatsu was doing something similar to CF Martin. This lovely old Terawaki made CE-400 is of the era where the Japanese manufacturers were flexing their muscles and going all-out to prove they could match and even exceed the American quality levels. An inconvenient truth maybe, but in the 1970s Japanese quality was regularly exceeding American quality.

This is wannabe D-28; a very classy imitation, and differs only in that this Tokai is soft and cuddly to play. Most D-28s (most Martins) like to fight you a bit but this is a characteristic Tokai left out. This is an absolute delight to play - no silly high action, no choking and buzzing, just slick and rewarding regardless of the level that you play at. You will see in the photos that this has been a busy guitar and that's always a good sign. Like most Terawaki guitars, the belly has a slight hump, but this is no cause for concern - the bracing is all good, the action is very playable all the way up the neck, and there is plenty of saddle left if you need an even lower action. We think we have this one set up just right.

It won't be the loudest guitar you've ever heard, but it resonates and projects in the same way as our favourite J-45s do - a lovely balance and no boomy bottom end to discourage you from mic'ing it up.

This is just prime value for money territory - mildly fashionable name on the headstock, but not a 47 year old Martin so you'll feel happier about taking it places and playing it without the stress. I reckon this one will be a keeper.