1980s Tokai Blazing Fire Talbo A-100D Vintage Aluminum Body Guitar HH Black, Japan

Up for sale, an 1980s Tokai Talbo Blazing Fire A-100D in exceptional, 100% original condition and in perfect working order. Introduced in 1982, the Talbo (an acronym for Tokai aluminum body) is one of the more distinctive guitars to come out of Japan in any era. Visually and sonically unique, it features a double teardrop design with a solid AC-4B aluminum body; the same alloy commonly used in race car engines.

Even played acoustically, the Talbo has an expressive, shimmering sound with a crisp and immediate top end, qualities translated via the pair of proprietary Talbo Blazing Fire humbuckers. The humbuckers are balanced and rich-sounding, metering around 8k ohms with a tight, responsive low end and exceptional top end articulation. The bridge has a snappy twang, while the neck has a slightly scooped midrange for optimal clarity even when heavily distorted. This Talbo weighs 8lbs 9oz, professionally setup here at Mike & Mike’s Guitar Bar with 10-46 strings, low action, and spot-on intonation.

The maple neck has a slender C-shaped profile carve with moderate shoulders and lightly rolled fretboard edges, measuring .825” deep at the 1st fret and .930” at the 12th. The rosewood fretboard has a 7 1/4” radius and practically perfect medium jumbo fretwire, playing cleanly up the 25 1/2” scale with a straight neck and a responsive, optimally-adjusted truss rod. The nut measures 1 11/16” in width. On the headstock, the gold Tokai Deluxe single-line tuners turn smoothly and hold accurate pitch. Above the two-bolt neck joint, there is a small “100” sticker denoting the model number and higher-end tier of this instrument.

All of the electronics work as intended, with the pair of humbuckers wired to the stock harness and governed by a three-way pickup selector switch and Master Volume and Tone controls. Gold hardware includes the pair of dome-topped knobs, and the string-through bridge with brass saddles, which have light surface patina.

The back of the body has a distinctive German carve, highlighting the fluid lines of the double teardrop design, and the treble-side cutaway horn has a clean gold “Talbo” inlay. Cosmetic wear on the gloss Black finish is limited to a few small dings on the body perimeter, and just a handful of faint scratches on the body as a whole. The smooth gloss finish on the neck profile is pristine.

A padded faux leather gigbag is included.