Cat's-Eye
Cat's-Eye
Also known as: Cat's Eyes, Cats Eyes, Cat's Eye, Tokai Cat's Eyes, Tokai Cats Eyes
UnclaimedCat's Eyes is the acoustic guitar line of Tokai Gakki, a Japanese instrument manufacturer based in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka. The line launched in 1975 as a series of detailed C.F. Martin replicas, built around a design philosophy of reproducing not the shape of Martin guitars but their essence — with emphasis on top-dominant construction, neck angle, and long-term tonal development. Models follow a ...
Cat's Eyes is the acoustic guitar line of Tokai Gakki, a Japanese instrument manufacturer based in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka. The line launched in 1975 as a series of detailed C.F. Martin replicas, built around a design philosophy of reproducing not the shape of Martin guitars but their essence — with emphasis on top-dominant construction, neck angle, and long-term tonal development. Models follow a CE prefix where the number historically corresponded to the original price in thousands of yen, producing a wide ladder of dreadnoughts and folk-bodied instruments such as the CE-200, CE-250, CE-300, and CE-500.
Production has moved between locations over the decades. The earliest instruments were built at Tokai's Hamamatsu workshops through at least the early 1980s, after which mainstream production largely paused before resuming in the 1990s. From around 2006, the bulk of Cat's Eyes guitars — including cutaway and acoustic-electric models like the CE25C and CE62-EA, the latter fitted with Fishman Presys electronics — have been produced at Tokai's Qingdao factory in China under Japanese quality oversight. Tokai has continued to retain a small Hamamatsu operation for special-order and high-end builds such as the TCV450.
The range covers both straight Martin-style flattops and variants in koa, rosewood, and other tonewoods, with cutaway and pickup-equipped versions for stage use. Among collectors, the 1970s and early 1980s solid-wood, Japan-built models are the most pursued, while the later Chinese-built and custom Hamamatsu instruments are more commonly encountered through Japanese retailers and the vintage market.
Cat's-Eye has 2 products cataloged on Equipboard, including Fuzz Effects Pedals. Their gear is featured by 2 artists, with the strongest followings in Rock. Notable users include J Mascis and Parker Griggs.
Artists Who Use Cat's-Eye
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