Cat's Eyes
Cat's Eyes
Also known as: Cats Eyes, Cat's Eye, Tokai Cat's Eyes
UnclaimedCat's Eyes is an acoustic guitar line produced by Tokai Gakki, the Japanese instrument maker based in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka. The line launched in 1975, growing out of Tokai's early-1970s joint venture with C.F. Martin & Company, and focused on high-quality replicas of Martin dreadnoughts and other flat-top shapes. Early production took place at two Tokai facilities in Hamamatsu, with some models ...
Cat's Eyes is an acoustic guitar line produced by Tokai Gakki, the Japanese instrument maker based in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka. The line launched in 1975, growing out of Tokai's early-1970s joint venture with C.F. Martin & Company, and focused on high-quality replicas of Martin dreadnoughts and other flat-top shapes. Early production took place at two Tokai facilities in Hamamatsu, with some models above the 400-series built by contract workshops such as Ryohei Yamauchi's Terashima Guitar Workshop.
Cat's Eyes models span a wide range, from entry-level spruce-top dreadnoughts to higher-end solid-wood instruments with herringbone trim and abalone appointments, and the line has cultivated a following among vintage-Japanese acoustic enthusiasts for build quality that rivals the Martins they emulate. Production of acoustics at Tokai's Hamamatsu plants tapered off through the 1980s, with later runs outsourced first to Korea and then to China, while special-order and higher-end Cat's Eyes instruments continued to be built in Japan.
The brand is discussed extensively on forums like the Tokai Forum, Acoustic Guitar Forum, and TheFretBoard, where collectors trade notes on dating, model identification, and comparisons to period Martins. Cat's Eyes is often mentioned alongside Tokai's other copy-era lines and sibling brands such as Sigma, reflecting the broader lawsuit-era Japanese acoustic scene.
Cat's Eyes has 1 product cataloged on Equipboard, including Steel-string Acoustic Guitars.
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