About the Guitar:
The Tokai Talbo Blazing Fire commenced production in January, 1982. Talbo is actually an acronym for Tokai Aluminum Body.
Made of cast aluminum alloy AC-4B, which is commonly used in racing car engines, the Talbo’s design is simple and elegant, combining new and traditional elements. Basically, it’s like two superimposed teardrops with the tips pointing right and left to yield a bi-level, sculptured double cutaway. Its headstock decal reads “The New Legend Of The Guitar History.”
Tokai Talbos were promoted briefly in American and European markets for perhaps a couple years, but after 1984 seemed to disappear from the radar. They didn’t actually go away, though. The Talbo appears to have continued in production in Japan since its ’82 debut. And what’s more, it continued to evolve. What had been called the Blazing Fire became simply the Talbo, in its present state offered with twin hum-buckers.
The idea behind the Talbo was to create a cool design that would also serve as shielding for the electronics. Most of the body is solid, but there’s a large cavity under the pick-guard that serves as a sound chamber, and lessens the weight. The neck is straightforward maple attached with four bolts at a scalloped contoured easy-access neck joint.
Perhaps the most famous appearance of the Tokai Talbo in the 1980s was in the hands of the band Devo.
The sound it can produce is nothing short of amazing with respect to tonal quality and sustain. As the body is all 1 Aluminum it has a bright and resonant clarity to its tone.
