A high-end Cat's Eyes model with rare Mahogany back and sides.
The guitar has a few dings, but overall is in very good condition, especially considering its age.
The action at the 12th fret is E 2.25mm and e 1.5mm.
The bridge has a crack that runs through some of the pin holes. However, the crack remained closed with standard tuning and .12 gauge strings. The usual price for a 1200M is between 1200 and 1400 Swiss francs. Here, the guitar with this crack is available for significantly less.
The Tokai Cat's Eyes CE-1200M is a highly rare, premium "Japan Vintage" acoustic guitar built during the late 1970s. It was a limited model crafted during Tokai Gakki's historic technical partnership with C.F. Martin & Co..
While the standard CE-1200 replicates a Martin D-35 or D-45 using rosewood, the "M" suffix stands for Mahogany. This makes the CE-1200M an all-solid-wood, high-end replica of a Martin D-18.
Key Specifications & Wood Selection
* Top: Solid Sitka Spruce.
* Back & Sides: Solid Mahogany. This all-solid construction produces a loud, resonant voice that improves with age.
* Neck: Mahogany with a traditional Martin-style headstock profile.
* Fingerboard & Bridge: High-grade Ebony, which offers premium durability and slick playability.
* Nut Width: 43 mm (approx. 1.69 inches).
* Scale Length: 645 mm (standard Martin dreadnought scale).
Tone and Character
Because it is made entirely of solid mahogany and spruce, the tone differs heavily from the standard rosewood models.
* It features a warm, punchy midrange that cuts through a mix clearly.
* It trades the booming bass complexity of rosewood for excellent note separation and crystal-clear acoustic presence.
* It is perfect for old-school flatpicking, bluegrass, and studio vocal tracking where clarity is required.
Rarity and Value
The CE-1200M was an expensive, mid-to-high-tier guitar in the late 1970s (costing roughly 120,000 Yen at a time when a standard worker's monthly salary was far less). Because guitarists usually bought the rosewood variants, the mahogany "M" model is incredibly hard to find today on platforms like Reverb. When they do appear, they are highly sought after by collectors who want Martin Custom Shop quality at a fraction of the cost.
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