Это моя первая эл.гитара... Щас заплачу... Как давно это было... Первая, сделанная в СССР, оказывается... Я ее кому-то подарил, кажется, девушке под названием Yoshiki. Потом, спустя много (3-4 года) какая-то незнакомая девушка вваливается в гримерку "манго", и просит меня настроить ее ненастраиваемую неиграющую гитару, которая при ближайшем рассмотрении оказывается моей Тоникой... Сколько мы с этой гитарой пережили... А сколько она пережила без меня... Ей более 30 лет... Хотел бы я ее сейчас получить назад...
Tonika electric guitar, made in U.S.S.R.
the first Soviet mass production electric guitar
Tonika was the first electric guitar made in USSR, and it was the first experience of Soviet luthiers. In the 60's, when this guitar was made, not too many Soviet citizens were allowed to go abroad, and probably noone of the Tonika creators had any experience in electric guitar building. There probably were a couple of Fenders and Gibsons to copy, but it's hard to beleive any of ordinary Russian workers had a chance to work at some place where normal electric guitar were made to gather some experience. The only possibility was to visit other Socialist countries - DDR, Czechoslovakia, Poland or Bulgaria to see how cheesy Jolanas, Musimas and Defils are being made. It could give Russians some impression of how the process is organized, but not how to build a quality electric guitar.
What they've made is an unplayable super-heavy guitar with sick body shape, thickest neck you'll ever find and sound suitable for anything but music.