Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: AndyR on May 18, 2008, 02:42:37 PM
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I'm really gonna have to get off this forum - it's bad for my wallet! :lol:
I've even caught "buying a guitar for a set of BKPs I already own" syndrome now... :(
I had Mules in a maple-capped basswood Epi Les Paul. Nice guitar, but the Mules didn't do what I was expecting - especially now I have the "extremely mahogany" Explorer from a few weeks back to compare it with. So I went out looking for an LP type guitar that gave me and my Mules what we deserved.
Sorry for the cr@ppy state of my camera/photograghy-skills, but if you can't tell from the pic, it's a Tokai Love Rock (Japanese). First I tried some Chinese ones, nice, but variable quality, I felt, and the best sounding one had issues in the pickup mounting area. The guy in the shop said "the best ones are from Japan, but they're more expensive". Nice one, I'll try one of they then please - "we don't stock them"...
I found this one in the next shop, fell in love, extracted an offer of discount and ran away for coffee/thinking/fag-break because it was more than I was planning on spending. I cruised further afield and tried some Epis, even some Gibsons, but nothing felt quite like this one, and each option I tried was getting more expensive, not cheaper (I've even finally seen a Mira in the flesh now - but I dared not touch it in case Twinfan and others are right...).
When I got this one home, I played it for ten minutes (I think the Tokai pups are ok, btw) then I ripped it to bits to put the Mules in. It's very well made inside, on a par with my Japanese Fender Strat.
Anyway, I was right, the Mules are now gorgeous, what I was originally expecting from them. And this guitar is utterly beautiful to play, to wear, to sit gazing at - the photo does not do it any justice at all. And as an added bonus, the spare Gibson ceramic pups from the Explorer have gone in the Epi - and so far that seems to be a good match as well.
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Good choice!
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I wonder how Elitists match up with Tokais.
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...found this one in the next shop, fell in love, extracted an offer of discount and ran away for coffee/thinking/fag-break because it was more than I was planning on spending
Tip from someone who did this 2 years ago: stop smoking will give you easy 1 more guitar a year and 10 more years to play them :O)
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Good choice of guitar man!
Tokai's are gorgeous guitars! I am a Gibson guy myself but my cousin owns a Tokai Les Paul and I play it every time I go to visit him.
Congrats on the purchase!
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...found this one in the next shop, fell in love, extracted an offer of discount and ran away for coffee/thinking/fag-break because it was more than I was planning on spending
Tip from someone who did this 2 years ago: stop smoking will give you easy 1 more guitar a year and 10 more years to play them :O)
+1
The money you save by giving up a 20 a day habit will even get you one of my custom built guitars in about a year or so.
Most people who smoke a pack a day end up maybe going through 10 packs a week if they go out socially as you tend to offer fellow smokers a ciggie when you light up yourself. 10 packs a week =£200+ a month.
(It's quite shocking when you see it like that -£200)
Or spend it on a nice amp!
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first thing i said when i saw that was "good god"
nice advice hunter, i don't smoke, but good advice nonetheless
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£2400 is A LOT of money. :o
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I hear you guys :D although my particular habit's only about £15 a week - I smoke roll-ups. I have done the maths many times over the years: it's £780 a year for me at the moment - yeah it is "another guitar" but I can live with that, I see it as not a lot different than if was spending that much on alcohol (I'm not, that's £2-£3, if that, a week!) or chocolate or something.
When I was younger I tried to use the finance argument to stop smoking -either as reward, or because I couldn't afford the heating or whatever - but it never worked for me, I could always find cash for fags and guitar strings. Now I'm not so poor... (and don't particularly want to stop either - that's the key part) ... no chance of it working!
Now if it really was £200 a month... a) I'd be kicking meself! b) It's possible I would consider stopping for financial reasons! I agree with you Jonathan, you putting it like that - I'm shocked to realise that there are people who spend that much on smoking.
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Good choice of guitar man!
Tokai's are gorgeous guitars! I am a Gibson guy myself but my cousin owns a Tokai Les Paul and I play it every time I go to visit him.
Congrats on the purchase!
Yeah, I've been very pleasantly surprised - it's the first time I've played a Tokai since trying the early strat copies when they first came out, I didn't really like the feel of the ones I tried, so I've never considered Tokai since. I went out yesterday thinking Epiphone or Vintage - I've heard good things about them as well (and I have one of their early resonator guitars from a few years back). But I've heard several people talk loving of their Love Rocks on here, and someone recommended Tokai while I was browsing yesterday, so I gave it a go.
The missus has just come home and goes "oh yes, you're right - that's very pretty..." :D
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...found this one in the next shop, fell in love, extracted an offer of discount and ran away for coffee/thinking/fag-break because it was more than I was planning on spending
Tip from someone who did this 2 years ago: stop smoking will give you easy 1 more guitar a year and 10 more years to play them :O)
+1
The money you save by giving up a 20 a day habit will even get you one of my custom built guitars in about a year or so.
OK guys, this has inspired me....
:idea: I'm going to take up smoking! Then in a few months I'll pack it in and save enough money for a custom guitar. But I have a nagging feeling there's a flaw in my logic somewhere....
Nice guitar Andy! Japanese Tokais are great, and I really like the look of a black LP with cream trimmings. :)
I wonder how Elitists match up with Tokais.
I've never tried an Elitist, but I think they're built in the Fuji-Gen factory, the same as the Japanese-market Epis (with proper Gibson shape headstocks, which took over from Orville by Gibson). I have a couple of those Japanese Epis and a couple of Tokais, and I'd say they're on a par in every way. They all feel a lot like older Gibsons, which isn't really the case with the Korean models, which seem to go for the look but not the feel.
Of course Tokai have models at different price points (I have an SG-155 and a cheaper SG-75, both Japanese). I'm not sure if Epiphone do the same with the Elitists.
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Of course Tokai have models at different price points (I have an SG-155 and a cheaper SG-75, both Japanese). I'm not sure if Epiphone do the same with the Elitists.
An Epi LP Custom Elitist is around £600, which is why I'm interested in them. I love the LP Custom look. :D
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An Epi LP Custom Elitist is around £600, which is why I'm interested in them. I love the LP Custom look. :D
Sounds pretty reasonable value, I'd have thought. You could probably find an equivalent Tokai or older MIJ guitar cheaper on eBay, but then you'd have to pay VAT, import duty etc on top.
The only thing I don't like about those Customs are the rosewood boards - no problem sound-wise, but a Custom really needs ebony to look right.
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An Epi LP Custom Elitist is around £600, which is why I'm interested in them. I love the LP Custom look. :D
Sounds pretty reasonable value, I'd have thought. You could probably find an equivalent Tokai or older MIJ guitar cheaper on eBay, but then you'd have to pay VAT, import duty etc on top.
The only thing I don't like about those Customs are the rosewood boards - no problem sound-wise, but a Custom really needs ebony to look right.
Yes! Quite right, plus I've never owned a guitar with an ebony fretboard (yet) but me thinks I could dye it or something.
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An Epi LP Custom Elitist is around £600, which is why I'm interested in them. I love the LP Custom look. :D
Sounds pretty reasonable value, I'd have thought. You could probably find an equivalent Tokai or older MIJ guitar cheaper on eBay, but then you'd have to pay VAT, import duty etc on top.
The only thing I don't like about those Customs are the rosewood boards - no problem sound-wise, but a Custom really needs ebony to look right.
Yes! Quite right, plus I've never owned a guitar with an ebony fretboard (yet) but me thinks I could dye it or something.
You need one!!!
I played all rosewood untill I got my viper and my jaw dropped at how much nicer it is to play.
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it's £780 a year for me at the moment ...I can live with that,
I think you miss the point :P
Quitting smoking isn't all about saving money..
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I'm going to have to agree with Joe Jackson's sentiment on the subject of other people telling you to stop smoking.
I don't smoke but I wish to say that there is a lot of unfounded research into the negative effects of tobacco smoking that have been funded by pharmaceutical companies. Ex-smokers are prone to depression and other problems that are widely solved by the prescription of pharmaceutical drugs.
The same thing has been used with research into carbon emissions that have been funded by governmental bodies to help them get re-elected.
Basically the coverage of the subject is pretty much one-sided and anything you hear really ought to be measured against something contrary to get a better view of the true picture.
It should be his decision and no-one other's to quit if he wishes.
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very nice guitar! tokais (and other japanese copies, any i've tried anyway) are generally excellent.
(a) OK guys, this has inspired me....
:idea: I'm going to take up smoking! Then in a few months I'll pack it in and save enough money for a custom guitar. But I have a nagging feeling there's a flaw in my logic somewhere....
(b) Nice guitar Andy! Japanese Tokais are great, and I really like the look of a black LP with cream trimmings. :)
(c) Of course Tokai have models at different price points (I have an SG-155 and a cheaper SG-75, both Japanese). I'm not sure if Epiphone do the same with the Elitists.
(a) i'm going to have to do that too... :lol:
(b) agreed. japanese copies are pretty much where it's at if you ask me in terms of quality versus value.
(c) yeah, i've tried some different tokai japanese models, and some are definitely nicer than others. They're all pretty much "nice" if they're japanese, but yeah, some better than others.
or chocolate or something.
no chance am i giving up chocolate. i have withdrawal symptoms when we run out... :lol:
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An Epi LP Custom Elitist is around £600, which is why I'm interested in them. I love the LP Custom look. :D
Sounds pretty reasonable value, I'd have thought. You could probably find an equivalent Tokai or older MIJ guitar cheaper on eBay, but then you'd have to pay VAT, import duty etc on top.
The only thing I don't like about those Customs are the rosewood boards - no problem sound-wise, but a Custom really needs ebony to look right.
Yes! Quite right, plus I've never owned a guitar with an ebony fretboard (yet) but me thinks I could dye it or something.
You need one!!!
I played all rosewood untill I got my viper and my jaw dropped at how much nicer it is to play.
I know :(
Some guitars are absolute beauties to play, but when you look at it again "Rosewood?" *puts guitar back down again*
And it'll cost a doosey to get it taken out and have an ebony one put on.
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I'm going to have to agree with Joe Jackson's sentiment on the subject of other people telling you to stop smoking.
I don't smoke but I wish to say that there is a lot of unfounded research into the negative effects of tobacco smoking that have been funded by pharmaceutical companies. Ex-smokers are prone to depression and other problems that are widely solved by the prescription of pharmaceutical drugs.
The same thing has been used with research into carbon emissions that have been funded by governmental bodies to help them get re-elected.
Basically the coverage of the subject is pretty much one-sided and anything you hear really ought to be measured against something contrary to get a better view of the true picture.
It should be his decision and no-one other's to quit if he wishes.
while I agree with you that it's completely his decision whether he smokes or not, I do have to point out that smoking *really does* cause all manner of illnesses in its own right, in the long-term. I've recently started a job at the Institute of Cancer Research, and the institute is associated with the Royal Marsden Hospital in Sutton and Chelsea. At Sutton, I go through the cancer hospital on a day to day basis, and I see first hand the kind of damage cause by smoking. Lung cancer is really no joke. I'm not a clinician, and nothing prepared me for how much it hit home to see people suffering from various types of cancer.
It might be the case that quitting smoking causes an increase in the chances of depression or related illnesses, but not quitting smoking has even greater health implications...
my £0.02.
Roo
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The only thing I don't like about those Customs are the rosewood boards - no problem sound-wise, but a Custom really needs ebony to look right.
The ones with the most pale of RW boards are the most shocking
mmmmm Les Paul custom. I haven't had a new guitar for about 11 months, and that was an acoustic I am going to sell, and the one I got 13 months ago is @ Feline. I feel lonely ...
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The only thing I don't like about those Customs are the rosewood boards - no problem sound-wise, but a Custom really needs ebony to look right.
The ones with the most pale of RW boards are the most shocking
mmmmm Les Paul custom. I haven't had a new guitar for about 11 months, and that was an acoustic I am going to sell, and the one I got 13 months ago is @ Feline. I feel lonely ...
I'm tempted and it hasn't even been a month with my newest guitar. Someone help me! :(
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I'm tempted and it hasn't even been a month with my newest guitar. Someone help me! :(
It's just a phase you have to go through. I seem to have all the guitars I want at the moment, not a hint of GAS.... :idea: unless I start going for custom stuff.
Mind you, it has taken nearly 30 years to get to this point.... :|
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I'm tempted and it hasn't even been a month with my newest guitar. Someone help me! :(
It's just a phase you have to go through. I seem to have all the guitars I want at the moment, not a hint of GAS.... :idea: unless I start going for custom stuff.
Mind you, it has taken nearly 30 years to get to this point.... :|
Yep, it's just a phase :) if you've got the funds to do it, feel no guilt :?
I regard myself as reasonably GAS-less at the moment(!) The new Tokai felt almost like buying strings, leads or a strap - the Mules were the important bit, and the guitar attached to them needed replacing! I went looking for a particular body shape and materials, with a budget (which I almost stuck to). And I came away with a better result than I was hoping for. I disappeared off to play it last night - so I missed all the debate above. I love all my recent acquisitions, but this one is like the old teenage romance thing - it is gorgeous, and now I'm stuck at work on Monday morning missing it!
No GAS now... (but that Mira did look nice...) (and there were a bunch of Gretsch thingies near where I was trying my Tokai, now there's a hole in my "sound arsenal", ho hum...)
So how did that scheme work again Phil? If I increase my smoking, then I give up, you reckon I can afford more?? (possibly even a Feline!!) :lol: (but I don't think I'm a custom build guy myself at the moment, sorry Jonathan)
On the smoking/not-smoking discussion - don't fret guys, as much as any of us do, "I know what I'm doing". I've reached the age where I have some evidence of the damage that it does to me, but I'm still prepared to accept that damage because I enjoy doing it. Also, don't worry about saying anything pro or anti - nothing'll piss me off, and it's interesting watching people's reactions. But I do suspect that it's a rather large and contentious issue to be discussing on a music forum (especially under "Guitars, Amps and Effects"!). As far as I believe in the existance of "rights", I'll happily defend anyone's right to smoke or not to smoke (and anyone's right to be in a smoke or smoke-free environment). I will say one thing though, much as I enjoy it: if you haven't tried or started smoking - DON'T BOTHER!! (same applies to alcohol in my book, but that's another contentious issue!)
Anyway, I "LOVE" my Tokai, it, er, "ROCKS"... (Anyone know why they called them that?)
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So how did that scheme work again Phil? If I increase my smoking, then I give up, you reckon I can afford more?? (possibly even a Feline!!) :lol: (but I don't think I'm a custom build guy myself at the moment, sorry Jonathan)
Yep, the more you smoke, the more potential savings....
... at least I theenk so.... :?
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I'm tempted and it hasn't even been a month with my newest guitar. Someone help me! :(
It's just a phase you have to go through. I seem to have all the guitars I want at the moment, not a hint of GAS.... :idea: unless I start going for custom stuff.
Mind you, it has taken nearly 30 years to get to this point.... :|
I have the funds but that'll leave my "spending" account at a mere 80 pence. :(
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I'm going to have to agree with Joe Jackson's sentiment on the subject of other people telling you to stop smoking.
I don't smoke but I wish to say that there is a lot of unfounded research into the negative effects of tobacco smoking that have been funded by pharmaceutical companies. Ex-smokers are prone to depression and other problems that are widely solved by the prescription of pharmaceutical drugs.
The same thing has been used with research into carbon emissions that have been funded by governmental bodies to help them get re-elected.
Basically the coverage of the subject is pretty much one-sided and anything you hear really ought to be measured against something contrary to get a better view of the true picture.
It should be his decision and no-one other's to quit if he wishes.
Spot the X Files fan :lol:
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I'm going to have to agree with Joe Jackson's sentiment on the subject of other people telling you to stop smoking.
I don't smoke but I wish to say that there is a lot of unfounded research into the negative effects of tobacco smoking that have been funded by pharmaceutical companies. Ex-smokers are prone to depression and other problems that are widely solved by the prescription of pharmaceutical drugs.
The same thing has been used with research into carbon emissions that have been funded by governmental bodies to help them get re-elected.
Basically the coverage of the subject is pretty much one-sided and anything you hear really ought to be measured against something contrary to get a better view of the true picture.
It should be his decision and no-one other's to quit if he wishes.
Spot the X Files fan :lol:
Twin Peaks, please! :roll:
At school we have to take Science Public Understanding (Pronounced SPEW. It's a total waste of time and is just a play to squeeze out a couple more UCAS points.). The article was related to what we were studying (Anecdotal links to lifestyle diseases. There was also Aluminium and Altzheimers syndrome in there too.) so I read it through.
It's on Joe Jackson's website of you are interested.
I'd recommend you take it with some cynicism as it is very much on the other side of the argument to most people you'll hear on the subject. almost militant, in fact.
Basically my philosophy on life is that you should never believe what people tell you; they are most likely wrong or are withholding something from you.
This is getting badly off-topic, sorry.
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Twin Peaks
For a second I thought you were implying some kind of mountain climbing porno or something.
But yes, it's like parents (yes, very off topic!) one-sided so you realise that such and such, etc. etc. yadda yadda, etc.
I won't explain, I don't need to. Plus don't want to. But what I always say and have come to believe is that there should be a balance of this side and that side.
Having said that I'll quote one of the quotes to Viz (see Time Out forum, or The Dressing Room)
"If smoking is so bad, why does it cure salmon?"
Just to add humour and hilarity to this "way-distant-from-the-original-post" topic
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This forum makes me feel that the fact that I've had the same 2 guitars since I was 16 is a bit wierd.
I think I'm overdue a purchase, roll on custom!
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I hear you guys :D although my particular habit's only about £15 a week - I smoke roll-ups. I have done the maths many times over the years: it's £780 a year for me at the moment - yeah it is "another guitar" but I can live with that, I see it as not a lot different than if was spending that much on alcohol (I'm not, that's £2-£3, if that, a week!) or chocolate or something.
When I was younger I tried to use the finance argument to stop smoking -either as reward, or because I couldn't afford the heating or whatever - but it never worked for me, I could always find cash for fags and guitar strings. Now I'm not so poor... (and don't particularly want to stop either - that's the key part) ... no chance of it working!
Now if it really was £200 a month... a) I'd be kicking meself! b) It's possible I would consider stopping for financial reasons! I agree with you Jonathan, you putting it like that - I'm shocked to realise that there are people who spend that much on smoking.
I smoked roll ups with contraband tobacco for years and gave them up last Christmas and feel a lot better for it! That 780 a year would still pay sround 75% of a custom Feline!
Nice Guitar!!
:D