Tokai Guitars

[mikey5]

Hey guys. I was just checking out Tokai guitars on the internet today, and I have communicated with Tokai dealers a little bit, and what I have heard is pretty amazing. This guy told me that his 600 euro guitars are comparable and even better than Gibson Les Pauls. I was pretty amazed and for half the price. I wish that I hadnt started my second les paul custom shop project because I know that their guitars will look better than mine, not necessarily play better. Anyway thought Id throw that out there for some of you who may be shopping for a new guitar, and find that all your favorite models are too expensive

[sgmypod]

Tokai's can be great..think the Jap ones are the best..out of the ones I've played

[dave_mc]

yeah, the japanese copies (not just tokai) are where it's at, if you're after fender or gibson-style guitars and want maximum value.

[mikey5]

yeah, the japanese copies (not just tokai) are where it's at, if you're after fender or gibson-style guitars and want maximum value.

Any other Japanese brands other than Tokai that I should check out??
Which Tokai number seems best at affordable prices.

[Lazy_McDoesnothing]

I've heard good things about Greco, Orville, and Burny when I was looking for a nice MIJ LP.  I ended up with a Greco and an Electra and they're both great!

[kellar]

Edwards

[hamfist]

All the MIJ Les Paul copies mentioned above have very good reputations, however, I can only really comment on Tokais. 

I have a 2007 Tokai LC95Q, which is a superb guitar, and at least as good as a Gibson LP costing 2-3 times as much. I'm talking about construction quality and playability here.  Whether you like the looks of the tops that Tokai use is personal opinion really. There are usually quite a few to choose from though.
  Thoroughly recommended.

[AndyR]

I have a Japanese Tokai Love Rock (home of my mules, in fact I bought it for them) and I love it.

I tried several Gibsons in the month or two leading up to getting the Love Rock, and only one of them was obviously a nicer a guitar in my opinion (for over twice the price...). I do wonder about letting that one go, it was one of those "hello I'm your guitar" moments, but I'm not a full-time Les Paul player, so I couldn't justify a "real one" in my mind, and I'm still reasonably "at peace" with the fact I didn't buy the gibbon :lol:

The day I bought my Love Rock, I tried Chinese and Korean Tokais as well. These are a fair bit cheaper, and for my money they were a better bet than the Epiphones I got my hands on, but comparible. They were a bit variable, but I'm sure you could find a decent one if you kept searcing. But then I found the Japanese Tokais - they seemed obviously a step up in quality, and for me were worth the extra.

[dave_mc]

^ agreed, the japanese ones are where it's at (as you said, the chinese/korean ones aren't bad, but aren't in the same league, any i've tried, anyway). i have a tokai goldstar (strat copy) and edwards lp copy, and like you, they aren't really aimed at the music i mostly play, so i couldn't really justify splashing out £1500 (or even more) to get a decent gibson- especially when i've tried plenty of gibsons which haven't been as nice as tokais and edwardses i've tried (and here in northern ireland, there aren't any shops with 15 of them so you can pick the best one, it's more of a hobson's choice- the shops often have more than one gibson but it's normally only one of each model).

greco, burny, orville etc. are meant to be good too, but i haven't tried them (maybe philly will turn up soon to help a bit with those).

then there are things like bacchus, navigator, momose etc. which are a similar price to gibsons, they're high-end hand-built guitars. I haven't tried any of those either, unfortunately. :(

EDIT: what's your definition of "affordable"?

[Brow]

I have a Japanese Tokai Love Rock that's essentially a LP Custom but with a thicker body than my Gibson LP Standard (I have no idea what model it is, I hate when companies use numbers instead of model names! :x)

I got it for just over £300 off Ebay, put a set of Rebel Yells in it and it's a great guitar now :)

[mikey5]

How does it compare to a GIbson (better or worse in your opinion)
mike

[Brow]

How does it compare to a GIbson (better or worse in your opinion)
mike

It's pretty much a tie to be honest (well, almost).

I've had the Gibson longer, so obviously my ears and hands have grown more accustom to how it plays and sounds, but for the money you can get them for, I'd recommend 1 to anyone in a heartbeat.