Japanese Tokai Goldstar(strat copy)- MAJOR UPDATE (negative)

[dave_mc]

Major GAS attack, basically. Local(ish) shop has an ex-demo (it looks and feels newer than most new guitars sold around here, go figure!) Japanese Tokai Springy Sound strat for £275 including hard case. To me, this sounds like a bargain, I can't find much info on them on the net though... mostly concerned that the body is indeed alder or ash...

Anyone? It's supposed to be around £500-£600 I believe, I doubt it wouldn't be alder or ash at that price, and I may just take a chance anyway as it sounded good (and played nicely too), much better than a mexi strat they also had, and I figure I can't really go too far wrong for the price. But yeah, i'd prefer to know.

Can't give any more info that that, I don't have any serial numbers or anything... it's a vintage maple necked one, I'm assuming a 50's-style copy, in cream/off-white.

Anyone know anything about Tokais 'round here?

Thanks in advance for any help!

:drink:

[Twinfan]

Check if it's a Japanese one, it should say somewhere on the guitar (base of the neck/rear of the headstock.

If so, it's made in the same place as Fender Japan and therefore it'll be a great guitar.  I'd buy it for that price if I was a Strat man...

[dave_mc]

oh yeah, it's definitely japanese, that's the first thing i checked!

 :twisted:

was hoping you'd answer...

:drink:

as you say, at that kind of money it's probably worth it when you consider what else is available at the price... that's cheaper than a mexican strat. As long as it's not made out of papier mache or something...

[LazyNinja]

Sounds like a good deal. If it's a Japanese one then you can definitely sell it at the same price even if for some reason you decide you dont want it anymore anyway. If it sounds good to you, then why does it matter if its ash or alder? :twisted:

[dave_mc]

^ yeah, good point. you know what i mean. It's psychological. Plus i'm an idiot and don't always trust my impressions of things.  :lol:

but yeah, at that kind of money i could probably sell it on for the same at any rate.

[LazyNinja]

^ yeah, good point. you know what i mean. It's psychological. Plus i'm an idiot and don't always trust my impressions of things.  :lol:

Haha I know I was being harsh on you :P I suffer from the same symptoms! Like I go into a shop, try a guitar, like it, then go home research on it then decide  :lol:

[38thBeatle]

I'd say get it. I played in a band with a guy who has one and borrowed it many many times and it was a great guitar-every bit as good as my Jap Strat (which can be explained above). Seems a good price too. I seem to recall liking the pickups too.

[Twinfan]

It'll be hard to tell if it's alder or ash.  Ash usually has more pronounced grain but it's not an absolute.

If it plays well, and sounds good, the decisoin is made  :D

[lifted]

yeah, go for it, then decide what bks you put in it one day :P

[LazyNinja]

It'll be hard to tell if it's alder or ash.  Ash usually has more pronounced grain but it's not an absolute.

If it plays well, and sounds good, the decisoin is made  :D

Yeah I was gonna say that but he says it's in white so he can't check the grains without taking the pickguard off.

[WezV]

Well i really liked the tokai breezysound (tele) neck i just used on a build, it was excellent quality

[deg0ey]

Nice find Dave - Did you read the reviews on Harmony Central? They're all positive, (10's for overall rating), and if you think it sounds good then you can't go wrong for the price :)

[Twinfan]

Have you bought it yet?

[dave_mc]

haha, calm down, dave, i'm not just as bad with the ol' GAS as you are! it's a 100 mile round trip!  :lol:

From the japanaxe forum, they think it's an alder body- i think the one I tried was a 3-piece body (it was a slightly transparent finish- should that be translucent?  :lol: )... so that suggests one of the lower japanese tokais. Still, for the price i figure I can't go wrong. Apparently it has dimarzios too, though I'd need to check that.

So, er, yeah. I'll let you know how it pans out, I'll not be buying it today at any rate... i just have to decide if a trip to another Tokai dealer is worth risking, just in case that one sells out in the meantime... Thanks for all your help, everyone! I appreciate it.

:drink:

[dave_mc]

Nice find Dave - Did you read the reviews on Harmony Central? They're all positive, (10's for overall rating), and if you think it sounds good then you can't go wrong for the price :)

yeah, i looked into them, most were for pretty old ones, though. Doesn't hurt that they're all positive, of course!  :lol:

I'd say get it. I played in a band with a guy who has one and borrowed it many many times and it was a great guitar-every bit as good as my Jap Strat (which can be explained above). Seems a good price too. I seem to recall liking the pickups too.

yeah, the pickups seemed not bad. Not BKP-good, but smoked the mexican fender ones. From that japanaxe forum, i hear they're dimarzios (which'd be a definite plus at that price), but i'd kinda believe it when i see it, as it might be the older models he's talking about.

It'll be hard to tell if it's alder or ash.  Ash usually has more pronounced grain but it's not an absolute.

If it plays well, and sounds good, the decisoin is made  :D

Yeah, i mean i don't really care if it's ash or alder... as long as it's not basswood or something like that. I don't have anything against basswood, just it's a bit warm for the twang, if you know what i mean.

Well i really liked the tokai breezysound (tele) neck i just used on a build, it was excellent quality

thanks, wez, you know i value your opinion a lot on build quality!