Tokai Club

[BB]

I've had several Tokais over the years and they have never failed to impress. Here is one I found in need of some tlc around 1980. I believe it to be a 1978 ( or there abouts! ) vintage. Just a fabulous sounding and playing guitar with a wonderful soft V neck. This baby was my #1 for 20 years and never let me down through many gigs. Sorry for the carpy pics. In dire need of a new camera!

[tonfarbe]

I'll join in with my Tokai Les Paul Special:

[BB]

Sweet guitar Tonfarb!

[TG]

Here's mine. ES60 with a set of Duncan '59s.
Me likey very much.

[TeleBrew]

Originally Posted by TG

Here's mine. ES60 with a set of Duncan '59s.
Me likey very much.

Nice one. I'm gassing hard for a brand new 335-style Tokai on ebay right now. It's a lefty, and you don't see too many of those around. Since I can't afford, or can't justify spending the money on, a Gibson I figure the Tokai should fit the bill for far less bills.

[stax]

My Tokai LC85S.
Doesn’t get a lot of use due to the type of stuff I play nowadays, but definitely the best guitar I own.
Stax

[Colin Johnston]

I used to have a Breezysound T type & I've got a LS75 Lester - I'll try to find a photo. Great guitars!... well some of the Chinese ones I've seen aren't very special, but MIJ & MIK are great!

[TeleBrew]

How do you folks feel about your Gibson-style Tokais? How does the workmanship measure up?

I'm seriously thinking about getting a new Tokai (made in Japan) 335-style. It's going for $1279 plus shipping to the US.

Are these guitars worth the money? Much less than a Gibson, of course, but not cheap by any means.

[ROADMAN]

I currently own two Tokais ...a Goldtop Love Rock LP and a tobacco burst Breezysound tele, both are outstanding guitars and fit and finish easily match any Gibson or Fender I've played...

here's a pic of the herd ...Breezy in the middle Goldtop on the right obviously



oh yea ...the pedals in the pic are older model Tokai od and Tokai distortion

[bo]

I have a '84 or '85 TST-55 Goldstar Sound strat I got last summer. The pickups were good sounding but pretty microphonic and the frets were kinda low. Ultimately I had it refretted with bigger frets, locking Kluson style tuners, graphite nut, larger/heavier trem block, new smooth saddles and a set of Fralin Vintage Hots (with plate on the bridge pickup) and a Fralin blender knob. It's the best strat style guitar I've owned (out of about 6 over the years).

[kiwi blue]

On the left, an AST56, from about '84. Bought it second hand 4 or 5 years ago with almost no wear on it. Had hardly been played. Very nice Strat, even nicer now that it has a set of Lollar Blondes. The stock pickups sounded a bit brittle to my ears.

[Chris S.]

I have an early 80s Tokai Tele (originally "Breezysound") that's had the headstock reshaped to match a Fender, and sports one of the first "Ferden" decals I ever saw, courtesy of Fender Custom Shop founder Mike Stevens years before he was there. I've had the guitar like that for some 28 years now... ;-) Oh yeah, I added a Seymour Duncan flatpole Strat pickup in the middle position, and the neck pickup is an early DiMarzio Strat stack; sounds just a humbucker, which it is. The bridge pickup is still the original Tokai. -- CS

[fordfanjpn]

I have 3 Tokai 335 type guitars (sunburst, cherry and natural), but I don't have any pics handy that I can post. Nice guitars.

Bill

[degsycaster]

Im in.

I have an ,85 Tokai Strat type - Springy sound?? The previous owner rubbed down the headstock!!

[RodeoTex]

I get GAS for a Tokai Love Rock every once in a while. I should have bought one several years ago when they were going for $450-500 (just did an ebay search).

[fordfanjpn]

Here are my 3 Tokai's.

Bill

[Muddslide]

Unfortunately I am no longer a member of this club.

But back in the early 80s I bought a Tokai P-bass at a pawn shop for something like $80.

I played hundreds of gigs with that thing, then foolishly sold it about 15 years later. I really regret that.

I've played bass for 30 years and owned some fine ones, including some pre-CBS Fender P-basses and Jazz basses.

That Tokai was really as good as any P-bass I ever owned or played.

[refin]

Had an LS-80 (?) Lester in 1984,and a strat neck by Tokai....both were nice.

[nic'o'caster]

Here's my Tokai Custom Edition Strat. Note the 'Oldies but Goodies' label and the quite funny small one : 'the quality musical instruments of the world' !

[nvilletele]

I originally posted these pics in the Welcome Wagon area, when, after introducing myself, I was asked to show pics of my guitars. But it has since been suggested that I should come to this thread to join the Tokai Club, so please consider this my application for membership. Here are some pics of my 1985 Tokai Love Rock Custom. I dont play this much anymore, as I prefer my Teles, but this is a fantastic instrument, and makes Gibsons hide in shame when plugged in.

[degsycaster]

Finally got the old '85 out of the case. This guitar has been abused a lot over the years. Slowly I am nursing her to health.

[MBT74]

Mine's an 80's era LS-130CM. Great guitar.

[f5joe]

I've had a LOT of Les Pauls over the years. Now, I'm down to just one. Here's my 1978 Tokai Les Paul Reborn in Old Cherry Sunburst. Very high-end specs on par with Gibson Historics:

[wolfman63]

In 1987 I bought a Tokai "1952" Tele for just under three hundred dollars. Ended up trading it off in '92 and didn't see it again till '05 when I got it back in a trade. It had been mistreated for several years and had things "changed." So I spent some time and put it back to stock, and did some additional shielding, and now everyone who hears it, wants to beat me out of it...........not a chance. They'll probably cremate it with me when the time comes, along with the rest of my stuff.

[OuttaspaceMan]

Hello everyone! Long time Tele and off-set user here, but this time I'm interested in exploring a Les Paul and unfortunately I have not much knowledge and much idea how to spot a bonafide Tokai Les Paul since I've never had one before. I found a Tokai Les Paul online and I'm considering on pulling the trigger on my 1st Tokai but I decided to post this to seek for your inputs before anything else.

So here goes. I saw this Tokai Love Rock Standard Goldtop posted online and according to the seller, it's Korean-made. He said he can't tell for sure on what type of wood used and most probably it's the standard mahogany with maple top. Here's the description on his ad:

"This guitar weighs 4.25 kilos has no serial number so was probably Made in Korea for the domestic japanese market.

In excellent used condition. (see pics) The front is clean with justa couple of tiny marks. The back has some scratches and a couple of small chips but nothing major. The back of neck has a number of small dinks/chips but nothing noticeable when played and the headstock has a couple of small chips. The original hardware is in excellent order and all working well. The electrics are original and working fine. The fretboard is fine with the frets showing minimal wear. Its playing nicely and includes a gigbag."

I have no expertise in determining whether if it's Korean or China made.. And as much as I would like to own the MIJ ones since they're the one with quality and legacy, at the moment my budget works really well with the price of a Korean made and the last thing I want to end up with a Chinese Tokai. I hope to learn from what everyone can share.

Thanks and best regards to all! =)

Rob

[OuttaspaceMan]

Here are the pics:

[OuttaspaceMan]

[OuttaspaceMan]

[OuttaspaceMan]

Are these the same with the one I'm considering?

http://www.dhgate.com/Tokai-LS48-Ele...807151472.html

http://www.richtonemusic.co.uk/guita...ld-top-38.html

Advance thanks for everyone's time and advice on this =)

[OuttaspaceMan]

Hey guys!

Just an update.. I did more research on this and it appears to be Korean-made. The headstock apparently is the newer style just as what this has. As some have mentioned.. the giveaway is the studs for the bridge.

Also contacted others for feedback and it turns out that seller is a legit seller for guitars, and the one that has responded has dealt with him on numerous times. Upon checking his other items, all seemed authentic Japanese guitars. Btw the seller is from Japan as well. But I still need more confirmation if this is truly Korean and not a Chinese knock-off with a Agathis body.

If anyone could share more info on this Tokai Goldtop, validation and insights would be truly be appreciated.

I have one more day before the AD ends. Hope to learn more from what everybody can share. =)

[nvilletele]

I don't have any info on this particular guitar, but have you checked over at the Tokai Registry Forums? That is where I would start looking for further info, if you haven't done so already.

http://www.tokaiforum.com/

[OuttaspaceMan]

Originally Posted by nvilletele

I don't have any info on this particular guitar, but have you checked over at the Tokai Registry Forums? That is where I would start looking for further info, if you haven't done so already.

http://www.tokaiforum.com/

Hi nvilletele! Thanks for your response =) Yup, I did actually post the same inquiry at the Tokai forums simultaneously the same day I posted here. I just wanted to seek a broader range of feedback on it (since the AD will end shortly), plus I really look up to this site because I valued the insightful comments and suggestions whenever I browse this site.

As I've mentioned, I have no expertise regarding Tokais that why I decided to ask here specifically in the Tokai Thread and was hoping for some insights from Tokai owners/users. I hope to gain new friends who share the same love for Telecaster guitars or just guitars for that matter and I hope to learn from what everyone can share =)

Thanks again for the tip and best regards.

Rob

[DocG]

I've had a red '80s AST-62 Strat for about 15 years now. I've swapped the pickups out a few times since the originals were very low output. Currently it's sporting some Squier pickups that really impressed me in my son's strat, and is strung with .009s.

Last year I lucked onto another AST-62 from the same era, for $325 complete with a Roland GK-2A hexaphonic synth pickup. It's coral colored (NOT PINK!! ) and it's got .010s on it.

Both outstanding guitars, and better sounding than the Strat Plus I sold. My friend and I A/B'ed the red one with his '64 Fender and they felt and sounded identical to me.

[OuttaspaceMan]

Originally Posted by DocG

I've had a red '80s AST-62 Strat for about 15 years now. I've swapped the pickups out a few times since the originals were very low output. Currently it's sporting some Squier pickups that really impressed me in my son's strat, and is strung with .009s.

Last year I lucked onto another AST-62 from the same era, for $325 complete with a Roland GK-2A hexaphonic synth pickup. It's coral colored (NOT PINK!! ) and it's got .010s on it.

Both outstanding guitars, and better sounding than the Strat Plus I sold. My friend and I A/B'ed the red one with his '64 Fender and they felt and sounded identical to me.

Sweet, you got it for a good bargain price!

In that case.. Looks like I need to find myself a Japanese Tokai. =)
Thanks for sharing your experience.

[FraKcture]

Count me in!

Love my tokai