2009 TDPRI Giveaway Winners List is available HERE

Red Planet · February 5th, 2005, 09:00 PM

Dude. You got it lucky. The day my wife comes in and announces that I need to buy another guitar is the day the world is coming to an end.

If you like the tone of Teles I suggest the you not go to far away from that sound so as to not to have to change everything when you change guitars.

My suggestion is a Gibson Les Paul Deluxe with the Mini Humbuckers in it. Its different but still bright and has a little Twang to it but with some beef to it.

Or anothe type of fender. Strat ,Jaguar,Jazzmaster.

TG · February 5th, 2005, 10:02 PM

The LP Deluxe is a good idea.
Or a Les Paul of some sort with P90s.
(Goldtop, Junior Special, DC, etc...)
Or a Squier Tele Custom2...
Or a Gibson Blues Hawk...
Or a Yamaha SG2000...

Those are the ones I'm most interested in if I come across them.

TG · February 8th, 2005, 07:17 PM

I had a busy day checking out about a dozen music shops and I saw some tasty guitars. Tried loads of them out and the only one that had that 'take me home....' vibe (not counting the teles that were alot like the ones I've got) was a Tokai ES335 copy.
So I took it home.
It's a cherry red Korean made one and, even though it was a central London shop, it was cheaper than I've seen them on Ebay.
I'd been trying solid bodied guitars all day until I tried this one and after I realised just how comfy it was to play I went out around all the other shops again (they're all a stone's throw from each other) to check out the other semis. Gibsons, mostly. And to my surprise not one played or sounded (to me) as nice as the Tokai, even though they were literally 5 times the price. So I went back and got it.

So, as I didn't spend anywhere near what I thought I would, I reckon I've still got 'credit'. Maybe I'll look into getting a better amp now.

fakeocaster · February 9th, 2005, 09:29 AM

I'll be in London next week, and I'm curious now.

Where did you buy?

What kind of money are we talking?

TG · February 9th, 2005, 03:11 PM

I actually bought it in a little shop called Wunjo Guitars which is just around the corner from Denmark Street. Go down to the end of Denmark Street where Andy's is on the left and go left around the corner about 20 yards.
My guitar was £399 and it feels better to play than did the Gibsons in other shops that were 2 to 3 thousand quid. There seem to be a load of Korean Tokai guitars around (in one shop in particular...'Rockers', I think...).
But on the whole, prices in London were stupid. When I got there and saw the prices (which vary alot even between nearby shops BTW) I figured I'd just have a fun day out and try guitars out and then buy online, but this individual guitar I found felt good so I decided to go for it. As with any brand/model guitar it's sometimes a matter of finding one that is just 'so' and grabbing it.

However, now I'm having the 'next day doubts'....mostly due to it not being a telecaster. I'm
very used to the single coil sound now and plugging a humbuckered guitar into my amp is a shock. Plus, I have a Blues Junior amp so it will be even darker.
The guitar is lovely to play and everything somehow seems easier than normal. I'm wondering if I should just give it time and learn to use it as it is, or should I get more open voiced pickups? Or maybe even get a new amp?

February 5th, 2005, 09:00 PM	#41 (permalink)
Red Planet Tele-Meister Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: North Georgia Posts: 421	Dude. You got it lucky. The day my wife comes in and announces that I need to buy another guitar is the day the world is coming to an end. If you like the tone of Teles I suggest the you not go to far away from that sound so as to not to have to change everything when you change guitars. My suggestion is a Gibson Les Paul Deluxe with the Mini Humbuckers in it. Its different but still bright and has a little Twang to it but with some beef to it. Or anothe type of fender. Strat ,Jaguar,Jazzmaster. __________________ RC Cola and a moon Pie!

February 8th, 2005, 07:17 PM	#43 (permalink)
TG Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Beside a bog in the west of Ireland Age: 48 Posts: 6,340 9 Photos	OK. I've been and returned. I had a busy day checking out about a dozen music shops and I saw some tasty guitars. Tried loads of them out and the only one that had that 'take me home....' vibe (not counting the teles that were alot like the ones I've got) was a Tokai ES335 copy. So I took it home. It's a cherry red Korean made one and, even though it was a central London shop, it was cheaper than I've seen them on Ebay. I'd been trying solid bodied guitars all day until I tried this one and after I realised just how comfy it was to play I went out around all the other shops again (they're all a stone's throw from each other) to check out the other semis. Gibsons, mostly. And to my surprise not one played or sounded (to me) as nice as the Tokai, even though they were literally 5 times the price. So I went back and got it. So, as I didn't spend anywhere near what I thought I would, I reckon I've still got 'credit'. Maybe I'll look into getting a better amp now.

February 9th, 2005, 09:29 AM	#44 (permalink)
fakeocaster Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Enniscorthy, Ireland Posts: 804	tokais and London I'll be in London next week, and I'm curious now. Where did you buy? What kind of money are we talking? __________________ cheers fakeocaster

February 5th, 2005, 10:02 PM	#42 (permalink)
TG Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Beside a bog in the west of Ireland Age: 48 Posts: 6,340 9 Photos	The LP Deluxe is a good idea. Or a Les Paul of some sort with P90s. (Goldtop, Junior Special, DC, etc...) Or a Squier Tele Custom2... Or a Gibson Blues Hawk... Or a Yamaha SG2000... Those are the ones I'm most interested in if I come across them.

February 9th, 2005, 03:11 PM	#45 (permalink)
TG Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Beside a bog in the west of Ireland Age: 48 Posts: 6,340 9 Photos	I actually bought it in a little shop called Wunjo Guitars which is just around the corner from Denmark Street. Go down to the end of Denmark Street where Andy's is on the left and go left around the corner about 20 yards. My guitar was £399 and it feels better to play than did the Gibsons in other shops that were 2 to 3 thousand quid. There seem to be a load of Korean Tokai guitars around (in one shop in particular...'Rockers', I think...). But on the whole, prices in London were stupid. When I got there and saw the prices (which vary alot even between nearby shops BTW) I figured I'd just have a fun day out and try guitars out and then buy online, but this individual guitar I found felt good so I decided to go for it. As with any brand/model guitar it's sometimes a matter of finding one that is just 'so' and grabbing it. However, now I'm having the 'next day doubts'....mostly due to it not being a telecaster. I'm very used to the single coil sound now and plugging a humbuckered guitar into my amp is a shock. Plus, I have a Blues Junior amp so it will be even darker. The guitar is lovely to play and everything somehow seems easier than normal. I'm wondering if I should just give it time and learn to use it as it is, or should I get more open voiced pickups? Or maybe even get a new amp?

2009 TDPRI Giveaway Winners List is available HERE

IMPORTANT:Treat everyone here with respect, no matter how difficult! No sex, drug, political, religion or hate discussion permitted here.