I played a guitar and I liked it....

DonovanB · 2010-10-05T15:52:08+00:00

Eventually something came up here in Durban... Something that seems to be quite a hot topic... something i know I don't like but I always wanted to give it the benefit of the doubt... Yes, I tried a Tokai Love Rock. There are 2 in Durban now, and one strat copy. I've never liked the idea of a straight copy. Especially at that price. So I had a small jam on it and, without saying much more... it was the most Les Paul like guitar I've ever played Yep it is very well made, plays amazingly well and sounds cool. Would I buy one? Nope... It's not for me at all. and the debate is still on as to whether it's worth the money. But I do now know one thing.... It is naaais.... If the powers that be can convince them to make a small change so it's not an exact copy, like an improvement or whatever then I might consider it. To make a strong statement, I'd certainly use one in studio, but I wouldn't play it on stage. (much like sleeping with a fat/ugly girl. Fun until you're found out.)(apologies to the girls out there. I'm sure it's the same sleeping with a Fat/ugly guy but thats for another thread...) The strat was very bland though. It's on par with a standard Fender but the pups are not so lekker, cool neck, good middle, dead neck. at that price I'd go for a Fender. So ja, my opinion is more educated now...

singemonkey

Keira WitherKay wrote the music industry tries to brain wash people into buying products ( and i mean all products not just the tokais) with hype....... every few months a "must have" product appears......... as hard as it is try keep an open mind..........

I agree with Keira's sentiments here, but please. When did anyone last see any marketing from Tokai? Most of the talk here has come from me because I like 'em and want people to become familiar with them and work out that they're not el cheeppee Gibson knock-offs like people are familiar with.

In much the same way, all the talk of Richard Thompson that you hear so much now days isn't because he has a huge advertising budget allowing us to be aware of his every doing. It's Bob. ?

Tokai do virtually no marketing. It's almost all word of mouth like you see here. I get a big :? when I see Tokai and hype in the same sentence. This is a tiny little guitar factory whose name is only remembered because the fans really dig them.

DonovanB

singemonkey wrote This is a tiny little guitar factory whose name is only remembered because the fans really dig them.

Thats your ~~fault~~ doing ... 8)

vic

singemonkey wrote
Keira WitherKay wrote the music industry tries to brain wash people into buying products ( and i mean all products not just the tokais) with hype....... every few months a "must have" product appears......... as hard as it is try keep an open mind..........
I agree with Keira's sentiments here, but please. When did anyone last see any marketing from Tokai? Most of the talk here has come from me because I like 'em and want people to become familiar with them and work out that they're not el cheeppee Gibson knock-offs like people are familiar with.

In much the same way, all the talk of Richard Thompson that you hear so much now days isn't because he has a huge advertising budget allowing us to be aware of his every doing. It's Bob. ?
Tokai do virtually no marketing. It's almost all word of mouth like you see here. I get a big :? when I see Tokai and hype in the same sentence. This is a tiny little guitar factory whose name is only remembered because the fans really dig them.

Now imagine if Mr Thompson converts to playing a Tokai ?

nick

Tokai SA wrote Tokai Japan does no marketing, no advertising, and no hyping....nothing at all.

I think thats soley left up to singermonkey.

Bob-Dubery

Tokai SA wrote Bob

To date not one Tokai has needed a setup.

The only thing I can think of is, Mike mentions the neck relief, not the "setup" as such, because I can assure you everything else is perfectly setup.
The humidity levels in Japan were extremely high when those guitars left Japan a month ago.
Perhaps the drastic change in weather conditions moved the neck and changed the relief.
I'll have that guitar playing like a dream in 30 seconds.
Problem is, Music Connection and other stores are too busy, they don't have time to go and ask the tech to adjust the neck.

Don't worry, I'll have a guitar ready for Mike to play the next time he goes into MC, one that will blow his mind. ?

Hi Lance,

I wasn't trying to cast aspersions against your brand. When I have visited that shop I have often found guitars that IMO could do with a little attention in that shop.

Maybe my choice of words was poor. I didn't mean setup as in "fret dress" or "nut tuning".

Keira-WitherKay

personally i think distributors SHOULD be allowed to promote their products on a forum like this....... . cos quite often i wish i could get in an honest chat to distributors ect over their products...... but i would not want them to be abusive or offended if i honestly said something negative about their product.,,,,,,,,, i think as muso's we all have different needs ........ and hey if guitar A does it for me...... but not for Bob he should be free to say it .......and if the distributor of guitar A is around he might actually be able to improve the overall service /appearance of that guitar . and i mean with things like checking the set ups.discounts , after sales service... repairs ect ect ..... and so i think they need a voice.....

i know the forum rules say they can't but as long as the posts does not get personal and stick to the product and the problems surrounding it ...... i think having the distributors input could be great for all concerned...........

and come on we all grown ups....... ok debatable but we should know the saying "one mans meat is another mans poison" is very apt in music act be it artists / gear everything in fact

anyway these debates make the site interesting cos they pose questions that makes us ponder over products...... rather than blindly believe advertising or hearsay hype from others.......

JUST BE POLITE AND YOU CAN SAY YOU HATE A PRODUCT FOR X OR Y BUT DON'T ATTATCK SOMEONE WHO LIKES IT

and if we do that we might have some great product reviews............ on this site ....... but don't cut out the distributors........ they have a say too...

singemonkey

nick wrote
Tokai SA wrote Tokai Japan does no marketing, no advertising, and no hyping....nothing at all.
I think thats soley left up to singermonkey.

I don't mind that too much. I like to share ?

I started off wanting to get a two humbucker electric to fill out my line up. I was looking at the Ibanez Artcores - which still seem like great guitars for the money. At some point the name Tokai popped into my head from reading about them in a guitar book 20 years ago as a company that had been able to make near-perfect replicas of vintage Gibsons and Fenders at a time when the quality of those companies was really low.

When I googled, found the Tokai forum I just couldn't believe it. I was so astonished that you could still get these high-quality clones of vintage Gibson guitars at prices that wouldn't break the bank. I had that kid in a candy store thing going on. I ditched the idea of getting a 335 clone and decided to get a second Les Paul.

I was already so convinced by the guitars that before I knew Lance was about to start selling in SA, I was figuring out the best way to import one from Japan. So when I found this forum I definitely wanted to spread the love. I was so amazed that these guitars had been there the whole time but I didn't know about them. I'd been under the impression that they were legendary back when but had disappeared some time in the eighties before I started playing. So I've always worked from the point of view that there must be other people out there who would react the same way. If they knew what they were they'd be the perfect option for them.

singemonkey

Keira WitherKay wrote personally i think distributors SHOULD be allowed to promote their products on a forum like this....... .

The problem would be when dealers begin spamming us with all kinds of stuff - and making crazy claims that some people might think are unbiased recommendations (I'm not attacking dealers here, it's just the nature of the beast).

Dealers, as far as I know, are allowed to respond to specific questions. So if I say, "When's the new tonerider pickup going to be in SA?" they can respond. But as far as I understand, they can't say, "Next week. It' the best bang-for-buck pickup out there." because then they're essentially advertising for free on the forum.

AlanRatcliffe

Geez - I step away from my desk for half a day... I've cleaned up this thread for obvious reasons. Please keep it on track.

I can understand Don's points in his original post - he appreciated and liked the guitar, but personally prefers something that is more of a "tribute to" than a perfect copy. It's personal preference, much like someone who likes Strats but doesn't like relic Strats. Similarly, I liked the Love Rocks, but did not buy one because I'm not a LP player - my preference. Our preferences should not preclude either of us from reviewing items if we can still look beyond them and are able to appreciate a guitar for what it is, not what we would like it to be. I doubt either of us would hesitate to recommend a Tokai if someone else is looking for a good LP on a relatively small budget.

Gibson does get a bit of a bashing at times (and it's not unique to this forum). Unfortunately that is partly their own fault due to their business practices and somewhat inconsistent quality control. Some take that personally, which is understandable because the big G are messing with an icon that people love. Admittedly others jump on the bashing bandwagon due to their own preferences - but they wouldn't be able to if there was no wagon in the first place.

Tokai also get bashed a bit occasionally, accused of being unoriginal copies. But that is precisely one of the major reasons many are interested in them. But also consider that there are more Strat copies than anything else, and it doesn't affect Fender's sales - to the contrary, they often fuel the fire for "real" Strats, and in recent years I've seen Fender go from being reviled as much as Gibson is now to being one of the largest brands in the world. We've even seen complaints that they are not cheap enough for copies - which has been addressed before.

Made properly, a Les Paul is a glorious guitar deserving of it's iconic status. It doesn't suit everyone, but then no guitar does. Tokai makes damn good versions of the Les Paul (leaning more to the '50s models than the later, heavier, more hard rock instruments), with a consistently high quality and a relatively low price tag - but they are copies. Gibson also make some great Les Pauls, they have a much wider range and hold their value better than any other, but are relatively expensive. Which you choose is up to you - based on your preferences in these things.

vic

Keira WitherKay wrote personally i think distributors SHOULD be allowed to promote their products on a forum like this....... . cos quite often i wish i could get in an honest chat to distributors ect over their products...... but i would not want them to be abusive or offended if i honestly said something negative about their product.,,,,,,,,, i think as muso's we all have different needs ........ and hey if guitar A does it for me...... but not for Bob he should be free to say it .......and if the distributor of guitar A is around he might actually be able to improve the overall service /appearance of that guitar . and i mean with things like checking the set ups.discounts , after sales service... repairs ect ect ..... and so i think they need a voice.....

i know the forum rules say they can't but as long as the posts does not get personal and stick to the product and the problems surrounding it ...... i think having the distributors input could be great for all concerned...........

and come on we all grown ups....... ok debatable but we should know the saying "one mans meat is another mans poison" is very apt in music act be it artists / gear everything in fact

anyway these debates make the site interesting cos they pose questions that makes us ponder over products...... rather than blindly believe advertising or hearsay hype from others.......

JUST BE POLITE AND YOU CAN SAY YOU HATE A PRODUCT FOR X OR Y BUT DON'T ATTATCK SOMEONE WHO LIKES IT
and if we do that we might have some great product reviews............ on this site ....... but don't cut out the distributors........ they have a say too...

How about this one regarding rudeness ? ......“New York's such a wonderful city. Although I was at the library today. The guys are very rude. I said, "I'd like a card." He says, "You have to prove you're a citizen of New York." So I stabbed him.” ?

Bob-Dubery

singemonkey wrote In much the same way, all the talk of Richard Thompson that you hear so much now days isn't because he has a huge advertising budget allowing us to be aware of his every doing. It's Bob. ?

OK. I get the message. From now on I'll pimp the Incredible String Band instead.

singemonkey

Oh don't be sensitive ? Imagine it was Tom Petty. All the Bob Dylan fans would be asking why you hate Bob so much that you keep mentioning Tom ?

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