Tokai are very good as good as a gibson i would say they quality is very good and they have nicer head stocks then epiphones

yeah, I used to have one and it was very good. It was a tele and every bit as good as any Fender

I have a 1982 Robin.  In 1982, they were made by Tokai in Japan.  If this is any indication of the quality of the early Tokai's, I would LOVE to own one.  The Robin's pups were replaced, so I can't speak for that, but the playability of the Robin is absolutely outstanding!  It is the easiest and nicest playing g'tar I've ever owned.  (and that includes USA Fenders and Gibsons)

weelie wrote:

We have them here, I mean the new ones, in a store next to my place. Nothing special. They are good, alright,  but well, most electric guitars are, nowadays. The japanese ones often have Seymour Duncans, which some people will like.

You're lucky there - I would have a 500 mile round trip in the uK to try a new Made in Japan Tokai. I was wondering are those the Les Paul type of Tokais in that store? If so maybe there's a different specification for your part of the world? Pretty well all the UK supplied MIJ Tokai Les Pauls have either Tokais own vintage PAFs or Gotoh PAFs when you go higher up the price range. One of the things I loved about the mid price range MIJ Les Paul types is the tone from their pickups. And I wish guitar companies could be more imaginative when they use other peoples pickups in their guitars - 90% at least seem to be DiMarzio or Seymour Duncan - it gets a bit dull and there's a lot of very good pick up makers out there.

Personally I have had 100% success with Tokais I played being special, but I've only tried the Les Paul ones (Standard & Custom) and none of the Korean or Chinese ones - although I have seen places / people trying to pass these off as Japanese. I tried a lot of much more expensive guitars by other manufacturers that the Edinburgh guitar shops had to offer and none were any better than the Tokai regardless of price!

As we all know it's all down to individual taste - if you pick up a guitar to play it and it sounds, feels and looks right by the time you've only played one note its the one for you, regardless of even EC's opinion on its quality.   So only use forum posts as a guide - you need to hear / feel for yourself.

weelie wrote:

You can check the selection here at http://www.musamaailma.fi/epages/musa.s … okit/tokai
or LPs at: http://www.musamaailma.fi/epages/musa.s … i/lp_sarja

I used to have a MIK Tokai Custom LP, but that was in the 90s.  In general, I love the tone of LPs, but hate the weight (and they feel funny on my lap). I rarely test drive them. Yesterday, I was testing a Hagstrom Viking, which I really dug for the price, and a Gibson ES-330 the was the bomb (except for the hum)!

The latest LP I've wanted was a Gibson. The PLEC and the light weight.

Thanks for the links weelie - thats quite a range they carry. It's the LC85 in Wine Red I use - http://www.musamaailma.fi/epages/musa.s … s/12214023 - and I love the sound of the Mark 2 PAFs.   I was a little worried that the all mahogany body would make the sound too dark and muddy, but it hasn't been a problem. It was the only LC85 in that colour I could find in the whole of the UK, but as an added bonus it's got the proper Gibson style headstock - usually any you get in the UK have a dimple in the middle of the end of the headstock to avoid copyright issues.

You're right about the weight - my LC85 is around 10 lbs and it was a problem until I got a nice thick padded strap - the sort for bass guitars - and its comfortable now. I have never really got on very well with playing LP type guitars on my lap, so I'm glad the strap worked - I did get some major muscle twinges in my back when using the normal strap and I'm not that young any more.

I have a Hagstrom Viking Deluxe and it's a really nice guitar - well suited for blues. I just wish I could play it as well as Matt Thorpe on YouTube, but I think he can probably make any guitar sound great. I would love a Gibson ES but my bank manager wouldn't approve!!

I had the intention of maybe getting a Gibson LP when I started looking for a guitar last year - but I had a chance encounter with a Tokai LS and it was love at first sound - you can never tell when that will happen and playing one note is all it needs. Only happened to me once before and that was a Gibson SG Standard - that was a nice guitar and a great range of tones.