Aussie Tokai Newsflash..!!!

[togps]

I'm not sure what you want me to say!

I just would like to read your and as well other forum members comments.

 

[JohnA]

I actually quite like the look of it, especially the un-finished one, but no matter what is done to the basic strat design I don't think anyone will ever improve on the appearance of the genuine article.

Or a good direct copy

 

[javelin70]

Oh dear....

Is that a square edged hole cut in the scratchplate for the pickups?

As someone might have said to Captain Kirk - "It's a Strat Jim, but not as we know it." :lol:

It looks like protective plastic on the pickups.

Mike

 

[stratmoto]

Basic spec:
Body~ Alder
Neck ~ Maple
Board ~ Rosewood
Nut ~ Bone
Tuners ~ Gotoh
Pickups ~ Gotoh
Bridge ~ Wilkinson VS100

Good hardware on nice timber. Should be nice playing guitars, with a trem that can float and stay in tune.

I like the headstock, the pickguard is different and may grow on me. I like Mint Green on a Sunburst, ...you could change that, many do.

Keep the feedback coming guys

 

[Anonymous]

I know I'm a boring old traditionalist when it comes to Strats, but I think anyone who tries to change the Strat is onto a loser. It's one of the most perfect pieces of design from the 20th Century. Not only is it ergonomically perfect, it's beautiful too. Possibly only Concorde came close, & that's dead now.

So when you change things like the headstock, or even worse, the scratchplate, it just looks "wrong". There may not be much that Tokai can do about this because of lawsuits, but I wouldn't want one of the new ones. Also, this new model might well push up the prices of the old ones, in the same way that the awful 70s Strats pushed up the prices of the pre-65 models.

So if I was a Tokai dealer, I might well be pleased about Tokai's new model.

 

[Ozeshin]

Well I'm not sold on em.
I was expectiing something along the lines of the guitar in Javelin's post...A traditional strat with a slightly modified headstock.
These mongrels look like the Benji OLP http://www.guitar.com.au/guitars/electric/MusicMan/benji_madden.htm
I'm pretty disappointed..after waiting for so long to get Tokai Strats in Australia when we finally do they're a mutilated parody of a Tokai.
Royce's are'nt impressed either...they were going to get as many of them as they could but now they're debating whether to get even one.
Remembering that this store stocks Blades,Ibanez,Cole Clarkhttp://www.coleclarkguitars.com/products.asp they'll be hard pushed to sell even one.
Don't get me wrong though...I like the look of that natural finished one as well.
But to me...it's taken away the chance to own part of the legend of Tokai...I have my old LS and i wanted to compliment it with a strat type Tokai...they look ok I guess...but to me they don't represent the Tokai mystique

 

[stratmoto]

Hmm, interesting :-?

Model is GS100 Goldstar Sound.

The colours are YSO(3 tone sunburst), BB(black), OW(vintage white), SOB(sonic blue). The neck is gloss headstock, satin/matt back, nice touch.

That's Indian Rosewood on the neck.

Notice the neck joint, and in particular, the neck plate. Tokai have angled the body. This puts the neck screws at a better angle into the body, and means that for the same screw tension, there is a stronger neck to body coupling. An improvement over the "old" springy and breezies, I would say, and the heel is reduced for better playability.

An analogy would be a good carpenter never drives nails straight in, there is always an angle. It makes them much harder to pull out of the timber.

In Australia, for it to be successful, this guitar would probably have to retail at around AUD1099.00. The model would meet or exceed in spec, fit and finish, playability etc of its' competetion.

You should be able to walk into the store, Royces for example, chose your colour. Take it over to the counter, explain the story about the Dyna van with all your guitars in it breaking down at Tenterfield and we have 2 gigs this weekend. Take the guitar to soundcheck and be pleasantly surprised, it probably quacks just like a duck. After the gig, your sound guy will think it quacks like a duck, and if his eyesight isn't 20/20 might think it looks like a duck. And, for around a grand, Made in Japan it might feel like a duck in your hands.

No ducks were harmed in this rant

 

[Anonymous]

Tokai have angled the body. This puts the neck screws at a better angle into the body, and means that for the same screw tension, there is a stronger neck to body coupling.

It's news to me that the good old 4 bolt Strat neck joint was a source of weakness. Good job it only took 53 years for someone to work that one out...... :roll:

 

[candh]

Well, pickguards from GFS and pickguard blanks in general are pretty cheap. Break out the router and the pattern bit.
That headstock is in need of some attention, too.

I can just see taking this thing to a local jam.......everyone saying....nani kore??? (what the hell is this??) :lol:

No summer bonus for the Tokai design department!!

 

[candh]

One more thing....I could swear I had a junky Peavey that looked just like that natural finish one when I was like 19.......Yes, what goes around,... :lol:

Guys, it's either laugh or cry. :roll:

 

[Ozeshin]

Like I said before...they're probably excellent guitars in their own right...and I fully expect that to be the case...but they're NOT and Goldstar/Silverstar/Springy......if i buy one of these i WON'T be able to relate to the guys with goldstars/silverstars coz it just won't be the same.

 

[togps]

So, what shall we do ... ?

 

[Anonymous]

Buy something else? Stick to what we own already? :wink: Burn down the Tokai factory? Shoot the bloke who thought he could improve on Leo's design? :lol:

 

[togps]

I'll make you a favour and I'll pass your suggestions to the president of Tokai Gakki, Inc., Japan

 

[Ozeshin]

Buy something else? Stick to what we own already? :wink: Burn down the Tokai factory? Shoot the bloke who thought he could improve on Leo's design? :lol:

Well basically what's going to be happening in QLD Australia is that where myself and the store were excited about getting a shipment of Tokai Fender replicas....the store will most likely NOT take a shipment of them now.
They've seen the pics and they don't like the look of them either.
They basically wanted a Strat clone....and since they alreay stock BLADE and a few other cheap Chinese knock off strats they won't bother selling Tokai.
They're very happy with their Tokai Gibbo line though...they've sold a few and a guy traded a Dean Dimebag model for a Korean ALS70....nice Dean too I tried it

 

[tollund23]

I don't know why everyone is acting so disappointed when there's always trouble when trying to bring in precise replicas of the "big boys" (aka Fender and Gibson) into Australia. Doesn't matter who makes them, someone is always going to complain and often this results in modifications having to be made.

 

[Ozeshin]

I don't know why everyone is acting so disappointed when there's always trouble when trying to bring in precise replicas of the "big boys" (aka Fender and Gibson) into Australia. Doesn't matter who makes them, someone is always going to complain and often this results in modifications having to be made.

A different headstock i could live with...but if I wanted something that only barely resembles a strat then I would stick with my Peavey or Music man.
We have a crapload of chinese guitars being sold in stores here...Monterey is a prime example.
Monterey have a "vintage" range of strat clones that even have a stoopid yellowed laquer finish to the neck to make it look vintage.
But the point is that for a price point of a couple of hundred Mr.Nobody can walk in off the street and pick themselves up a strat clone.
My dissapointment with that is that they'll now miss out on the superior quality of materials that makes up a Tokai strat-a-like.
If they suddenly decided to do an Epiphone and put a big ugly headstock on the Love Rocks...do you think that they would be just as popular?
Part of the charm of the Tokai Gibbo clones is that they look/play/feel every inch the guitar that they are replicating.

 

[stratmoto]

I don't know why everyone is acting so disappointed when there's always trouble when trying to bring in precise replicas of the "big boys" (aka Fender and Gibson) into Australia. Doesn't matter who makes them, someone is always going to complain and often this results in modifications having to be made.

Also, Tokai produce some of the Fender Japan models. I would understand that exact replica Springy/Goldstar models are not available while this is happening under the same roof.

It han't been released yet and it becoming controverial 8)

 

[Anonymous]

I think we all understand why it's not feasible for Tokai to produce "authentic" Fender clones right now since they also make the Fender Japan guitars. I get the impression that most people think that this guitar is just too different to a Strat to be convincing, so why bother making it vaguely like a Strat in other ways? Either copy or innovate - this guitar is neither a good original design, nor a good copy, sadly.

 

[togps]

It's finally a matter of taste..
But to be honest, I can understand Ozeshin's and stratman323's arguments ..