Hello
I'm in the UK and am looking for a 335 or a good quality copy.
I've owned a couple of Love Rocks and so I know all about Tokai quality. I also like the fact that the Tokai 335 copies have a fuller neck profile than the 60's slim-taper ones used on the current (non-historic) Gibsons.
A local shop has a new blonde ES120 at what seems like a bargain price of ?780. This is ?50 less than the cheapest I've previously seen (Reidys.com) and ?200 less than most UK retailers are charging!
As it's a local dealer who are not that well-known for competitive prices, I suppose I'm looking for the catch.
I didn't have time to play the guitar but everything looked OK. It had a "made in Japan" sticker on the back of the headstock.
I noticed that the tailpiece was raised up a bit to ensure that the strings cleared the back of the tune-o-matic bridge but so is the one on my Les Paul and that's OK.
I did ask the shop owner if it had a nitrocellulose finish but he said that it was definitely poly. I'm bothered about the nitro vs. poly thing if the guitar sounds good but I was wondering if Tokai have ditched the more expensive finish to make the ES120 cheaper.
Anybody know if there's any reason to be wary?
Unless it plays like a dog, I think I'll be quite tempted.
Cheers
Brendan
I'm in the UK and am looking for a 335 or a good quality copy.
I've owned a couple of Love Rocks and so I know all about Tokai quality. I also like the fact that the Tokai 335 copies have a fuller neck profile than the 60's slim-taper ones used on the current (non-historic) Gibsons.
A local shop has a new blonde ES120 at what seems like a bargain price of ?780. This is ?50 less than the cheapest I've previously seen (Reidys.com) and ?200 less than most UK retailers are charging!
As it's a local dealer who are not that well-known for competitive prices, I suppose I'm looking for the catch.
I didn't have time to play the guitar but everything looked OK. It had a "made in Japan" sticker on the back of the headstock.
I noticed that the tailpiece was raised up a bit to ensure that the strings cleared the back of the tune-o-matic bridge but so is the one on my Les Paul and that's OK.
I did ask the shop owner if it had a nitrocellulose finish but he said that it was definitely poly. I'm bothered about the nitro vs. poly thing if the guitar sounds good but I was wondering if Tokai have ditched the more expensive finish to make the ES120 cheaper.
Anybody know if there's any reason to be wary?
Unless it plays like a dog, I think I'll be quite tempted.
Cheers
Brendan
