space_114 said:
.... I wouldn't trust the "word" of the Tokai president if the case any further than i could dwarf toss the little guy
Im not trying to be an arse ..
I'd take his word over any over guitar company CEO...
Tokais are no hype no marketing guitars, just resting their sales and reputation on the quality of their products. "Word of mouth" from users to potential buyers.
They are consistent and straightforward, not something you could say about Fender or Gibson - Even if their product numbering sometimes drives me nuts.
The fact is that they cannot compete against Epiphone or Squier so they had to come up with something in order to offer decent guitars at a lower price point, which is impossible in Japan where the labour is too expensive. So woods were of a lesser quality, fast dried - the hardware was not Japanese and the labour was provided in Korea. Sometimes this is the price to pay in order to survive - it does not make Tokai or their president untrustworthy, does it? Yes factories in Korea make a whole range of brands but THIS IS COMMON KNOWLEDGE...do you really think all Fenders are made by Fender employees?
Trying to access a lower tier of the market is not a crime. By contrast releasing branded guitars without consent from the brand owner is a crime. How would you feel if you were running a company making goods in Asia and found out your supplier is abusing your name and taking money from your bank account in the process?
Yes I did mention fast dried wood because this is what is available at this price point, both in Tokais MIK and copies like yours. I was chatting with a builder not so long ago (for a prestigious brand) and he referred to this as ''oven dried''. He proceeded to explain that the maple tops he uses sometimes cost more than a complete MIC guitar.
What I am trying to say is you can think whatever you like about Tokais MIJ or MIK, it does not make your copy a custom shop instrument. I trust you when you say it is great but I am just saying it is still made of cheap fast dried species hence the price. While this is surely more than acceptable I think we can all agree your don't make a silk purse out of a pig's ear.
And please do not think I am being a snob, I still have Korean and Mexican guitars, I just know they are lower tier instruments and love them to bits. You finally said you were owning Gibsons and so on, we pretty much all do here or have done at some point...while they are iconic I would not rate them high in honesty (ooops...FBI swoop at the factory relating to FAKE import documents for their wood) or consistent (have you seen their QC?) or honorable (please check how their treat their staff - the info is available online). They live on their past and the misconception their guitars are what they used to be 50 YEARS AGO...the Gibson factory is an industrial operation involving the build of thousands of guitars every month.