Tokai LS-135

I've had a huge Les Paul gas for some time now and I decided to sell one of my Fender Stratocasters so I can get the Les Paul but I haven't really decided yet what to get.

My friend just bought a Gibson Les Paul Classic Antique which felt really great. I haven't tested it that well yet but right away it felt really good so of course I started to consider Gibsons, to be specific, I've been looking at Les Paul Standards. Being a Tokai fan I wanted to check out Love Rock models too and I came across LS-135 VF. That model seems really interesting and I was wondering how it compares to Gibsons LP Standard? Also I was wondering does it have a nitrocellulose finish? It would be really great if you could share your thoughts about what do you think of this guitar. There is a Tokai dealer in Helsinki which has a LS-135 and I was planning to go there and try it out pretty soon and probably test some other Tokai Love Rocks as well.

And by the way, can you get this model with a figured maple top? I've seen few pics of them and they have all had plain maple tops which is not a problem at all but if can choose I would take a flame/quilt top model.

Thank you in advance!

I've just bought one from togps a couple of weeks ago and it's stunning! It has the same specs as the Gibson R8. It really sounds like a monster! It's actully the first guitar I've ever had (my 6th) that didn't ask for upgrades, I think I'll keep it just the way it is.

If you are talking about a pre-2008 LS-135, then the guitar is fairly comparable to a Gibson R8. Post-2008, the LS-135 is now called LS-150 as Tokai upped their pricing. These are available in flametops, but they are the next model up, which I THINK are now called LS-165, previously LS-150. They are the lowest LS models that have nitro finishes. The flametop is the lowest LS model in the Tokai line to have a non-veneer top. I have an 07 LS-135 and it plays very nice. I like plaintops though, so I wasn't looking to fork over more cash for one. Compared to Gibson historics, these have a much higher bang for the buck factor, and seem to have better QC consistency.

Thanks for your replys dudu and sarge40!

I'm fine with plain maple top, although flame/quilt tops look awesome I don't necessarily need them. I believe it's the pre-'08 LS-135 well atleast according to their website but tomorrow I'm going there to see it. I hope they have also other high end Tokais I can try out, I'll post something tomorrow once I have tried it.

You don't know how lucky you are to be able to go into a store to try Tokais out. The United States is a great country in many respects. Tokai availability is not one of them.

sarge40 said:

You don't know how lucky you are to be able to go into a store to try Tokais out. The United States is a great country in many respects. Tokai availability is not one of them.

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Yeah, I know. It sucks that some people aren't able to try these great guitars in shops. Who knows, maybe someday these guitars will be available everywhere around the world and then everyone can enjoy these fabolous guitars...

By the way I had to cancel what I had planned on yesterday so I couldn't try that LS-135 out yesterday but I'll try to go there as soon as possible and see how I like it. If anyone here has one of these please post a picture, would love to see some good pics of them.

LS150 from 2008:
http://picasaweb.google.com/vladgalu/TokaiLS150VF

It's the same as 2007's LS-135

That's an absolute stunner, dudu!

Dudu, that Les Paul of yours is just gorgeaus! Very nice Love Rock!

To update my situation, I decided not to sell my '62 Vintage Hot Rod Strat. It's so nice guitar I would deffinetly miss it if I would sell it so I'm not gonna do that. That also means I'm not gonna buy a Les Paul yet, maybe some other time...

I did test drive my friend's Gibson Les Paul Classic Antique. To be totally honest, I wasn't that impressed. It was a nice guitar but thats all. It was a bit difficult to judge the sounds as I had to play with my friend's amp set up (Mesa Single Rectifier+Mesa 4x12 cab) but it did sound pretty good. The neck was good, smaller than my Epiphone Les Paul Standard's neck, fitted my hand very well. The big G also played very well but it just didn't feel like I wanted it to feel. This may sound strange but it was too light!!! I know that some people would pay anything to make their Paulas a bit lighter but that LP just didn't feel like LP should (atleast how I want an LP to feel like). My Epi weights a lot, it's truly a heavy guitar but that's what I expect from Les Paul. I remember my first experience with a high end Les Paul. It was a very expensive Tokai Love Rock, something like LS470 and it weighted a ton. Very heavy guitar but my god was it great! Truly a fabulous guitar, best LP I have so far played!