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Pott

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Hey guys! I'm new here, my name's Pierre and I live in Edinburgh, Scotland.

For this summer I'd lent my Strat to a buddy of mine and got for a couple of month his Tokai LS85:
CIMG0374.jpg

CIMG0372.jpg

Did a quick cleaning, installed some treble bleed cap at his order and this guitar was SMOKING. Absolutely incredible Les Paul, I LOVED it.
Now LPs are a bit too naturally compressed for me (I'm a Strat man mostly). But still I wanted one.

So I'm now looking for something similar, but LS85s run too high up here in the UK, around ?650 to ?700, about ?250 over my budget :(

And I've not seen any 75s on ebay.

What guitars would give me similar wood quality and feel? Hardware and pickups I can upgrade as time goes... but I really want a guitar that resonated and sounded as natural as she did. Incredible voice.

Thanks!
 
Hold on for one. One will crop up on Ebay eventually. I paid ?330 for mine, including case!

http://i363.photobucket.com/albums/oo77/Graha0808/Guitars/PICT0003.jpg


Don't bother with crap like Epiphones though, you'll only be disappointed!
 
Oh aye, I've been disapointed by every Epiphones I tried lately... not going to go for one. Same with LTDs.

WOW yours look incredible! That's the kind of finish I like on a LP... Is that an 85 then?
 
It's (I think) an LS75. Now an LS85F.

Tokai's model numbers, as you may have read, are constantly changing. The beginning two letters are the model style, in my case LS translates as Les Paul (Or Love Rock in Tokai parlance). ST for Strat, TE for Tele, etc.

The numerical part is an abbreviation of the current retail price in Yen, so mine when new would have been 75,000 Yen. The current version is the LS85 because the price has gone up, but it's still the same guitar.

The last letters denote the finish type. An LS85F is a flame maple one, and LS85Q is a quilt-top, etc.

Confusing, isn't it? :lol:

They do crop up for that sort of price quite often. I was lucky and didn't have to wait long. I've put the Grover tuners on mine and a Gibson truss rod cover, but other than that it's stock.

http://i363.photobucket.com/albums/oo77/Graha0808/Guitars/PICT0019.jpg

They really are incredible value for the money. Even new, if you really can't wait.

I think Richard still has a few at the old price of ?599:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Tokai-Love-Rock-LS85F-Electric-Guitar-Heritage-Cherry_W0QQitemZ370095065591QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item370095065591&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1298|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318

There is a MASSIVE difference between different countries' Tokai production though, so do me a favour mate:

DON'T buy one or bid on one without posting it on here and getting some expert opinions first. Can save you a lot of money and grief!

Happy hunting! :D

Graham.
 
Thanks a bunch! This seems like a nice place!

Right now I have a ?450 Edwards lined up... cheaper than any Tokais I can find that I like. It's a white LPC... I may have some trade baits too so it may be cheaper. It'll be quite different, even if just from the standard/Custom thing, but will be an equally 'good' (talking about the assembly quality + woods used) guitar? I'm not talking feel and plugged in sound as those are a lot more subjective...
If I had those extra pounds I'd JUMP on those ?600 LS85... man do I miss that Les Paul sometimes!
 
My cousin has an Edwards LP Custom - in white. He loves it!

I must say it's a nice guitar too. Woods are good, electronics are similar quality.
I found the finish of the white body edge to the binding a little poor in places, but that really is nit-picking. It's still way, way better than anything else out there at a similar price.

I think if you were after a good basis to upgrade as you go along (as you said earlier) then you wouldn't be disappointed with the Edwards. Trouble is, you'd be paying ?450 for one which you'd then be upgrading.
How long would it take you to save up the extra money and have the Tokai and not have to spend any more money on it?

Only you can answer that one my friend! :lol:

My only gripe with LP Customs generally (and I can't see the Edwards being any different in this respect) is that the finish wears off the gold hardware after a while and the white body goes yellow. I prefer the chrome hardware and flamed maple myself.

Still, be a dull old world if we all liked the same thing, wouldn't it?

Graham.
 
Mhmm hardware is Gotohs, like on the Tokais no?

Pups are Seymour Duncan JB/59. I'm not a huge JB fan but I have a Jazz Bridge ready to get in right now. Maybe a tonepro bridge, but hardware seems good already. Tuners are Gotohs too.

It MAY be possible to get some money transfered here from my French account (unfortunately I am French :lol: ) to here... by which point I WILL be able to afford a LS85. I shall find out tomorrow!
 
As far as I know it's Gotoh, but I'm not an expert on Edwards products. Some of the guys on here are though, so you'll probably get a few more opinions soon.

You could email Richard at Richtone (guitarslinger is his username on here) and see what he thinks. He's a friendly bloke and very knowledgeable. He sells both Tokai and Edwards.

With the Tokai though you'll get the excellent Gotoh PAF Mk2 pickups. I bought my guitar fully expecting to have to change them, but I can honestly say I wouldn't even consider it now. They give such an amazing old Les Paul tone that you can dial up all the sounds of Jimmy Page etc. easily.

Have a read of this thread regarding the pickups:

http://www.tokaiforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=12111
 
Yeah that LS85 had the MKII and they sounded great. If I sound anything like Mr Page though I'd consider the whole thing a failure :lol: Him or Slash would make me use that LP as firewood :p I'm more of a Clapton Bluesbreaker era LP tone person...

Thanks for all the tips! I think I'll wait until next week or so, check my finances, debt levels etc etc... and see what I can afford... Which may, for all I know, be nothing.
 
I'm a massive Clapton fan too. Which is why my Strats have Lace Sensors and such.

The LS85 or 75 (Same guitar) will give you that John Mayall sound perfectly. Especially through a Marshall.

Keep us posted, and if you need any advice just ask.

Right. I'm off out to watch the fireworks. Happy New Year! :D
 
Pott said:
Yeah that LS85 had the MKII and they sounded great. If I sound anything like Mr Page though I'd consider the whole thing a failure :lol: Him or Slash would make me use that LP as firewood :p I'm more of a Clapton Bluesbreaker era LP tone person...

Thanks for all the tips! I think I'll wait until next week or so, check my finances, debt levels etc etc... and see what I can afford... Which may, for all I know, be nothing.
Welcome to the forums..
I love that bluesbreaker/Cream tone as well and play in a classic rock band and THAT is the tone that I've settled on as a general working tone for just about every song we play.
Had to go to some lengths to get it...
clean valve amp....fender amp modellingFX unit....EMG-HZ pickup replacement for my LS80 but the end result is quite Clapton.
8)
 
Cool thanks guys! There's a LS80 in Red Wine I LOVE at Richtone's... so I'll check the funds etc... That Edwards is however nearly ?200 cheaper so it may just be the one I end up with... I doubt it's a bad guitar either way, heck even Epiphones I tried lately sounded decent (though a bit 'lighter' than the sound I identify with a Les Paul, and not very well built...).

Do people make the difference between the newer models/headstocks with the older ones that were just a copy of the Gibbo head? That LS85 I had was one of these, but the newer models have a cut on the lip..er... you get what I mean. Same exact guitars I guess anyway?
 
Be patient, one will come along either on here or on eBay if you wait. I got my LS85S from eBay a year ago for ?400. And it has the "correct" Gibbo headstock shape.

130_3031.jpg


Mike
 
Mhmm... so to wait for the right second hand 85, get that Red Wine or vintage Burst from Richtone new, for ?200 more or get that Edwards now... which to be honest I like A LOT. But then again so did I like that LS85 this summer.


This place is bad :lol:
 
Pott said:
This place is bad :lol:

You don't have to tell me that! I was quite happy with a couple of Strats & a Tele for 15 years till I joined this forum!
 
The 'Dimpled headstock' design (as we call it on here) was to differentiate it from the Gibson design and (I believe) forestall any legal issues. Mine (Made in Japan in 2004) has the later design headstock and I think it looks every bit as nice as the Gibson one. I wouldn't mind which one mine had.

Your problem is one of money versus patience really. If I were you, I'd go for the Tokai. I think (Because I've done exactly this myself!) that if you bought the Edwards you'd always be thinking "But what if I'd held out for the Tokai?" and then eventually you'd sell it, at a loss (Because you bought it new) and then buy the Tokai that you should have bought in the first place!

If you can hang on, one WILL crop up on either the classified section on here or on Ebay. It's just a matter of time. Going rate seems to be between ?350-?450 on average.

If you can't hang on, buy a new one from Richard. As long as you're not intending to sell it on for a profit you'll be very happy with it.

It's a tough call isn't it? :lol:
 
Goestoeleven said:
The 'Dimpled headstock' design (as we call it on here)

A dimple is concave. A pimple (or a nipple) is convex. This extra bit is convex, so it's a pimple.

:p
 
Pott said:
Nah that Edwards is second hand, but mint. I could probably get just as much for it second hand... which doesn't make anything easier!

If I can get the money, I think I'll go for a new one from richtone:

Those two are REALLY tickling my fancy...
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....ksid=p3907.m29&_trkparms=algo=LVI&its=I&otn=2
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....ksid=p3907.m29&_trkparms=algo=LVI&its=I&otn=2

I really like the tobacco burst......it'll also be easier to sell if you ever decide to.
 
I know that dilemma you're in currently so well ...

When I'd joined here 3 years ago - man, that's a long time - I'd bought an Edwards because I couldn't wait so long but ended up in purchasing an '85 Tokai LS 150 ... because I was preferring the 'vintage' ones ...
The same would have happened when I'd started with the Tokai - just vice versa ... it's a bloody feckin' place here ... you can't avoid being infected by that virus called GAS ... :wink:
BTW - those guitars are nice looking ones ... but if I were you ... hhmmm ... I'd decide for one with the correct headstock shape ... but that's just me ... :-?
Roger
 

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