Tokai Love Rock Maple tops

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Mark Abbott

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I did get to try out a whole lot of Tokai Les Pauls last week. It was interesting as they were all better than the worked Epiphone I bought with me for comparison.

No two ways about it they are a solid workhorse of a guitar.

What I did notice is the maple tops, they differ considerably from the Gibson tops. I'm told the Tokai's use western maple while the Gibsons are using Eastern maple. I thing this makes it quite easy to pick a Tokai from a Gibson.

While tone is a subjective thing I was also told the eastern maple sounds better than the western maple.

What is the opinions here on such matters?
 
Western I think is more common on modern guitars because it more often has flame, and bigger flame than eastern. PRS for example.

Gibson used Michigan hard rock maple (Eastern) due to local supplies near the factory. The flame is usually less obvious.

I am not sure what Tokai uses these days.
 
I don't know what the new PRS guitars are using, but my 91 Custom looks like it has eastern maple on it. (Brazilian rosewood fingerboard too.) :D

Mind you, it still doesn't sound like a Les Paul, it could be the tremolo?

I did experiment with a tone control over the sweet switch, but it had little effect on being more Les Paul like.

Mind you, it's still a good guitar, very flexible, but it's not a Les Paul.

The western maple is highly figured and it is popular for that reason, however for all that there is something about it that doesn't look right.

Jayand016.jpg
 
Mark Abbott said:
I don't know what the new PRS guitars are using, but my 91 Custom looks like it has eastern maple on it. (Brazilian rosewood fingerboard too.) :D

Mind you, it still doesn't sound like a Les Paul, it could be the tremolo?

I did experiment with a tone control over the sweet switch, but it had little effect on being more Les Paul like.

Mind you, it's still a good guitar, very flexible, but it's not a Les Paul.
Click to expand...

No, it's PRS. And that's not a bad thing! :)
But, if you want a Les Paul you'll have to buy one. It's amazing to me that the LP formula continues after more than 50 years, and still produces a tone that people know and love. Just like Fender with the Tele and Strat, Gibson really got the LP right from early on. These designs continue to be the benchmark and the inspiration for players and builders all over the world.

It's a hell of a thing... or do we just like what we know? :)
 
http://www.warmoth.com/Guitar/Bodies/Options/BodyWoodOptions.aspx

http://www.warmoth.com/Guitar/Necks/NeckWoods.aspx

8) good wood infos from warmoth.com.
 
While we are posting links I found this today.

http://www.callahamguitars.com/#whats_new

It will be interesting to see what the cork sniffers have to say about this one.

I agree that nothing sounds quite like a Les Paul, but for all that, I do miss all the funky tones the PRS offers.

I too wonder what the next big thing will be, I dare say we will see the robot guitar come and go.
 

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