First time bying tokai...

darkravers009 · Oct 28, 2009

Hey guys, I'm new by the way. I am planning on getting a tokai in the next week or so. I became very interested in Tokais because of the things said about MIJ Tokai's on Ultimate-Guitar. Seems they are rather fond of these guitars

So, after reading so much good stuff about them, I found a nice one on E-bay. I am forced to buy one of E-bay because Tokai's in The Netherlands (Holland

) are very rare. Awhosels... I found a rather beautiful Tokai LS90Q in a herritage burst [hmm... yummy

]

My questions to you guys, the experts on tokai I hope, are the following:

-How's quility, as in build and QC. Anything like epiphone, better or even better than gibson?
-What should I look out for when buyin online? how can I tell if it's a fake?
-How do they sound? anything close to gibby's?

I hope I am not too much of a hassle, as this is my first post on this board. Your help is much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

jyster · Oct 28, 2009

Hi and Welcome,

Build-quality is great. I have a 2001 LS90Q and it is flawless.

I owned a very expensive Gibson Les Paul Custom, but sold it as I was playing the Tokai much more and preferred it's sound. It's just right for me. Only thing about the quilt is make sure that the quilt finish is what you want. I have considered selling my 90Q and buying a plain/flame finish as I find it a little 'blingy'.

Best advice on checking the guitar would be to post a link to the ebay sale here. If there are good pictures on the ad. then the experts on here will be able to tell you about authenticity. If there aren't good pictures, don't buy it.

Sound-wise, I love the sound of my Tokai now that I have changed the pups to Gibson burstbucker pros. I wasn't too keen on the stock pups, but there are many on here who do like them.

Dave_Mc · Oct 28, 2009

that was probably me on ultimate guitar :lol: i think i remember posting in your thread, too.

jyster is spot-on, i think. i don't think i've tried that exact model, but the tokais which i've tried at the same/similar price i'd prefer to the cheaper gibsons. the problem is that gibson's QC is all over the place, if you could try 30 gibsons head to head you could find one better than a tokai, i'm sure, but taking the average MIJ tokai off the shelf versus the average gibson (with a roughly comparable price and spec- i'm obviously not talking about comparing the cheapest MIJ tokai to the dearest custom shop gibson), the tokai is going to win, most likely. Allegedly gibson's qc has improved a little recently, but i haven't been able to try any of the newer ones to see if this is true or not.

as jyster said, post the link to the auction, please. The other guys here know a lot more than i do, but there are a couple of obvious red lights, like 3-screw truss rod covers, which suggest something is not really japanese.

darkravers009 · Oct 28, 2009

Dave_Mc said:
that was probably me on ultimate guitar :lol: i think i remember posting in your thread, too.

jyster is spot-on, i think. i don't think i've tried that exact model, but the tokais which i've tried at the same/similar price i'd prefer to the cheaper gibsons. the problem is that gibson's QC is all over the place, if you could try 30 gibsons head to head you could find one better than a tokai, i'm sure, but taking the average MIJ tokai off the shelf versus the average gibson (with a roughly comparable price and spec- i'm obviously not talking about comparing the cheapest MIJ tokai to the dearest custom shop gibson), the tokai is going to win, most likely. Allegedly gibson's qc has improved a little recently, but i haven't been able to try any of the newer ones to see if this is true or not.

as jyster said, post the link to the auction, please. The other guys here know a lot more than i do, but there are a couple of obvious red lights, like 3-screw truss rod covers, which suggest something is not really japanese.

Haha, yeah I always keep my username, keeps me from forgetting stuff. Anyways, thanks for the heads-up and stuff. Ebay link:
http://cgi.ebay.nl/Tokai-Love-Rock-LS90Q-Electric-Guitar-Heritage-Cherry_W0QQitemZ370270418073QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item5635d63499

I think it looks gorgeous. Stunning, but I don't know what the neck'll be like 58? 59? or 60? I prefer kinda thin, 59 is good. I hate the 58 neck, too thick for my taste. All of this btw, comes from playing gibsons

jyster said:
Hi and Welcome,

Build-quality is great. I have a 2001 LS90Q and it is flawless.

I owned a very expensive Gibson Les Paul Custom, but sold it as I was playing the Tokai much more and preferred it's sound. It's just right for me. Only thing about the quilt is make sure that the quilt finish is what you want. I have considered selling my 90Q and buying a plain/flame finish as I find it a little 'blingy'.

Best advice on checking the guitar would be to post a link to the ebay sale here. If there are good pictures on the ad. then the experts on here will be able to tell you about authenticity. If there aren't good pictures, don't buy it.

Sound-wise, I love the sound of my Tokai now that I have changed the pups to Gibson burstbucker pros. I wasn't too keen on the stock pups, but there are many on here who do like them.

So, how's the neck? And would you say the pick ups are better then standard epi alnico 5's that come with a chinese Epi LP custom?

Dave_Mc · Oct 28, 2009

Thanks for the link. Far as I'm aware, richtone is legit, though I've never personally bought from him. He's actually registered on this forum, i think, and I'm sure some of the other regulars here have bought from him.

I'm not sure about the neck, I don't think I've tried that specific model. Hopefully some of the other regulars will have.

I think on the cheaper tokais, that the figured maple top might be a veneer on top of a slab of plainer maple, if that's a problem. Could be wrong, though.

Si Pie · Oct 28, 2009

Yup, got my Tokai from Richtone - he was quick to answer my email queries too.

darkravers009 · Oct 28, 2009

Dave_Mc said:
Thanks for the link. Far as I'm aware, richtone is legit, though I've never personally bought from him. He's actually registered on this forum, i think, and I'm sure some of the other regulars here have bought from him.

I'm not sure about the neck, I don't think I've tried that specific model. Hopefully some of the other regulars will have.

I think on the cheaper tokais, that the figured maple top might be a veneer on top of a slab of plainer maple, if that's a problem. Could be wrong, though.

Si Pie said:
Yup, got my Tokai from Richtone - he was quick to answer my email queries too.

Thanks guys for the response, this means a lot to me. Anyone bought one from richtone who lives in the EU?

vikingblues · Oct 28, 2009

I bought an LC85 from Richtone - just UK delivery though. Better than I had hoped for - quality build.

Really good set up and very well packaged. Very helpful on phone talking over the options, gave sensible advice, and also very helpful on e-mails.

darkravers009 · Oct 28, 2009

So, I hear all great stuff. Any other people which live in EU mainland ordered from richtone?

jyster · Oct 28, 2009

Richtone is one of the main contributors on this forum. You'll see an ad. banner on the top of most pages. There is no question about authenticity at all. It will be what the ad says it is. There used to be a good traders list on this site, but I can't find it at the moment. There were plenty of positive comments about Richtone.

All LS90Qs have a veneer quilt over a maple cap (although you never know with tokais). I happen to be watching another one on ebay, along with a few other bits of gear (GAS!). Might be worth a look, if your after a quilt top.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220498119591&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

darkravers009 · Oct 28, 2009

jyster said:
Richtone is one of the main contributors on this forum. You'll see an ad. banner on the top of most pages. There is no question about authenticity at all. It will be what the ad says it is. There used to be a good traders list on this site, but I can't find it at the moment. There were plenty of positive comments about Richtone.

All LS90Qs have a veneer quilt over a maple cap (although you never know with tokais). I happen to be watching another one on ebay, along with a few other bits of gear (GAS!). Might be worth a look, if your after a quilt top.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220498119591&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Thanks for the ad, although the colour just doesn't float my boat. It's a very good price tough. Thank a lot^^ No, the heritage cherry was something I was gassing for in a while. It was either this or something like a desert burst/tabacco burst type thing. This will be my first electric as wel

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