GODLYKE IS NO LONGER THE U.S. DISTRIBUTOR FOR TOKAI

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CHANCE

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I OWN WWW.FORTMADISONGUITARS.COM , WHAT WHO WHERE OR WHY CAN I GET TOKAI GUITARS FOR MY STORE...YES I AM A HUGE TOKAI FAN...AND I KNOW THE HISTORY AND ALL THE CANDIAN COPIES AND THE REST...BUT WHO IS NOW THE DISTRIBUTOR FOR THE U.S.A...OR AM I GONNA HAVE TO FLY TO JAPAN? EMAIL ME AT [email protected] we are the largest Danelectro dealer in the world. :roll:
 
Gibson has successfully kept all new Tokai's from entering the US. Even guitars that are not replica or copies.
 
I am in communications with the factory now, to make a long story short, I may do one of two things, go over to Japan, buy a bunch of new tokais with bolt on necks and ship them to my house, or go to canada, and set up a deal with a store there, and bring them in this way....Gibson is about fried, after that wood fiasco and the US agents raiding the place...and Fender is starting to feel the crunch, as they are spending more and more on advertising, (they were all over the tooth fairy movie with the rock)....so my guess is there will be 2 major shake ups, that my see the end of 2 giants, and this one little plant in Japan continues to make superior products.
 
CHANCE said:
so my guess is there will be 2 major shake ups, that my see the end of 2 giants,

As good as it may be to have Tokai's US presence increased you can't say that a major shakeup means the total destruction of the brand, product and company.

And I hardly think that an increase in advertising could be taken as the beginning of the end.
 
There's no chance that Gibson and Fender will disappear, ever...
If they do, it's because nobody on the planet wants to play guitar anymore.

Both of them could go bankrupt today, and be trading under new ownership within weeks, albeit with some differences in the company structures and goals (different from what they are now).
 
ned said:
Gibson has successfully kept all new Tokai's from entering the US. Even guitars that are not replica or copies.

They wont have done it legally - more likely they have put pressure on retailers/distributors, right?

Fender do this sort of thing as well.

The only aspects of the guitars that each can defend in the US are the headstocks and logos, both of them have lost control of the body shapes for all time.
 
If Tokai had a good lawyer in the USA who'd be willing to work for free, Gibson would get slaughtered in court and in Music Stores.
Not slaughtered to death, just a permanent disability. :)

But, if Tokai were able to supply every music store in the USA, then the waiting list for Japanese guitars would be years, not months.
 
Diamond said:
But, if Tokai were able to supply every music store in the USA, then the waiting list for Japanese guitars would be years, not months.

This is the problem - if Tokai expanded sufficiently to meet greatly increased demand, the very nature of the company that we all like would inevitably change.
 
Gibson basically out spends everyone on the legal end. And they do it in their own back yard. The reason PRS won was stuck it out and the appeal wasn't in Tennessee.
 
stratman323 said:
Diamond said:
But, if Tokai were able to supply every music store in the USA, then the waiting list for Japanese guitars would be years, not months.

This is the problem - if Tokai expanded sufficiently to meet greatly increased demand, the very nature of the company that we all like would inevitably change.

True.

That's why this thread should be deleted, and this discussion never take place ever ever again. :lol:
 
What about the other two big boys? PRS and probably Tokai's main rival Ibanez. (Im just presuming this, please correct me if im wrong.)

Not everyone likes fender or gibson.
 

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