Felipe Nacif
Active member
- Joined
- Jun 4, 2003
- Messages
- 35
- Reaction score
- 0
This is the review I posted on Harmony Central. I'm really happy 
Price Paid: N/A
Purchased from: N/A
Features: 10
This is a brand new Love Rock LS320 model, currently top of line of the Tokai guitars, made at the Tokai facility in Hamamatsu in Japan.
Basicaly a 59 Les Paul replica, with few own Tokai appointments such as the rocket truss rod cover.
One piece mahogany neck, Brazilian rosewood fingerboard and one piece flamed mahogany body, neck with long-tenon joint, just like the old Les Paul new Historic reissues. Light weight guitar of this type, low 8lbs.
Bookmatched 4A chevron flame top, finished in Cherry Sunburst.
2 Seth Lover pickups, CTS pots, vintage style caps, Kluson type tuners, light weight tailpiece. Finish in vintage style lacquer.
The neck has a 59 carve, not baseball bat like a 58, not thin as a 60, very confortable. Pretty much mainstream carve by todays standards.
The Tokai case is also really nice.
Sound: 10
I've been thru lots of guitars, currently I own more than 25, including some top of line PRS and McInturff. This guitar is at least on the same level of the best guitars I've played.
The sound has tons of dynamics, the guitar vibrates like no other. It's everything I could expect from a guitar.
The neck pickup is very full and clear, while the bridge has a tad more bite. Playing thru a Tweed Deluxe with a SD-1, you can sound almost clean to very crunchy, kind of Robben Ford. The guitar has the Knofpler dynamic when you play with your fingers.
The PAF tone is all there, hollow woody midrange. Compared with my 81 Heritage Les Paul, it has more presence, while the Gibson has more pronounced midrange. They complement each other, if you're seaching for ultimate Les Paul tones. But the sustain is unbelieavable. It's one of the very few guitars that you can bend a note and see the volume even rising a bit.
The controls work really well, you can get the woman tone, get jazzy, or agressive like Gibbons.
Action, Fit, & Finish: 10
Finish is top notch, as good as it gets. Frets are medium jumbo, but rounded and smooth, unlike the trapezoid frets of most Gibsons.
The lacquer brings out the best of the wood, specially in the back, where the flamed mahogany really shines.
This guitar has now flaws.
Regarding the factory set-up, I only had to loosen the truss rod a bit. I did expect that, since the guitar came all the way from Japan to Brazil, took 4 days and stayed a lot on cold airplane cargo compartments. Every guitar that comes from airmail to me needs a bit adjustment. It's default.
Reliability/Durability: 10
Considering it's made as the old Les Pauls, which are around much longer than me, I have no doubts it will be pretty reliable. It's been with me only a month.
Customer Support: 10
I've dealt directly with mr. Shohei Adachi, the president of Tokai Gakki company. He's been a gentleman all the way, have done everything to satisfy my needs. Sent pics, answered my emails the next day.
It's the best costumer support I've had in my life.
Overall Rating: 10
This might look to biased, but it's not. This has been the greatest experience guitar-wise I've been thru. I've had more than 50 guitars during the last 10 years, and this one is defitely the most pleasure surprise I've had.
I have no complaints. I'm usually pretty critical about gear, once I have a new guitar I'm always looking for its flaws, anything I can correct or not.
Maybe I'd like this guitar to come with Duncan Antiquities, but so far the Seth Lovers have delivered the goods. I might even change the pickups if the squeal to much under distortion (Seths are non wax-potted pickups), but it won't be because of tone.
The guitar is so good I'm selling some stuff to get another one.
I could sell 15 guitars of mine only to buy 320s.
If I had to have one and only guitar, this would be it.
Submitted by Felipe Nacif at 07/02/2003 07:14
Price Paid: N/A
Purchased from: N/A
Features: 10
This is a brand new Love Rock LS320 model, currently top of line of the Tokai guitars, made at the Tokai facility in Hamamatsu in Japan.
Basicaly a 59 Les Paul replica, with few own Tokai appointments such as the rocket truss rod cover.
One piece mahogany neck, Brazilian rosewood fingerboard and one piece flamed mahogany body, neck with long-tenon joint, just like the old Les Paul new Historic reissues. Light weight guitar of this type, low 8lbs.
Bookmatched 4A chevron flame top, finished in Cherry Sunburst.
2 Seth Lover pickups, CTS pots, vintage style caps, Kluson type tuners, light weight tailpiece. Finish in vintage style lacquer.
The neck has a 59 carve, not baseball bat like a 58, not thin as a 60, very confortable. Pretty much mainstream carve by todays standards.
The Tokai case is also really nice.
Sound: 10
I've been thru lots of guitars, currently I own more than 25, including some top of line PRS and McInturff. This guitar is at least on the same level of the best guitars I've played.
The sound has tons of dynamics, the guitar vibrates like no other. It's everything I could expect from a guitar.
The neck pickup is very full and clear, while the bridge has a tad more bite. Playing thru a Tweed Deluxe with a SD-1, you can sound almost clean to very crunchy, kind of Robben Ford. The guitar has the Knofpler dynamic when you play with your fingers.
The PAF tone is all there, hollow woody midrange. Compared with my 81 Heritage Les Paul, it has more presence, while the Gibson has more pronounced midrange. They complement each other, if you're seaching for ultimate Les Paul tones. But the sustain is unbelieavable. It's one of the very few guitars that you can bend a note and see the volume even rising a bit.
The controls work really well, you can get the woman tone, get jazzy, or agressive like Gibbons.
Action, Fit, & Finish: 10
Finish is top notch, as good as it gets. Frets are medium jumbo, but rounded and smooth, unlike the trapezoid frets of most Gibsons.
The lacquer brings out the best of the wood, specially in the back, where the flamed mahogany really shines.
This guitar has now flaws.
Regarding the factory set-up, I only had to loosen the truss rod a bit. I did expect that, since the guitar came all the way from Japan to Brazil, took 4 days and stayed a lot on cold airplane cargo compartments. Every guitar that comes from airmail to me needs a bit adjustment. It's default.
Reliability/Durability: 10
Considering it's made as the old Les Pauls, which are around much longer than me, I have no doubts it will be pretty reliable. It's been with me only a month.
Customer Support: 10
I've dealt directly with mr. Shohei Adachi, the president of Tokai Gakki company. He's been a gentleman all the way, have done everything to satisfy my needs. Sent pics, answered my emails the next day.
It's the best costumer support I've had in my life.
Overall Rating: 10
This might look to biased, but it's not. This has been the greatest experience guitar-wise I've been thru. I've had more than 50 guitars during the last 10 years, and this one is defitely the most pleasure surprise I've had.
I have no complaints. I'm usually pretty critical about gear, once I have a new guitar I'm always looking for its flaws, anything I can correct or not.
Maybe I'd like this guitar to come with Duncan Antiquities, but so far the Seth Lovers have delivered the goods. I might even change the pickups if the squeal to much under distortion (Seths are non wax-potted pickups), but it won't be because of tone.
The guitar is so good I'm selling some stuff to get another one.
I could sell 15 guitars of mine only to buy 320s.
If I had to have one and only guitar, this would be it.
Submitted by Felipe Nacif at 07/02/2003 07:14
