Thoughts on 1990 Tokai LC?

Hello
I'm new to the board. I have been eyeing a black 1990 Tokai LC with 2 (original) pickups, gold hardware, the correct Gibson style headstock inlay etc. It has upgraded PIO caps and pots but appears otherwise stock. How does this guitar compare to true Gibsons? Is it closer to high end Epiphone, product Gibson LP standards of the day (or contemporary Classic / Traditional / Standard models)?

It is easy to find information on the 1978-1982 or so Tokai LS series, given their desirability. I wish I could afford a c1980 LS120 Reborn Old! It is much harder to find information on this 1990 LC. Years ago, I had a Burny RLG something flametop with VH1000 or whatever they were called pickups. It was a neat guitar, but my beat up 1990 Gibson 'hall of fame edition' les paul junior absolutely destroyed it from a playability and tone standpoint when I compared them back to back through my gigging amp setup: A modified 1986 JCM800 2205 50w head backdated to JMP mk2 spec, through a match 4x12 slant cab with Celestions. No pedals. High energy rock and roll / punk-y a la MC5, Dictators, Heartbreakers and all those similar 70s bands. The Burny's pickups squealed like crazy (not wax potted?) and just didn't have the bite of the single P90.

Both guitars were set up by a regional pro who has done, among others, Slayer's guitars. Slayer is not my cup of tea, but just as a point of reference for guitar setup. The Burny had a crack by the tailpiece so I sold it for very little money.

I am interested in this local 1990 Tokai LC because it would appear to be a pickup upgrade away from being an excellent guitar. I have not seen it in person yet, but the seller describes the neck as closer to 60s slim than 50s baseball bat...that's a good thing for me! What is the build quality of this guitar compared to earlier Tokais? Good wood? Good fretboard wood? Seller states it weight 9 lbs, so not too heavy.

There's such a wealth of knowledge on this board, I look forward to any comments you might have.

Thank You!

Build quality will be as good as anything Gibson USA ever put out, and will be more consistent. The old stuff has rarity appeal but quality has not diminished over time.

Specs - non weight relived mahogany body, full thickness maple cap, thin poly finish, 'medium' neck tenon (goes to the end of the freboard but not under the pickup), metric Gotoh hardware, rosewood board, unbound fret ends.

Be aware of the neck profile, Tokai have always favoured a 50's profile over slim 60's and I don't think this one is an exception.

Paladin2019 said:

Build quality will be as good as anything Gibson USA ever put out, and will be more consistent. The old stuff has rarity appeal but quality has not diminished over time.

Specs - non weight relived mahogany body, full thickness maple cap, thin poly finish, 'medium' neck tenon (goes to the end of the freboard but not under the pickup), metric Gotoh hardware, rosewood board, unbound fret ends.

Be aware of the neck profile, Tokai have always favoured a 50's profile over slim 60's and I don't think this one is an exception.

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I have played several Tokais from a range of 'vintage' Tokai to more recent examples.
These examples cover mainly LS & ES examples.
I have experienced plenty of examples that would be considered comparable to a so called 'slim 60s' type profile & thickness.
This is exactly why I sold every ES example Tokai I ever owned, and also several LS examples.
I have two LS examples left; a 1981 & a 2000, and both have thin necks. That's basically why I never play them.

Thank you. I bought it yesterday. Interesting guitar. Seems well made. It is going off to a friend for some setup work and pickup swap. Going to start with Classic 57s and if I don't love those, may try some Fralin Pure PAFs or similar. And yes, the neck is quite slim on this one.

the sneak said:

Thank you. I bought it yesterday. Interesting guitar. Seems well made. It is going off to a friend for some setup work and pickup swap. Going to start with Classic 57s and if I don't love those, may try some Fralin Pure PAFs or similar. And yes, the neck is quite slim on this one.

Click to expand...

that is no surprise, to me, at least.

I'm more than a little surprised about the comments re: neck thickness. I took the opportunity to look back over some old forum posts and couldn't find anything definitive, although a number of them seemed to suggest there was some variation between different years/models.

My own experience was that the MIJ models tend towards a full but comfortable 50's profile and the MIK's/MIC's were slim 60's. My '01 LS has one of the thickest necks I've ever played.

My comments are based solely on my own personal experience with MIJ Tokais; none others.

I have only purchased, played, and sold MIJ Tokais; none others.

I cannot base my comments on third party observations.