help identify this Tokai

I just bought this lefty Tokai 335 copy, or at least I think it is Tokai. the thing is I can't find the model of this guitar. looks like ES series but the head inlays look different and the body is blue.



I don't know if it's a fake Tokai or not. any info is much appreciated!

Wow, that's nice.

A lefty, too!

thanks, but I'm still not 100% sure if it's a real or fake Tokai. however, I've spent some time playing, and in case it's a fake (I'm such a pessimist), it's a **** good one. so here's some updates. by the way, I purchased it brand new, pickguard and pickups still had protective seal.

although I have never played the Gibson original or Epi copies, this one looks and plays excellently. the Grover tuners are awesome and keep it stay in tune all the time, the sustain is amazing, beats the hell out of my MIJ Fender strat and Epi Les Paul (yes, I made a big mistake purchasing an Epi LP). I've adjusted the pickups so that they are closer to strings to get hotter output. played though my studio monitor, the bass tone that came out of this thing gave rumble on my desk! when a string breaks, I'll check what kind of pickups they are, and I might replace them with Seth Lover and Kent Armstrong PAF, but so far, they sound good enough for me, unlike the Epi LP pickups.

and the finish on it is impecable. the head stock inlays are definitely pearl, not some decal. the only thing I complain about is one volume knob that seems loose.

the reason why I still can't tell it's a genuine Tokai is that there's no sticker inside with reg number and model number like in most of the ES series. anyways, I'm keeping it, it's a beauty. they had another one for righty as well.

Well, the modified open book headstock looks exactly like the one Tokai is using now. My guess is that it's a korean Tokai. It looks really nice!

Mike

is there any website to get more info on Korean Tokai? I want to find out what kind of pickups they put in this guitar.

3 screw truss rod cover generally says "Korea" to me.

leftyTokaiMan said:

I don't know if it's a fake Tokai or not. any info is much appreciated!

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It seems that it comes from the same source as other Canadian Tokai guitars, because I had seen this logo before on a mahogany ES copy from guitar_sales on ebay which has been relisted today.

http://cgi.ebay.de/TOKAI-335-Style-Guitar-Mahogany-Brown-Guitar-NEW_W0QQitemZ7365506457QQcategoryZ2384QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I just saw a couple of those in a store here in Winnipeg (Canada), yesterday! They seemed to be rather low-end and quite inexpensive. I forget the price but they were a couple hundred CDN $ less than the ES-60. The store also had a number of the NLS48 LP copies - my first encounters with Korean Tokais.

I thought the ES was OK, but the 48's seemed a little cheap-feeling. I'd say they are quite similar to the low-end Epiphones.

Jim

true, the prices on low-end Epi copies were in the range as this one, and I had a bad luck with Epi Les Paul, so I chose Tokai copy instead. this is most likely a Korean model.

interesting that you saw a couple of them in Winnipeg because I bought it in Toronto! it might be a Canadian model? LOL

hans-j?rgen said:

It seems that it comes from the same source as other Canadian Tokai guitars, because I had seen this logo before on a mahogany ES copy from guitar_sales on ebay which has been relisted today.

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I just checked this seller, and they even have a Tokai lefty SG for sale!! ****, I want it!!!!!!

arent korean tokais similar to epiphones????

the ones that i have tried are nothing like the MIJ tokais..... the ones i tried out had the feel of a cheap epiphone..... but we all know how 1 guitar differs to another.....

i think thats definetly a real tokai bro not a copy..... im just not a fan of ES model guitars......... les pauls all the way!!!!!!!!

Korean Tokais & Epiphones? - I've been told by several people that they're all made in the same factory under license by Samick.
Apparently the Tokai Quality Control team are way tougher than the Epiphone mob.

However, my best advice to you has to be : Forget it.

Don't risk your money, save up & buy a Japanese Tokai direct from the Hammamatsu Tokai factory via Noriko Sadao or Koichi at : - http://www.ishibashi-music.com/
Not much more expensive - Far better guitar.

Good luck!

I read in another forum that these new Tokais, of which there seem to be quite a few on eBay lately, are made in China. Has anybody else heard this?

I got a MIK Love Rock from Guitar_Sales earlier this summer and I have to say it's a fantastic guitar. I started playing again after 15 years away from it, and the Tokai is much better than the Gibson I had back then. I'd love to grab a reasonably priced 335 clone for some listless blues noodling in the evening, but I don't want to buy something online if it's going to turn out to be unplayable.

Also, I've noticed some with Bigsby bridges. Does anyone have any experience with Tokai Bigsbies?

Any info would be appreciated.

Well, all the ?piphone are made in China now (in the 2 Gibson China factories). The Korean Tokai Les Paul I tried a few years ago were really nice, better than the ?piphones. But it was a few years ago...

infinitemonkey said:

I read in another forum that these new Tokais, of which there seem to be quite a few on eBay lately, are made in China. Has anybody else heard this?

.

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First of all read this here :

http://www.tokaiforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=4551



A friend imports guitars by the thousands each and every six months and Tokai badged model turn up a lot. They are not fakes they are Tokais built to budget spec.


The Washburn HB32 is the same guitar as the cheap Tokai 335 clone that has been shown on these forums over the past few weeks.

It is made in an Indonesian factory.


Trouble is some people on the forum cannot accept it, even though the Guitars are the same :-?

I can believe that these Tokai 335s and the Washburn HB32 are the same guitar. They certainly look very similar, other than the Tokai having black hardware and the Washburn having "distressed" copper coloured hardware. Guitar_sales is selling both of them, incidentally.

Back when I was in highschool, so many years ago, the Japanese Tokais were a relatively new phenomenon. Everybody said they were crap, mainly because they came from Japan, and as we all knew back then, the Japanese can't make quality instruments. :roll:

I completely missed the inception of the Korean wave of production, but I imagine a lot of people said the Korean stuff was crap too. As the happy owner of a Korean Tokai, I can attest that that is not the case.

So, even if these most recent guitars are made in China or Indonesia, I'm not prepared to dismiss them out of hand. The cheap Tokai 335s that members here have bought seem to be decent guitars for the price. The Washburn HB32 is getting pretty good reviews around the web too, with price taken into account.

Personally, I'm just looking for a decent, playable guitar to noodle around on at home. I'm not in a band and nobody is ever going to pay to hear me play. I play for fun. My only question is if playing one of these guitars is going to be fun.

The choice is between the cheap Tokai or Washburn and an ES60. There's a pretty significant difference in the price, so if the cheaper ones are playable and sound OK, I think that is the way I'll go. I'll enjoy playing more if I'm not so worried about my wife killing me mid-song.

I can't agree more. I'm more of a Strat guy, so this 335 copy was perfect! it's affordable, very playable, gives me a little different sound than my Fenders. I'm pretty sure you could build some awesome 335 copy out of this at a fraction of a real ES60 if you upgrade the pickups, bridge and tailpiece.

Well, I've got a pair of Gibson pickups out of a mid 70s Les Paul sitting here unused. They're a 500T and a 496R. I wonder if they'd be a good match for a semi-hollow. The output is pretty high, especially out of the 500t.