Why aren't you bothered that it doesn't say GIBSON?

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Dave_Mc said:
Ozeshin said:
I think that the way this thread is shaping up is that quite a few of us have actually owned Gibsons in the past so we have had the opportunity for comparison.

not me. I'm thankful i found out about tokai and the other japanese brands before i ended up forking out for a gibbo or fender. :lol:
Well I've owned a 1978 Standard in Tobacco Burst that had an extremely rough existence before I got it... it was achingly heavy..original uncovered Burstbuckers...played ok...sounded ok...but never felt a part of me.
I've also owned a very rare late sixties prototype model SG...it had no serial but DID have the dated swingtags in the case.
It was a dark walnut with a Bigsby,black mini humbuckers and dot inlays...and aside from the fact that it was a rare Gibson...it played like ****....would NOT stay in tune and the feedback was uncontrollable.
So of the Gibsons that I have owned...NOTHING comes close to the quality or playability of my Tokai.
 
I like to be a little different from the crowd and generally don't care what others think - so I buy Tokai. I have 3 and on the look out for a fourth!

Also I value what my ??? can buy and I can get much more Tokai for my dosh.

I have a Fender Strat but its a Squier, most people laugh and say what are you doing playing that heap of junk.

But I know its a MIJ 80's Squier, loaded with Seymour Duncans and is a stonking guitar that only cost me ?100 - so who's laughing now?
 
There's only one reason - quality of Tokai guitars is simply superior to those of large American brands.

Let me tell you a story:
A couple of years ago I went into the local music store to buy a nice strat. I had just received some bonus to my account, so I had ability and will to pay what's needed for a good one. The store is actually the local importer of Fender guitars, so they had a whole punch of F-strats - I tried pretty much all the Fenders from MIM to Signature series EJ strat (i.e. price range of 500-2200euros), but ended up walking out of the store with a used 2005 Tokai AST-50. It was barely used at all, so if someone had said that it's brand new I'd have believed it. The quality and finishing were absolutely great and, not to forget, the acoustic qualities and resonance (which is naturally the basis for a great electric sound, as well) were far better than those of Fenders.

This year more or less the same happened w/ a Les Paul...so, after that I came up with my motto (see my signature below). :D

So, who cares about the text in the headstock - or even the shape of the headstock - if you're getting what you're wanting. Plus you're getting it w/ lower price...
 
Ozeshin said:
Well I've owned a 1978 Standard in Tobacco Burst that had an extremely rough existence before I got it... it was achingly heavy..original uncovered Burstbuckers...played ok...sounded ok...but never felt a part of me.
I've also owned a very rare late sixties prototype model SG...it had no serial but DID have the dated swingtags in the case.
It was a dark walnut with a Bigsby,black mini humbuckers and dot inlays...and aside from the fact that it was a rare Gibson...it played like ^&*(....would NOT stay in tune and the feedback was uncontrollable.
So of the Gibsons that I have owned...NOTHING comes close to the quality or playability of my Tokai.

hehe. I mean i've tried gibsons in shops, obviously that doesn't let me know them as well as having owned them, but it's enough to let me know they're not worth it (at UK prices, anyway). :)
 
Gibson & Fender make some great guitars, but the good Japanese ones, Tokai etc are definetely more consistent and far better value. I actually think the name Tokai get's you a lot of respect with other musos, Joe Public might not be impressed, but having Tokai on your headstock is always a talking point with other guitarists.
 
Why aren't you bothered that it doesn't say GIBSON?

Because I'm not a snob about guitars?

JohnA makes a good point too - Tokais provoke comments when you gig with them.
 
stratman323 said:
Why aren't you bothered that it doesn't say GIBSON?

Because I'm not a snob about guitars?

JohnA makes a good point too - Tokais provoke comments when you gig with them.

I'm more about the sound - not who makes them.
 
There is no difference in sound/tone between a Love Rock and a GLP.

This weekend we had a GLP Standard with stock pups, a GLP Studio with stock pups, and an LS85 GT.
The Studio sounded terrible compared to either the Standard or 85.
We put a set of MK2 in the Studio, now all three guitars sound identical...and I mean really identical.

So there's no difference in tone, the Tokai manufacturing quality is definitely more consistent, and Tokai have a far more extensive range of models and colours than the GLP range.

Gig with a GLP, after the gig you'll get no comments, gig with a Tokai and you cause a stir, lots of questions and compliments after the gig.

I guess it's boils down to wisdom, the wise choose Tokai. :)
 
Diamond said:
We put a set of MK2 in the Studio, now all three guitars sound identical...and I mean really identical.

We did a similar experiment put MKII's in a Bacchus LP of mine to see how it compared to DaveWW's Navigator which sounded amazing with MKII's, the Bacchus sounded great, but the Nav definetely sounded better!
 
JohnA said:
Diamond said:
We put a set of MK2 in the Studio, now all three guitars sound identical...and I mean really identical.

We did a similar experiment put MKII's in a Bacchus LP of mine to see how it compared to DaveWW's Navigator which sounded amazing with MKII's, the Bacchus sounded great, but the Nav definetely sounded better!

You should have used a Tokai, not a Bacchus. :)
 
JohnA said:
Gibson & Fender make some great guitars, but the good Japanese ones, Tokai etc are definetely more consistent and far better value. I actually think the name Tokai get's you a lot of respect with other musos, Joe Public might not be impressed, but having Tokai on your headstock is always a talking point with other guitarists.

oh yeah, i'm not saying gibson or fender are crap, just that you're paying a premium for the name on the headstock. i don't want to pay a premium for the name on the headstock. :lol:
 

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