Which amp for your tokai???

Tokai Forum

Help Support Tokai Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
with my LS320 and SG155 I've had good results with:

- metro jtm45 with RS OT and bluesbreaker ext and bogner os cabs
- clark rockford reverb (vibroverb reverb with 12f150t that looks like a deluxe reverb)
- lil dawg champster
- alessandro rottweiler with mojotone tremolux cab with 10a150 and 10" alnico california
 
marcusnieman said:
buckwild said:
I've always been a firm believer in the Les Paul + Marshall equals tonal nirvana. Therefore I run my LS-320 into a Marshall Silver Jubilee.......

Hey Joe, is the Silver Jubilee the limited edition model with the silver tolex? I've never seen one.....pictures?


Yep it's the silver tolex Jubilee. I don't have any pics at this moment but it is the short head version and can go from 50watts to 25 watts. My DSL 100 is in silver tolex also and was a limited run.
 
I've posted already in the amp's section ...

I have 2 Fenders, a Deluxe Reverb RI with a ToneTubby and a BluesDeVille 4x10 Blue AlNiCos ...
... and two ex-cabs with Tonetubbys and Weber BlueDog AlNiCos.

The Tokai sounds great with all of my amps - she has the DiMarzios ...

... but I have a set of Jim Wagner's Fillmores laying around and I like to try it in my old Lady ...

The Amps give all the sound I want them to do - TS-9, Damage Control Demonizer and Radial Tonebone give their very best ...

Roger
 
Tokai Gold top with P90's(Wolfetone) into an Ampeg SJ-12R an awesome sound. Ampeg has 12" emminence legend speaker. Guitar also has RS guitarworks premium upgrade package installed.
 
While I mostly play that "G" brand of guitars (sorry, as you guys are much more fun than my fellow "G" owners), when I was in the UK earlier this year I fell in love with Tokai! Since returning, I have only bought one, and it's a real decent FB-53 (MIK). However, I have played pro for 30 years, always managed to snatch failure from the jaws of success at the last possible moment...

All that means I've had a zillion amps (as well as plenty of early '60s Gs and Fenders). Everything from Matchless to Roland JC. In my living room is one of the first Music Man amps made (#000079). I gave up the boutique amp for more versitility (a Marshall) when I was coaxed into performing covers again locally a couple years ago. Suprised how much I like the Marshall DSL... More w/ Humbuckers than w/ a Strat, though that's OK too.

WHY did I post this self indulgent crap? Because I have recently found:

18watt.com

A forum of people who make (from kits), or just plain buy them pre-assembled, ready to go, versions of the short lived 18 watt Marshall (think mini Bluesbreaker combo). These amps seem WAY too cool to not buy one-so I will! This forum is full of people who rewire and such, any serious DIYers should consider an 18wt kit, or just buy one made. The copies are similar to Tokai in that they are HUGE value for the dollar, and more like the old school product than the current "reissue" stuff".
 
the 18 watt is a great amp... very well defined. Gets you really close to the "beano" type sound too if you want, or even some AC/DC...

Be careful though, the 18 watts are deceiving, just like the tweed deluxe, they're very loud amps... even though some people might think not.
 
bruno, you're definitely correct. I've built several tube amps, and the 18watt is, by far, the most surprising (so far). The amp is indeed very loud with an efficient speaker. The tone is amazing. It complements my Tokai LS90 as well as my Fender Strat.

With the amp cranked past 5 on the volume, its a perfect "brown" crunch. Thick and beefy -- think AC/DC "Back in Black". Rolling off the guitar's volume knob brings the amp back into the "clean" world -- the cleans are warm (not chimey). The amp is also very touch sensitive, so you can really hear the difference between lightly picking and "digging" into a note. Its sad that many amps lose this dynamic characteristic when the volume is cranked.

I'm using a 1x12 closed-back cab, loaded with an Eminence GB12. Celestion Heritage 12"s sound great as well. I've also heard great things about Sammi (but I haven't tried them). I will say that Jensons sounded badly with this amp.
 
The Laney VC15-110 is an amazing little amp. It's only let down slightly by the limited low end of it's 10" speaker. On mids and highs the amp and speaker really sparkle. There is an extension speaker output but this cuts off the internal Jensen driver so if you plug in a cab with bigger speakers they're all you'll hear. I've tried it with a G12 Vintage 30 and a Marshall 2x12 and although the bottom end is fuller, the 12" just aren't as crisp and clear. So in the end I got a Laney 1x12 cab and modified the speaker output to have the internal 10" and external 12" wired in series. This gives 16ohms which is a safe load for the amp and the sound is not lacking anything now.

This amp is brilliant for single coil sounds and almost as good with humbuckers. Plus it's really small and easy to carry round. All in all I think this little amp is probably the best value for money there is at the moment. I have been using a Cornford Harlequin which is a lovely amp but the Laney gives it a good run at half the price and size.

By the way, I'm not a dealer and I don't work for Laney. :wink: :D
 
I'm still trying to get my hands on a Tokai I like (got a LS100 anniversary on order). My main guitar is a USA tele with a Seymour Duncan "little 59" in the bridge position which sounds great through my Carvin "Belair" vintage tube. Great amp, great price too. Only paid ?500 GBP a few years ago. Can't wait to find out what a Tokai LoveRock sounds like through it. For 50 watts its a really LOUD amp.
New Orange "Tiny Terror" sounds great quite fancy one of those! 7 or 15 watt selector switch, about the size of a toaster!
 
100watt said:
I'm still trying to get my hands on a Tokai I like (got a LS100 anniversary on order). My main guitar is a USA tele with a Seymour Duncan "little 59" in the bridge position which sounds great through my Carvin "Belair" vintage tube. Great amp, great price too. Only paid ?500 GBP a few years ago. Can't wait to find out what a Tokai LoveRock sounds like through it. For 50 watts its a really LOUD amp.
New Orange "Tiny Terror" sounds great quite fancy one of those! 7 or 15 watt selector switch, about the size of a toaster!

i have the rocker 30 combo......amazing 8)
 
believe it or not a kid came into the music shop i used to work in and asked why there wasn't a 13 amp plug on the end of his guitar lead ....to play "electric guitar" ....God bless him....

i also had a French guitarist turn up with "Roast Beef" written on the plug of his amp ...when i asked him why.... he said ...."eet eez a british plug" ...
..."you call us frogs...we call you Roast beef".... :lol:
 
I use a Brunetti Maranello. It is only 20 W, full tube and it goes up to something like 105 dB. Very versatile and very easy in getting exactly the sound you want.
This is how it sounds like:
Relatively undistorted:
http://www.youtube.com/user/Rockaboveclouds#p/u/2/RgJ-9hGXPDE
Relatively distorted:
http://www.youtube.com/user/Rockaboveclouds#p/u/0/BEwHCU47veY
 
Hi guys and gals, im new to this forum. I treated myself to a lovely ES130 in tobacco burst from richtone around August of this year. I downsized from a far too complicated Marshall TSL100 combo with 2x12 cab down to a Fender Blues Deluxe. Have to admit took me a while to find a small valve amp that had the type of sound i was after. I demoed it with a Gibby ES335 in a music store, and that was the exact sound i was after. Loving it, and only something like 8 dials on. I think the TSL was 29 pots and 9 switches (just on the front! :-? )
 
I use the only amp i have, an Engl Powerbal with a 2x12 V30's Engl cab. Since currently i only play at home i've been looking into buying a Blackstar HT-5, maybe next year.

My Tokai is a LS-135 (the current LS-150), and it sounds awesome with the PB.
 
Canterbilly said:
I use my LR with a Laney VC15 (10" Jenson speaker) tube amp. Great little amp with a brilliant sound. I tend to use just the guitars volume controls to go from clean-crunch-solo and the Laney is perfect for it. It needs an extension cab (2x10) for gigs, but because of the low power rating you can crank it all the way to get the output tubes cooking. Dunno what it's like with Strat type guitars but sounds amazing with the Love Rock and a PRS Soapbar. With a strat it would probably need an overdrive pedal for full on rock sounds but with more powerful pickups there is plenty of gain.
They are good value for money too. You can easily find them for well under ?300 (GBP), and they are self biasing (as long as you change the output tubes with a matched set). One of the best buys I've ever made, I much prefer it to my old fender tube amps.

I got one of these too and they sound SWEET! I play my LS-150 and ES-120 both with stock MKII and my SG-155 with Leosounds Growldogs straight in and get great tones from it. If I need to play at lower volumes but still want some crunch, I also add a Boss BD-2 in front.

I was looking to get something a little 'sexier' than the Laney but the more I play it, the more I love it. Mine still has stock tubes, and as it's my first tube amp, I have no idea what to replace with down the road. Any thoughts?

Jason
 
I posted this demo video a while back. But if anyone is interested this was done with a Tokai LS85 into a Marshall TSL602 set to clean and then using an MI Audio Crunchbox for the distortion.

The link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wG9OEkgGEJM

Cheers,

Peter.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top