New Tokai 335 copy, please help!

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honeyboy said:
sunbird91 said:
Just got confirmation from the licenced tokai supplier that these are indeed genuine Tokai"s
Sunbird :D
Whoopie! Genuine Imitations! :lol:
I am with Honeyboy on this one. First, we all like our Tokai guitars. They are amazing. However, we all should agree that one reason that we purchased our Tokai's is that they are much cheaper than Gibsons and Fenders. I love my Tokai. If Tokai's were legit, they would be sold in the US. Stop bashing Gibson and Fender, they have a fair beef. If I had the $$ I would buy a Gibson. I play for enjoyment, not professionally, so the Tokai fits the bill. Simply stated they are inexpensive, albeit high quality, rip offs of two companies. Sorry guys, this is the truth - Lighten up, get off your high horses. That said, I think we all need to settle down and not take this topic so seriously. Let's get off the internet and go play our guitars.
 
Not so sure.

If I find a Tokai for the same price as a Gibson as a 230 0r a 320/380 and I feel they are in the same ballpark...I would get the Tokai.Tokai necks are more comfortable to me.Some say Tokais do soudn different as Gisbons,thiner they say...Well I like how my Tokais sound,I?m very satisfied.
As far as I like to try things before talking I bought a Yamano LP Std 50?s with Burstbuckers to try against my 320 and 150 so I was able to sit down and compare.Gibsons Yamanos usually are precieved as more quality Les Paul as the ones coming to Europe and maybe to US....Well I sold it and kept my Tokais,it was brighter and heavier,not equal attention to detaillthe friend I sold to for a lower price then usual are comanding(the same person that was a great friend at the time and who I trusted then blind) got very satisfied with the Yamano, however and sold it expensive after some time to use it...
 
I'm just wondering if anyone else has a burst style finish on one of these Chinese 335 copies. I've had one for about four months now, no model #, no serial #, etc, with a cherry sunburst finish, antique white binding, bigsby style trem, and Grover tuners. I got it for a steal of a deal including an archtop case($120 value). Superb instrument. I saw and played the red and blue models of the guitar at Mothers, but opted to go with the burst finish model at a different shop, especially after I convinced them to through in the expensive hardshell case!

I also play a variety of Gibson guitars, including an ES 135 LE, LP Standard CS, and an SG Faded Brown, I adore them all, the Tokai copy included. The neck on the 335 copy feels so close to the neck on my 135 that it is uncanny, the trem can be used extensively without loss of tuning stability, and the tone! The tone is not as bluesy as the Gibson 135, but it is truely gorgeous! After having the guitar for these four months I can honestly say that the only thing I'll consider changing out is the volume and tone pots, they are decent but not perfect. This guitar is a serious player, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or whatever, at this stage of the game I could care less if it was made in my backyard! I've yet to see another cherry burst model of this guitar, so you can all be jealous of me as I think I have the only one! LOL! J/K!

As far as I'm concerned, a guitar is a guitar is a guitar, what really matters is if it plays well, sounds good, and is what you want. Nothing else matters. Thanks,

SS
 
Slinky Slinger said:
I'm just wondering if anyone else has a burst style finish on one of these Chinese 335 copies. I've had one for about four months now, no model #, no serial #, etc, with a cherry sunburst finish, antique white binding, bigsby style trem, and Grover tuners. I got it for a steal of a deal including an archtop case($120 value). Superb instrument. I saw and played the red and blue models of the guitar at Mothers, but opted to go with the burst finish model at a different shop, especially after I convinced them to through in the expensive hardshell case!

I also play a variety of Gibson guitars, including an ES 135 LE, LP Standard CS, and an SG Faded Brown, I adore them all, the Tokai copy included. The neck on the 335 copy feels so close to the neck on my 135 that it is uncanny, the trem can be used extensively without loss of tuning stability, and the tone! The tone is not as bluesy as the Gibson 135, but it is truely gorgeous! After having the guitar for these four months I can honestly say that the only thing I'll consider changing out is the volume and tone pots, they are decent but not perfect. This guitar is a serious player, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or whatever, at this stage of the game I could care less if it was made in my backyard! I've yet to see another cherry burst model of this guitar, so you can all be jealous of me as I think I have the only one! LOL! J/K!

As far as I'm concerned, a guitar is a guitar is a guitar, what really matters is if it plays well, sounds good, and is what you want. Nothing else matters. Thanks,

SS
I couldn't agree with you more. Well said! It is a great Blues guitar.
 
Slinky Slinger said:
The neck on the 335 copy feels so close to the neck on my 135 that it is uncanny, the trem can be used extensively without loss of tuning stability, and the tone! The tone is not as bluesy as the Gibson 135, but it is truely gorgeous!
Yep. The neck on my fake 335 is a dead-on clone to my '92 ES135. I can't compare the sound because my 135 has P90's.

I like my 'No-kai' 335 quite a bit. But my Hagstrom Viking beats it hands-down.
 
It's funny you should mention Hagstrom. There is a shop local to me that sells them, and I've been eye-balling a semi-hollow for a while now. For a bit more money I could get one with an after market roller bridge and some fancy trem system. I'll have to look/play a bit more since you are so fond of yours.

My ES135 is a limitted edition '94 and came with a pair of '57s and I really like the set up. The ones that came in the 335 copy are a bit hotter/brighter, but still sound great.

SS
 
Slinky Slinger said:
It's funny you should mention Hagstrom. There is a shop local to me that sells them, and I've been eye-balling a semi-hollow for a while now.
I have a Viking and the big jazz box. The Viking is a really nice guitar, and has the fastest neck of anything I own. The jazz box is nice, but I just can't get it set up the way I want because it doesn't have a tune-o-matic bridge. My son likes it the way it is, so I leave it alone so he can enjoy it when he comes over to drink my beer.
 
I also picked up one of these whatever ES335 copies, red with bigsby. Incredible price, 235 shipped. It's a nice guitar for the money.whether it is a real Tokai, which I doubt, or not. It plays nice, needed a slight tweak to the setup. It stays in tune well with the bigsby but I replaced the bridge with a roller bridge.. I found the rosewood on the neck a bit on the dry side but that was easily fixed with an oiling and rubdown. I wasn't very particular to the HB's that were in it so I replaced them with a pair of GFS Dream 180's and the guitar just totally rocks ...
 
Yep, I bought mine for under $250 USD and I'm happy with it as well. I really don't care what the headstock says. I rarely sell my guitars, so resale value isn't that important to me. It's a nice little guitar.
 
Greetings. I am the proud owner of one of these blue tokais, probably made in China. I am interested in finding out the origin and manufacturer, the same as other owners of these great sounding guitars. Any info is appreciated. Mine had a bad solder joint, same as other owners experienced, and the fingerboard was not leveled as well as it should be. Also the nut was binding. I had the frets pulled, a bone nut installed, the fingerboard leveled, and nice frets installed by a luthier I know. Since then, it is one of the best sounding guitars I own (I have gibsons and fenders). It truly rings like a bell, which was the reason I purchased it in the first place. The alnico pickups in this guitar are great too. Too bad it needed some work, but every player who tries it is amazed at how well it resonates. It is my number one gigging guitar, hands down.
 
sorry, just couldn't resist. 8)
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