Kurosawa Models

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I rarely buy new guitars, from Japan or otherwise. But this aged white LC348 spoke to me when I came across it. Although it does not have the "K" in the model number, it was a special order by Kurosawa and I bought it directly from them. It was delivered this morning.

I can't ever recall seeing any sort of aged guitars coming out of the Tokai factory. There was also a heavier aged black custom that popped up at the same time, but that one looks to be sold as well. I would say the aging is very light, and is mainly some darkening of the white finish, which I think looks very nice and authentic. It does not have any finish checking.

It's another all mahogany custom that will sit nicely with the 2 Tokai All Mahogany Black Beauties I have, 1 from Kurosawa, the other from Guitar Planet (the 54 style).

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The white one is new this year, obviously. The 2 BBs are 2018 models.

Both of the BBs have 1 piece mahogany bodies. The 54 style originally came with 2 P90s, but I had the neck pickup cavity professionally routed so the Duncan Custom Shop staple pickup would fit (they are much deeper than a P90). This new one was described as having a separate back and top, each one-piece. I will confirm that later.
 
I asked because guitars sit around in shops for years sometimes. Even special orders. Sounds like the black ones did.

Nice looker. HNGD!
 
The brand is Stafford and this example is from the initial Kurosawa store run back in the mid '90s built by Terada. No association with Tokai even though someone floated the idea before they were correctly identified.
 
2018 Kurosawa 60th anniversary model (KLP600GT)):

View attachment 35496

¥518,400 incl. taxes (~$3,500)

Same page announcing the KLP600F model...

https://www.kurosawagakki.com/tokai/1806_klp600gt/
(Many interesting wood selection pics there too)

Thanks for posting that

Interesting they specify Brazilian Rosewood
Nice color and grain variations in this pile of boards
2018 Tokai Kurosawa Braz palate.jpg



looks like the same/similar annoying rounded areas at the inlay corners as on my 2000 LS-320.
Wonder why they continued to use this odd technique on such expensive pieces of lumber and for so many years?
2018 Tokai Kurosawa inlay.jpg
 
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Saving those pics. Amazing! Great find!

KLP600GT

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Text:

Tokai x
Kurosawa Musical Instruments Store x
Tradition

The best model is now available.

Kurosawa 60th Anniversary Model
ΤΟΚΑΙ KLP600 GT


Sixty years ago, 1957 was a year that brought about major changes in the guitar industry. A gold-top Les Paul model equipped with a humbucker pickup was born.

Nowadays, it is the ultimate masterpiece that everyone who loves Les Paul knows.

We reinterpreted the ultimate guitar that was created over 60 years ago, and took on the challenge of producing it with the concept of ``doing whatever we can'', incorporating current wisdom, technical ability, and the commitment that only a Japanese person can achieve.

This model uses technology that can only be achieved by Tokai Gakki, a long-established guitar manufacturing company, and the discerning eye that only Kurosawa Musical Instruments Store, a long-established guitar sales company, can provide.

Tokai Gakki started manufacturing electric guitars in 1977 and boasts the highest quality domestically produced products. It has achieved luxurious specifications and is available in limited quantities at the lowest possible price.

The quality of a vintage guitar starts with the material.

Why are vintage guitars good? This is due to changes over time and the technical skills of the craftsmen at the time, but it is also due to the use of high-quality materials. We select high-quality materials from a large amount of wood available, and use only the best of them. In any case, we are not making any compromises. Naturally, the fingerboard is made of Brazilian rosewood.

In conclusion, the fingerboard is Jacaranda wood, the body is a one-piece Honduran mahogany, the neck is also Honduran mahogany, and the body top is a solid hard maple top. Check each item one by one before making your selection.

Revisiting the shape of the Tokai LS model

Tokai guitar's popular series LS model. Even if you use good quality materials, it would be a compromise if you end up with the same shape as the LS model. Revisiting the model from scratch, we hand-carved the arch of the top of the body to create a more realistic deep arch top shape.

| Reborn old logo |
The head logo was only used for a short period of time on Vintage Tokai.

| Tapered body, tapered head |
It becomes slightly thinner towards the tip of the body and head. Just like vintage guitars, it achieves exquisite body balance.

| Rolled edge binding |
The feel of the neck in your hand makes a huge difference when playing. The binding is rounded to provide an easy-to-grip feel similar to vintage guitars.

| Neck preparation angle/head angle |
The neck angle is 3.8 degrees and glued, the head angle is 17 degrees, and the fingerboard is Jacaranda. This creates a change in tension, giving the strings the feel of a vintage guitar.

Achieving a gold top with brass powder

We didn't want to make any compromises, and with that in mind, we were naturally particular about the color that would make the guitar's face. Tokai's first attempt at creating a gold top color using brass powder faced various drawbacks, but it was successfully achieved. By using brass, which is a metal, we have achieved a color similar to that of a vintage guitar that would never be possible with regular paint. In addition, all lacquer is used for painting.

Select aging parts

All parts have been subjected to aging treatment. It is said that using aged parts will have an effect on the sound, but most importantly, it will greatly change the atmosphere of the guitar and give it a more dignified finish. After all, I would like to place emphasis on looks. The assembly uses parts made in the USA, and the pickup uses "Bare Knuckle Stormy Monday." There are various pickups on the market, but everyone involved in the project unanimously decided that Stormy Monday, which has a reputation as a PAF clone, would be the best choice for this guitar.

| Aged parts |
It has a dignified feel that looks like it has been used for many years. Metal parts that reproduce the wear, rust, and other changes seen over time on vintage guitars.

|Shielding not installed |
We deliberately did not apply conductive paint to the assembly/cavity part. By recreating the same specifications as a vintage Les Paul, we chose a sound with strong treble and attack.

| BumbleBee Replica |
Bumble Bee attached to a 1959 Les Paul. KLP600 GT installed its replica. Creates a vintage tone.
 

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Holy Crap Batman ....... here we go again .......


The quality of a vintage guitar starts with the material.

Why are vintage guitars good? This is due to changes over time and the technical skills of the craftsmen at the time, but it is also due to the use of high-quality materials. We select high-quality materials from a large amount of wood available, and use only the best of them. In any case, we are not making any compromises. Naturally, the fingerboard is made of Brazilian rosewood.

In conclusion, the fingerboard is Jacaranda wood, the body is a one-piece Honduran mahogany, the neck is also Honduran mahogany, and the body top is a solid hard maple top. Check each item one by one before making your selection.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


After reading the above info that comes directly from Tokai literature I will never be able to have any certainty in what is Brazilian and/or what is Jacaranda when it comes to Tokai guitars.

Seeing the verbiage could make one believe at least two things.
(1) Tokai is attempting to have their cake and eat it too
(2) Tokai is pulling the wool over folks eyes

The optics are pretty bad; actually the optics are terrible ............. shame on Tokia for their bull**** .......
 
Well, that's Kurosawa's text for that matter, and they try to (up)sell the guitars with well-sounding words. :) As for the certainty, I currently don't have the time but I'm not finished yet getting to the bottom of this, or better finding out why there is no bottom. ;)
 
Kurosawa selects the wood as they say.

I’m wondering where they are selecting from? Looks like they are outdoors somewhere.

Some pieces of mahogany numbered in manner like Tokai does.

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I’m wondering where this is?

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@Homer J. Simpson

We could take two items out of the equation.
(1) Tokai
(2) certainty of lumber and/or species of lumber


I will follow that up with this.
Any company that first states, "the fingerboard is made of Brazilian rosewood" in one paragraph and then in the very next paragraph states, "in conclusion, the fingerboard is Jacaranda" is playing nothing more than stupid *** word games and they want to have it both ways.
Utilizing such word games is nothing better than any subpar typical used car sales person spewing bull**** in order to make a sale but in this case it just happens to be a company that some within the greater guitar community believe has some great reputation.
It's all quite laughable on all fronts.
 
I took it to mean that they saw the words as synonymous. My assumption of course, and begs for clarification.

If I had the energy I might try to message them and ask that they try to clear that up. But I don't.

That is the sounds of me kicking the can down the road. LOL
 
I took it to mean that they saw the words as synonymous. My assumption of course, and begs for clarification.

If I had the energy I might try to message them and ask that they try to clear that up. But I don't.

That is the sounds of me kicking the can down the road. LOL

Many years ago I purchased online directly from multiple shops in the Tokyo area.
I had an established purchasing record with these shops with multiple purchases over a protracted period of time.
I made a particularly important (to me) purchase from the one shop I had the history of the most purchases from and the item showed up at my house with some sketchy head stock issue.
I asked the seller about the issue, again, a seller that I had a history of several purchases from and over a period of time and the seller just freaks ****ing out.
Well, needless to say that source of MIJ guitars for me dried up quicker than Death Valley in a drought year.

So, what did I learn from that experience?
I learned that the long lived idea that the Japanese people are generally an honorable people went right outta the ****ing window.

So, IMO do not bother wasting your time asking about word games when it comes to asking any Japanese folks about details about their stuff because they will most likely freak the **** out, crap their pants and they will never give you the time of day afterwards.
So, IMO it's a good thing you don't have the energy to ask because it would get you absolutely no where.
 
Relax, man! :)

https://www.tokaiforum.com/threads/...ist-jacaranda-as-brazilian.24639/#post-186808
That links to a single post, stating that Jacaranda means BR in Japan. I have no idea if that's true, but it might be. They might be using these synonyms to emphasize what kind of wood that is. Not sure how common the latin genus+species names are in Japan, they would've been much more meaningful to us, but that guitar is meant for the domestic market, not us.

Whether or not that is really Dalbergia nigra or "new Jacaranda" or if they even really know what it really is might be a whole different story. ;)
 
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