P90 equipped gold top knowledge please

[59bassman]

I’ve been mostly absent from here for a while, have been without a tokai and had other stuff to do but I’m looking to get another tokai and would appreciate some insight,

A couple of my questions have already been answered (thanks) but instead of dripping the odd question every now and then i thought id compile a list now and hopefully have an idea of what to look for without having to go through 15 threads worth of my annoying questions haha.

So I’m absolutely certain I want to buy a tokai gold top with p90s.

I know the value won’t mean much to many on here, at least anyone that isn’t in the U.K. but I will give examples where possible.

So I’m sure I want a Japanese made tokai, and I’ve found a few (new) that I could import from Japan for not silly money which is actually quite tempting.

The one that falls into my price range without much more saving is an LS144s. I could order one from tokai and have it delivered after paying customs for a little under £1200.

That’s about what used (2012) 98s are asking, and I think they are the same spec.

The other one I’ve been looking at is an ls220s which is obviously the premium (or beginning of the premium) range.

This would be somewhere between £1600-£1700 after customs. Which around here is about the same as a used Gibson standard gold top.

I know a couple of differences between the 144 and 220, two piece vs one piece back. Poly vs nitro finish. And I think the 220 comes with a hardcase.

Is that all or are there hardware/pickup/component/tenon construction differences too?

I’m trying to decide if I want to wait and order a 220 when I can afford it, or if I just order a 144 now and get an aftermarket hardcase. I’m not sure I’m bothered enough by the finish and one piece back to pay another £500. Will the 220 be vastly superior?

The tokais I’ve ever held have all been poly, beautifully finished and very thin. Is this the case with all mij tokai poly?

And lastly, I’d love a tokai but am not against another mij of equal quality… burny or Bacchus or similar.

Does anyone have any alternative suggestions?

Thanks in advance, sorry for the really long post

I was in same position as you until recently. I always wanted a Gibson Gold Top P90 and latterly revised that to a Japan made Tokai model. But is difficult to find stock in UK, so in interim I bought a Thomann Harley Benton
SC-450 P90 GT and... is better than my Gibson Les Paul! £129 means that I can still aspire to the Tokai as and when, but in meantime I am in BEANO tone happiness! Superb instrument.

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[Tsjackson]

I was in same position as you until recently. I always wanted a Gibson Gold Top P90 and latterly revised that to a Japan made Tokai model. But is difficult to find stock in UK, so in interim I bought a Thomann Harley Benton
SC-450 P90 GT and... is better than my Gibson Les Paul! £129 means that I can still aspire to the Tokai as and when, but in meantime I am in BEANO tone happiness! Superb instrument.

​

Oh your very close to me, I’m in fleet about 30 minutes away.

When you’re ready to buy a tokai I can enthusiastically recommend the shop in Japan I ordered mine from, I couldn’t find any in the U.K. and ordered an ls144s brand new from Japan.
Showed up in a few days, the cost of the guitar plus shipping plus import duties and fees was £1000 which I was very happy with.

Their communication was excellent, they gave me a free hardcase, it was packed well and arrived quickly.

And the guitar is absolutely amazing, far better than I was expecting and I had high expectations.

https://reverb.com/shop/kurosawa-mu...s-share&utm_campaign=shop&utm_content=2407271

 

[Tsjackson]

I was in same position as you until recently. I always wanted a Gibson Gold Top P90 and latterly revised that to a Japan made Tokai model. But is difficult to find stock in UK, so in interim I bought a Thomann Harley Benton
SC-450 P90 GT and... is better than my Gibson Les Paul! £129 means that I can still aspire to the Tokai as and when, but in meantime I am in BEANO tone happiness! Superb instrument.

​

Harley Benton do seem to be astonishing quality, I’ve only played a couple ever but I’ve been very impressed both times. I’ve never played one of their les paul allikes but I did try a LP DC and a strat and they were great