I have a Tokai Les Paul ALS-50S gold top and it sounds amazing. It's extremely versatile and works great with any pedal I try. Definitely worth it. And I've had no problems with the bridge or anything so far.
I have the gold top with p-90's and the es-60 and replaced both tune 'o' matic bridges with roller bridges which are super smooth and helps it stay in tune perfectly.....Awesome guitars for the money....cant say enough good things about them they are amazing....perfect gigging guitars.....the gold top is a freak and just holding it feels like a top end guitar...the build quality is outstanding....next is the SG cant wait!!
Love Tokai Guitars. I bought a red Tokai Legacy SG a couple of years ago and loved it so much I bought another one in black, so that I have one for E standard rock stuff and one for Drop C metal. Excellent guitars and at a good price. I especially love the strap button placement on the neck around the 18th fret, balances really well, never had a problem with neck dive, which is the main reason I was holding off on getting an SG. These are the only two guitars I play these days. I also just bought one of they're relic'd P basses and that too is a fantastic instrument. Plays well and sounds awesome. Some of the fret ends are a little rough on the P bass, but it's nothing a file won't fix.
Having seen and heard BOTH of those guitars, I can 100% back up what Shane has said here! They ARE amazing axes, for the money or not! These models are from the NEW Bob8 Jade catalogue! And NO Ric style Rebelrockers! Speaking of which, I have a Tokai Rebelrocker, 330 style semi! The bridge on that was fucked! Loose as shit! Neck was a bit dodgy being a slab cut, but Neil Bozanque got it playing real sweet for me. Next, I will need to rewire it as pots/switches buzz when twiddled. NOT a biggy, you CAN'T expect boutique guitar build/wiring from a guitar made by factory workers, not skilled luthiers! Still, it's a great guitar! Got all the vibe and feel, and NAILS those jangly clean tones for 60's folk rock, Beatles, and indy pop strumming! As to TOM bridges, you DID the right thing Shane! Just about EVERY budget Gibson styled guitar has crap TOMS on them! I've replaced a ton! Many of those are too lightweight or too narrow to intonate fully. I have also installed some roller TOMS with brass roller saddles. MUCH better intonation and tone!
I bought a couple of recent Chinese Tokais off Ebay uk for not much at all. The Goldstar isn't finished as well as my late lamented Japanese 84 model was, but it plays just as well. The pickups on both were a bit on the thin side. The Japanese guitar got one of the first sets of Kinman noiseless pickups, which sounded insanely good in comparison. The Chinese guitar was a good fit for a set of lightly used original Lace Sensors, and it sounds lush. The setup was pretty good on arrival, but after doing the intonation and a truss rod tweak , I got the action down to where I wanted it; which is minimal. Total cost, with the Sensors and some decent pots, was about £175, whatever that comes to in Aussie dollars this week. It's a keeper. I also snapped up a bargain Jazz Sound from Ebay, along with a very cheap unused set of active solderless EMGs, with all the wiring and pots. Total price around £150. Again, it was well set up on arrival, but is now playing and sounding like a proper bass should. I never owned an original Tokai J-bass, so I can't compare them, but it's up there with my old Japanese Ibanez basses for playability. I own a vintage Japanese Tokai tele, which is one of my benchmarks when I go guitar shopping. It's a wonderful guitar, with an outstanding finish, sturdy tuners, very low action, and decent hot pickups. It gets played a lot. The Chinese Tokais are built to a surprisingly high standard, and the only things that differentiate them from the Japanese models is the precision of the finish, and the lower grade electronics and tuners. On the Jazz Sound, the tuners are fine, but the Strat would definitely benefit from some more robust Gotohs or Grovers. The bridge on the Jazz Sound is a bit basic, so I'm likely to swap it for a high mass affair at some point. In terms of value for money and playability, they were both ridiculous bargains. Tokai have always had strict quality control regimes, and it shows on the Chinese range. The CNC machines may have been shipped from Japan and Korea, but the finishing (and wiring) requires an adherence to a certain standard, and Tokai seem to employ eagle-eyed experts at the end of the assembly process to maintain that standard, regardless of where the factory is located. I assume that Tokai is of the opinion that any unplayable junk guitar that gets to the market with their name on would be an insult to the company's reputation. I've yet to run across a duff one from any of their factories. For anyone without the cash to splurge on an expensive Japanese Tokai, there is no shame in buying a Chinese model. Just be aware of where the economies are being made, which is in the electronics and fittings. This might not apply to the humbucker fitted guitars (LP, SG, 335, 125, Firebird, Explorer) as much as the single coil models (Tele and Strat). Who knows what kind of gentleman's agreement Tokai have with Fender, given their history of doing business together?
Buikding a Chinese Tokai legacy strat atm. 57/62 US pups, US strat electronics and a 6 screw vintage trem from a bolt on neck Godin. Very keen to play it..
The D strings saddles often buzz on Korean tune-o-matics. I have several of them and find a very thin shim of sheet plastic wedged under one side of the saddle stops the buzz.
I have A tokai les Paul LS-60 mij that I love a lot after a good setup I had a chance to compare with a nice custom gold top and the luthier who work on it tell me that there not to much difference in feel and tone compare to his gold top. That’s a keeper
+intheblues Got a Chinese 335 and it plays amazingly, had to lower the bridge a little like in your SG, but similarly i also (still have) a buzzing in either my bridge or in my bridge pickup. It vibrates whenever i play a D pitched note. But i'd love to know if the TonePro bridge helped your problem. Cheers mate!
I`m very happy with my Japan Love Rock, paid just 1000 EUR for an used Love Rock Pacifix Exclusive Series. Don`t got warm with the Gibson Stuff. The CC Models are too expensive, so Tokai was the perfect choice . The Pacifix Store now Releases Boutique guitar pedals named Providence.
Have you played a Tokai strat? If so, what were your impressions of that guitar? I'm gonna be in the market for one soon but I'm not keen on a Fender because of the paper thin necks!
Tune-o-matics suck - PERIOD. I replaced 2, ultimately ended up with a Wilkinson roller bridge. I have a Tokai Gakki classical - my very first guitar, still love it!
How you like the SX series vintage modified.. tele ??? from Rondo music.. i find it has one of the soft n sweetest sounds and is perfect for country style music. Even Dr Groovy like this guitar..
+Chrismayo1981 I had a flying V for a while back in the early 2000's but it was a nightmare to play. The neck finish was horrible so I ended up flipping it. If I found one that had a regular type of finish I would for sure but the Gibson I had was this weird wood grain/sticky vibe. :-)
Hey man great vid! Im planning to buy a tokai ls85f in matte violin finish but im a bit hesitant cause im not sure about the matte. What can you say about the mattw finish? Does this model also have carved maple top? Thanks
+Brian Hegge not sure about the new ones, they were out back in the 70's-early 80's, sued by Fender for much tooooooooo good of repro-ing Strats and Jazz bases, of which I have. They were better built than what Fender was putting out then, and are coveted ...check craigs ebay....look up their history
+Mathoin Fuggdaqueen ....they're on Ebay once in a while....Graigs list in Akron/Canton last week-Strat....all the Fender copies are great from the 70's
you know that in Hungary there is a province with this name TOKAY. and they have one of the best tasting wines on the world. white wine is very famous in Hungary and Europe.. cheers my friend..
Both are beauts.They probably don't build a lot of Lefty's maybe that's why they sent you a faulty bridge,everything facing the other way.hahaha.Great vids.Peace.
Love chinese tokais. Great price, fab tone. They dont make them any longer which is a shame. Dont care for the Japanese ones that cost too much. Anyone who buys these chinese tokais to resell at higher prices - they're just like the bog paper hoarders during the pandemic - you are killing rock and roll so go get an honest job that pays.
I have a Tokai Les Paul ALS-50S gold top and it sounds amazing. It's extremely versatile and works great with any pedal I try. Definitely worth it. And I've had no problems with the bridge or anything so far.
I have the gold top with p-90's and the es-60 and replaced both tune 'o' matic bridges with roller bridges which are super smooth and helps it stay in tune perfectly.....Awesome guitars for the money....cant say enough good things about them they are amazing....perfect gigging guitars.....the gold top is a freak and just holding it feels like a top end guitar...the build quality is outstanding....next is the SG cant wait!!
Love Tokai Guitars. I bought a red Tokai Legacy SG a couple of years ago and loved it so much I bought another one in black, so that I have one for E standard rock stuff and one for Drop C metal. Excellent guitars and at a good price. I especially love the strap button placement on the neck around the 18th fret, balances really well, never had a problem with neck dive, which is the main reason I was holding off on getting an SG. These are the only two guitars I play these days. I also just bought one of they're relic'd P basses and that too is a fantastic instrument. Plays well and sounds awesome. Some of the fret ends are a little rough on the P bass, but it's nothing a file won't fix.
Having seen and heard BOTH of those guitars, I can 100% back up what Shane has said here! They ARE amazing axes, for the money or not!
These models are from the NEW Bob8 Jade catalogue! And NO Ric style Rebelrockers!
Speaking of which, I have a Tokai Rebelrocker, 330 style semi! The bridge on that was fucked! Loose as shit!
Neck was a bit dodgy being a slab cut, but Neil Bozanque got it playing real sweet for me.
Next, I will need to rewire it as pots/switches buzz when twiddled.
NOT a biggy, you CAN'T expect boutique guitar build/wiring from a guitar made by factory workers, not skilled luthiers! Still, it's a great guitar! Got all the vibe and feel, and NAILS those jangly clean tones for 60's folk rock, Beatles, and indy pop strumming!
As to TOM bridges, you DID the right thing Shane! Just about EVERY budget Gibson styled guitar has crap TOMS on them! I've replaced a ton! Many of those are too lightweight or too narrow to intonate fully.
I have also installed some roller TOMS with brass roller saddles. MUCH better intonation and tone!
The SG is trick, nothing wrong with the LP just liking SGs a lot lately :)
I bought a couple of recent Chinese Tokais off Ebay uk for not much at all. The Goldstar isn't finished as well as my late lamented Japanese 84 model was, but it plays just as well. The pickups on both were a bit on the thin side. The Japanese guitar got one of the first sets of Kinman noiseless pickups, which sounded insanely good in comparison. The Chinese guitar was a good fit for a set of lightly used original Lace Sensors, and it sounds lush. The setup was pretty good on arrival, but after doing the intonation and a truss rod tweak , I got the action down to where I wanted it; which is minimal. Total cost, with the Sensors and some decent pots, was about £175, whatever that comes to in Aussie dollars this week. It's a keeper.
I also snapped up a bargain Jazz Sound from Ebay, along with a very cheap unused set of active solderless EMGs, with all the wiring and pots. Total price around £150. Again, it was well set up on arrival, but is now playing and sounding like a proper bass should. I never owned an original Tokai J-bass, so I can't compare them, but it's up there with my old Japanese Ibanez basses for playability.
I own a vintage Japanese Tokai tele, which is one of my benchmarks when I go guitar shopping. It's a wonderful guitar, with an outstanding finish, sturdy tuners, very low action, and decent hot pickups. It gets played a lot.
The Chinese Tokais are built to a surprisingly high standard, and the only things that differentiate them from the Japanese models is the precision of the finish, and the lower grade electronics and tuners. On the Jazz Sound, the tuners are fine, but the Strat would definitely benefit from some more robust Gotohs or Grovers. The bridge on the Jazz Sound is a bit basic, so I'm likely to swap it for a high mass affair at some point. In terms of value for money and playability, they were both ridiculous bargains.
Tokai have always had strict quality control regimes, and it shows on the Chinese range. The CNC machines may have been shipped from Japan and Korea, but the finishing (and wiring) requires an adherence to a certain standard, and Tokai seem to employ eagle-eyed experts at the end of the assembly process to maintain that standard, regardless of where the factory is located. I assume that Tokai is of the opinion that any unplayable junk guitar that gets to the market with their name on would be an insult to the company's reputation. I've yet to run across a duff one from any of their factories.
For anyone without the cash to splurge on an expensive Japanese Tokai, there is no shame in buying a Chinese model. Just be aware of where the economies are being made, which is in the electronics and fittings. This might not apply to the humbucker fitted guitars (LP, SG, 335, 125, Firebird, Explorer) as much as the single coil models (Tele and Strat). Who knows what kind of gentleman's agreement Tokai have with Fender, given their history of doing business together?
Buikding a Chinese Tokai legacy strat atm. 57/62 US pups, US strat electronics and a 6 screw vintage trem from a bolt on neck Godin. Very keen to play it..
I have candy apple red Tokai TTE-55 Breezysound made in Japane. Love it! One of best T-stile guitars I have ever played.
The D strings saddles often buzz on Korean tune-o-matics. I have several of them and find a very thin shim of sheet plastic wedged under one side of the saddle stops the buzz.
love the outro music shane ...what was that ?
I have A tokai les Paul LS-60 mij that I love a lot after a good setup I had a chance to compare with a nice custom gold top and the luthier who work on it tell me that there not to much difference in feel and tone compare to his gold top. That’s a keeper
+intheblues Got a Chinese 335 and it plays amazingly, had to lower the bridge a little like in your SG, but similarly i also (still have) a buzzing in either my bridge or in my bridge pickup. It vibrates whenever i play a D pitched note.
But i'd love to know if the TonePro bridge helped your problem.
Cheers mate!
Hey Shane I live in the USA, could you give me some info on ordering one of these TOKAi guitars. Thank you
I`m very happy with my Japan Love Rock, paid just 1000 EUR for an used Love Rock Pacifix Exclusive Series. Don`t got warm with the Gibson Stuff. The CC Models are too expensive, so Tokai was the perfect choice . The Pacifix Store now Releases Boutique guitar pedals named Providence.
Have you played a Tokai strat? If so, what were your impressions of that guitar? I'm gonna be in the market for one soon but I'm not keen on a Fender because of the paper thin necks!
+bentertainment115 Tokai Strats are cool. I personally like the Greco Strat over the Tokai. Also check out MIJ Fender Strats
+bentertainment115 I haven't played them personally but I have seen them in person (right handed ones). They look great at least so do their Tele's.
Hi Shane. I’ve found a cheap second hand Tokai Tele (Korean).... any opinions? Cheers
Tune-o-matics suck - PERIOD. I replaced 2, ultimately ended up with a Wilkinson roller bridge. I have a Tokai Gakki classical - my very first guitar, still love it!
How you like the SX series vintage modified.. tele ???
from Rondo music.. i find it has one of the soft n sweetest sounds and is perfect for country style music. Even Dr Groovy like this guitar..
It's a shame they don't have dealers in some parts of the world :(
Shane, you should get an ALBERT KING V!!!
+Chrismayo1981 I had a flying V for a while back in the early 2000's but it was a nightmare to play. The neck finish was horrible so I ended up flipping it. If I found one that had a regular type of finish I would for sure but the Gibson I had was this weird wood grain/sticky vibe. :-)
+intheblues I was thinking the Tokai V.
Is the Tokai ST 2 good for a budget strat?
Hey man great vid! Im planning to buy a tokai ls85f in matte violin finish but im a bit hesitant cause im not sure about the matte. What can you say about the mattw finish? Does this model also have carved maple top? Thanks
God, I wish I had access to Tokais that easily. They outplay Gibsons by such a wide margin.
Where can you get a hold of a tokai? I'm in the states and can't seem to figure out where to find them.
+Brian Hegge not sure about the new ones, they were out back in the 70's-early 80's, sued by Fender for much tooooooooo good of repro-ing Strats and Jazz bases, of which I have. They were better built than what Fender was putting out then, and are coveted ...check craigs ebay....look up their history
+Brian Hegge try guitarswest.net out of cali
+Darien Cruz Music Thanks. Do you have any experience with this company and the Tokai's they sell?
i dont, but they were only one listed as an official US dealer that i could find. they sell them on reverb.com and thats pretty reputable though.
+Mathoin Fuggdaqueen ....they're on Ebay once in a while....Graigs list in Akron/Canton last week-Strat....all the Fender copies are great from the 70's
you know that in Hungary there is a province with this name TOKAY. and they have one of the best tasting wines on the world. white wine is very famous in Hungary and Europe.. cheers my friend..
Where’s your yellow Tele?
+Simon Bradbury I still have it :-) I use it a lot still.
where do we buy these from ?
+Shane Gelven I'm pretty sure you can get them online man, they may ship everywhere? dunno
www.tokaiguitarsaustralia.com.au/index.html
Both are beauts.They probably don't build a lot of Lefty's maybe that's why they sent you a faulty bridge,everything facing the other way.hahaha.Great vids.Peace.
Love chinese tokais. Great price, fab tone. They dont make them any longer which is a shame. Dont care for the Japanese ones that cost too much. Anyone who buys these chinese tokais to resell at higher prices - they're just like the bog paper hoarders during the pandemic - you are killing rock and roll so go get an honest job that pays.
You have some nice watches lol
+Danny Sands haha thanks mate. I have two of them. I usually get one every 3-4 years when I travel and by that time the last one is usually dead :-)
No intro music ?ftw¿
+Ari Hernandez Never on the podcast videos. :-)
I prefer the real thing not some knock off.