Move Over Gibson, I'm Adding A Tokai LS-95 To The Collection
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- Опубліковано 5 жов 2024
- #addictedtogear
Why on earth would I be adding a Tokai LS-95F to my guitar collection when I already have a few Gibson Les Pauls? Let me try to explain,...
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I'm currently awaiting a brand new Tokai LS364-CM straight from the shop in Japan that custom ordered it. I got it for $2600 CAD before and duties/taxes and shipping. I figured its a way better deal spending what's probably going to be around $3200 in the end for a Tokai with nitro finish, an actual ABR-1 bridge, an actual nice flame top, and dark fretboard than spending $4500 for a new Gibson. Even mint condition used Gibsons are still like $3500 around here. My Tokai should be here by Friday and I can't wait!
Hi Tony! I'm total Tokai fanboy as well. Just a note of caution, the LS95 is vintage series and although it has a solid maple top, it has a flamed maple veneer over the solid maple cap and two piece mahogany back with a poly finish. You would have to jump into the premium series guitars to find any with a solid flamed maple top, one piece back and nitro finish (although there are exceptions, but Tokai is complicated). The premium series with flame maple tops will be priced more like a Gibson.
Got a MIJ 136F made at some point this year 2023, it sounds amazing, not even planning to change pick ups.
Ls95f is from the vintage series, it has a solid maple top and thin veneer(Real maple hence the 3d effect) Great guitars,mine is an ls128f, same as the 95 specs but newer model.
Strangely, my LS128F has a solid flame top without the veneer. My slightly older LS95F (same model allowing for Japanese inflation) has the veneer. Both are outstanding guitars.
The prices are relative to the price in Japanese currency.
So a 95 would cost ¥95,000, and as years go on those model numbers changes, I have a 2004 LS80Q and those were ¥80,000 at the time, the year before I got mine the model number for the same guitar was LS75Q.
I'm not sure if this has always applied to the old Tokai's, but it definitely is the case now, you can see it when you look at their current catalogues.
My 80Q has a solid maple 2 piece cap with a thin quilted maple veneer.
Japanese Tokai LPs are worth their weight in gold (and that's nearly ten pounds of gold)! They are beautifully made, finished and set up, and they sound spectacular. Play authentic, I say 🙂
I couldn't agree more. Unfortunately the cat is out of the bag with these guitars now so they are getting more difficult to find at a reasonable price.
@@addictedtogear Gems to find, Tony. It's all good when you do. 🙂
Beautiful Tony . I've had Gibson custom shop gold tops and these Japanese Tokai blow them away. Great playing too. 👍
Shhhh don’t tell anyone…LOL
Nice video Tony, thanks. I have a 2010 Tokai LS 105Q (same as the LS 95 but with a quilted maple top). You are correct, the top cap is solid maple but it’s plain - the flame (or quilt) top you see is actually a veneer.
Right on!
Still have my LS60 Ebony, serial no. dates it to 1985. It's a superb player.
That thing is awesome Tony. Killer looks and tone. Can’t ask for more than that.
I love my Tokai LS2 Reborn Old. Upgraded with Amber 59 pickups, VIP pots and Luxe Bumblebees. Sounds amazing.
I have Tokai LC107 with rosewood fingerboard.
At 13.30, this is not a short Gibson USA rocker tenon, its a mid 70s transitional tenon
My son has a 1979 Greco RG 750 Standard ans then we bought a 1980's Greco SG Standard, both are better playing and feeling than a lot of Gibsons we actually get to play at our local used shop. We paid $700 for the LP and $800 for the SG
Last year I purchased a Tokai R4 Goldtop from their Japan Custom Shop, I couldn't be more pleased.
The top carve on this Tokai is crazy deep.
Only changes I made was to install a custom set of unpotted '50s spec P90s and change up the tone capacitors and values.
I've several Gibson Les Paul guitars that I'm very happy with, this Tokai is fantastic as it was ordered with medium jumbo Sanko frets.
Great content, thank you.
You can directly order from their custom shop?
@@diequietschbeus8181 Not that I know of. I had a running search on Reverb that notified me when the guitar was listed in Japan. The music store I purchased from had Tokai custom build three (3) 1952/R4 Goldtops, to the store's specifications. "G-CLUB Produced by Kurosawa Music" was the store I purchased from. It was the very first guitar I purchased and had imported from Japan. It was a great experience.
Hi Tony, what a great guitar. I own several gibson les paul standards. Custom shops. 58,59 and 60. The bridge post that go directly into the wood are like what you would get on a abr1 custom shop gibson. That is a game changer in tone in my opinion. For the better. The volume and tone knobs are very similar to what you get on a 58 or 59 lespaul. The Emerson electronics from Sweetwater I've used before and work out nicely. Check that out. $110. American. Great playing Tony And great Guitar. Keep Rocking my Friend.
As for the trademark/headstock, I believe Tokai is allowed to use that design because they are only intended for sale in the Japanese markets.
That has been my understanding.
I noticed that even the the Japanese Tokai LPs have very subtly different headstocks to the Gibsons. More subtle than the Epiphones (or even Chinese Tokais), that for sure.
@@stuartmiller7419 I'm sure there are variations. The only Tokais I've handled have been a 1978 and 1980 Love Rock Les Paul and then my 2022 Tokai Custom Shop, in each of those cases the headstock size and angle are 1950s Gibson spec. (17° Headstock Angle). I believe the Epiphones utilize a 14° Headstock angle.
I'm still so very happy with my Japanese Tokai. Looking my Tokai over and examining its build I found that the pickup wiring channel that runs from the output jack to the selector switch is drilled using a single long drill bit, the same way that Gibson built them when in Kalamazoo. I just thought that was kind of a cool touch.
The ones that get imported into the UK for sale by retailers they have a slightly altered headstock shape, it has a small dimple in the open book area, it still looks very similar to a Gibson's headstock though.
People mess about with these guitars are mentally misplaced. The pickups, the wiring ,the pots ect are the best they can be.
I’ve just put back the whole lot in an ls 110 it was dead and is now alive. These people haven’t got a clue what these guitars are.
They are made obsessively around a real Les Paul 59 which they have. Leave them alone folks!!!
Much closer to a 59 LP than current Made in USA Gibsons
That is true. ❤ a lot of no hopers out there.
I had to put the mk 2s back in. Upside was I got 150 quid for the Seymour though.
Tokai still keeps the manufacturing method of Les Paul of the 50s. for example very tight pocket and non chambered body.
But they never insist that own product is better than Gibson's.
Awesome score Tony…as you know by now, I love all guitars MIJ 👍
The build quality on these guitars are really good, I've had an 80Q for 20 years and it's still my favourite guitar to play.
Couldn't agree more!
Just a week ago the Gibson LP Standard had a price increase it is now $3000.00 USD WTF
100% agree with all you said. I do not use the neck pickup on my SG and it has a T-top 57 Classic in it. Thanx for the demo :-)
These generally cost the same as a vintage line mexican fender and offer a proper lp experience. They fill a market gap that gibson forgot abt long ago. Gibson should consider reviving the orville name.
I've owned a LS-80 from 1985 for around 25 years. Awesome guitar. The pickups had already been replaced with dimarzios before I owned it. I eventually swapped those out for some Gibson Burstbucker Pros. It is without doubt the best playing, best sounding LP style guitar I've ever played. It has fret nibs, which the 95 in this video doesn't seem to have. I'm sure the finish is nitro also.
Nice playing, Tony. That guitar sounds great!
Great video! Tokai guitars are fantastic! I have the SG model. Better than the Gibsons I've had in the past.
Had a Tokai Love Rock in the 80s that I deeply regret selling.
Best SG I ever had was a tokai& favourite Les Paul I own is a Burny LesPaulCustom which from all the investigations I've done im pretty certain was made by Tokai
Good vid Tony. Thanks.
I've never played a Tokai but I have a Dillion SG copy that's a lot better than my Gibson. So the Tokai being as good or better wouldn't suprise me. At all.
And my #1 guitar is my Japanese Vox
Cheers
It'd be worth mentioning the number is based on the japanese price. so a LS90 was 90,000 yen, which nowadays would be a 136 or even 148 for 2024 i think. i think for mid 2000s it would be around LS60. i almost bought a new LS90 in 2008, ended up buying a 2020 LS136F for the same specs.
@@amaurythewarrior that’s interesting I didn’t know that. Thanks
i couldnt see that les paul selling in the Philippines, but i really like it.
Very cool, nice video!
Korean model has the same pickups btw.
By the way.
Have you ever tried a "MAYBACH Lester" - LP-Style guitar?
Cheers from germany.
Thank you for a good review👍
Japanese Tokai don't let junk out of the factory.
Japanese ones here in the uk are selling new 700 dollars more than you can get a gibson lp standard .. I’m sure they are excellent but have a rule of never spending more on a homage guitar than the real thing ..
EXCELLENT.
The Korean-made guitars are harder to find. Current non-Japanese production of Tokai is in China - it is not bad at all; I mean, sure it is the same as Epiphone and in most cases, the Epiphone is easier to source than even an MIC Tokai so there's that. They are a bit hard to source in Europe and quite expensive nowadays (somewhere between 1500-1700EUR) to the point where you may as well pay the extra couple of hundred Euros and just get the Gibson (or a Czech-made Maybach!). Hard to find used also. To cap things off, Shohei Adachi (CEO) has retired from Tokai - no mention of a replacement (it has been family owned since 1947) so who knows where they go from there. Also, is this a new Tokai or have we seen this in a previous Sunday chat?
He was playing it last Sunday.
Bought one in London, £350, a leftie as well . Still got it.
👍🏻👍🏻
nice guitar great vibrato !!!
I got the ULS 150 VF which I bought in London. Beautiful guitar but I suspect the body is quite a bit narrower than a Gibson LP? Is there not an agreement whereby Tokai don't sell their guitars in North America, dating back to the 1980s? Check out 'The Guitaristas' on YT - I think he discusses this?
DC resistance in a pickup doesn't tell you much. The thinner the wire will give you a higher DC resistance reading, and less output per turn. Most techs don't have an inductance meter. Thicker wire isn't always better.
Yes, you should watch my last live show with Kris from Pegcity Pickups. Lots of good information there.
@@addictedtogear You are absolute wrong if you think resistance is a measure of output. I'm a retired electrical engineer, and I still have a lab bench set up. A video you produced vs is not going to trump my decades of experience in the field.
The only time DC resistance correlates to more output is when you have the exact pickup design with more windings. That's where folks like you get confused and start spreading misinformation. Measuring inductance will give you a more accurate approximation of output. True output would be measured in current flow. Resistance is just that. The resistance to the flow of current.
I was not arguing with you my friend, I was just suggesting you watch my last video. Cheers!@@qua7771
@@addictedtogear I did watch that video prior to this one, and not to take away from your exclent contribution to the guitar community. The thing is, this was the third video I saw where a fairly reputable person in the industry thought resistance was output. It sends the wrong message. Fender used to provide inductance specs for their pickups which would give the buyer a more reasonable approximation of output than DC resistance. Some manufacturers would provide impedance at various frequencies, which again, is not a measure of output, but frequency response.
44AWG wire will have higher DC resistance than 42AWG with the same number of turns, but will likely have the same or LESS output. A different magnet will change the output without chaining DC resistance. Same with the size and shape of the bobbin, and pole pieces. The only time DC resistance can be used top compare output is with the exact same pickup, and a different number of turns. Even then, output is NOT measured in DC resistance! I'm not arguing. I'm stating basic electrical, and electronic theory for those who have not had formal training in the field. A guitar pickup works on the same principal as a generator.
I just bought a tokai mij l146 2018 lefty from japan. I see your neck pickup is pretty low in the guitar. Seems to be the style they build the neck into the guitar. What you say?
Not sure but it seems to work.
It's tenon, not tendon.
And it's not short, it's a tight transitional tenon as per mid 1970s, before Gibson went to the short Made in USA rocker tenon with more glue than wood
I own the same guitar! Great gear, but if you get a Cool-Z you will be blown away by the quality, to me a smidge better than Tokai.
Good to know!
DO you have a treble bleed installed in them as well?
Yes
hi, are you an expert on Tokai guitars? I have a tokai LP guitar. I don't know what model it is. will you help??
I am not an expert just a fan!
You can tell a lot by looking in the pickup cavity they write the model number inside sometimes
Those tokai are awesome but they cost close to a Gibson some of them.i thought.
Some places are charging quite a bit these days but used deals still pop up from time to time…you just have to be lucky.
Sorry to spoil it for you my guy but this model is a maple cap but not full flame it has a thin flame maple veneer you need a higher end model or one of the Old Reborn series one's or a high end Greco to get a full flame maple cap but you still have a kick ass guitar there so don't worry about the veneer you know who cares that it's a veneer it still has a full maple cap just not a full flame maple cap have fun with it it's a really fine les paul...EDIT: I WOULD LIKE TO SAY I AM WRONG HERE WHEN I SAY IT IS NOT A FULL FLAME MAPLE TOP BECAUSE IT IS AND @addictedtogear WAS RIGHT AND I AM WRONG THANK YOU AND SORRY FOR THE BAD INFO SHOULD HAVE DONE MORE RESEARCH BEFORE SPEAKING....
Yeah, I got one of those too.
No one ever came up to me at a gig and said the veneer was spoiling their experience
@@JoeWalsh-pm4zf Did I say that I have Guitars with veneers but the fact is he was wrong that's all no harm just thought people liked the fact's damn didn't mean to trigger anyone.....
@@addictedtogear Hi I would like to say sorry and apologize to you sir you are right in your video when you said it was a full two piece flame maple top it does have one and I will admit I was wrong and acted like a fool hope you get this and can forgive a man that made an ass of himself thank you....
@@johnsmith-oh2xo it’s all good my friend!
How much are they???
That depends on where you are buying from. Now or used? They can vary wildly. Check reverb for a rough idea.
Hold your horses- Epiphone is trying to charge you as much for a great Japanese Les Paul as Epiphone wants you to pay for an increasing number of their models….
No disrespect to Tokai, but they’re no Gibson. Had both, sold the Tokai because it wasn’t as tonally sweet and playability was not quite there.
Interesting.. must have been a lemon. I guess I got lucky
Probably not MIJ, MIJ are consistently outstanding in all departments.
Hey Tony, don't forget to check your Gmail!
Nice guitar Tony but let’s be real it’s a forgery!
I could not care less about what is written on the headstock. If a guitar plays and sounds great…then it’s great. End of story!
A forgery would say Gibson on the headstock
Tokai guitars are in no way forgeries. They are Tokai guitars thst resemble Gibson guitars. Forgeries would pretend to be Gibsons, with Gibson labelling.
If it's Not a Gibson or Epiphone it's not a real Les Paul
Epiphones aren't real Les Pauls either. Have you seen those ugly headstocks?
True they arent. Theyre Les Paul style single cut. And the tokais are better quality according to 1000's of owners reviews.
and slash afd tone is not a les paul tone.