As good as Gibson???

[math2014]

Well i played back to back with a Gibson LP std (1piece back) vs my LS85Q. The Gibson wasnt better, actually the Tokai sounded sweeter.

I would be very curious on a comparison of LS70-90 vs LS150. I got no beef against the LS150+ other than i hate nitro as an idea. If they made the higher end Tokais in Poly that would be great.

 

[Paladin2019]

Thanks.

Price?

My 200 cost me ?1300 including all taxes. At the time, that was a bit less than you could get a new Standard for in the UK. It's the best les paul I've ever played, and deserves to be compared to the Historics rather than the Standards.

Only way to find out prices for sure is to find a Japanese dealer (most of the high end stuff is domestic market only, and it's cheaper to buy direct anyway), find out their prices and shipping costs and work it all out to include your local taxes.

The ls[100+] series is probably firmly in the Gibson price range in the US but they aren't just better guitars, they're better Les Pauls. Vintage accurate body dimensions, oil caps, aluminium tailpieces, long tenons, braz rosewood, honduras mahogany... at least on the highend models...

Some of this stuff is higher spec than the R9's and probably costs less than a new R7. Check out the new 380.

 

[luis]

Math, I was able to check side by side 5 Tokai Love Rocks from all ranges and as far as you go up,the better the guitar is,balance is better(ergonomics),attention to detail is up and pickups are sweeter.Low priced Tokais are good,you have a good guitar with a LS70,I prefer LS80(which feels different and sound more "agressive"(hot) because higher resistance pickups but balances a litlle worst,ethen the LS150 feels like a LS70 in feel but there is a different(not so high but worth to me to prefer it).And a LS320 is sublime to me,superb attention to detail,fast and warm neck(mid thick),fantastic action .....My experiece is as up you go in Tokai line as satisfaction you get....But as always funds rules ......I'll pair a LS150 with a 50's Gibbo except pickups and fret binding(I found Tokai MK pickups good but lacked something,bridge specially does not give me what I want),in fact attention to detail in Tokai is superior no doubt.....My next experiement will be placin a pair of Burstbuckers 1 &2 to Ls150 and I'll see what I get.

 

[bruno]

luis if all goes ok, I hope to post some good photos of my ls-145s tomorrow, along with my first impressions

 

[luis]

Excellent Bruno! Waiting for it!

 

[math2014]

Math, I was able to check side by side 5 Tokai Love Rocks from all ranges and as far as you go up,the better the guitar is,balance is better(ergonomics),attention to detail is up and pickups are sweeter.Low priced Tokais are good,you have a good guitar with a LS70,I prefer LS80(which feels different and sound more "agressive"(hot) because higher resistance pickups but balances a litlle worst,ethen the LS150 feels like a LS70 in feel but there is a different(not so high but worth to me to prefer it).And a LS320 is sublime to me,superb attention to detail,fast and warm neck(mid thick),fantastic action .....My experiece is as up you go in Tokai line as satisfaction you get....But as always funds rules ......I'll pair a LS150 with a 50's Gibbo except pickups and fret binding(I found Tokai MK pickups good but lacked something,bridge specially does not give me what I want),in fact attention to detail in Tokai is superior no doubt.....My next experiement will be placin a pair of Burstbuckers 1 &2 to Ls150 and I'll see what I get.

that is great to know, but i hope i could be able to find an Tokai LP withtout nitro finish that could rival the LS150+/Gibson Custom shop.

Any ideaS?

 

[Paladin2019]

that is great to know, but i hope i could be able to find an Tokai LP withtout nitro finish that could rival the LS150+/Gibson Custom shop.

Any ideaS?

Unfortunately, nitro and high end love rocks go hand in hand because nitro is a vintage-accurate high end finish. I believe all the 100+'s now have nitro because that's what people want when they pay that kind of money for a les paul type. I suppose you could contact a dealer about a custom order.

Why don't you want nitro?

 

[Jim Jones]

I don't understand why you wouldn't want nitro either - poly feels cheap in comparison.

Jim

 

[math2014]

I don't understand why you wouldn't want nitro either - poly feels cheap in comparison.

Jim

ok, i ll just shut up and get an LS150 in a couple of months Its just me and my sweat that are afraid of nitro

 

[Deadman]

I wouldn't worry about nitro math.
I used to paint military aircraft in cellulose finishes. Fighter jets included (1000mph+). They're all done in poly now though.
It's hard wearing as long as you don't get solvents near it.
It's actually a much more drawn out process to apply and polish up too.
And it takes a lot of application/flatting in between to achieve a good finish.
Poly just gets a quick coat, cures then gets flatted and re-coated.

 

[no soul]

to clear up, Greco was the house brand of Fuji Gen factory. While Fuji Gen made many Ibanez guitars, there is business relation between the two brands though.

Many guitars that were made for Ibanez were also just rebadged as Greco however.

Are they as good as a Gibson? Well I cant speak on the newer ones, but Im sure the high end models are.

The only Tokai I own is a 1981 LS80, I also have Gibsons and a Greco.
With features a brazilian RW board, honduran mahogany, historicaly correct dimensions etc etc etc I call mine a 58 custom shop reissue killer.

Mine does have some really minor flaws, but hey, most gibsons do too!
Go plays an original 50s paul, most of them have issues in one way or another!

My only complaint with Tokais is that being that Im an American they arent easy to come by! (I refuse to buy guitars sight unseen)
it took me quite a few years to find mine locally, but it was worth the wait.

 

[sneakyjapan]

http://www.musicland.co.jp/shinjuku/tokai/index.html

 

[20 century boy]

to clear up, Greco was the house brand of Fuji Gen factory. While Fuji Gen made many Ibanez guitars, there is business relation between the two brands though.

Many guitars that were made for Ibanez were also just rebadged as Greco however.

Are they as good as a Gibson? Well I cant speak on the newer ones, but Im sure the high end models are.

The only Tokai I own is a 1981 LS80, I also have Gibsons and a Greco.
With features a brazilian RW board, honduran mahogany, historicaly correct dimensions etc etc etc I call mine a 58 custom shop reissue killer.

Mine does have some really minor flaws, but hey, most gibsons do too!
Go plays an original 50s paul, most of them have issues in one way or another!

My only complaint with Tokais is that being that Im an American they arent easy to come by! (I refuse to buy guitars sight unseen)
it took me quite a few years to find mine locally, but it was worth the wait.

Excuse me but did you read the previous posts????

to clear up, Greco was the house brand of Fuji Gen factory.

No! Greco belongs to Kanda Shokai, a music merchant that also take care of Fender japan and import many other brands. Greco as been made in other factories as already said so how could it belong to fuji gen???

While Fuji Gen made many Ibanez guitars, there is business relation between the two brands though.

Ibanez belongs to Hoshino and Greco to Kanda Shokai, it's 2 different companies. Ibanez selling to the extern market and Greco to the intern market, there was no competition so they have shared a few models like the Iceman/Mirage. If you check most models like firebirds or les Paul or precision bass etc... you will notice that the making is really different sometimes as they didn't allways shared the same factory and that the Greco are often better than the ibanez. Only at the start of the 70's a few models are noticed to be exactly the same for both brands.

Many guitars that were made for Ibanez were also just rebadged as Greco however.

According to the Ibanez boss: no! They just share some models that sometime were made at the same place but check the same model from both companies and you'll see that the crafting is sometime different!

 

[silverstrat]

Where can I buy a new MIJ LS 85Q?

other than ebay of course..

Thanx!

 

[Jamieh]

Where can I buy a new MIJ LS 85Q?

other than ebay of course..

Thanx!

Without being too blatent about it... check my sig! :wink:

 

[Deadman]

Where can I buy a new MIJ LS 85Q?

other than ebay of course..

Thanx!

Without being too blatent about it... check my sig! :wink:

That see thru blue one you've got is GORGEOUS Jamie.

 

[silverstrat]

Jamie,


If I do a straight currency convert will that be correct or do I have to pay any weird tax?

 

[Jamieh]

That see thru blue one you've got is GORGEOUS Jamie.

Yeah, it is! To be honest when it first arrived I wasn't too sure, but it has definitely grown on me, it is lovely!!!

 

[ganzua]

Without being too blatent about it... check my sig! :wink:

Hey Jamieh!

Is this love rock http://www.hartnollguitars.co.uk/products.asp?id=266&category= Tokai's "see through dark red" finish?

I thought Tokai stopped Ls-150 production and that they only produced 150s in violin finish and cherry burst, is it a second hand guitar?

 

[Jamieh]

Without being too blatent about it... check my sig! :wink:

Hey Jamieh!

Is this love rock http://www.hartnollguitars.co.uk/products.asp?id=266&category= Tokai's "see through dark red" finish?

I thought Tokai stopped Ls-150 production and that they only produced 150s in violin finish and cherry burst, is it a second hand guitar?

No, that colour is Wine Red, but temporarily unavailable. If I am 100% honest with you, that particular guitar came in brand new, but sufered minor damage in storage. I personally LOVE the instrument though so I have decided that unless it can be perfectly repaired I will keep it myself!!

To be honest I don't know what this issue is with the LS150. I know they are in short supply, but as far as I can determine that doesn't mean they have been discontinued.

I have only just got into Tokai stuff to be honest so I don't really understand why the brand is so riddled with rumour and confusion!

From what I can gather, there are more LS150s coming, but ina sort of drip-feed method, very small numbers.