Gession Tokai Les Paul

[markgr]

Hi, I found this Gession Les Paul a while ago. Has a great feel and sounds awesome. Is this a Tokai built guitar?

 

[jacco]

It doesn't look like it but post some pics of the cavities then you will have your answer

 

[Peter Mac]

Hi Jacco,

I would say NO. It is not Tokai Made - nor is it Orville.

However the inlay I have seen on other brands of MIJ LPC so have a look at Burny, Greco, Ibanez, etc and pay attention to the TRC ( 3 screw instead of 2)

Peter Mac

 

[SeaShantyFC]

Hi Jacco,

I would say NO. It is not Tokai Made - nor is it Orville.

However the inlay I have seen on other brands of MIJ LPC so have a look at Burny, Greco, Ibanez, etc and pay attention to the TRC ( 3 screw instead of 2)

Peter Mac

Hiya Peter,
I am reading all that i can on Gession guitars, and I'm reading if it was made I the 70s even into the 80s they were made in a Tokai Factory in Japan.

 

[SeaShantyFC]

Hiya Peter,
I am reading all that i can on Gession guitars, and I'm reading if it was made I the 70s even into the 80s they were made in a Tokai Factory in Japan.

In the 80s however, it appears that some were built in Korea.

 

[Sigmania]

This is a 12 year old thread and you are replying to yourself.

If this is a legit post, I have seen no evidence of a connection between Gession and Tokai although I see it claimed often in an effort to try to sell these guitars.

 

[SeaShantyFC]

Hiya Peter,
I am reading all that i can on Gession guitars, and I'm reading if it was made I the 70s even into the 80s they were made in a Tokai Factory in Japan.

This is a 12 year old thread and you are replying to yourself.

If this is a legit post, I have seen no evidence of a connection between Gession and Tokai although I see it claimed often in an effort to try to sell these guitars.

This is a 12 year old thread and you are replying to yourself.

If this is a legit post, I have seen no evidence of a connection between Gession and Tokai although I see it claimed often in an effort to try to sell these guitars.

 

[SeaShantyFC]

Hi Sigmania,

Thanks for responding to my post. As you can see, there really does not appear to be enough information on the Gession Guitars. I'm not as concerned of the date of thread in our guitar, as I am getting the right information for myself and others doing the research.

I see plenty of comments of guess work from folks. But from I have learned speaking directly with a few Japanese individuals, they have said the same thing. That Gession guitars were built by tokai before tokai started putting tokai onto the headstock. The point of the copy era was to make the guitar look as similar to the original. This was done with the fonts used for the Japanese gearheads as well that wanted to look like Jimmy Page and Angus Young.

Here's a link with some info written in about the Gession guitars.

Take care.

https://jedistar.com/gession/

 

[Sigmania]

Hey there. Jedi star is often wrong so I wouldn’t go by that.

Tokai apparently made Gaban guitars during the period you are referring to, or at least they shared catalogs around 1973.

1973 Blue Sky Catalog
1973 Autumn Leaves Catalog
1973 Evergreen Catalog

But I still haven’t seen any evidence of a link with Gession.

Not saying there isn’t one, just trying the be careful.

 

[Sigmania]

Regardless of who made them, I would bet they are made of plywood or are pancake construction. I would also bet they are heavy.

As far as Tokai goes, there was a stratospheric shift in the quality of production when they were able to get their hands on actual vintage Gibson and Fender guitars around 1977 and then use CNC to make faithful copies of them.

Before that mfrs were working off of photographs and you saw all sorts of weird stuff like sunbursts on the back of Les Pauls because they had never handled a real one and were guessing about what the backs looked like.

Do you have a Gession and are just researching its origin or are you looking to buy one?

 

[PizzaFLIXTV]

Hey there. Jedi star is often wrong so I wouldn’t go by that.

Tokai apparently made Gaban guitars during the period you are referring to, or at least they shared catalogs around 1973.

1973 Blue Sky Catalog
1973 Autumn Leaves Catalog
1973 Evergreen Catalog

But I still haven’t seen any evidence of a link with Gession.

Not saying there isn’t one, just trying the be careful.

 

[PizzaFLIXTV]

Hi Sig — perhaps you can rally the troops to help with my Gaban Les Paul Custom.

https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/s1124832539

The neck pickup cover has worn or polished off all its Gold plating to the extent it looks badly matched to its bridge counterpart. Standard covers don’t fit the pole pieces. I’m hoping you could point me in the right direction or know someone on this forum who might have a match lying around.

My pics aren’t very good. The auction photos are better. It cleaned up quite well.

 

[Sigmania]

Oh cool! You might make a separate post for the Gaban to draw attention to it.

Does it have any serial number on it?

Very cool

 

[PizzaFLIXTV]

Oh cool! You might make a separate post for the Gaban to draw attention to it.

Does it have any serial number on it?

Very cool

No serial #. And a screw is stripped on the rear control cavity so can’t date the pots. Any idea how to remove the stripped screw? I’m thinking of using a drill to remove the head.

 

[PizzaFLIXTV]

It has a set neck. I used organic coconut oil on the fret board, it was very dry. I added a Goto replacement tune-o-matic.

Oh cool! You might make a separate post for the Gaban to draw attention to it.

Does it have any serial number on it?

Very co

 

[Sigmania]

No serial #. And a screw is stripped on the rear control cavity so can’t date the pots. Any idea how to remove the stripped screw? I’m thinking of using a drill to remove the head.

You may be able to get a bit to tap that screw that will pull it out so you can replace it. It is a small screw I'm sure.