My first Tokai..many QC issues *High Resolution pics page 2*

[supreme]

As far as I can see - the dealer should have sent it back, got a discount off bob and sold it cheaper as a graded instrument. How much did u pay for it again?

As far as I can see, it should not have left the Japanese factory....not even a Korean factory for that matter. I mean the pics actually look better than in real life. I traded in my mint Epi Sheraton II + paid 200 pounds and all expenses (about 50 pounds). On the phone I was told it was a new high quality MIJ Tokai with no issues and played "like butter" and a "semi-professional" guitarplayer friend was very impressed by it.

 

[C]

Wow, I would have sworn that was a Gibson!


The dealer should take that guitar back. Good luck to you!

 

[Deadman]

Wow. That's crap. I wanna know the shop name!

 

[bruno]

not cool, but again I say the dealer is to blame...

 

[togps]

.... And finally, by request, serial with the name of the person who asked for it in a "sceptical" way

Hmmh, supreme, I do see on this pic very big my forum member name.
I did not ask for it. All members here know it already. I did ask for the S/N. I cannot see the S/N.
So please make the pic again. Or, if you tired, pass me the S/N

Listen, I understand your situation. But there is no need for any sarcasm.

The reason why you post this story into the Tokai forum is not only on behalf your frustness, I guess? Also on behalf to get help. Isn't it? Me and the forum try to satisfied you. But this is only possible with all knowledge of the problems background.

 

[supreme]

not cool, but again I say the dealer is to blame..

FIRST Tokai built it and then decided to release it for sale...that is where the mistake is....SECOND it is the shop's fault.

I mean, when Gibsons with QC issues arrive, then Gibson is to blame FIRST, period. Tokai is no different, let's not measure with double standards here.

.... And finally, by request, serial with the name of the person who asked for it in a "sceptical" way

Hmmh, supreme, I do see on this pic very big my forum member name.
I did not ask for it. All members here know it already. I did ask for the S/N. I cannot see the S/N.
So please make the pic again. Or, if you tired, pass me the S/N

Listen, I understand your situation. But there is no need for any sarcasm.

The reason why you post this story into the Tokai forum is not only on behalf your frustness, I guess? Also on behalf to get help. Isn't it? Me and the forum try to satisfied you. But this is only possible with all knowledge of the problems background.

How you cannot see the SN is a mystery to me, it is there on the headstock and I also put it in big yellow numbers on the picture, top left, click on the last thumbnail in the above post, the pic you see in the post is not the actual size.

SN 0510042

My sarcasm is there because you suggested in a former post I was pulling it out of my hat (like a Gibson fanatic would suggest about Gibson QC), which you now again do by asking for another SN while it is right in front of your eyes, refusing to believe it.

It is a fact, MIJ Tokai has released a crap guitar with many QC issues and there is nothing that can excuse it.

 

[javelin70]

I've owned and played a lot of Tokais for 22 years now and that guitar doesn't look like a Tokai to me. The imperfections, damage and bad fretwork is not typical for a Tokai guitar, to me it looks like the guitar has been refretted, it even looks likeit has been badly refinished. Is it another bad chinese copy? The headstock inlay also looks like it's badly made. I mostly own older Tokais but I have a 2002 strat that I bought new and the finish on it is excellent. I've also tried a new Love Rock II and the finish on that one was excellent too.

Mike

 

[supreme]

I've owned and played a lot of Tokais for 22 years now and that guitar doesn't look like a Tokai to me. The imperfections, damage and bad fretwork is not typical for a Tokai guitar, to me it looks like the guitar has been refretted, it even looks likeit has been badly refinished. Is it another bad chinese copy? The headstock inlay also looks like it's badly made. I mostly own older Tokais but I have a 2002 strat that I bought new and the finish on it is excellent. I've also tried a new Love Rock II and the finish on that one was excellent too.

Mike

Do you need some pics of different parts that could confirm anything you say, I will take the pics.

 

[togps]

SN 0510042

It is a fact, MIJ Tokai has released a crap guitar with many QC issues and there is nothing that can excuse it.

Is this guitar sold to you probably as a second hand guitar?
This S/N shows clearly that this guitar is one and a half year old.
(Now you may know, why I insist for the S/N)
At present time the LC models are LC85. You mentioned LC70~80
Even Tokai UK does not carry any LC model its web page at present time.

Anyhow, my recommendation is: If it's a real Tokai..... beat this guitar on the head of this extraordinary dealer. He is responsible for it. Not Tokai.

 

[bruno]

supreme, responsible dealers do not sell defective guitars, they send them back, a honest dealer, will not let such a guitar show up in public, back to factory it goes, imediatly, tokai is not perfect, but they rank very high, when it comes to craftsmanship (this is not about tokai vs. gibson, you seem to be pushing it that way though), the dealer is the FIRST to blame always, no matter what brand the guitar is... because the final choice of putting and instrument for sale to the public belongs to the dealer...

and like togps said, that's probably not even a new guitar, I truly hope things work out for you, it's a **** shame, and everyone here understands your frustration, but it's the dealer you ought to be measuring forces with, after all with just a little information we just found out you got deceived about some information relating your deal...

 

[supreme]

SN 0510042

It is a fact, MIJ Tokai has released a crap guitar with many QC issues and there is nothing that can excuse it.

Is this guitar sold to you probably as a second hand guitar?
This S/N shows clearly that this guitar is one and a half year old.
At present time the LC models are LC85. You mentioned LC70~80
Even Tokai UK does not carry any LC model its web page at present time.

Anyhow, my recommendation is: If it's a real Tokai..... beat this guitar on the head of this extraordinary dealer. He is responsible for it. Not Tokai.

Sold as new to me, definitely not secondhand/used. The pups and plastic parts are covered with that stuff to protect them (what do you call it). WHen I said to him on the phone during our first conversation that the LC70-80 means it is an older model, he said he didn't know about those things.

What I can't understand is that a few people know are trying to find excuses fot Tokai for building this guitar.......while anyone reading around here can find threads with Gibson bashing, and always Gibson is blamed for QC issues, never the shop owners who sell them. Double standards, but that is another topic I guess.

 

[bruno]

I find it very awkward the way you're leading this issue into a gibson vs. tokai / double standard situation... looks like you're not really that interested in finding solutions to the real problem, which is getting a refund to a bad guitar that the dealer sold to you... when he should have returned it to the factory

 

[togps]

Bravo, Bruno. I second that.

 

[supreme]

I find it very awkward the way you're leading this issue into a gibson vs. tokai / double standard situation... looks like you're not really that interested in finding solutions to the real problem, which is getting a refund to a bad guitar that the dealer sold to you... when he should have returned it to the factory

Then you are not reading it right. I am just giving an example and you get angry about that.

I mean I wouldn't even buy a Gibson for many reasons, but I do see double standards here, it is very clear and I am free to address it, not?
When someone posts about a Gibson with QC issues, everyone is Gibson this Gibson that without verifying, never someone mentions blaming the shop (except the Gibson fanatics)....and now, here I am with a new MIJ Tokai with many QC issues and suddenly it is the shop's fault, no it must be used and repainted, no it is a Chinese copy, no aliens dropped it from the sky.
And when I say Tokai is first responsible, I am not working to sort it out, I have a hidden agenda, etc..

Do you get it now? This should have NEVER left the Japanese factory in the first place and if you can't agree with that....well.

 

[togps]

... Do you get it now? This should have NEVER left the Japanese factory in the first place and if you can't agree with that....well.

No manufacturer is responsible for that, what could be happen with its product, since it left the factory one and a half year ago !!
(Even there may not exist any warranty of the manufactures side)

 

[bruno]

from this side of the monitor I am as calm as I can be, really... not angry at all, like I said I understand your frustration, I think you are however channeling it the wrong way...

have it your way, I'm not trying to change your mind here...

next time you talk to the dealer who sold you a defective guitar, tell him how much you are pissed of about tokai... he'll give you a nice tap on the shoulder.

 

[TUNAFREAK]

I am no great expert on Tokais. I have owned five and have 2 on the way. Every guitar that anyone makes has at least 1 issue. I have never had a perfect guitar from anyone. That said, That guitar is questionable in many ways, I'm not saying it's a fake but it sure looks strange to me. I would kill the shop owner and then demand my money back. I would also talk to the boys at Tokai to see if it's real. I've never seen a Tokai that had so many issues as that pos has. Good luck!

Mark

 

[Guest]

Idiot who knows nothing here: if it is a fake, would it be possible to tell by the neck pickup cavity, long tenon necks etc? I've only owned an ES-120 and there was nothing wrong with that at all.

Supreme, if someone buys a bad Tokai then it gets mentioned. There's no fear around here in complaining about a defective Tokai product. That said, there's a reason why there aren't many complaint posts abotu Tokais here and it's not some perceived favouritism.

Frankly I think you should ***** the store owner out because the description he provided is bloody misleading.

 

[supreme]

Well, the blunt complaints have been delivered to the parties involved, at the moment all I can do is wait and play on my acoustic like I have done for almost a week now. I refuse to play on this POS and waste new amp tubes and set of new strings on it which I just took off.

 

[guitarslinger]

Just a couple of quick points

The LC70/80 is still a current line being imported by Tokai UK. We've just ordered the last two LC80s in black today and there are more on the way as far as we have been told....and as far as we are concerned there are more coming. Although, if the guitar is a year and a half old it could just be some old shop stock, or something they've had in a box for a while. The reason why i think this could be the case is that if it was fresh in from Tokai and I spotted the flaws - i'd have sent it back to be credited/replaced asap. If it is dinged and scraped it is just easier all round if the dealer says so straight up which would save a lot of grief!!

Just because Tokai UK doesn't have a guitar on it's web site doesn't mean that it isn't a current line. There is a fair bit of stuff missing and custom colours not listed etc.

There are always inevitably going to be a few duff guitars that make it out of the factory, or ones that get dinged on the way to the stores etc. The onus has to be on the dealer to send it back to where it came from - it is only then that the manufacturers will get feedback on their quality...unless they read forums like this.

It sounds to me like you've had a bit of a rough experience with the dealer and I hope they replaced or collect/refund the guitar as per their terms and conditions. We would not be happy to knowingly let a customer have a guitar in that state.

Incidentally we've only ever had one problem with a Japanese Tokai which had a flaw in the binding - it was still perfectly playable, but not right....so we swapped it for something else!

The grey stain is weird though!!! Never seen that before!

Keep pressure up on your dealer pal - i hope it all sorts itself out for you.

Take care man!