The Talbo & Talbo Jr. questions & thoughts

[GUITAR CELLAR]

On a fluke...I thought I'd try to sell a Talbo & Talbo Jr so I ordered one of each to try them out. I never see anyone talk good or bad about Talbo's and Talbo Jr's so I had no idea about them and a picture does not do them justice.
They both came in yesterday (TALBO sold this morning) and I was very very impressed with both of them and wonder why they are not as popular or well known here in the USA.
I promise that this is not some kind of self promotion here....I am honestly very impressed, especially with that little Talbo Jr. It is the wildest little guitar I've ever seen in natural aluminum. I really think I'll keep this one for myself or get another because I have to own one now. It is made of cast aluminum with a speaker built in and it give off the wildest distortion/feedback when cranked. I keep finding myself picking it up and jamming on it for a few minutes several times during the day. Does anyone else out there have one of these? I'd really like to know because I'm thinking about carrying more of both versions instead of the Love Rocks and Korean knock off's. This little Talbo Jr. is my favorite guitar and my favorite TOKAI so far. Most people seem to only talk about the Love Rocks....and they are great little guitars as well, but a Talbo makes its own original statement and a Talbo Jr. is one of the neatest, most fun & coolest little guitars I've ever seen or played. Both aluminum Talbo's are well made.
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[Anonymous]

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[GUITAR CELLAR]

I think both Talbo models are the most brave, original & non conservative design's I have ever seen and they sound great with the 5 way selector switch choices. The Aluminum body is a great feature as well.
So many people get what everyone else have or had that it gets boring & non-original. I really get tired of seeing either Les Paul's of Strat's on TV all the time. I think the TALBO is what TOKAI should be known for....not for great copies of other guitars. You dont see Talbo's in any U.S. retail store and you rarely see a Tokai in any form here in the USA. I'd say that if Talbo's were in USA retail stores....they would become very popular here and many original thinkers (isn't that what musicians are supposed to be) :wink: would buy Talbo's over other makes of guitar.
In my case....I never gave Talbo's a thought until I actually saw one in person and played it. It took a Japanese American to order one from me to realize what a great guitar a Talbo is.
I e-mailed Mr. Shohei Adachi of THE TOKAI GUITAR COMPANY and told him what a great product the Talbo's are and thanked him.

 

[ned]

I love mine. The best part is the unfettered access to the upper higher frets.

Ned

 

[GUITAR CELLAR]

Here is the pic of my Talbo Jr.

 

[kherman]

I'm sorry, but I think thats just ugly.
plus, access to the 22nd fret is near impossible.
It looks like those guitars they draw in cartoons.

Kent

 

[tokaigeezer]

I think it's a guitar shape that elicits strong reactions. I like it personally, but I can see where others might say "yecch." I think it's cool because the design just screams "Hey, I'm Japanese, in case you haven't noticed!"
It reminds me of my friends from he East Coast who visit me here in New Mexico: Some fall in love with its remore beauty and others are aghast at being in the middle of nowhere.

I believe the crown jewel of the Tokai line is the Talbo bass - especially the chrome model. Just check out that crazy take on the P-Bass pickup! Now that is stylin', baby! It looks likes an axe Godzilla might play when he wasn't busy stomping through Tokyo! (hint hint Mr. Guitar Cellar - you might want to import one of these - I'd be interested!)

I'm a Strat freak myself - I swoon over that chimey quack stuff I can't seem to get over. And most members here are Les Paul-obsessed. But when it comes to real innovative design the Talbo takes the cake. :?)

 

[Anonymous]

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[Paladin2019]

I've never seen or heard a talbo but I'd be very interested in having a go of one. They look pretty cool in an unconventional kinda way and the materials used should make for pretty unique tone.

The jnrs don't appeal though. :roll:

where have I left my Tokai catalogue... I wanna see some Talbos now!

 

[sneakyjapan]

theres a used one in this city. Retails for 123000 yen, they have it at 20000, but man... it still doesn`t appeal to me. I won`t insult anybody`s choice of guitar but I walk past the used Talbo, look at it and don`t even wanna pick it up. Maybe I should, could be I`d be pleasantly surprised.
BUT how would I ever hide THAT one from the wife?

 

[tokaigeezer]

Actually, I said it was an innovative design, that is, not another les paul or strat variant or a combination of the two. Tokai came up with something original that looks like it could plug into a pachinko machine and light up half the block. Who knows ... maybe it sounds like one!

At least I would be willing to try one before I gave it the Bronx cheer

Velenos had metal bodies and necks, early Kramers had aluminum necks but I wouldn't want to play one near a mic, or play during lightning strikes ... bzaaaat!

To each his own but I have several guitars made of non-wood materials, and they (Reverend, Girl Brand) sustain well and are both bolt-on. And single coil mind you. A lot of it depends on the design of the instrument. The Reverend actually sustains longer than my 11-pound 1977 Les Paul Deluxe Pro and sounds a lot better to boot, which is why I will be selling the Pro. Not that sustain means everything to me.

And I have years ago discovered that no matter what I play, or what I plug it into, I still sound like just plain (surprise, surprise) me. :wink: [/i]

 

[GUITAR CELLAR]

I agree that the looks are unusual but it when you hold one & play one the 1st time, you see what a well made instrument it actually is. I have worked in machine shops and have made specialty guitar parts in the past. I guess that is what impresses me the most. The Talbo & Talbo Jr. bodies are heavy duty and very well made. I can imagine that it probably costs as much to make them as it does for them to make any top of the line copy that Tokai offers. The Talbo Jr is a much better looking travel guitar than any of those other mini electric guitars I've seen or played. It sounds & plays like a full size guitar and it seems pretty indestructable. Hey..some people think Sabb's are ugly and some think they are beautiful, but everyone agree's that Saab's are well made machines.

This Talbo is much better looking in person:

Reverend's were hot for a while and they have interesing designs as well....but I have taken them apart to see a cheaply made guitar that is easily reproduced by Reverend at about 150.00 (I'd guess) per copy.

 

[SmoothBlueCat]

I've actually had my eyes on Talbos for a while now...

but I guess I'm also hard to please. Ultimately when I buy one it's going to have to come down to the perfect combination of price, quality (ideally new), and styling.

The facts of the matter are these:

1. I am a student. I do not have a huge budget although I could see myself hovering slightly above the 1G mark which that Talbo you had listed went for... but Canadian. With the CDN dollar at 0.75 US, I am celebrating but there's still a long march to go.

2. I'm not a very good guitarist. My family isn't musical and I never had any friends who were really in to music so when I first started my guitar teacher and I were about the only ones who had that link. ...and then I moved back to Canada from Europe. Since then I've payed for and tried lessons offered through my library, through the music conservatory near here, etc, etc. and for some reason I can't seem to find anyone who really seems interested in teaching me.

3. I've never played electric. But yup I am a romantic and my heart is set on a Talbo as my first electric. I don't know how to use a pick - I still find them weird... My only guitar is a classical guitar - "fabricada en espagne" as it were, with no discernable features of note apart from the fact that most of the teachers I've had back here in Canada generally just overlook it and assume it's some dud until they hear it and then they all want to take a 2nd look. :roll:

So yeah... I don't think it's hopeless but I've decided I'm going to need to be patient if everything is eventually all going to come together for me. From the sound of what you were saying on your site you already have to deal with a ton of email, but if you happen to get any more Talbos in stock I would appreciate a PM or if you could post here. Thanks.

 

[GUITAR CELLAR]

I have not had time to post these on our site...but we just got a Talbo Bass B135 cast aluminum, nickel plated w/active electronics. We also have a metallic red Talbo Woody TWG 803T and a Spectore style Tokai Bass TW77. That Talbo Bass blows my mind and I'm still asking the queston of why these great guitars have not hit the mainstream yet....I guess its because there are no dealers here in the USA

 

[tokaiguy]

I have played a lot of Talbo's, they were everywhere in Dallas during the early 80's and they are very cool guitars. The early ones were really Freaky, they were around when pointy guitars and graphics were all the rage. The white one Hilton Valentine had for sale was very nice, also the red one GC has pictured. I had 2 now only one, we call it the Flaming Pineapple. It's orange with a heavy gold metalflake, ssh pups,black pickgaurd and copper hardware. My brother in NE Texas has it , I'll see if he can post a picture for us . If not , thats a good reason to go and get it back. His son uses it in his Radiohead inspired band. One thing that a Talbo is better than 95% of the guitars out there is that they sustain like a Son of a Gun! 8) TG