Advice for someone purchasing a second hand Tokai LC132/E BB

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dmddmm

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Hi All.

I have the opportunity to buy a second hand Tokai LC132 afor 973 dollars and I have a few questions, if anyone who knows these guitars well could assist me that would be great.

-What does the /E stand for? I see there are different types of LC132

-I have been offered brand new lC 336's for about 30 percent more of the price of the LC132 I am buying, is it wise to just pay more? I am already at the end of my budget

-I can pick up a cheapie Gibson Studio for about 100 dollars less than this LC132 will cost me, but I have a feeling the LC132 is a better product. What do you guys think?

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10156478489107902&set=pcb.1802073726534875&type=3&ifg=1&__tn__=HH-R&eid=ARC1rk1k_8k4VJc5yfuhzeXAJI_ndaYf_sfCIYucNlKVtDdd_SjVOFN_zq6nc_cTOcypZ0qPETuinZdx
 
That looks like a great deal. I'd hit it myself, ebony fretboard and all hog body = WIN !!!
 
Hi guys,

I believe the 'E' tag refers to the overall finish.
It has a solid mahogany body and top (no maple) with an Ebony fingerboard and Ebony finish.
Generally the all-mahogany LC have a wine red finish and black was used on the LC132S with a maple top.

Peter
 
(My) rule of thumb with Japanese Tokais is, multiply the price by three and that's what you'll pay for a compaible Gibson/Fender.
I recently picked up a used LS150F. The store I bought it from had just bought in a collection that included two LS150Fs and a Gibson R8 from the same year. I was looking for an R8, but was open to a higher end Tokai, so I gave him a call, chatted for half an hour and visited the following morning.
The Tokais were the equal to the R8 in every department, except the pickups... but that can be fixed, easily.
I can afford the R8, but the Tokai is just better value - if the Tokai had been the same price as the Gibson, then I'd have probably bought the Gibson.
The days of Fenders and Gibsons being an investment are over.
I have a 40 year old Strat that's worth four times what I paid for it - a 50s/60s Strat was worth ~ 200x it's original value when new at 40 years old. I very much doubt todays guitars will even increase in value in the future.
I'm no Tokai 'expert' - I own two, an '83 TST70, and this LS150F.
What I DO know, is a 'new' LS150F in the UK will cost you £1700 ish, IF you can find one - I only know of one and it's been 'new' for two years. A £265 set of boutique PAFs and you've got a guitar that is made (almost) exactly like an R9, with better pickups, for a third of the price - ~£2000.
 
Check out the FGN 20E custom guitars.

It looks like they just changed the model number to NLC20EMH-EX though I believe the guitar is still exactly the same.

https://mi.fujigen.co.jp/collection/model_NLC20EMH-EX.html


I have 6 LP customs. 2 From FGN LPC-20E (MOP inlays and lacquer fujigen), 2 from History GH-LPV (MOP inlays and lacquer also Fujigen) and 2 from Burny model? (not sure who made these but they are poly with plastic inlays). I have Tokais but not customs. The FGN one is my favorite. The History's are great but I would say the FGN wins by a bit. You can get these things so cheep also. I paid under $1,000 USD for mine. Then I think around $700 for the 2nd one I got. They are great guitars and worth 3x what the sell for.


FGN 20E has

mahogany top and back
Ebony FB
Mother of Pearl inlays
Lacquer Top Coat
Duncan Pickups

These things are an exact copy of the currently produced Gibson LPC that are over 3x the price of these.

I am not saying the Tokais LPC are bad at all just these are great and you can get them for really cheap. The specs are the same or higher than the tokais in the same price range.
 
That's one of my guitars...I'm the distributor in SA.

The E is a custom spec Tokai do for me, it means an Ebony fretboard.
Another custom spec on all my made in Japan Tokais, I ask for bigger frets, SBB-215 jumbos.

Current model is the LC136E.

That guitar smokes, extremely high quality, like all Japanese Tokais. The price is way to cheap, although it is a 2010 model.
 

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