Hi. New Guy
- Thread starter Walnut
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Paladin2019
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Sounds like you got a dud, tough break. I've heard lots of positive stuff about the MIKs, though personally I've never believed them to be anything special at their price point. I've certainly never heard of anything as bad as yours and they're usually considered better than Epi.
The MIJ ones are in a whole different league. Like the difference between an Epi and a Gibson.
The MIJ ones are in a whole different league. Like the difference between an Epi and a Gibson.
I would be really interested in those pipcs mate!
Personally I think you should try sending it back to Tokai UK. The MIK guitars that I have seen and have in stock are very good, they wipe the floor with my old trusty Epi that I've had since I first started playing... some 12 years ago
MIJ guitars are superb in my experience!
Personally I think you should try sending it back to Tokai UK. The MIK guitars that I have seen and have in stock are very good, they wipe the floor with my old trusty Epi that I've had since I first started playing... some 12 years ago
MIJ guitars are superb in my experience!
bruceboomstick
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I had an extended play on a ALS48 a couple of weeks back it was great guitar - really playable. So I'm with everyone else when I say that you probably have a dud.
The only downside with having the issues fixed yourself is that if the guitar has been stored badly (or transported badly) or worse still left the factory when it shouldn't have, you could have other issues that are not readily apparent.
However if your in the UK your sale is covered by the sale of goods act - which means you have some comeback - from what I recall you can legitimately get the guitar sorted and request that whoever sold it to you covers the cost. Obviously you would need to speak to the shop first and have them agree to that course of action or see what else they can suggest. In my experience guitar resellers are normally pretty understanding guys and are usually are as upset by a dud as you are - so I'd talk to them - even if you have to courier it back it should cost more than about 15 quid.
The only downside with having the issues fixed yourself is that if the guitar has been stored badly (or transported badly) or worse still left the factory when it shouldn't have, you could have other issues that are not readily apparent.
However if your in the UK your sale is covered by the sale of goods act - which means you have some comeback - from what I recall you can legitimately get the guitar sorted and request that whoever sold it to you covers the cost. Obviously you would need to speak to the shop first and have them agree to that course of action or see what else they can suggest. In my experience guitar resellers are normally pretty understanding guys and are usually are as upset by a dud as you are - so I'd talk to them - even if you have to courier it back it should cost more than about 15 quid.
orvilleowner
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Walnut said:
Yes it does. That tuner mounting is really *something*.
I just scanned JSD's site to see how the tuners are mounted on the MIK guitars he offers ... there wasn't a good enough image to tell.
bruceboomstick
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I hear what you say about not wanting to cause any agro in arranging a refund/replacement; but look at from the retailler, distributors and ultimately the manufacturers point of view - it's in their interest that your guitar meets the highest standards. If you have a bad experience you won't buy another and won't recommend them. Equally by putting the dodgy guitar back through the supply chain lessons can be learned.
Providing customers with saleable products is the obligation of the seller NOT the buyer (unless it's a private sale, in which case buyer beware still applies). Your dealer understands this and has offered the refund - where's the problem? That guitar is not up to standard and you're not to blame - even if you acquired it in a slightly unusual way.
I know there was a thread on here where Tokai UK replaced a dodgy LS75Q - so you may want to contact them directly.
The way I see it you have 2 options - get the guitar changed (which will be no hassle and I'm sure the seller would be happy to offer a token of compensation - maybe chuck in some strings or something for the inconvenience). Alternatively suffer the problem and never be happy with guitar (which will affect your playing, of that you can be sure !!).
I'm pretty certain that Tokai, your dealer and everyone on this forum would want you to be happy with your guitar - so go for the first option !!!!
Providing customers with saleable products is the obligation of the seller NOT the buyer (unless it's a private sale, in which case buyer beware still applies). Your dealer understands this and has offered the refund - where's the problem? That guitar is not up to standard and you're not to blame - even if you acquired it in a slightly unusual way.
I know there was a thread on here where Tokai UK replaced a dodgy LS75Q - so you may want to contact them directly.
The way I see it you have 2 options - get the guitar changed (which will be no hassle and I'm sure the seller would be happy to offer a token of compensation - maybe chuck in some strings or something for the inconvenience). Alternatively suffer the problem and never be happy with guitar (which will affect your playing, of that you can be sure !!).
I'm pretty certain that Tokai, your dealer and everyone on this forum would want you to be happy with your guitar - so go for the first option !!!!
Would you not be able to contact the seller directly - bypass your tutor?
You know...there used to be a time when MiJ Tokai owners were laughed at by Gibson owners for owning an "Inferior knock -off" of the famed shape.
Tables have turned though....considering the reissue line of Les Pauls(and I should know I own one) is very hit and miss as far as quality goes.
From what I've been reading AND hearing about the differences between MiK Love Rocks and the MiJ versions it certainly does sound like you have an axe that fell from the Lemon wagon with a thud.
Here in Australia it's difficult to source both the new MiJ and MiK guitars as we don't appear to have a distributor for them that distributes to the local music stores.
When the Love Rock line was released in 1985 we DID have distributors dealing with the local music stores as I can remember very well trying out quite a few different LS80's and LS100's in a music store in Sydneyand falling head over heels in love with them...not one of them were a dud.
Of course...it was only years later that I was actually able to afford to buy one and as irony would have it one of the guitars that I tried in the store I now own
I too would go the official route and have the guitar replaced.
Tables have turned though....considering the reissue line of Les Pauls(and I should know I own one) is very hit and miss as far as quality goes.
From what I've been reading AND hearing about the differences between MiK Love Rocks and the MiJ versions it certainly does sound like you have an axe that fell from the Lemon wagon with a thud.
Here in Australia it's difficult to source both the new MiJ and MiK guitars as we don't appear to have a distributor for them that distributes to the local music stores.
When the Love Rock line was released in 1985 we DID have distributors dealing with the local music stores as I can remember very well trying out quite a few different LS80's and LS100's in a music store in Sydneyand falling head over heels in love with them...not one of them were a dud.
Of course...it was only years later that I was actually able to afford to buy one and as irony would have it one of the guitars that I tried in the store I now own
I too would go the official route and have the guitar replaced.
bruceboomstick
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Looking at my MIJ the bottom two tuners on both sides are slightly inset probably by a couple of mil - to be honest I've never noticed it before, My SG is the same (they follow the radius of the the h/stock). Those pictures MIKs look fine - they look odd because of the angle they're pictured at.
If you have a dud guitar that you are not prepared to change then don't use that as a basis to judge the whole range.
I dunno if you've searched this forum on the subject of tokai quality - if you had you'd probably find that you're in the minority - that should tell you more than pictures sourced off of ebay every will.
Are you sure this guitar was obtained legitmately - I don't mean was it pinched - I mean was it grade 1 stock and not sold as a return or a second? ' cos that's the only reason a dealer would not refund (like I said if you're in the UK they are legally obliged to refund you your money if the guitar is not fit for sale - and the burden of proof is on them, not you).
Alternatively you're not from the Gibson forum are you?
One final point your contract of sale is with the dealer - not Tokai UK. That means all issues have to be dealt with with the dealer - Tokai UK are not obliged to become involved (although I'm sure they'd assist if you contacted them).
If you have a dud guitar that you are not prepared to change then don't use that as a basis to judge the whole range.
I dunno if you've searched this forum on the subject of tokai quality - if you had you'd probably find that you're in the minority - that should tell you more than pictures sourced off of ebay every will.
Are you sure this guitar was obtained legitmately - I don't mean was it pinched - I mean was it grade 1 stock and not sold as a return or a second? ' cos that's the only reason a dealer would not refund (like I said if you're in the UK they are legally obliged to refund you your money if the guitar is not fit for sale - and the burden of proof is on them, not you).
Alternatively you're not from the Gibson forum are you?
One final point your contract of sale is with the dealer - not Tokai UK. That means all issues have to be dealt with with the dealer - Tokai UK are not obliged to become involved (although I'm sure they'd assist if you contacted them).
togps
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Mr. J. H. Park, one week off into jail :evil:
bruceboomstick
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LOL !!!!
Crimes and against music - he could share a cell with Simon Cowell
Lionel Berthelon
Member
Im over here in the U.S. and thinking of buying mik. Its things like that that piss me off, just the hassle to send it back would make me :evil:
good luck, and send the thing back and make them pay. complain to customs too
good luck, and send the thing back and make them pay. complain to customs too
sneakyjapan
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sorry to disagree...but those appear really bad to me too. Looking at the top tuners, the two closest to the top of the headstock, no two sets are in the same place on any of em...some are real close to the edge...for the Yes fans...and others are not. OK...these are low end models and not as much TLC goes into em as the high end stuff, and I`d wager most of them are bought by kids just starting out or parents who don`t know anything about guitars buying birthday presents but still...there should be a minmum of quality control at whatever factory is pumping these out. I hope Just Hackin` Park isn`t the supervisor of QC. Don`t understand how Tokai can allow their name to be affiliated with that crap.
hans-j?rgen
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How about this one?Ozeshin said:
http://www.tokaiguitars.com.au/
bruceboomstick
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Looking again I can see what you mean, but wouldn't want to draw conclusions based on pictures - simply 'cos they're not head on - but I'm not going to rule our an issue. They're all machined by CNC equipment which if the program was out there could be a whole batch of poorly drilled guitars out there (CNC machines a great - you program them and they knock out thousands of things to to exactly to what the program says.....)
I think it's fair to say that everyone accepts that the quality of the MIK instruments is a bit lower than MIJ - they are the lower end instruments and therefore won't have the quality of workmanship or materials that a MIJ has.
But I think that assertions like 50% of those looked at were poor and comparisions to ?40 chinese knock offs are unfair and do contradict my experience.
For the 299-399 GBP MIK tokais sell for it's wrong to expect top end guitar - but that does not mean that buyers have to accept poor quality products. There's no excuse for walnut's guitar - it should never have been passed (The Korean QC should have failed it, Tokai UK should have failed it and the dealer should have failed it) sadly for some reason it made it through. Good customer service is about recognising mistakes and putting them right. What's frustrating me is the reluctance to let anyone sort the problem out.
With Tokais getting increasingly popular I wonder if quality issues will accompany this.
I think it's fair to say that everyone accepts that the quality of the MIK instruments is a bit lower than MIJ - they are the lower end instruments and therefore won't have the quality of workmanship or materials that a MIJ has.
But I think that assertions like 50% of those looked at were poor and comparisions to ?40 chinese knock offs are unfair and do contradict my experience.
For the 299-399 GBP MIK tokais sell for it's wrong to expect top end guitar - but that does not mean that buyers have to accept poor quality products. There's no excuse for walnut's guitar - it should never have been passed (The Korean QC should have failed it, Tokai UK should have failed it and the dealer should have failed it) sadly for some reason it made it through. Good customer service is about recognising mistakes and putting them right. What's frustrating me is the reluctance to let anyone sort the problem out.
I'll second that sentiment, but I guess that guitar has passed through many people hands before it reached poor old walnut - all of which could have prevented his woes.
With Tokais getting increasingly popular I wonder if quality issues will accompany this.
Hmmm...the name J.H.Park is a Korean name so the sticker is from the Korean factory as the final person to pass the guitar before being boxed not the UK distributor nor Tokai UK....they just shipped it over...not build it.Walnut said:
Either way though I guess that's the end of the story....you have taken the option to have the guitar repaired at your own cost.
I do understand though that this was more of a precautionary post on your behalf.
As pretty as the finshes on the MiK guitars look...I think I'll pass and stick with the MiJ versions in the future :roll:
