Newbie

I am new to the world of Tokai. I'm trying to get a Les Paul type guitar that will get me into Dickey betts/Duane Allman land for a lot less money than an LP will cost me these days. So my thought is to get a used or inexpensive Tokai, and put some Darkburst or Crossroads, or some kind of vintage sounding WCR pickups in it.

Any Tokai experts here who think that this will work? And if so, which models (new and or used) should I be on the lookout for, and how much do you think I need to spend?

Thanks!!!!!

Hi Soundhound, welcome to the Forum :-? . Check out this current thread from Mike Levitt
http://www.tokaiforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=3506&start=0 . I wouldn?t change pups in a guitar like that ? leave it ?stock?, you?ll get plenty of vintage Les Paul mojo. 1985-89 Love Rock LS50/60 in solid colour will keep price down (a bit) :-? .

Ian.

Thanks Ian! For the kind of guitar I'm looking for (see above) what model(s)/year(s)/specs should I be looking for? Should I just get a new one? MIJ/MIK? Thanks!!

Hi Soundhound,
I'm a Tokai noob too. This site has been a great help to me.
How much money were you planning on spending?
I decided to bite into the Tokai apple pretty hard (so to speak) and I've spent a pretty good amount of money over the last month and a half or so. I don't know a thing about the current MIK guitars and I know only a very little more about the MIJs but I wanted to aim at what they were calling the "golden years" of Tokai so I aimed at late 70's and early 80's models. It's not cheap but I haven't been at all disappointed. In fact I'm extremely happy with what I've gotten so far. I would like to try the current crop of MIK models...they look really nice but I had my heart set on the early years. I'm looking to buy one more model from that time and then maybe I can move on and try an MIK or two later on down the line. i would really like to see how the MIK Tokais compare to the other brands like Arbor and JBP.

Clay

Clay,

Thanks for the info. I was hoping to get away for around $500 or so. People have also been recommending Greco and Burny, some of the Burnys were made by Tokai apprently. This is all pretty deep and confusing. How much did you spend if you don't mind my asking (ballpark figures, ya know) and what did you get/how do you like them?

thanks!

How much did you spend if you don't mind my asking

Click to expand...

No man, not at all...
(brace yourself )

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=3774823715&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=3781742787&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7302430558&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT

Yeah, I know it seems like an awful lot but I sold off thousands of dollars of equipment before I jumped in... vintage amps/pedals mostly. I also got rid of a bunch guitars of medium grade quality that I spent years with trying to convince myself that I liked when I really didn't (you know that feeling? you want to like them but you never really do? you try to convince yourself that they're something they're really not).

I've written a little about it in previous post; wanting to buy these guitars in the past but just never getting around to it.


I don't want to exaggerate about these three but...seriously, I'm blown away by them. That Cream colored Springy came in today. I was so, so, so surprised. I had worried about it initially. What I got was something I didn't expect at all ...it's flawless. Immaculate. Gorgeous really. It plays better than any "off the rack" Fender I've played over the last 25 years. I feel kind of bad for the guys who, for whatever reason, have to get rid of these things.
(I just noticed that the seller removed the pics of this one...I'll take some if you want to see it. It's a cream but not that yellowish pudding color. More like a beige-y cream, with a dark amber neck and a slab rosewood board and a 3 ply scratch guard).

I'm looking specifically for one more model. When I got home late tonight after work I searched ebay I thought I'd found it!! But darned if this guy Makelchea didn't swoop in again and snag another monster. I would have bought this one straight away had I'd seen it...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7304584744&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT

He must have an amazing collection.

Maybe you can just take a little more time and stash some dough away or sell some other equipment too and aim at one from around this time frame. I don't want to take anything away from the guys on the board here who are selling the latest Tokai stock. These might very well be excellent guitars...I just don't really know. I can only say that I'm extremely satistfied with what I've been fortunate to get so far.

Whatever you decide on please let us know how it works out for you.
Happy hunting
Clay