Question about MIJ Love Rocks

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Greetings, my first post!

Well today I tried a couple of Tokai Love Rocks Lps at 2 stores.
The first store I went to has 2 new Love Rocks, one from last year(LS85) and the other from 2009 I think(LS75). I did not plug in cause I wanted to see how they feel acoustically. I was surprised they were lighter than I was expecting, almost as light as the Edwards Les Pauls, which are usually light by LP standard. These are beautifully made, with eye-catching top, but strangely I was not impressed as I would be. Felt a little "fake", in fact.
The second store has a used LS80 or 90, from 2007. This one has a normal LP weight. I happened to plug in and it oozed sweetness.
Now, the second place's owner said Tokai Love Rocks probably used Honduras mahogany for the models before 2007, and since then they started to use the African one, so maybe that's the reason the new ones are lighter in weight.
Is that true? Did you guys feel the pre-2007 models and post-2007 ones are different?
Pls share your thoughts.

And 2 more questions:
1. What's the equivalent of today's model for 2007's LS80 and 90?
2. On the lower end MIJ models, is the "tokai" logo on the headstock made of decal, acryllic, or abalone?

Thanks folks!! :wink:
 
To answer the second point the logo is acrylic.

Regarding the wood you will only find Honduras mahogany on the high end guitars, but not on the LS75/80/90 models. On these they usually use african mahogany. Please try to check the LS side by side with a Gibson, they feel extremely similar. When you check the fit and finish around the neck and fretboard you'll see the Tokai is better made (I used to own both Tokais and Gibson LP standard)

I used to own a 2007 LC85 (sold to a forum member) made of African mahogany and I have yet to hear a guitar with more sustain...

About the numbering system...the new one should be between 90 and 100, not sure at all these days.
 
Knight Templar said:
Now, the second place's owner said Tokai Love Rocks probably used Honduras mahogany for the models before 2007, and since then they started to use the African one, so maybe that's the reason the new ones are lighter in weight.

Strange,if my info is correct then Honduran should wheigh less.

African Mahogany
Average Dried Weight: 43 lbs/ft3 (685 kg/m3)
Honduran Mahogany
Average Dried Weight: 41 lbs/ft3 (655 kg/m3)

PS: my 2009 LS95S wheighs 9,9lbs (4,5kg)
 
Knight Templar said:
Now, the second place's owner said Tokai Love Rocks probably used Honduras mahogany for the models before 2007,

Since at least 1999, Honduras mahogany has only been used on the very top end models - it definately wouldn't be on any of the guitars you were looking at.

I think the differences you detected were down to the fact that no two guitars are ever the same. Every piece of wood is unique, and even with modern manufacturing methods consistency isn't what you might expect.

Maybe Tokai are using different grades of wood year-on-year due to costs, but they're all African mahogany at that part of the price scale.
 
Yeah I also think that the African mahogany was used in that used model, and the density of the wood made the difference in weight.
The logo is made of acrylic, right? If so that's great news for me.
Adn what do you guys think the over all quality of the LSs over the past few years? I am new to Tokais, and from what I saw I think the older used LS80 or 90 from 2007 is better than the new ones. Although I should have plugged the new models to be fair.
 
I can't really comment on older ones being better than new ones etc. I own 3 Tokais and all 3 had minor issues (one that could turn to be huge but hasn't yet. My SG-155 came from the factory with some minor dmg to the headstock as well as some pretty sub-par finishing on the headstock overlay. My ES-120 had a pretty bad looking fretboard for what was supposed to be the top model at the time (lemon oil took care of it). And finally, my baby, my '05 LS-150 has a truss rod that is fully loosened with only very, VERY slight relief in the neck. If it back bows more, which it hasn't since I got it, I'm screwed.

All the new Tokais I saw when I went to Tokyo last January resembled a good boat anchor. They were frickin' heavy!!! The lightest one I saw was around 4.2 kg with the average being close to 5. I was very surprised. But the finish was very nice on any I picked up.

I guess what I'm getting at is that like any maker, there are great guitars and not so great ones. Tokai has a great reputationhere for good quality control but look around and you'll hear stories about bad finish. Ishibashi dropped the brand for that reason, so I've read. I got unlucky a couple of times but in the end, they're still awesome bang for buck and my next guitar (still want a junior dc) will most likely be a Tokai.

Jason
 

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