A well kept secret!

Tokai Forum

Help Support Tokai Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

PR36

New member
Joined
Jul 6, 2017
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Location
London, England
I stumbled across the 'lawsuit' era guitars recently by accident, and after getting myself a 1980 springy sound i am amazed these aren't more popular. So much older stuff seems to have been ruined for genuine enthusiasts and players by people 'investing' instead of enjoying but these seem well and truly under the radar. Maybe i shouldnt mention how good mine is after a thorough strip, clean and set up!

One thing i am surprised by is some negative comments about the pickups. I have E in mine and at first i was a bit underwhelmed but after really getting the setup right and getting used to them I am amazed how good they are. I have an american standard with fat 50 custom shop pickups and they can be quite 'nasally' whereas the E in the Tokai have a very nice 'woody' quality and i do prefer them.


[/img]
 
If your guitar is all original with E's and well set up, I don't see how they're not one of the best Strat pickups, ever, IMO very few Fender models are as good.

Someone around here did a recording comparing E's to red bobbins (I think), you should do a search, it's nicely done and very interesting.
 
villager said:
i think most people like the E's...

J.E.M. said:
If your guitar is all original with E's and well set up, I don't see how they're not one of the best Strat pickups, ever, IMO very few Fender models are as good.

Both +1

J.E.M. said:
Someone around here did a recording comparing E's to red bobbins (I think), you should do a search, it's nicely done and very interesting.

Yep, did a comparison between those 'illustrious '82 Fender Fullerton Red Bobbins' and the 'E's (also have switched both, in the same guitar, several times), and to me Tokai 'E's produce a nicer sound than those 'red bobbins'.

http://chirb.it/Fr79bc

http://chirb.it/cMLG0s
(removed type description a while ago for objectivity)

PS that I've sold the 'Reds' and kept the 'E's, somewhat proves my statement. :wink:
 
PR36 said:
I stumbled across the 'lawsuit' era guitars recently by accident, and after getting myself a 1980 springy sound

Sidenote; the only 'actual lawsuit' Tokais are LS models made between 2004 ↔ 2009. :wink:
 
Interesting, thanks for posting. I listened to the clips and to my ears my springy sounds like the first clip. I would be interested to know whether there is any difference in the pickup spec for E's when they were copying a 57 vs a 64 model, or whether an E is just an E. Does anyone know?
 
From the Tokai spec sheet;

"Pick Ups: the ST series is available with either ST-A or ST-B Tokai pick ups.
Type A is a hand made exact alloy reproduction of a 1954 single coil unit.
Type B is a production model of the same pick up."
 
The Es are top,top pickups.Very vintage sounding. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RD2YMEp7smQ
 
Back
Top