I just received my Tokai NALS-48 GoldTop on 1 Jul 06 from JSD's Guitar Shack. I am "extremely" happy and will be doing more business with them. Kudos to Kevin. Now if I can only find the elusive Tokai SB ES-60, ES-100, or ES-120. Those seem to be really hard to find in Canada. Again thanks Kevin.
Tokai NALS-48 GoldTop
- Thread starter msvbvm61
- Start date
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I'm thinking about getting one of those. How do they compare to say, a Gibson? I had a Gibson Les Paul Goldtop '56 reissue a while back, it was a great guitar. I've been looking at these Korean Tokais, but I am a little wary about ordering one. How do they sound, how is the craftsmanship?
In comparing the Tokai LP GT with Gibson LP GT the workmanship is very close. The Tokai had some minor flaws with the inlays on the neck, but you had to look very close to see them. As for the sound, it sounds just like what a LP with P-90s should sound like, at least it did to me. I ran my LP Special with P-90s and the Tokai through a Headstrong Amp. The LP Special had a lighter sound (contained more high frequencies) with the P-90 grit. The Tokai had a fuller sound (contained more lower frequencies) with the same P-90 grit. Both sounded great. Sound (tone) is subjective.
I always like to handle the guitar first before I buy, but in this case I did not have that luxury. New Tokais are not sold in the US. I took a chance on buying this guitar without handling it and JSD's Guitar Shack came through like a champ. In other words ordering something over the internet or mail order is a crap shoot. Finding reputable dealers is not often easy, so good luck. I hope this helps.
On another note I emailed Godlyke Distributing [[email protected]] for info on ES models in Canada and this was their reply - "ES models cannot be sold in North America due to trademark issues with Gibson - sorry, if you want one of these guitars you'd have to purchase from overseas.....".
What about the other Tokai/Gibson copies? Isn't there a trademark issue with them? Strange, is it just the ES models that can not be sold? I wonder.
I always like to handle the guitar first before I buy, but in this case I did not have that luxury. New Tokais are not sold in the US. I took a chance on buying this guitar without handling it and JSD's Guitar Shack came through like a champ. In other words ordering something over the internet or mail order is a crap shoot. Finding reputable dealers is not often easy, so good luck. I hope this helps.
On another note I emailed Godlyke Distributing [[email protected]] for info on ES models in Canada and this was their reply - "ES models cannot be sold in North America due to trademark issues with Gibson - sorry, if you want one of these guitars you'd have to purchase from overseas.....".
What about the other Tokai/Gibson copies? Isn't there a trademark issue with them? Strange, is it just the ES models that can not be sold? I wonder.
GARAGERAT
Well-known member
Got my Love Rock Violin Burst w/humbuckers about 2 months ago from JSD's. Everything, from the sale to the quality and sound of the guitar was/is outstanding. I was at Guitar Center the other day killing time while my daughter was shopping next door (I hate G.C.). Go into the room where they keep the "over,overpriced" stuff, pull a Gold Top off the wall. I'm gonna plug something real nice into a Bluesbreaker reissue for free ya know,lol. What a dissapointment. It was a b!t*h to get in tune and when I did, it was dead. No sustain. None. It felt and sounded like it was water logged, muffled. Bad, very bad. You could just feel there was something wrong with that one. I looked at the hang tag, $2499.00. Maybe it needed new strings but I just couldn't feel it vibrate through the guitar like I can mine. It sounded like the neck wasn't glued in, not connected, I don't know. The external quality was similar except that the fret ends are smoother on my Love Rock. I did good buying the Love Rock. I couldn't be happier.
