LC53 or LS48 ?

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Placid Casual

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I've been planning on buying a Tokai ALS48 GT for a while now, they have one Korean one in Gamlins and for a ?300 guitar it plays beautifully.

Just noticed though that there is another model, on ebay (Richtonemusic) at exactly the same price ...

Specifications - LS48
Made in China
Maple Top
Solid Alder Body
Canadian Maple Set Neck
Rosewood Fingerboard
PAF Vintage MK4 Pick Ups
2 Volume, 2 Tone Controls
3 Way Switch

Specifications - LC53
Made in China
Maple Set Neck
Agathis Body
Rosewood fingerboard
Tokai MK4 pickups
3 way toggle switch
2 Volume, 2 Tone Switch
Tune-o-matic bridge with stop tailpiece
Gold hardware


Wood: Agathis vs Alder
Pick-ups: Tokai Mk 4's vs PAF Vintage Mk 4's

I've no idea about which wood would be best, but I did really like the PAF Vintage pick-ups on the ALS48.

The guitars come in different finishes and have different headstocks, at the moment I'm definately leaning toward the ALS48 model, but is there any reason I should consider getting the LC53 instead ?
 
The main difference is that the LS is a les paul standard copy and the LC is a les paul custom.

Personally I'd go with the LS because you've played it and know you like it, and with the LC you're paying for cosmetics (gold hardware etc).
 
The LC does sound quite different to the LS

The pickup/body differences result in a darker, less mid-range tone. Great for fat metal playing but it is not so cutting for rock lead work.

IMHO of course, but they definitely sound different so I would highly recommend trying both before you decide.

The cosmetic differences are of course up to you, depending on your taste.

Personally I prefer the sound of the LS's but really like the looks of the LC's!
 
Agathis vs Alder


Agathis

Agathis is ok for furniture ( its main use ), but it is not consistant enough as a tone wood. It is plentiful in Asia and not covered by many of the current wood treatys.

Known as commercial grade mahogany, it is one of the worst woods I have ever had the pleasure to work with. It needs twice the filler that mahogany requires and can be dense or light.


Alder

Here's the rub. Real genuine pucker Alder comes from the USA, the Alder used on Far Eastern guitars is nothing like the Alder used in USA Strats.



Its a bit like North American Maple and Candian Rock Maple , both great woods, but Canada is bloody colder hence the tight grain and density of Canadian Rock Maple.

Ash

North American ash.......Take weigh lifting lessons

Swamp Ash ( the part of the ash tree that grows under the swamps, lighter then balsa wood, but a fantastic tone wood.


Tokai MIC and MIK guitars should be using better wood then Agathis and Eastern Alder in that price point.


The USG used Nato which is a great wood and in years to come will rank alongside Ash, USA Alder and Poplar.
 
stratman323 said:
Interesting. How do you rate basswood & poplar?

Poplar was one of the original woods for Strats. It was fairly common in the 50's and 60's . Great tonewood.

Basswood is either excellent or poor. Goof quality basswood found on Ibanez , Japanese Strats etc is pretty good stuff.

Basswood found on Chinese Strat copys ( around ?50 ) is very very poor.
 

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