Tokai Love Rocks on Ebay

Hi,

I just received a Love Rock 2001 Ltd that I purchased on ebay from Mike's Music in Canada. Before I bid on it I asked if this guitar was Japanese or Korean. He said it was a Japanese model guitar. There are no markings on this guitar that can identify it as being "made in Japan". There is no serial number other than 201959 in gold ink on the back of the headstock. I beleive that it is the model number common to all these guitars from Mike's. The truss rod cover has three screws, screened with MM2001 ,Limited Edition. The neck is two piece with a diagonal joint splice at the third fret. The hardware looks exactly like the Epiphone Les Pauls. So does the neck joint. If anyone can help me with this question ,please let me know. If there is some way of telling, I'd like to know . I'd like to have received what was described .
Thanks,

Richard

[Anonymously Posted by: 'Kenny']

Hi Richard, I think it was your letter that someone forwaded on to me but I will reply here as well for the benefit of everyone else who reads this. My Love Rock LS-70 certainly doesn't have a splice at the 3rd fret and I have looked hard when examining this. It is one piece right down the length of the neck but it does have 3 separate pieces added afterwards. The heel has a separate piece of wood about 12mm thick and the headstock has two 'wings' of wood at either side. This allows them to cut the neck from a thinner block of wood and add the 3 extra bits afterwards reducing wastage from the block. The serial on mine is stamped into the back of the headstock and the truss rod cover has 2 screws and looks like an elongated elipse cut in half. Ebay shows a number of guitars with this shape cover on. I don't know if the number of screws is definitely a way of knowing though. The hardware on mine is identical to my 1988 Love Rock. I've only seen photos of Korean ones so I can't tell if it is the same or not.

[Anonymously Posted by: 'KeNNy']

There's nothing limited about them. They are the Korean als48's and als goldtops. The guy at Mike's music had those flyers printed and the trussrod covers made. The "Limited Edition" was Mike's doing not Tokai's.

Here's a tip in identifying whether a Love Rock is Japanese or Korean. If the bridge has a slotted post (for a screwdriver) that threads into a
metal insert in the body, it's a Korean guitar.
The Japan version has a threaded post that is screwed right into the top (like a Gibson) and it's height is adjusted with a thumbwheel only.

Got this from Peter of Pete's Trading post. See the link on the main site.

[Anonymously Posted by: 'Ned']

Another bit of identification info.
If the guitar has a scarf joint behind the headstock, a 3 screw trussrod cover and an extra piece of wood making up the neck heel, alder neck and body, then it's Korean.
The Japan models are totally hand made with a 1 piece mahogany neck, 2 screw trussrod cover, and a mahogany body.

[Anonymously Posted by: 'Petes Trading Center']

I received an e-mail from Mike Palermo, owner of Mike's Music in Thorold ,Canada regarding my concerns. He states that much of the information here is incorrect to put lightly. He says he had specially created these MM2001 Limited Edition Love Rocks working with the rep from Tokai. He says that they are not "Korean quality" guitars. Today I received a e-mail from a Robert Brown who says he is a business assoc of Active Music Products in Canada. They are suppose to be the distributors of Tokai Guitars in Canada. He forwarded their # 905-689-9532. If anyone of you is local to that number ,give them a call. I'm in Calif. This is getting interesting...Mine has the scarf joint ,but is all Mahogony. Mike says this guitar is not a ALS...If anyone wants me to forward the e-mail to you to read let me know..

[Anonymously Posted by: 'bufeng']

I have placed a call to Active Music Products and am waiting for a sales rep to call me back. Hopefully we can clear some of this up.

[Anonymously Posted by: 'Ned']

Thanks to all that helped get my question answered concerning my guitar. Please read my message in the 2001 LE Love Rocks topic page.

[Anonymously Posted by: 'johnmatthews']

Richard, you got screwed by Mike's. They are definitely Korean.

Mike's Music and all those other canuks are in for a rude awakening. They're either incredibly stupid or just more ebay idiots. Stay away from them if you're smart.

[Anonymously Posted by: 'Ned']

Even if the LE's are 100% Korean, they are still the SAME PRICE as the EPI LP Standard [$529.98 at http://www.americanmusical.com] for a nicer instrument.
The pickups & electronics in EPI's are JUNK & I know because I own one.

[Anonymously Posted by: 'Ove Nielsen']

Well, If I was TOLD this LE was Korean , I wouldn't have bid $660. for it. So , I was paying for a Japanese guitar at that price. $500. is what it's worth, not $660. I just purchased from Yoshi at Guitar Universe in Japan a LS-70VF, Made in Japan, for $510. plus shipping! Mike is ripping people off, or was at least. I see the price is less now on ebay. He's probably telling the truth now, before more complain. I going to post negative feedback soon on him.

[Anonymously Posted by: 'Ned']

Richard,

2 things. When you get the LS-70 could you do a comparison for us between that and the 2001 LE?

Also, could you describe how you conducted the transaction with Yoshi as I'm interested (and probably others) how one in the US orders a guitar from Japan. I'm dying to get that Custom Gold Top Yoshi has...

[Anonymously Posted by: 'Ned']

First, I contacted Yoshi through the link on this site! I looked at all the great photos that on his site,Guitar Universe, and e-mailed him asking for prices. Everyone here must have viewed the LS-320! Well, having such a bad experience with Mike's Music and the whole Japanese/Korean guitar thing I went through(see rest of message board), I decided to get what I wanted. He originally sent prices for LS 320 and the Japanese Limited LE.- $2200. and $1500. These were discounted prices and included cases! These are the guitars that are shown in catalog. I then e-mailed Yoshi and asked about the LS-70. He returned an e-mail with a price of $510. w/o case! This is for the Japanese made Love Rock, one piece neck , no scarf -joint ,etc... I made sure I asked all the questions. The shipping he said would be $180. to the US. The various forms of payment were Bank transfer, credit card, or International Postal Money order. I did the money order, it was cheapest. He further lowered the price because of a mistake he made , what a gentleman, to $500. So , my total price including UPS shipping was $680.00! That's for a Japanese LS-70VF! I already have a new Gibson case so I didn't need one from him, an additional $125. if you want one. It was a great transaction. He answered every question , e-mailed a bunch of photos, and was very polite and helpful. These are the same guitars I see selling for alot more by these Canadian dealers. I highly recommend Yoshi and Guitar Universe. I will receive it this week and will let you know what I think. Go for it Ned! It's probably cheaper than you think.

[Anonymously Posted by: 'luis']

Richard,

How did you or Yoshi determine the price in US dollars? Current exchange rate?

[Anonymously Posted by: 'ian']

I received the guitar today! To answer your question,Ned, Yoshi gave me the prices in US dollars. The guitar is fantastic! Exactly as I thought it would be. Way better than Korean MM2001 LE. Feels very much like US Gibson. Same weight, feel. Neck shape is bigger than Korean guitar .Korean guitar has that generic feel. This guitar has a nice big neck like 59. I let you know more as I get a better feel. Pickups are way beeter also. Playing through my Blackface Vibrolux, sound is fuller and brighter.

[Anonymously Posted by: 'Richard']

Richard,
I emailed Guitar Shop Universe, but they have not responded yet. How long did it take for them to get back to you?
Thanks

[Anonymously Posted by: 'Gary Para']

Gary,
Yoshi responded quickly. they are a day ahead in time. Give him a day or two.Ask him to e-mail pictures to you.

[Anonymously Posted by: 'Richard']

Richard,
Thanks, Yoshi got back to me yesterday. I wanted to order the LS75Q quilted maple Heritage Dark Cherry finish. Yoshi gave me a price, but when I emailed him & asked for pics he said they where sold out. So I am thinking about getting the LS70 Violin finish. You said you got LS70VF. Is that the Violin finish? Do you have any pics? I know there are pics on this site, but most of the time they pick out the best looking ones for their catalogs. I'd like to see what an actual production model looks like. I asked Yoshi to send pics, but I don't know yet if he has the Violin finish in stock. He said he didn't have very many LS70s in stock. Is Tokai still making the Love Rocks in Japan? There is a 2000 catalog on this site, but not the 2001 catalog.
I have never seen a Love Rock in Arizona so I have not been able to try one. I would appreciate anything you can tell me about it. It doesn't have the big baseball bat neck does it? I hope it's the slim tapered neck. Hope I can get some pics from you.
Thanks

[Anonymously Posted by: 'Gary Para']

Gary,

A couple of things: Tokai cannot import the Love Rocks into the US. If you order from Yoshi please let him know that you found him via the Tokai Registry.

2) Where in AZ? I spent about 4yrs in Tucson and absolutely loved it.

[Anonymously Posted by: 'Ned']

Ned,
If I order one, I'll let Yoshi know. But, since I've never played one I'll have to know more about them before I get one. Maybe you could answer a couple questions. My main concern is the neck. I hate Gibson baseball bat necks. The Les Paul Classic neck is OK, it's closer to the 1970s & 1980s Ibanez Artists I have. Can't find an old Ibanez Les Paul set neck or I'd buy one. I have seen some but all the owners vision has been effected by these guitars, they think the name says Gibson. Same thing with some of the dealers selling Japan Love Rocks, $1,600.00! Give me a break. The tops are a very thin veneer steam pressed to the shape. Looks good though. $700.00 is a fair price, still more than Ibanez charged for solid tops. Sorry, got off the subject. What's the neck like on the made in Japan Love Rocks? What size are the frets?
Thanks

[Anonymously Posted by: 'Gary Para']