Best SRV guitar?

:roll: Further to my recent message regards eBay Tokai strats on the 'sightings' part of this forum can someone please advise whether a 70/80s silverstar OR goldstar sound OR springysound OR limited edition Tokai strat would be best suited for the Stevie Ray Vaughan Texas Blues tone or playability (thick neck profile) OR indeed whether Tokai released an SRV signature strat!

I am after the classic vintage strat 'bell tone' and soulful articulation to the growl of an SRV riff and sensuous sustain (not much to ask :wink: )

I have to place bids soon so would greatly appreciate a prompt response. Thank you!!

i think my silver star has got so much grit and oomph. The low E sounds like a piano to me. thats my 2 bits...great for blues........

Throw some Fender Tex Mex pups in this baby and you will have it.

:roll: Guitar Cellar is this a Tokai? Some details please. Does it have vintage vibe? Thanks

That's a JBPlayer SRV model, ash body and as GC said throw some pickups and pots in it and who knows! As far as what Stevie played Tokai wise, I saw him on stage in Dallas with a Springy, and later I saw him pictured with an AST 62'. Two of the most famous guitars of all SRV #1 and Blackie were made of parts from different guitars! And Jimi played stock strats from the 70's!? It's in the Man! Good Luck ! TG

And then Drag it behind the car for about 2 miles,soak the pastic parts in Starbucks Morning Blend... :lol: TG

8) If you want a new Tok , I just got a Japanese Goldstar from Songbird on sale for $400 I went for the maple neck and it's the fattest Tok I have, check them out for a rosewood they are nice guys...and so is GC! I took the pups out of my AST62' {VanZant True Vintage} put them in the Goldstar and put the Goldstar pup's in the 62'...they were to brassy with the maple neck but are very warm in the AST62' . 8) Happy Shopping!TG

Funny you should mention dragging behing a car to get the look. I am going to atempt aging one of these to the exact look and put a Fender replacement neck on it for my own personal use. I'll upload some photo's when I'm done. I've always wanted to do that. It's really a good little guitar.

Guys even SRV used different guitars for different songs and yes the man is important as in "There's no such thing as coffee that's too strong it's just that the man's too weak" (think 13 gauge strings).

It simply makes sense to start with the correct tonewoods and construction (and massive paws for hands). I was just seeking any advice that you might be able to give in respect of the Olympic White "Tokai Vintage '64 Fender Copy (refer sightings part of forum) as there is little time for me to make an informed decision to bid/not to bid.

Yours respectfully (**** I need a stage name)...Hamish 8)

Here is a little blasphemy towards myself......I am a Tokai dealer and I sometimes wonder why some folks dont even consider getting an actual Fender, Gibson, or Epiphone when considering Strats, Tele's, Les Pauls. They are sometimes the same exact price or less. I look at some of the Fender Strats for 399.99 to 699.99 and think...what are these guys thinking? I also wonder why a Korean Love Rock is preferred over an Epiphone Les Paul? I realize that the Mexican Strats are kinda cheap and the Squires are crap...but the Japanese models are as good as the American models. Epiphones are exact...except for the headstock...(the Tokai headstock is not correct either...or you could pay the same exact price you would pay for a MIJ LR and get an actual Gibson Les Paul) I'm very willing to sell you anything you want....but I'm not going to ******** myself or a customer on the reason that some of thses models are better than the real thing. There are many great copies of Fenders out there for much less than a Tokai and that is a great reason for me not to stock them. If someone really wants one, I order one for them. I guess I just have a hard time comprehending or justifying the cost on some of these models.
Face it....The vintage Tokai fender & Les Paul copies were a great alternative to the real thing because they were inexpensive then and they are not now.
You come to America and show somebody a vintage Tokai and they scratch thier heads and think huh?? because you can buy the real thing of the same age for the same price over here.

GUITAR CELLAR said:

I also wonder why a Korean Love Rock is preferred over an Epiphone Les Paul? I realize that the Mexican Strats are kinda cheap and the Squires are crap...but the Japanese models are as good as the American models. Epiphones are exact...except for the headstock...

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To me the Epiphone headstock kills any Gibson style guitar it's on.. It looks cheap and wrong no matter how niice the guitar plays. And I don't have anything against the Epiphones that look like old Epiphones.

I feel the same way about the Love Rocks that they can sell in the US now.. the cut down body looks ugly and wrong.

Outt..
Jeff.

Hi Guys,

Just on the Epiphone Les Paul..... they have alder bodies and maple necks and photo-flame tops on the crap they send to Australia - the Love Rocks at least are made from mahogany and maple here.
I do love the way they claim the bodies on the V's and Explorers are Korina wood - not just a Korina finish...this could be a lawsuit for false advertising.

regards
Peter Mac

its my understanding that guitars with the upper arm bout painted like the SVR strat shown above are painted that way because they are made from laminates... plywood to some. I`m not familiar with that maker so I don`t know. Looks nice in the pic , where are they made? How much do they go for ballpark?

GUITAR CELLAR said:

...or you could pay the same exact price you would pay for a MIJ LR and get an actual Gibson Les Paul

Click to expand...

I did that and so have several other members of the board. Simple reason - the guitars we bought are better than the Gibsons of the same price. 8)

From what I've seen, the korean tokais have a better headstock than Epi and are cheaper (I don't know about the MIK body woods). They also don't have the epi stigma.

I agree with you about Fender Japan though. I'd go Fender before Tokai when considering one of Leo's babies and buying new.

I also agree about the whole vintage tokai thing - the prices are getting stupid on US ebay.

yeah well, here too.

I have done the Vintage Thing and have kept a few prized peices but collecting "High End Replicas MIJ" is a unique way of getting something most folks don"t have! 10 years ago Mrs.TG gifted me with a 1960 Les Paul Plaintop lemon burst to the tune of $22,000 I loved it, but I could of had a boat , pool etc... I knew what it was and the collector I sold it to had the 411. Whith the MIJ Tok's I have something just as cool with a great vibe that like the 60' LP most people don"t have. Play an Epiphone they just don't compare and I'm talking about the MIK Tok's! The market is what it is and we control it, The most I have spent on a Tokai since 1984 is $600 an 80's 61' SG. And as far as Korina wood , it's really African Limba with a "Cool" name! :wink: The 60' LP sold for $2700 four years later and I took half of the money and bought a restored 1970 SS LS6 454 Chevelle that the whole family can enjoy. It's all about perspective, a LS80F with Tokai on the headstock {to me} is much "cooler" than a Giboo Histerical ! But I could be wrong! 8) TG

Don't get me on the what Gibson have done to Epiphone trip again. They have fcuked that cool, vintage, historical brand to the moon and back. I don't care what they're made out of, they're a bunch of sh1t now and we can thank/hate Gibson for it.. :evil:

I'm with you tokaiguy. The Tokai LP's have the mojo alright. It's 1am here and I've just put my LS80 down after a struggle to stay awake. Playing Tokais and trying to hold a day job down is HARD!

As for MIJ Fenders - My surf green 87' MIJ 62' reissue Strat cuts the mustard better than any USA Start I've owned so far. And sorry, better than any Tokai so far. Again it has the mojo.

The pictured SRV strat is made of Ash... They are really a great guitar for the money (as good as the Tokais) and they are only $150.00 un modified.

I'll tell you why i bought a Tokai Strat and Tele. The Price!!!

They were in a store for two years and no one would buy them because it didn't say Fender. They were marked way down and they felt great so I bought them.