Tokai SG - Real Or Fake?

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jads

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Hi guys! I just bought a Tokai SG about 3 days ago - its not a Vintage just a regular SG brand new from my local music shop, its cherry and I can't seem to tell whether its a real one or not.

On the back, the serial is CH 0808XXXX and there is a sticker on the back saying 'Made in China'. Also on the body there is a sticker that says 'Inspected YK KIM'. [EDIT] Also, on the front on the Truss rod cover has 3 screws and the wood is possibly Honduras Mahogany or possibly NATO - I'm not sure?. [/EDIT]

I paid 230 GBP which is about 340 USD, did I get ripped off and get a fake?

Pictures:





I compared them to these images:

http://www.tokaiguitar.de/produktdetail.php?id=48

and

http://www.tokaiguitar.de/produktdetail.php?id=27

It seems to be a cross between the two?! On mine the pickup selector thing is Black, the headstock has a yellow 'Tokai' and the inlays are white!

Any help is greatly appreciated guys!

Thanks,

Jads
 
Looks legitimate to me, but there are better people to ask on here than me who will be along with the definitive word in a bit I'm sure.

One of our guys on here was asking about Chinese SG's in another thread.

What do you reckon to it? Any chance of a quick review? :D
 
I suspected because it said made in China and I thought that the Tokai SG's were made in Japan. Also I'm not sure if I bought the SG43 or SG175 (big difference) Also the SG175 is supposed to have Honduras Mahogany body and I think this one might be NATO (cheaper Mahogany) so thats why I was worried I overlooked that and bought a fake.

SG 43:

BODY : Basswood
NECK : Maple
Set-Neck
FINGERBOARD : Rosewood
FRETS : 22F
BRIDGE : LS-VBK Bridge
LS-VTK Tailpiece
INLAY : Dish
PICKUPS : PAF-Vintage MK4?2
CONTROLS : 2V.,2T.,
3way Toggle SW
COLOR : CH,WN,SW,BB

SG 175:

BODY : Honduras Mahogany One Piece

NECK : Honduras Mahogany One Piece
Set-Neck
Head Angle 18?
FINGERBOARD : Rosewood
RADIUS : 300R
FRETS : 22F ♯213
SCALE : 625/312.5mm
BRIDGE : HLS-VB(Brass Saddle)Bridge
HLS-VT Aluminum TailPiece
TUNERS : Gotoh SD90-SL
NUT(width) : Bone(43.0mm)
INLAY : Dish(Amber Cell)
PICKUPS : PAF-Vintage MK2?2(Made In Japan)
CONTROLS : 2V.,2T.,
3way Toggle SW
POT : CTS
SWITCH : Switchcraft
CONDENSER : Sprague Orange Drop
JACKS : Switchcraft
FINISH : Lacquer Finish
COLOR : CH,WN

Overall the 175 is much better and I paid the 175 price so I want to know I got what I paid for...

Quick review eh?

Look are amazing, its polished really well, good finish and not too heavy but not too light.

Plays really well, fretboard is easy to use / navigate and the picks are pretty decent.

Overall, I'd recommend it! When I way buying a new guitar it was either and Epiphone G400 or Tokai SG and Epi don't have very good quality control and 50% of G400 guitar necks were twisted and caused dead notes at 12th Fret onwards so the Tokai it was (over the Epi).
 
It's a legit chinese USG35 - the headstock inlays are yellow and not mother of pearl. Our local Tokai dealer has them in (but the SG was a lefty so didn't help me!). The yellow inlays are a recent thing I think - he's had plenty of Chinese Tokais in before, but I've never pulled a disgusted face at the colour of the headstock inlays until this recent batch!

Got any sound clips?

?230 isn't too bad, though it's ?30 over the best price I saw them at (on Rich's site).
http://www.richtonemusic.co.uk/guitars-1/electric-guitars-2/tokai-usg35-electric-guitar-cherry-finish-216.html

Edit: Rich's pic shows a white coloured headstock inlay also, though I don't know how old his stock is. Rich can probably help!
 
The SG175 is one of the premium quality Japanese models, & it's listed at ?1375 on the Tokai website.

http://www.tokai-guitars.co.uk/index.php?page=shop.browse&category_id=14&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=31

It sounds like you paid the right sort of price for a Chinese model.

Mike
 
stratman323 said:
The SG175 is one of the premium quality Japanese models, & it's listed at ?1375 on the Tokai website.

http://www.tokai-guitars.co.uk/index.php?page=shop.browse&category_id=14&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=31

It sounds like you paid the right sort of price for a Chinese model.

Mike

Thanks for clearing that up for me, make me feel much better. Silly me got confused.

AlanN said:
It's a legit chinese USG35 - the headstock inlays are yellow and not mother of pearl. Our local Tokai dealer has them in (but the SG was a lefty so didn't help me!). The yellow inlays are a recent thing I think - he's had plenty of Chinese Tokais in before, but I've never pulled a disgusted face at the colour of the headstock inlays until this recent batch!

Got any sound clips?

?230 isn't too bad, though it's ?30 over the best price I saw them at (on Rich's site).
http://www.richtonemusic.co.uk/guitars-1/electric-guitars-2/tokai-usg35-electric-guitar-cherry-finish-216.html

Edit: Rich's pic shows a white coloured headstock inlay also, though I don't know how old his stock is. Rich can probably help!

I'll play some stuff and post up some sound clips, gimme a sec :D
 
The Chinese Tokai's in the Aussie market use the FCXXXX prefix for their serial numbers..I guess the Northern Hempishere Chinese made Tokai's use that CH prefix coz i've seen it a few times now.
The Chinese SG's are pretty much the same as the rest of the Chinese range...minor cosmetic issues but they still look better than an Epi...and in most cases play better as well.
 

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