Should I take the LS 250?

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ducblancpale

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Hi people,

I'm shopping around for my 1st Tokai and am quite keen on picking one out of their premium line. Basically I want a cherry burst flametop and the LS 250 looks most suitable. Price isn't that low but its within budget. Is the LS 250 equal or better in quality than a Gibson R9? Is it worthed getting over a 160 or 195? :)
 
They are great guitars. I would definitely compare them to Gibson however I am not sure as to the potential that both guitars will rise in value equally in the future but that is another point.

As far as playability, tone and craftsmanship the Tokai is equal to Gibson.

I too recently became a Tokai owner and I do not regret that decision at all! I bought the older model LS-230 with a 5a top and it's beautiful!
 
If your after an R9 that will increase in value significantly you will need to buy a 2003 model, they were made with Brazilian rosewood fingerboards and are sort after by collectors and are supposed to be the closest reissue models to the original 1959 bursts all other models after this have not and will not be made with these fingerboards again,,,(apparently)

specs for 2008 R9

Specifications:

? Body and Hardware

? Carved figured maple top

? Solid, non-weight relieved mahogany back

? Single-ply cream binding on top

? Thin toggle switch washer and jack plate

? Aged nickel hardware

? ABR-1 bridge, lightweight aluminum stopbar tailpiece

? One-piece mahogany neck with long neck tenon

? 22-fret rosewood fingerboard Acrylic trapezoid inlays (accurate shape and color)

? Single-ply cream binding

? 1959 rounded neck profile

? 24-3/4 inch scale length

? 1-11/16" nut width

? Holly headstock veneer

? Vintage tulip tuners

? BurstBucker 1 (rhythm) and

? BurstBucker 2 (treble) pickups

? CTS pots and bumble bee capacitors

? 2 volume and 2 tone controls

? 3-way selector switch

? Vintage Reissue .010 strings
 
2010 model LS250 will be an LS260. Oh and probably about 2K cheaper than the R9, and I think you will find that Tokai model their love rocks off the 1959 burst and with the 59 neck profile.

specs for LS250/260

BODY ： : Flamed Maple Two Pieces Top
Mahogany One Piece Back
NECK ： : Mahogany One Piece
Set-Neck Deep Joint
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 Black Beauty
JACKS ： : Switchcraft
FINISH ： : Lacquer Finish
COLOR ： : CS,VF

Price ： : 273,000 yen（Include Tax）
With Hard Shell Case
 
I'm not worried abt the resale value but am comparing it against the Gibson R9 in terms of build quality, playability and tone. I intend to use the Tokai as a gigging workhorse that will still look as good as it plays. So is the LS 250 the one with the correct balance or can I get away with buying something cheaper and lower in the line like the 160 or 195?
 
Going by the specs I think you could go for a LS150/160 and still match the R9 ,, and you will never have to worry about the build quality or playability of any Japanese Tokai :wink: the only thing that won't match the R9 is the price :lol: 8)
Oh,, but the LS150/160 is a plain top not a flame top

P.S. but thats just my opinion ,there are more knowledgeable people around here than me.
 
Like I said before (and maybe misled the thread) the Tokai is every bit as good as the Gibson and cheaper ( in most cases). If you are looking for a gigging guitar it will live up to the terrors of the road just fine. The LS-250 and the LS-150 are the same guitars just the top changes, so they would compare to a R8 and R9 Gibson! But act soon because prices will rise!

Oh, and if you are in Europe and not the US, I definitely would buy the Tokai because it will probably cost much less but will be as good as anything Gibson makes!
 
Nice! I got a R8 myself so I guess the LS 250 will be my 'R9' :) I'm getting real excited...time to hunt down a good piece for myself! :)
 
Note that there was only a short run in 2003 that the Rs came with braz board.

They are sought after and pricey!
I would try to get one of them or a Yamano.

They are surely a better investment than any Tokai (after all, they are Gibson).

quality wise is a different story...
 
ducblancpale said:
I'm not worried abt the resale value but am comparing it against the Gibson R9 in terms of build quality, playability and tone. I intend to use the Tokai as a gigging workhorse that will still look as good as it plays. So is the LS 250 the one with the correct balance or can I get away with buying something cheaper and lower in the line like the 160 or 195?
Click to expand...

You can buy an LS90 if you like, or a 95F, both are perfect gigging guitars...just put some MK2 in the 90 if it comes with MK3s....the 95F will have MK2s in it anyway.
Let me tell you something, from 1 foot away you wont tell the difference between an LS90 and an LS150, in fact you'd struggle even if you held and inspected both from close up.

Build quality, playability, and tone...those are the 3 things Tokai perfected decades ago....it's up to the skill of the gigging guitarist to produce the magic.
 
What's the difference between a LS250/260 and a LS195 like this one:

http://www.real-standard.com/stock/tokai/ls195vf_0920722/ls195vf-722.html

They both seem to be basically LS150s, but with flame tops. So why is one more pricier than the other? Is it just the quality of top?

Also, why is the LS195 not catalogued on the Tokai website?
 
youami said:
What's the difference between a LS250/260 and a LS195 like this one:

http://www.real-standard.com/stock/tokai/ls195vf_0920722/ls195vf-722.html

They both seem to be basically LS150s, but with flame tops. So why is one more pricier than the other? Is it just the quality of top?

lso, why is the LS195 not catalogued on the Tokai website?
Click to expand...

That photo looks like it might be an LS125/135F or as of 2010 LS140F, is it my eyes or does it have a 2 peace back in the pic? and did the LS195 come with a pickguard or without?
 
I checked with the Tokai factory but the LS-260 is not available for sale yet. I have a LS-250 lined up but I feel that the flametop on this particular guitar isn't so nice with the flames being kinda dull and undramatic. Is this typical of Tokai?

Pls click on image to enlarge





 
Pics taken inside and at certain angles don't tend to bring out the flame very well.
Is this from Kurosawa?
 
ducblancpale said:
I checked with the Tokai factory but the LS-260 is not available for sale yet. I have a LS-250 lined up but I feel that the flametop on this particular guitar isn't so nice with the flames being kinda dull and undramatic. Is this typical of Tokai?

Pls click on image to enlarge





Click to expand...

The flamed maple top of above LS model is a 2A flamed maple top.
Usually not used on LS250.
LS250 should feature at least a 4A top.
Check out my LS250 which feature a wild figured flamed 5A maple top...

img1034medium.jpg


Some other nice LS250 tops:

img1195medium.jpg
 

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