Tokai Made PRS Copies?

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meanpeoplesuck1

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I just heard that Tokai made PRS copies, they apparently only got a few singlecuts released before they got taken out of production or something.

I've seen a Tokai PRS copy on mikes music, its the normal PRS shape not the singlecut. Its MIK, anyone got model numbers for these copies?

Also, are there any MIJ PRS copies?
 
Don't know what the MIK model numbers are, but Tokai did produce some MIJ PRS copies in the beginning of this year. Models numbers are PR85Q and PR85F, but the eBay-seller who sold them has since been forbidden (like many Japanese dealers) to sell new Tokais to people outside of Japan, so I'd reckon they're hard to get.

Here's the thread about the PR85Q and F: http://www.tokaiforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=2597

Also, here's a picture of one. It's not very good, and some of the others I remember looked way nicer (blue transparent looked great on those, especially with a flamed top), but it'll give you an idea:

m3876778-5686.jpg
 
Looks gorgeus... I've seen Tokai headstocks on a PRS style guitar which didn't have the horns at the top, I'll link you...which is the Korean and which is Japanese?

I read the other topic, apparently they aren't all that accurate replicas?

http://village.infoweb.ne.jp/~guitarsl/1101E346.htm
 
The link you included in your last post looks Korean to me, judging from the price and model number :)

I read the other topic, apparently they aren't all that accurate replicas?
Click to expand...
I don't really understand where you come from with this statement?
 
Okay cool, what price are the Japanese ones, aprox. of course? Are they still being made anymore?


Sorry I'll make it clearer, I read that Tokai had not been as "accurate" in making their PRS copies as they had been in making their Les Paul copies. I'm not sure what this means, maybe they had left out certain features or characteristics of the original when making the copy? Someone said it in the link you gave me..
 
meanpeoplesuck1 said:
Okay cool, what price are the Japanese ones, aprox. of course? Are they still being made anymore?
Click to expand...
Price was the same as the LS80F (for the PR80F) and LS85Q (for the quilt top model), so that's around $600-700. I don't know if they are still made - they have never popped up on the official Tokai website! So they may still be made, but they're not advertising them (but then, they never did)

Sorry I'll make it clearer, I read that Tokai had not been as "accurate" in making their PRS copies as they had been in making their Les Paul copies. I'm not sure what this means, maybe they had left out certain features or characteristics of the original when making the copy? Someone said it in the link you gave me..
Click to expand...
Yeah that was me who said that. I was just referring to the fact that there were obvious visual differences between the original PRS and the tokai model. The Les Paul models are dead-on accurate: the shape, head stock etc. However, compared to a PRS, the Tokai copy has a different head stock, the controls are not recessed, different vibrato system or stoptail bridge and they don't have the 'carve' in the cutaway. These are just a few things I quickly noticed, so that's what I meant by them being not as 'accurate' as the Love Rocks are :)
 
Okay cool thanks for clearing that all up :D

That picture you posted still has me a bit captivated, Its a new found love of PRS styled guitars, they look great. Are there any other well respected ( ala Tokai ) brands that do good PRS copies, or would Tokai probablly be the best even though it's not all that accurate..?

At the end of the day I suppose different shaped headstock can kinda be expected, non reccessed controls are hardly noticable, and the bridge looks similar to ones on a McCarty.. but I don't even know what a 'carve' in the cutaway is?
 
I haven't played a Tokai PRS, but if they're anything like the LS80 I have, they should be excellent guitars. There are, of course, quite a few alternatives to an MIJ PRS-copy. First off, there's the Korean Tokais, which are supposedly pretty nice as well.

Then there's the 'international' version of the Dean Hardtail, which is made in either Korea or Eastern Europe and is supposedly made very nice as well:

hardtail_select.jpg


Carvin recently introduced the CT6, which is US-made and starts at about 1100 I think, and is made to your specs:

CT6M.jpg


And finally, Peavey also makes a 'sort of' PRS-ish guitar, though it's more Wolfgang-like and the gold hardware looks a bit tacky to me. I think it's about $500 retail, and Korean Peaveys are pretty nice quality

00531540.jpg


That's just a few off the top of my head - there are many others, depending on how much you want to spend.
 
Ishibashi Music have never even heard of Tokai's PRS guitars :eek: That's a bit of a shock, but their obviously out of production now or something. I was looking to spend around 900 US dollars. That's as high as my budget goes, I've started looking into the guitars you posted :)
 
Ishibashi has never heard of them? That's weird... maybe they aren't an official Tokai dealer :-?

Anyway, you could also contact the guy who originally sold them. His eBay-name is seikosuru2003 and he has a prtty good reputation as a seller. Word has it that he officially stopped selling new Tokais by request of the Tokai factory (because they were competing with official imports, which was allegedly hurting the international success of Tokai), but he might be able to give you more information about the MIJ Tokais. Maybe he can also supply you one, but I'm not sure about that.

To clarify: he sold them in late 2003 and early 2004. They were called the PR85Q and PR80F, and came in different colors. Hope this helps :)
 
I have tried to contact him but the ebay was in German I think so finding my way around was a bit hit and miss :p Hopefully he will be able to shed some light on the situation, as he is still selling products on ebay so he should be around.

I'll let you know how it goes anyway, I'm sure I'll reach some kind of answer :)
 
Yeah the EBay link was in Dutch, sorry for that! Anyway here is the same link in English. There's a button on the page that you can use to contact him.
 
The ebay guy never got back to me, but its early days still. Noriko from Ishibashi has found out for me that they are available for export, but are not sold in the Japanese market. I'm not exactly sure what that implys, or if they are available or what, but its a start :)
 
Okay so I've found out a bit about Tokai's PRS guitars but it seems that info is really rare. I know there are..or were, MIJ ones around somewhere before.

Does anyone know why some of them would have a PRS shaped headstock and why some would have the headstock with two little horns at the top?

If they aren't available in the Japanese market, where are we meant to buy MIJ ones from? Do Burny or companies like that make PRS copies?
 
meanpeoplesuck1 said:
Does anyone know why some of them would have a PRS shaped headstock and why some would have the headstock with two little horns at the top?
Click to expand...

I'm guessing they started out making them with the PRS headstock, and then PRS got pissed and they changed it. This is pure conjecture, though.

If they aren't available in the Japanese market, where are we meant to buy MIJ ones from? Do Burny or companies like that make PRS copies?
Click to expand...
Good question, and one I can't help you with I'm afraid :(
 
Oh yeah actually it might also be a different headstock for europe and asia compared to the US and Canada, like Tokai's other guitars.

I'm gonna email Noriko and see if he can get a hold of one even if he can only ship it abroad or something..its worth a shot anyway

Edit : Look what I found..
Go into 'Tokai', the NLS40..
http://www.crossroadsguitar.com/new.html
 
That NLS40 looks very nice. Even has the recessed controls! It's probably made in Korea, but it should still be a well made guitar.
 
i had one of the korean custom shop ones, or so they were called, anyway, looked amazing but didn't play too great, neck joint was pretty weak.
 
Any of the Korean ones I have seen had alder bodys and stuff, but anyway I guess it means they are around somewhere, even with recessed controls hehe. I'll keep looking
 

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