OK here we go, first impressions of my new MIK "Slash loverock" I have played a few Les Pauls over the years but dont have one right here to compare with but I do have my '95 Hamer USA studio which is basicly a custom shop double cutaway LP. But thats not fair because the Hamer is a perfect 10.Anyway the Tokai is stunningly beautiful, could easily be mistaken for a gibson from 5 feet away.It is a honeybust with nice flame whatever,could be maple, is more than likley sycamore or could even be photo flame (bummer).I looked inside one of the pickup cavity but still really cant tell. the main body and back are some kind of mohagany,but not the good stuff,but that's ok. Fit and finish are flawless, and that surprised me. I looked real hard and cant find anything wrong. The neck is a 3 piece afair, the nut looks alittle cheesey, buy nicely cut ,the action is good ,could go lower if you want tther than the apparant use of other woods the only thing I see is that the binding looks alittle "plasticy"and might be a bit thinner than a gibson. The biggest flaw is the use of some real crappy tuners... to be replaced this weekend.The rest of the hardware seems ok... I looked inside the control cavity and it looks pretty good(have you ever seen inside a Hamer control cavity ...
wow its art in itself).OK,OK what does it sound like is what you really want to know...well....I can say that I wasnt disappointed nor thrilled it sounded OK,fair,not bad.I was able to pull some Guns and Roses LP sounds that I have nt been able to find in the Hamer and athat was EXACTLY what I was lookin for ,so for me its a good addition to sounds I like. I will more than likely replace the pickups, maybe just the bridge one.The reason I got this love rock was that I wanted a guitar that I could modify with out the feeling that I just ruined a 2000.00 guitar. But in the end I will play it with pride because I think its got the makins of a really great axe... and you can't beat the price. I hate Gibson and how they think that you should pay through the nose just to have their name on your guitar, in my mind they are the Harley Davidson of the guitar industry,Oh I almost forgot a Harley is an investment...yea sure. Well EC's old Frankin strat blackey just sold for almost a million at auction so instead of the guitar makin YOU famous maybe one of us can make the guitar famous.
wow its art in itself).OK,OK what does it sound like is what you really want to know...well....I can say that I wasnt disappointed nor thrilled it sounded OK,fair,not bad.I was able to pull some Guns and Roses LP sounds that I have nt been able to find in the Hamer and athat was EXACTLY what I was lookin for ,so for me its a good addition to sounds I like. I will more than likely replace the pickups, maybe just the bridge one.The reason I got this love rock was that I wanted a guitar that I could modify with out the feeling that I just ruined a 2000.00 guitar. But in the end I will play it with pride because I think its got the makins of a really great axe... and you can't beat the price. I hate Gibson and how they think that you should pay through the nose just to have their name on your guitar, in my mind they are the Harley Davidson of the guitar industry,Oh I almost forgot a Harley is an investment...yea sure. Well EC's old Frankin strat blackey just sold for almost a million at auction so instead of the guitar makin YOU famous maybe one of us can make the guitar famous.