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HAMAMATSU

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 30, 2018
Messages
435
Reaction score
22
Location
YOKOSUKA, JAPAN.
thank you so much for this fantastic forum ned! this is absolutely the best japanese guitar forum! anyway, i was once here before about a decade ago and this forum used to be so active and so much fun. now i am back here and what i see is that nobody is really writing anymore. people are still reading but not writing. what happened? where everyone has gone? this forum is absolutely the best and the informations here has are so genuine and precious even the japanese dont have equally. if we lose here then we will never know about the japanese guitars deeply ever again. this forum is so important for the guitar world! so please come back here again everyone and write again. really hope it will be back again like it used to be. again, thank you so much for this forum ned. being very patient and generous over the years. please the god bless tokai forum. please! joey hamamatsu.
 
Hey Joey,

I think some of the action has moved to different places like facebook groups. I do like to check in here a couple of times a week and the archives here were a great education in Japanese guitars.

I'm now in Tokyo so am looking forward to meeting some of the members in Japan sometime.

Cheers!
 
HAMAMATSU said:
i was once here before about a decade ago and this forum used to be so active and so much fun. now i am back here and what i see is that nobody is really writing anymore. people are still reading but not writing. what happened? where everyone has gone? .

I think/noticed the main reason for the 'drop' was after some members disagreeing/questioning forum policies & instructions, some were banned, some voluntary stayed away.
 
I joined back in 2002 - like Harold said, long before Facebook and other social media. Now there is so much information everywhere......

Also, the popularity of MIJ guitars has exploded over the last 15 years. And so have prices for that same reason. I've also noticed that the availability of great MIJ guitars has diminished - probably due to people keeping the guitars. Myself included - I'm not selling them because I want to make money over what I paid for them. I'm keeping them because I'm playing them and could probably never replace them again - at any cost.

Still a good forum. Like any relationship, it has matured and evolved.
 
wulfman said:
I think some of the action has moved to different places like facebook groups. I do like to check in here a couple of times a week and the archives here were a great education in Japanese guitars.

marcusnieman said:
I joined back in 2002 - like Harold said, long before Facebook and other social media. Now there is so much information everywhere......

I also still see (among which a 'former' frequent poster making) 'same old' :wink: lively Tokai/MIJ conversations on other guitar specific fora, could have been held here.
 
Maybe the longtime members are tired to explain the same things over and over again ? I mean the search functionn seems to be not very popular and instead of using it and the registry it seems to me that almost every newbie is asking the same questions.Might be a reason but the huge amount of informations available in those days everywhere is one too for sure.
 
HAMAMATSU said:
thank you so much for this fantastic forum ned! this is absolutely the best japanese guitar forum! anyway, i was once here before about a decade ago and this forum used to be so active and so much fun. now i am back here and what i see is that nobody is really writing anymore. people are still reading but not writing. what happened? where everyone has gone? this forum is absolutely the best and the informations here has are so genuine and precious even the japanese dont have equally. if we lose here then we will never know about the japanese guitars deeply ever again. this forum is so important for the guitar world! so please come back here again everyone and write again. really hope it will be back again like it used to be. again, thank you so much for this forum ned. being very patient and generous over the years. please the god bless tokai forum. please! joey hamamatsu.

I agree Ned is to be commended for not only his creation of the Tokai Forum but also for his continued support of this great community.
Maintaining a forum is time consuming & it costs real money too.
Many forums do ask for contributions to support their operations.
I don't ever recall Ned asking for donations for the TF & that in itself says a lot about Ned, IMO.

IMO utilizing the search function here at the TF holds great potential for uncovering hidden gems of MIJ info.
The TF is a great resource for MIJ information but many are too lazy to make the attempt.

Many online forums have experienced lower traffic volumes over the years; that is what online communities do & the TF is no different.

Thanks to Ned, many are still here 8)
 
I joined in 2001, been away for a number of years but I'm back now :) . I still have my Tokais, the first one I bought new in 1984. It's a Love Rock TLS-50 GT. The latest one I bought last week, it's an SG-60 from ~1990.

Mike
 
HAMAMATSU said:
:roll: people are sure reading but not writing enough. the old timers dont come back often anymore. are we really ok here lately?

Time passes & things change. I'll offer an example.
Many years ago in the 1990s a well known guitarist from Austin, TX had a mailing list, run by PS.
The mailing list eventually morphed into an online forum, run mainly by DE.
Now the forum is history & that same well known guitarist communicates via Facebook. Time passes & things change.

So, as Harold posted previously other formats of communication have come along & that's where some of the traffic goes.
Myself? If I'm attempting to research something the TF is a good place to dig for info so, I do searches here from time to time.
I think my posting days may be coming to an end though, or at least becoming much less frequent.
Ned still has a great place here 8) but as any good resource, anything is only as good as the collective membership makes it.
 
I am around here still as Javelin (great guy!) and I can say I joined here around 2001. I have old posts printed with lots of info and lots of communicatios nwith Peter, Javelin and others... Love this forum!
 
I still visit and read .... don't have much to contribute anymore that hasn't already been said. Getting ready to unload a bunch of guitars and amps.
No gigs really .... have been playing maybe once every month or two. Truth be told, I've lost interest in storing and maintaining about 30 guitars and a bunch of large vintage amps. I simply don't play them.

Going to keep some guitars but the rest are going to go. If any of you guys here in the states are looking for anything in particular, hit me up.
 
This sounds tempting :)

But like you I'm not playing as often as I used too. To much other stuff with work and family.
 
Just saw this thread.

I joined in 2012 after being active on the Ibanez forum for years. Then, in my quest for sustain, I bought an LS80 and I was hooked.

The past 5 years I went thru a divorce and other stuff and guitars and collecting took a back seat. In the last six months things have gotten better and during the pandemic I rediscovered the gems in my closet.

I came back here poking around looking at new posts and noticed a big drop off. I looked on the Ibanez forum and saw the exact same thing. The old timers I knew were gone. Either the drama got them, or life changes, or as others said Facebook.

I personally don’t use Facebook anymore so don’t know what groups are on there for collectors. I left to get away from drama and politics on there which is what is appealing about places like this. It’s just guitars.

Ned, do you take donations? They had something like that set up on the Ibanez forum. I’d be happy to chip in and help out some.
 
Thanks Geoff!!

I do take donations. There is a small "Donate" button right under the logo.
 
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