Members D_Bird Posted September 26, 2010 Members Share Posted September 26, 2010 So I put an ad on Craiglist looking to trade my Mexi-Strat w/ Semyour Duncans for an Epi LP Standard or Custom, and this guy says he has a Tokai S-335 knockoff with a Bigbsy Trem on it. I might be interested because I'm really not that fond of my strat and am willing to try almost any guitar. My knowledge level of Tokai is literally nil. Can someone tell me a little bit about them. Are they comparable in quality to Epiphone? Anything else I should know about them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cerebrix Posted September 26, 2010 Members Share Posted September 26, 2010 they are comparable to gibson when they were still making good guitars. http://www.tokaiforum.com/ all the experts can be found there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Clinically Deaf Posted September 26, 2010 Members Share Posted September 26, 2010 Japanese Gibson copies. I've only played one Les Paul copy and it was great. The general consensus I think is that they are very good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members NHLfan2010 Posted September 26, 2010 Members Share Posted September 26, 2010 Good to know... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members soundcreation Posted September 26, 2010 Members Share Posted September 26, 2010 Yeah go ask at the tokai forum. Lot's of experts there. Keep in mind there isn't just one tokai and probably they had a few 335 modes at different price points. And then there is what ever era it might be from. 70's, 80's, 90's, 00's??? You've got to find that out too. If you just ask "is a tokai 335 any good?" it's kind of meaningless because of what I just said. If it's at the high end (ES 150 for example) it will easily be as good as a gibson custom shop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Schuyler Posted September 26, 2010 Members Share Posted September 26, 2010 ..Educated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Schuyler Posted September 26, 2010 Members Share Posted September 26, 2010 PS I'm pretty sure the first one belongs to Vintage55 from here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DaleH Posted September 26, 2010 Members Share Posted September 26, 2010 Is it MIJ ? They strated going down hill after moving to Korea now I think there made in china. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mistersully Posted September 26, 2010 Members Share Posted September 26, 2010 love my mij love rock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hoddy Posted September 26, 2010 Members Share Posted September 26, 2010 they are comparable to gibson when they were still making good guitars. http://www.tokaiforum.com/ all the experts can be found there. Their new MIJ ES 335 clones are still comparable to Gibbys...they don't make many of them and they're essentially hand made, I bought a lefty ES 120 a couple of years ago and as a fellow who has previously owned a mid 60s 335, 1997 335 and a Heritage 535, the Tokai can hang with any of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zenbu Posted September 27, 2010 Members Share Posted September 27, 2010 well the experts are not immune to being wrong...there are so many unknowns about lots of Japanese builders that I believe there are not as many experts out there as some folks think there are. No shortage of opinions but too many variables. Anyways...some Tokais are still MIJ, the low end stuff is out sourced. I am not as familiar with the newer Tokais, the few that I own are old models but they are outstanding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Faber Posted September 27, 2010 Members Share Posted September 27, 2010 I have no idea whether they are hand or machine made but the MIJs I've laid my hands on have been second to none. The MIK Tokais I've had a chance to play have also been good guitars for the price Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted September 27, 2010 Moderators Share Posted September 27, 2010 There are plenty of non MIJ dud Tokais out there, there's some MICs and the MIK ones are just about decent at best Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hoddy Posted September 27, 2010 Members Share Posted September 27, 2010 There are plenty of non MIJ dud Tokais out there, there's some MICs and the MIK ones are just about decent at best That's true...if the OP wants a MIJ Tokai 335 he needs to make sure the model number is ES 100 or higher...those are all the MIJ ones...anything lower like ES 60 is made in either Korea or China. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members soundcreation Posted September 27, 2010 Members Share Posted September 27, 2010 Is it MIJ ? They strated going down hill after moving to Korea now I think there made in china. Again it depends on the model. Blanket statements about the whole brand cannot be made like this. The high end tokai's are most definitely still made in japan...as for lower models I don't really know because I'm not interested in them...but it is possible they might be MIC or MIK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Edward Posted September 27, 2010 Members Share Posted September 27, 2010 The models made in Japan tend to be superb. They're pretty obvious by price.... The cheaper, MIK range are certainly very competitive for the money, and well worth trying out as against an Epiphone. The MIK range do tend to have the "wrong" woods etc if you care about that - the LP types, for instance, tend to have maple necks. On the plus side, some of them are great, all of them are reasonable that I've tried (QC seems to be fairly consistent), and they come in a much broader range of finishes than the Epiphones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Yer Blues Posted September 27, 2010 Members Share Posted September 27, 2010 I think you'd be getting the better of the deal if you are swapping a MIM Strat for a Tokai 335 copy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kulardenu Posted September 27, 2010 Members Share Posted September 27, 2010 I have a Goldsound Strat I will never part with. I love that thing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sgt mukuzi Posted September 27, 2010 Members Share Posted September 27, 2010 i had an old one from japan that was ace, the new one from korea was awfull, soft body, the bridge pins moved when i bent a string Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members smorgdonkey Posted September 28, 2010 Members Share Posted September 28, 2010 One of the general rules is that it should have a serial number. I have a counterfeit Tokai. Very well-made guitar but it was apparently the by-product of a distributor wanting some Tokai guitars and Tokai refusing him for whatever reason. The distributor commissioned a Korean factory to make Tokai guitars for him (with Tokai on the headstock and the whole dealio - but without serial numbers). It was a piss off to find that I had been snookered but the guitar is really well made so that made up for a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members benzem Posted September 28, 2010 Members Share Posted September 28, 2010 I have a '85 ls150 Love Rock and a 79' LP reborn that are great. 2 of my very best guitars. I also have a '79 ce400 acoustic(d28 copy) that is stellar! As of new ones, you need to research but I wouldn't discount a Korean model. They are making some nice guitars. But if you can swing 1600-1800 I would get a new MIJ ls150. It's nitro and all the trim. No chambering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members D_Bird Posted September 28, 2010 Author Members Share Posted September 28, 2010 I think you'd be getting the better of the deal if you are swapping a MIM Strat for a Tokai 335 copy. Thats the kind of information I was looking for. I can't believe this thread still has wheels. Hadn't checked HC in a few days and there it is on the 2nd page. Anyway, going to meet with the guy on Wednesday. He said that it is a Korean made Tokai. Some real good information here, thanks everyone. I'll educate myself on the serial numbers before I go. I'm strictly an at home player, so I'm not looking for a high end guitar to put food on my table. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members D_Bird Posted September 28, 2010 Author Members Share Posted September 28, 2010 ..Educated. By the way, that is one fine looking guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Yer Blues Posted September 28, 2010 Members Share Posted September 28, 2010 Thats the kind of information I was looking for. I can't believe this thread still has wheels. Hadn't checked HC in a few days and there it is on the 2nd page. Anyway, going to meet with the guy on Wednesday. He said that it is a Korean made Tokai. Some real good information here, thanks everyone. I'll educate myself on the serial numbers before I go. I'm strictly an at home player, so I'm not looking for a high end guitar to put food on my table. Check out Ebay for price checks. I looked myself, but didn't see an ES 335 style Tokai guitar on there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members D_Bird Posted September 29, 2010 Author Members Share Posted September 29, 2010 For the life of me I can't find anything on the internet that gives me an idea of what Korean made Tokais are worth. Not that I feel that my strat is worth a whole lot, but I'd like to know that I could at least sell it for a couple hundred bucks. Anyway, I'll give it a hot lap and take it from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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