2012/2013 Tokais for SALE

    Quote from Bluesman

    I sold all my Fenders and Gibson and replaced them with Tokais. Here you can see some of my collection:


    http://www.bluesroxxx.com/band…nn/ueber_gitarren/35.html

    Wow!, what a great collection of vintage Tokais.


    Do you know that the current Tokais are still made in the same factory and some of the luthiers from the 80s still work in the factory today.
    It's a 'family' business, the factory was originally opened in Hamamatsu in 1947 by Tadayouki Adachi, today the factory is run by the President Shohei Adachi.


    It's an honour to be a Tokai distributor. :thumbup:



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    Why thinking of korean and chinese Tokais. They are not bad, I assume. But I would go for the vintage ones. You get a well crafted guitar with the side effect of gaining worth. They already start to sell as collectors items, but you are still able to find some for about 500 -700 Euros, depending on the model. You might know that Japan joined "CITES" later than USA. So they "legaly" used wood types that were already prohibited in other parts of the world.


    I never would pay 3000 Euros for a 70ies Fender, which we hated by then. I rather would buy a correct Tokai copy of the same model. Much better!!! Just my opinion.

    Quote from Ingolf

    Lance, out of pure interest:
    I think that Tokai Stands for incredible value for money.
    How do the made in Korea or China made guitars hold up to the Japanese these days?

    Agree completely, incredible value for money...in fact, they're way too cheap.
    Think about it.
    They use the same materials/woods, Gotoh Japan hardware, they use the "old vintage methods" of manufacture, and then practically make the guitar by hand for a half to a third of the price of the big USA boys...how is that possible?,
    It's because they're not greedy and they have no ambitions to expand and become a MASS producer, they're happy to maintain their current QC...start MASS producing and goodbye to QC.
    Their motto, "Quality before quantity"...that's why I wait between 4 and 6 months for every order I place.


    The Traditional Series are now only made in China...and an entire new range of acoustics all now made in their Chinese factory.
    The factory in China is overseen by Japanese luthiers.
    To be honest, I play a Chinese LP, it has a nice thin 60s neck that's just fine for me.


    Thank you. To me my guitars are tools primarily. I also play a Chinese Love Rock Model which is a great guitar.
    And there's no reason they should be significantly inferior to the older Japanese ones if the crafting knowledge was transferred properly and is maintained regularly.
    After all, that's why Japanese craftmanship could develop the way it has, because the US-American knowledge was transferred in a right way and met the high Japanese ethics of 'doing it better than only good, doing it best'.
    But should I develop more interest in collecting I would definitely follow Bluesman's advice and grab a Japanese end 70’s to mid 80's model. :rolleyes:

    Guitartone,


    Why is it specific to USA ? I am interested but the USA exclusiveness kind if throws me off a little.
    I have the utmost respect for Japenese craftsmanship as well as European.


    I live in Canada, is there different rules for USA and Canada? Canada is not very far since more than 90% of its population lives within 100 miles from the border.


    Thanks, Marc.

    Quick feedback for a new Tokai ES135 I just bought from Lance.


    The guitar is simply phenomenal and Lance customer service, superb. Price was very good and the instrument breathes quality and playability.


    Very impressed for the $$ I paid.


    I didn't know the original 1959 Gibson ES335 but by reputation, the Tokai ES135 is based on that model.
    After less than a few hours exploring and getting used to its particular behaviour and sound (in a very good way), I was able to dial-in pretty much all the tones I wanted in a pretty consistent way using different KPA amps and settings than from my other guitars. It's a good thing since its making me explore the KPA even more also.


    The guitar by itself is a flawless beauty and the intonation is the best I have ever experienced from a brand new instrument that has traveled more than 3/4 of the World in cargoholds.


    It's been only a week since a received my Tokai and I don't regret it one single bit. I'm really starting to love it and it brings out stuff in my playing that I wasn't even aware of.


    Cheers,


    Marc.


    Thanks, Marc, glad to hear you're loving the guitar, I knew you would. :thumbup:

    Thanks, but not quite what I'm looking for. I have a strat that's very similar already. I wish I could stand to play a 24 3/4" scale ...

    Go for it now. The future is promised to no one. - Wayne Dyer