Price paid: £ 400
Purchased from: Curly's Music
Features: This Les Paul Copy was built in china and built well, dispite the popular belief that chinese guitars arent' going to last long. It has 22 excellent frets on a rosewood finger board with mother of pearl, trapiezoid inlays. The very smooth back of the neck is Canadian maple and is small, round and matches the curve of your hand beautifully (it does for me atleast). The neck is set into the alder body which has a maple veneer, flamed top. Mine is in Cherry Sunburst which looks great. The hardware is chrome and as is the way with Les Pauls, consists of a Tune-o-matic (TOM) bridge with a stop tail, two volume and two tone controls (one for each pickup) (these aren't chrome but orangey brown), two PAF Vintage MK4 humbucker pickups and a three way pickup switch. As for the Tuners, I don't don't know what make they are but that they are non-locking and work a treat. thay are finished in a pale green like some traditional Gibson Les Pauls are. With the guitar I got a gig bag, strap, cable and stand but I get the impression these where courtesy of the shop not Tokai as non of them where Tokai's brand and could be found around the shop. // 9
Sound: I have had this guitar for presisly a year and three days. At the time of buying, I was more heavily into thrash metal than I am now. The guitar suited my needs of playing endless metallica songs, very well indeed. Now I find my self playing more Guns N' Roses, Motley Crue, Skid Row and still Metallica and Iron Maiden styled music and it is even better at doing that.
I use a Line 6 Spider IV which is an alright amp and I use the various effects that come built in to it. Through it, you can get a very good Thrash metal sound, Glam metal, hard rock, power ballads pretty much every thing. And I sure it will probably get a good Indie sound BUT if and only if you which to fed to blood thirsty, human eating, mutant oceanic Molluscs of varying species.
When left pluged in with the volume up it is very quite, as quite as someone would be if tried to play Indie through my set up. (no one has yet thay took the warning). // 10
Action, Fit & Finish: As I have previously said, I have had the guitar for a year now and it has had no major problems. It has however suffered some minor flaws such as the pickup toggle is ever so slightly looses and that the finish is beging to wear of on top part of the cut away on the back. neither of them bother me much at all, wear and tear of a guitar shows how much you love and play the guitar.
As for the action, it is fantastic. I haven't even adjusted it from the shop. It really a very playable guitar. // 9
Reliability & Durability: I have used this guitar for live playing for all but one ocassion. I have only once brought a back-up (that is a bit stupid of me I know). When I did bring a back-up I took four back ups. I has never failed live or at home or at rehersals. This is my first choice guitar allways out of my five (Washburn X10, This, Harley Benton HBMS620TR, BC Rich Warlock (a surprisingly good one) and a Fender Stratocaster). So I use it alot yet hasn't broken down on me unlike the Washburn. // 10
Impression: This guitar suitas all stlyes of music, looks great and plays great. If it were stolen I would feed the person who stole to the mutant molluscs and save up again for the same guitar. Whilst buying it I had to choose between this and an Epiphone Les Paul. You would have to be an idiot to choose the Epiphone over this, same price but the Tokai plays and sounds better. This is An amazing Guitar. // 10
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