So Les Pauls were out for the foreseeable future. But they never are.
Just look at this Gibson Custom Shop Tom Murphy 1960 Reissue.
Wow, but I wonder how much it costs?

Along came Tokai
Tokai Europe





Tokai, established in 1947, is a manufacturer of Electric Guitars, Electric Basses and Acoustic Guitars in Japan. They have a good reputation for very high quality build and high standards for the reproduction guitars they make. I have already mentioned their early eighties Stratocasters. In 1999 or 2000 Tokai bought out a series of copies of the Gibson Les Paul which were of very high quality.

What a reproduction!

The link is to the photo only Ultimate Les Paul site!
The pictures are also coming up below.

The guitar model is the Tokai LS75Q Love Rocks and I think I can confirm the name is about the worst thing about this guitar!

But what's in a name when the reproduction is screaming out 'Gibson Les Paul Standard' to you? For those of you who might feel upset that I am calling this (foreign reproduction) guitar the ultimate. But for the price this Tokai is pretty close to delivering the real thing, but I only used the word 'Ultimate' to grab your attention ;-). So if you are a 'Gibbo' purist sorry to have hurt your feelings, but you'll get over it.

I had noticed these great Les Paul Standards in shop windows and in guitar publications only to see they were reproduction - it amazed me that their finishes looked so good and I figured that they would play pretty good. I found out that they have a range of models and prices, including certain economy models in mahogany with more economic sycamore tops.

The most expensive of the Tokai reproduction line, the LS75Q, has a real maple top on the mahogany body. I started looking at the details, the action, the neck, the body, the neck body join, the headstock the neck profile, the pickup installation and the overall impression was a very faithful reproduction. The attention to detail exceeded certain Les Pauls made by Gibson. I believe the 2002 Les Pauls Standards are now coming out with the 'correct' top binding in the horn of the guitar. A frequent 'error' of Gibson was having the binding cover the maple top joining the mahogany. From what I have seen and played these new top of the line Gibson, Gibson Custom Shop, Gibson reproductions are among the best instruments Gibson have ever produced. Also Gibson have now come out with Gothic and Voodoo models, these models at sold at lower prices. What a great idea.

An idea is sown

I thought I better had not pick up one of these Tokais.

You can see above how my son Alec reacted when he saw this at home. It nearly got him back to 6 string guitars!

Then in a very 'rare' trip to the guitar stores with Dinky, my wife, I started mentioning these Tokai's looked pretty good reproductions. That the Tokai early 80 copies of the Fender 62 rosewood neck Stratocaster were considered good Stratocasters and used by guys like Nile Rodgers of Chic when he could choose to use the original Fender. That most people who had one of these were keeping it just the same they would keep a really good guitar. She suggested I give it a blast when we passed by Guitar Legends in Paris. Sorry I can't link to this excellent shop as they don't have a web site.

Picking the Tokai Love Rock (doesn't the name just suck?) up was interesting.

First impressions - the feel and the vibe is just like a Gibson Les Paul, but considerably cheaper than the Gibson models I would want. That would something like the Gibson Les Paul Standard figuretop reissues either the 1958 or 1959 model, whose retail price is pretty steep.

My source here is The Special Tribute Gibson Les Paul - 116 page celebration by Guitarist magazine UK 2002. I'll come back to their conclusions later.

The finish on the Tokai, unlike the cheaper and very good for the price Epiphone copies, here's one behind the music stand, stands up to close scrutiny. I am particularly partial to Quilt Maple as you can see from my Tom Anderson Telecaster and this top is so exceptional it is about as good as it gets.


Click for more


In these initial pictures I have not cleaned the guitar just the neck.
How do you like the finish and the top?

I'll do a full clean after it's first concert.
The shape of the neck is a lovely chunky 59 neck and the frets are smooth and set up very well.

These Tulip button tuners work fine.
The volume and tone controls are smooth and the correct 'tophat' model.
Even with thin 009/46 gauge strings these Tokais had a good sound and sustain.

Further on down the road ..... I am in back Guitar Legends, Paris playing a nice Les Paul Standard reproduction with a choice of outstanding cherryburst, quilted maple, tiger stripe and wide chevron stripes that look better than the Gibsons costing 5 times more in the shop. At a price that makes an unattainable classic guitar that much more aquirable!.
NB The quilted maple finish Tokai I eventually bought was not in this shop, but they have some pretty nice ones there. A couple of minutes through a reissue Fender Deluxe convince me that this is a great guitar at a great price and I better get out without doing something rash like buying one.

Here's a close up of the Tokai's lead pickup, bridge and tailpiece.
I was worried the Gotoh II humbuckers would remind me of the Heritage Guitar Company Les Paul Type model I had. The luthery was OK but I did not like the pickups. These pickups had no resemblence to the sound of the one's in the Heritage at all.

But the two models I liked weighed just like regular Gibson Les Pauls, so I just conclude that even though I was very pleasantly surprised by the build/materials/workmanship, the feel and sound these Tokai reproductions were still Les Pauls and heavy.

I also thought these Tokais would be a great Les Paul type guitar to be able to experiment with some of the reissue pickups like

·         Classic 57s burstbuckers from Gibson,

·         Antiquites from Seymour Duncan

·         Tom Holmes Vintage guitar player shootout winners

·         and other replacement humbucking pickups.

The only downside at that price, was that there was no case, nice guitar but not nice enough.

The deed is done

A couple of months after I am back in Lead Guitars, Paris and I see an outrageous quilted maple top in a cherryburst top on a Tokai Les Paul.
Picking up the guitar I realise this is the lightest Les Paul I have picked up in a while, feels, sounds and looks pretty good.

Instant kinship, love, recognition and bonding.
That is why I call this guitar 'The Ultimate Les Paul' and it has been growing on me everytime I play it.
I buy it. My wife was not surprised!

Stringkiller's Tokai at home otherwise known as the morning after.

She still looks OK. But I have to effect a few changes.
Starting with the strings.

The Tokai is shipped with 09/44 or 46 gauge strings.

The strings were pretty dead and too light for me so I took the opportunity to try out some




DR Pure Blues
11/56 gauge guitar strings, figuring I would have to set the action again and maybe even give the truss rod a tweak to keep that super low Les Paul action.

I put the DR strings on and was blown away. Even acoustically this guitar has the volume of a 335 and already that mid range growl that is just lurking, waiting for you to hit the strings a little harder or to plug it in. I did not have to change the action, and even this quite heavy gauge is a pleasure to play.

DR claim to pack more mass into the string and it sure sounds like it. If you like Warren Haynes or Derek Trucks, who have really opened up so well on so many different albums, you'll hear their sound getting maxed out by the DR strings. OK Derek plays Wahburn and Gibson SGs!

DR strings also claim that these strings are easier to bend and Stingkiller agrees on this point. One week later I have to confirm that these DR strings really make this guitar sound good but they are a little heavy as and as they are so easy to bend you have to watch out you don't overdo it (too much!) and end up with a sore wrist or worse.

BTW I am also using these DR strings on my Fender RI Telecaster 1951 and I invite you to check them out if you are serious about your tone.
Do you drive your Ferrari on retreads?

Here are my initial impressions of the Tokai through some different tube guitar amplifiers:

·         Through a Mesa Boogie Mark IV

·         Through a Laney VC30 with 2 10" speakers

·         Through a Reissue Fender Bassman 1959

Through a Mesa Boogie Mark IV -


This Tokai gave everything a Les Paul has and then some more (due to me hahaha!). I would not use this Boogie as a reference amplifier as it can make just about any guitar or set of pickups sound good. What I did notice on the clean channel set at about 6, with the bright pulled out the guitar sound was the very clear, snappy and ready to get nasty with a little digging in on the picking. The resonance of the bass strings was nice and ballsy, clear not mushy. I think the DR strings contribute to getting a very nice feel and balanced sound.

It was easy to set the channel nice and clean with the guitar on 6/8 and have a nice clear sound, when you start digging in or turning up to 10 this just calls up the sustain and a slight overdrive if you want - I am thinking Ronnie Earl, pictured below, on the Colour of Love, if that's the one with a Les Paul on the jacket, of Peter Green on the first Fleetwood Mac album and the Chigago and Boston albums, of the twin guitar choruses of the Allman Brothers, Luther Allison or Jay Lacey track with the Les Paul on his great CD.




So the pickups on the Tokai are clear and don't mush the sound, they have a great balance, and sound good. They don't sound like PAFs, they sound 'weaker' and I am not sure that is a disadvantage. I will get back on this once I have had some shootout comparisons with my various buddies with great Gibson Les Pauls. On the overdrive channels the Tokai sounded fantastic but bear in mind this amplifier brings out the best of any instrument and then some.




Through a Laney VC30 with 2 10" speakers -


The Tokai reacted just like a Les Paul, with maybe a little less gain but maybe more clarity. I notice the pickups are set quite low. I like the fact they have the pickup covers on.
On my Gibson Les Paul Classic there weren't any covers and as the pickups were quite high (I will be experimenting with the height over the year) once in a while the top E string would get caught under the pickup. That was a hassle and could damage the pickup, by getting caught up in the coil and breaking one of the very thin wires wrapped around the coils.
Just the height of the pickups could explain the change in sound, but already my idea of changing the pickups straight away is on hold, as these pickups make the grade. So I'll keep them in for a few moths and then think about experimenting. One of the side effects of low priced Japanese Guitars is it is easy to put different pickups in and check them out. I would be more reluctant to do this with a real Gibson. Just unsolder rather than cut the pickup wires.

I have never heard of any one taking the Tokai Stratocaster pickups out of their Fender 80 copies.

Through a Reissue Fender Bassman 1959


Again I am only on first impressions, but the Tokai sounds clearer than a real Gibson Les Paul, though this might just be due to the rather low pickup height. Also there is isn't just one Les Paul Standard sound, you have the honk of the P90s on the early models, the smooth sustain or snarl of the Patent Applied For humbucking pickups on the Sunburst Les Pauls and then many varieties of pickups in the reissues like the Classic or the new Gibson Burst Buckers. But in all good electric guitars you are already getting a resonance and feel of that individual guitars potential and in a good Les Paul it is a pretty strong and recognisable feeling.
Bear in mind these are just first impressions but they get more and more favourable through the Bassman. First, this is a reference amplifier for me. That means you get to hear the guitar and there's not a lot of knobs and processors getting between what is coming out of the speakers and the guitar you're playing. After all, Jim Marshall based his product on the way the Fender Bassman is built! Also it makes a good guitar sound even better.

I had just read Wolf Marshall's Vintage Guitar magazine article on Buddy Guy, one of my all-time favourite guitar players.
BTW Wolf has written so many good articles on guitar music, I saw a workshop of his in South Carolina. I strongly suggest you visit this guys site and while I'm at it the Riff Interactive web sites to get your chops up. I'm working on some Hendrix and Brian Setzer stuff and it's a fun way to learn and practise.

Wolf mentions that Buddy uses a Reissue Fender Bassman 1959 and puts every chicken head control on 12 except the Bass, which is set at zero. Try it! This is a great setting for Fenders and also for the Tokai. As a start to really hearing what the guitar can deliver.
Straight away you notice that the tone and volume knobs taper very smoothly, something that was sadly lacking on many present and past Gibsons. I like the clarity of the pickups, the sustain and the neck of this Tokai is exceptional. It is really fun playing it through an amplifier like this. I can see why Buddy Guy was always a little frustrated, if he had to turn down in the studio, only to hear Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix doing it on record a few years later.

Now I am using a Kotch Twintone



Now I am using a Kotch Twintone

on stage
I like this amplifier for it's tone on both the clean and the overdrive channels.
The clean channel stays clean at high volumes.
The Ultimate sounds fantastic through this amp, think a pre 1965 Fender Twin at 5 plu, all that tone, the bass, middles and treble even sounding, but with or without the volume you need to have on the Twin.
By that I mean why get this amp if you can have a great sound from a Fender Twin? Because with Twintone you can have that same sound at lower volumes and it is slightly lighter and easier to carry around! Plus you have the other channel and the boost.
The Fender Deluxe, another great amp, described by some as a little Twin is OK but gets that great break sound up at higher volume settings which can be very desirable but with the Twintone you stay clean at those volumes.
The Twintone also has a neat footpedal with two switches - one is the channel selector and the other is a boost switch on whichever channel you're on.
Neat, simple and very cool for tone heaven.
So you can get your sound and set the Twintone to have it at a lower volume, and at any time call back the higher volume.

and Dr Z Mini Z




When you go to the DR Z amps site check out the soundbites under the Mini Z.
This is my favorite amp right now as it is tiny and just screams - plug it in then turn it up and control the volume and tone from guitar.
I got this from Ron at Proguitar Germany in record time.
I believe it was the last one in Europe as they have stopped making it.
After three weeks no sound came out of the amplifier, after a quick trip to Fredo of VHM, the Parisian tube amplifier surgeon, he diagnosed a dead output transformer.
He also noted the very high quality of construction and parts in the amplifier.
Within 30 minutes of emailing Ron I am informed that I am being sent a new transformer direct from the US, where Sales at DR Z confirmed it by email. Now that's service.






So I'll keep these humbuckers on for a few months and see how they perform. This Tokai, like good Les Pauls as that fantastic midrange sound and amazing sustain at all volumes. I have to stress that this reproduction comes very very close to the original and with the price differentiation it makes for a fantastic deal. Bear in mind that the woods of the body and neck and they way they are put together is a bigger contributory factor to sustain than the pickups - it's coming from the guitar.

If you are in the UK go check out the price and you might very pleasantly suprised.

A note about the set up and action of the guitar. I already mentioned the strings. I am amazed at the number of guitarists that have nice guitars and crappy old strings on them! If you own a Gibson Les Paul I suggest you try the DR Strings True blues or Pure Blues with a slightly thicker gauge than normal.

Just remember with DR Strings to crimp the string a little before you cut it. This is rather unseemly but a small price to pay to really let this guitar roll out the ballsy Les Paul tone.

Where the catch? So everything is just wonderful about this guitar?

No, although it is very very good value, check the price out in your country, when put up against a real Gibson Les Paul, it is a very good replica but it is not the real thing.

I have a few little quibbles.

The nut is the right height and angle and set very well. There is a very slight buzzing on the open E string, and after analysis I trace this to the nut. The nut will be the first thing I will have to change on this particular guitar, but is very minor. This little niggle would only be a problem in the studio. Also the action is so low with no buzzing or chking of the notes when bending that I might just raise it a little to get rid of this very minor buzz which is only on the open E string.

The case - It costs extra.At least you get one with Gibson!

The pickups are Gotoh II humbuckers - while giving a more than honourable first impression on different amplifiers they are not PAFs. However as I am moving away from the Gary Moore overdrive sound toward a cleaner yet sustained sound these pickups do the job for the moment. October update - The neck pickup is perfect, note also it is very low. The bridge pickup can start squealing at extremely high volumes, easy to deal with by rolling the pickups tone down a little. The whole sound is there - those glorious Les Paul mids, the sustain, the puch and most of all a great clarity and note seperation. For the moment these pickups stay on.





The neck inlays - If you look carefully, you see that the inlay cut out is a little too large and filler has been used to touch up the gap between the inlay and the neck. I tried to highlight the picture (see around the neck) but it doesn't really show. I took some other pictures and it is the kind of detail you see in direct sunlight. I’ll try and get some other shots. I have Tokai is not the only manufacturer who does this. They all do. On this particular guitar it's probably the worse manufacturing defect. I don't think it affects any major tone change.

So I have a Les Paul replica which is exact except for the lettering on the headstock and the truss rod cover with a rather dishy quilted maple top that would cost me more than 4 to 5 times if I were to get a Gibson reproduction with as nice a top, neck, feel and sound.

Someone reading this article might get the feeling that I am slagging Gibson here - not at all - the design and brilliance of the Les Paul is to their entire credit (with Les of course) - they have had their good years and bad years and right now are making the best Gibsons ever and are quite rightfully charging for their product. I think they need to consider supply and demand - if there are pickers out there who are buying these top end quality guitars at these prices then everything is OK for both the producer and end user.

It is also to Gibson's credit, and once again to Les Paul himself, that the Epiphone line means that learners and players on tight budets can can an excellent instrument at a very low price. The Big, Bad and the Chubby himself is using one of their Flying Vs with P90 pickups and sounding great with it.

Tokai, as you can see in the pictures, provide a very realistic reproduction with a high quality workmanship and with an outrageous quilted maple front at 4 to 5 times the price Gibson is charging for their masterpieces. I guess this all comes down to value for money or bang for the buck, as our American friends would say.

The accuracy of the Tokai replica complete with the sound, the feel, the vibe, the sustain, the tones of the original at this price makes this a very attractive package and a very honourable hats off to the original.

I would also like to mention the conclusions that were drawn on the Gibson Les Paul Standard figuretop 1958 reissues. My source here is The Special Tribute Gibson Les Paul - 116 page celebration by Guitarist magazine UK 2002.

It is easier to compare prices between France and The United Kingdom and the rest of Europe. I think that most interested guitarists in Europe follow the US market and can use the price differentials to get the best deal. However with the recent large price rises of both Gibson and Fender on both continents, and the appetite players have for these 'old' guitars will these differences in prices decrease or increase? The Internet is also helping buyers compare similar products on different continents. I also harbor a completely unfounded suspicsion that the major US manufacturers keep the best for their home market and then for Japan and then Europe. Wow another bummer for Africa! I guess I would like to hear your opinion on this. Please note that I have tried to take all direct prices out of this web site.

They also review a Gibson 1956 Gold Top with two P90 pickups and they give that a good write up. However on the Gibson Les Paul Standard figuretop 1958 reissue they say:

We liked - the top, wonderful tone and overall feel of the guitar.
We disliked the neck shape, a couple of finishing defects and of course the price.

Specifications TOKAI LS75Q LOVE ROCK (thanks to UK Guitarist March 2001)


Origin: Japan
Body: Mahogany and Maple - the cheaper models have sycamore fronts (I think most people can't see the difference.)
Neck: Mahogany, glued in
Nut width: Plastic, 43.5 mm - This 0.5 mm more than the specs on a new Les Paul Standard
Fingerboard: Bound rosewood with MOP (Mother of Pearl) trapezoid markers, 406 mm 16" radius
Frets: 22 jumbo
Hardware: Tune-o-matic bridge and tailpiece
String Spacing at bridge: 51.5 mm
Electrics: Two Gotoh Vintage MkII humbuckers
Weight: (Kg/Lb) 4.39:7
Left handed: Special order only POA , Price on arrival
Options: Start up Love Rock Price not available
Japanese made LS65 Price not available(remember this is from a March 2001 Guitarist magazine) for the LS75S or LS75Q . Sorry this isn't clear I just copied it from the magazine!
Finishes: Violin finish as reviewed in the March 2001 issue, cherry sunburst, see through dark red, indigo blue.


Here's a close up sorry about the sunlight on this very classy quality finish.








Some back shots, the flash wasn't meant to go off on the first one!

Compared to a new Gibson Les Paul the Tokai is a very faithful reproduction with the right feel, action, neck, sound and an incredible quilt maple top for a fraction of the real thing reissue.Sorry about the oxymoron!

I have heard that Tokai have agreed to stop (I don't know whether it is manufacture or distribution) this particular model by the end of 2002 at Gibson request. They have agreed to change the shape of the headstock and the cutaway horn.

My conclusion if you have the money get yourself the real thing - a Gibson Les Paul Standard, if you want to renew your affection for Les Paul's, get one of the Tokai's cheaper and that will probably make you want to have the real thing even more!

Get it while you can. This Tokai is a good deal and let's you into the magic of the real thing! I don't know what the price is of these in the USA, or even if they are sold there. I did see that the cutaway has been changed on the Tokai web site ;-(

I sugest a search on Books on the Gibson Les Paul.

The author: Bruce Stingkiller is the singer and guitarist for the Paris, France based Dr Pickup band.
He also plays Acoustic Brit Rock with Stirling Austin in Stirling Bruce.
He also plays with Jacky Nashville's band Aventure. That link is to a concert in a chateau on 25 September 1998.
Here is the Ultimate's first rehearsal in September 2002 with Aventure.
My little Les Paul Gallery.
Here's Silent Eddie's Les Paul in action





Here's Patrick with his 1957 Historic Les Paul in action





Here's the real thing with a 1952 wrap around bridge tail unit with my friend Greg












Another fantastic Tokai Les Paul Love Rock!



While I'm updating this article I may as well give you the link to my other Tokai Les Paul Love Rock - another fantastic guitar a little lighter than the Ultimate, which means she's really light.
I used this on some gigs in the States in 2005 which you can see and hear through a Mesa Boogie Blue Angel (a fantastic amplifier) in these videos.
Choose Google for the fastest connection







Click above to see the rest of the Imagine Les Paul from the
Gibson guitar web site.

I left some links out in the beginning, as I wanted the site to flow. I don't have the time to get the kinks for you but just use Multiple search engines like www.profusion.com and www.dogpile.com and you'll get satisfactory results in your quest for information about these wonderful guitars and the players who have performed miracles with them .

Tokai Europe
Players mentioned

• Freddy King
• Howlin' Wolf
• Muddy Waters
• Keith Richards
• Jeff Beck
• Peter Green
• Paul Kossof
• Guitar Slim
• Bobby Radcliff
• Clem Clempson
• Miller Anderson
• John Mooreshead
• The Allman brothers
• Ronnie Earl - he's the one
• Pete Frampton
• Al Di Meola
• Robert Fripp
• Steve Jones
• Mark Knopfler
• Bob Marley (Gibson Les Paul Junior)
• Mike Oldfield
• Mick Ronson
• Slash
• Pete Townsend
• Mick Box (Uriah Heap)
• Joe Walsh
• Neil Young
• Frank Zappa
• Joe Perry
• Neil Schon
• Danny Kirwan
• George Harrison
• Nile Rogers
• Carlos Santana
• Miller Anderson

Gear mentioned
Pickups

• Classic 57s burstbuckers from Gibson
• Antiquites from Seymour Duncan
• Tom Holmes pickups Vintage guitar player pickup shootout winners
• PRS
• Fender

July 2006 update
Bridge pickup has become a more microphonic and needs changing.
Even with all the above mentioned remplacement pickups I staying with the Tokai Paf II model I believe, which I am waiting on from Tokai UK.
Tokai Europe
Yes this is a 'plug' for a fine instrument and great backup service.

Amplifiers for these fine guitars would include

Marshall
• Dumble
• Hi Watt
• Orange
• Sound City
• Vox
• Laney
• Watkins
• Selmer
• Mesa Boogie
• Koch
• Carr
• Victoria
• DR Z
• Top Hat
• Groove Tubes
• Fender
• Juke
• Matchless
• Alessandro
• Bad Cat
• Cornford
• Chigago Blues Bow
• Louis Electric
• Demeter

and so many custom shop reissues and hand wired amplifiers coming out there are too many to list here.
I have added in a few like Carr and Cornford that I'm looking forward to trying out next time in the US or UK.

Hear this fantastic guitar through a Koch Twintone amplifier

Contact Dr Pickup Telephone 33 1 47 08 12 12

This picture says it all

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