Tokai LC53 - As good as they say?

[mattfeltham]

Tokai LC53 Les Paul Custom Electric Guitar - BLK - LH on eBay, also Tokai, Electric, Guitars, Musical Instruments (end time 18-May-08 20:05:00 BST)
Ive been looking and concidering buying this for some time.
The description sort-of implies that its MIJ, but i cant be sure. (Any one know anything about it?)
I read somwhere that the LC53 are the most sought after Les Paul replica by Tokai...is this true?
Is it worth the cash...because its GBP120 which equates to $240AUD shipping...+ the actual guitar cost which is about $550AUD. So is $800(delivered) worth it for this guitar?

AND YES I DO REALISE THE AUCTION HAS ENDED BUT THAT WONT STOP THEM SELLING THE 2 THEY HAVE LEFT.

[mattfeltham]

WARNING: DOUBLE POST!
Just realised its made in china, dosent detur me too much (though id rather mij). Just wondering if anyone could give me a good indication of what sorts of mij lp's i could pickup for about $800 inc postage...or any other sort of lp thats worth the cash for that sort of money.
DEBATE AWAY!
**Remember LEFT HANDED! and a little impatient...i can wait, just not too long**

ALSO:
Ive spotted these:
LEFTY MIJ EPIPHONE LP CUSTOM
lefty orville cherrysunburst 59 reissue lespaul
Lefty Orville Japan Black beauty Les Paul Custom
Which all seem fairly reasonable, although quite expensive too.
Are they worth it or can i do better for the cash?

Most interestingly is this one:
1979 Greco Les Paul for sale - TradeMe.co.nz - New Zealand
fairly cheap price atm...new zealand is really close to aus so cheap shipping...its MIJ...but i donno anything about it. Any help?

[northlight]

I've had two Korean LC53s', ebony and vintage white. If i were you i wouldn't bother, especially with that kind of shipping cost. Don't get me wrong they are pretty good for the money although i've never had a Chinese Tokai. MIJ Tokais' on the other hand are second to NONE! (See my avatar!)

[classic]

Hi matt,
I guess it's very confusing if you'll start a new post every time when you've spotted another guitar ... please stay at your primarily posting ... there's alot of info you could refer to ... Thanks.
BTW - Fortunately you've noticed that it is a MIC ... I wouldn't go for it !!!

[mattfeltham]

Originally Posted by classic

Hi matt,
I guess it's very confusing if you'll start a new post every time when you've spotted another guitar ... please stay at your primarily posting ... there's alot of info you could refer to ... Thanks.
BTW - Fortunately you've noticed that it is a MIC ... I wouldn't go for it !!!

Yeh sorry bout that, i realise im prety heavy handed when it comes to starting new posts. (I guess after i dont get any responded for a week or 2 i move on).
Ill hold onto this one for future endevours.

At the same time im really interested to hear what people think of the mij epiphone custom. I love it!
even though it exceeds my budget even without shipping costs haha!

[UKSpartan]

I bought one of these made in China Tokai LC53 models from ebay two weeks ago, it cost £279 plus £10 delivery, I couldn't find any info on them either beforehand so just took a chance thinking that if it was total crap, could always send it back

Here is the spec

Specifications
Made in China
Canadian Maple Set Neck
Solid Basswood Body
Rosewood fingerboard
Tokai MK4 pickups
3 way toggle switch
2 Volume, 2 Tone Switch
Tune-o-matic bridge with stop tailpiece
Gold hardware

The actual look is of an Lp Custom. The finish was a nice surprise and about as near to perfect as it could be
The neck has the look and feel of the real thing with no twists or warps. However..
The nut was way too high and the intonation was not set up at all

I expected work because as you know the Chinese Tokai Lp is much less money than either the Japanese or Korean and sure enough the frets looked as if they had not been dressed at all and were ridiculously high.

After doing the work can report that this LP, which arrived already looking perfect, can indeed be made into a truly great guitar if you are handy and take your time refinishing it a little

You can get the items required to dress frets easily enough and there are clear instructions on YouTube, The process involves the use a large stone or file that lays over several frets at a time to take them all down. equally to a sensible level, then you 'dress' them with a special semi circular diamond chip file , leaving a tiny narrow flat area on top, so that you dont make any one fret lower than the others , then mask frets and use the finest grade abrasive paper and wire wool and after that,metal polish to polish the frets to a smooth shine

I'm really happy with the results , the action and playability is now better than my Usa Strat with no fret buzz at all and perfect intonation (check YouTube for instructions on setting intonation up too if you don't know how) I also have a matching set of Gibson burstbuckers on the way and grover machine heads, the gotoh machines included are ok and just needed tightening and the Tokai PAF's included are also not too bad either.
So go for it if you are prepared to do some refinishing work but check the neck and finish on arrival and if you're not happy make them send you another. I would invite anyone to compare my refinished version to any LP for playability and appearance , the basis is a quality guitar, material wise,that just needs a little work and then a few refinments

[opt1c8n]

Originally Posted by UKSpartan

I bought one of these made in China Tokai LC53 models from ebay two weeks ago, it cost £279 plus £10 delivery, I couldn't find any info on them either beforehand so just took a chance thinking that if it was total crap, could always send it back

Here is the spec

Specifications
Made in China
Canadian Maple Set Neck
Solid Basswood Body
Rosewood fingerboard
Tokai MK4 pickups
3 way toggle switch
2 Volume, 2 Tone Switch
Tune-o-matic bridge with stop tailpiece
Gold hardware

The actual look is of an Lp Custom. The finish was a nice surprise and about as near to perfect as it could be
The neck has the look and feel of the real thing with no twists or warps. However..
The nut was way too high and the intonation was not set up at all

I expected work because as you know the Chinese Tokai Lp is much less money than either the Japanese or Korean and sure enough the frets looked as if they had not been dressed at all and were ridiculously high.

After doing the work can report that this LP, which arrived already looking perfect, can indeed be made into a truly great guitar if you are handy and take your time refinishing it a little

You can get the items required to dress frets easily enough and there are clear instructions on YouTube, The process involves the use a large stone or file that lays over several frets at a time to take them all down. equally to a sensible level, then you 'dress' them with a special semi circular diamond chip file , leaving a tiny narrow flat area on top, so that you dont make any one fret lower than the others , then mask frets and use the finest grade abrasive paper and wire wool and after that,metal polish to polish the frets to a smooth shine

I'm really happy with the results , the action and playability is now better than my Usa Strat with no fret buzz at all and perfect intonation (check YouTube for instructions on setting intonation up too if you don't know how) I also have a matching set of Gibson burstbuckers on the way and grover machine heads, the gotoh machines included are ok and just needed tightening and the Tokai PAF's included are also not too bad either.
So go for it if you are prepared to do some refinishing work but check the neck and finish on arrival and if you're not happy make them send you another. I would invite anyone to compare my refinished version to any LP for playability and appearance , the basis is a quality guitar, material wise,that just needs a little work and then a few refinments

Pics or it didn't happen

[-=[Shifty]=-]

Originally Posted by UKSpartan

I bought one of these made in China Tokai LC53 models from ebay two weeks ago, it cost £279 plus £10 delivery, I couldn't find any info on them either beforehand so just took a chance thinking that if it was total crap, could always send it back

Here is the spec

Specifications
Made in China
Canadian Maple Set Neck
Solid Basswood Body
Rosewood fingerboard
Tokai MK4 pickups
3 way toggle switch
2 Volume, 2 Tone Switch
Tune-o-matic bridge with stop tailpiece
Gold hardware

The actual look is of an Lp Custom. The finish was a nice surprise and about as near to perfect as it could be
The neck has the look and feel of the real thing with no twists or warps. However..
The nut was way too high and the intonation was not set up at all

I expected work because as you know the Chinese Tokai Lp is much less money than either the Japanese or Korean and sure enough the frets looked as if they had not been dressed at all and were ridiculously high.

After doing the work can report that this LP, which arrived already looking perfect, can indeed be made into a truly great guitar if you are handy and take your time refinishing it a little

You can get the items required to dress frets easily enough and there are clear instructions on YouTube, The process involves the use a large stone or file that lays over several frets at a time to take them all down. equally to a sensible level, then you 'dress' them with a special semi circular diamond chip file , leaving a tiny narrow flat area on top, so that you dont make any one fret lower than the others , then mask frets and use the finest grade abrasive paper and wire wool and after that,metal polish to polish the frets to a smooth shine

I'm really happy with the results , the action and playability is now better than my Usa Strat with no fret buzz at all and perfect intonation (check YouTube for instructions on setting intonation up too if you don't know how) I also have a matching set of Gibson burstbuckers on the way and grover machine heads, the gotoh machines included are ok and just needed tightening and the Tokai PAF's included are also not too bad either.
So go for it if you are prepared to do some refinishing work but check the neck and finish on arrival and if you're not happy make them send you another. I would invite anyone to compare my refinished version to any LP for playability and appearance , the basis is a quality guitar, material wise,that just needs a little work and then a few refinments

Welcome to the forums. Glad that you like your new guitar.

The work you describe there hasn't got anything to do with refinishing, though.

[snaredrum]

(whispers) i like my MIC Tokai...

[snaredrum]

although to be fair i have swapped out the pickups and pots and caps...

[nwobhm]

I had an early 90's korean one, it was made of plywood. yes, listed in the specs as plywood. Fooled me because, it had a 2 screw TR cover like a japanese model.