Les Paul style guitar comparison: Japan vs China Tokai Love Rock Pt.2
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 12 ก.ย. 2024
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Hey! Thanks for checking out this Tokai Love Rock sound comparison video.
SOUND COMPARISON 1 - USING A LINE 6 SPIDER V. OK, so...
1 - I had to use my phone, so apologies for the sound... Video camera broken :-(
2 - While editing, I realised I probably could have done some more direct tone comparisons, literally back-to-back... don't slaughter me for that lol!
3 - My hands were bloody freezing, so some of my playing was a bit "random", but I tried to be honest and true to my fellow guitarists and leave the fluffs in! :-)
Anyway... I had a chance to compare two Les Paul style Tokai models, so here you have one Made in Japan Vintage Series Tokai Love Rock and one Made in China Tokai Love Rock.
Their similarities are bigger than their differences and I will leave you to be the judge of what you prefer... Like I mention a few times in these videos, tone is subjective and it's all about what you like.
Also, each guitar plays differently. Two "identical" guitars on a production line will very likely sound different.
The biggest differences here as regards playability are, that the Japanese one has slightly smaller frets, which were also finished slightly better on the bound edges but I have to say, you wouldn't notice the frets on the Chinese guitar unless you played the Japanese one back-to-back.
Each guitar was set up slightly differently, and the Japanese guitar's action was a little low for me personally. I will also put heavier strings on the Japanese one when they need changing.
In any case, I hope you enjoy the videos and please leave comments and SUB if you liked them!
Cheers, Love and Peace Muso pals! Mark
Japanese Model spec.
Tokai LS115F - VF
Mahogany neck and 2-piece body
Maple top
Rosewood Fretboard
Gotoh Tuners
Vintage Mk2 PAF type pick-ups
Chinese Model Spec:
Tokai ALS55 - VF (Violin Finish)
Alder or Ash 1-piece body
Top - unsure
Rosewood Fretboard
Vintage Mk4 PAF type pick-ups
Amps used:
Line 6 Spider V 120 combo, Soldano-model tone, medium drive
Fender Supersonic 60w combo
I like how you played this Les Paul! :)
Thanks!
Thats the way to review a guitar. Great job.
Just saw this!! Thanks!
Hello
I have the Chinese model, ALS 55 VF, I have several "good" guitars, including a really good gibson 335, honestly the ones I like to play the most are the Chinese Tokai and the 335, in fact I sometimes prefer to hang out with my Tokai I have it equipped with Burstbucker 2 in neck and Seymour Duncan SH4 in bridge. I recommend it, unbeatable !!.
In the store where I bought it I tried all the ones, Japanese and Chinese and for the money there was no doubt. Maybe the Chinese is something less bright, has something more body, something that I liked because I like to play jazz. Of course my idea was to eventually change the pickups, although the originals sound really good.
I suspect that buying a Chinese one and putting your preferred pickups on it would be a cost-effective compromise. I put a SD Jazz in the neck position of my JHS Vintage and it was transformed.
Richard Smallfield to be honest, if the name on the headstock doesn't bother you, that would be the way to go! I preferred the playability of the Chinese one as well. Cheers!
Tokai ALS55 real specs, Tokai Cat# 29, 2016:
Body: Flamed Maple + Maple Top, Mahogany back
Neck: Maple Set-Neck
F-board: Rosewood
Bridge: LS-VBC Bridge, LS-VTC Tailpiece
Pickups: LSC-F x 2
Colors: CS, VF, BS, STB, SBL, SR
Hi thanks for the video. Do you mind to answer 3 questions regarding the Chinese guitar?
1. How heavy is the guitar?
2. What is the neck profile? Is the Gibson's 60 slim tapered neck?
3. Where did you buy the guitar? Reverb?
Hey, No Problem - The guitar was average weight for a LP style - not too heavy but not too light or like a chambered late Standard. I gave the guitar to my son just after I bought it here in Spain at my local Tokai dealer (Called Musisol in Estepona. Great guys and they speak English and have a good stock of Tokai and can ship!) As for the neck profile, it was reasonably round but not a fat D or a skinny C shape. Very playable - preferred the neck and frets to the Japanese one to be honest.!
Nice review! I'm thinking of getting one someday.
How do you think the Chinese made one compare to, say, an Epiphone LP Standard?
Hey! Thanks for watching. Personally I like the Epi as I did have one a few years back before I got a Gibson LP. However, the Tokai is a really well put together guitar and sounds great for the price and plays very well. My advice would be, if possible, play a few and see how they feel. The Tokai is good value tho and holds its own. Cheers
Very good review!. Are both neck profile similar or same as Gibson? Thank you.
Hi, i don't know for sure in terms of radius or shapes but the Chinese felt a little chunkier than the Japanese model. Both probably modelled on some previous version of a Les Paul profile. In use, i never really noticed them or that they were any different to my old Gibson LP 2001 standard
@@MarkFeaGuitar Thank you, i'm thinking to get the Chinese one. Cheers.
Chinese one sounds great for the money !
yeah... It is a lovely guitar, no doubt!
The japanese one has lil bit more sensitivity on the pickups i think , but i like the chinese one bcause it's cheap but still sounds great
The Chinese one played very well. I preferred it actually!
I felt the Japanese model had more mids in the tone as opposed to the Chinese one which to me sounded a bit woolly
Yes, I agree.... it's also interesting how much the amp volume, as well as the amp itself, contributes to the difference in tone. The differences became less obvious with the Line6 amp than the Fender valve.... The Chinese model does play well... fit someGibson Burstbuckers and you have a pretty unbeatable guitar for the price...!
Nice review.The Japanese LP sounds better, but not 3 times the price better.The Chinese LP sounds good.
Agreed! Thanks for watching!
Tnks for your review! I'm thinking about buy a single cut tokai, ALS50. For a begginer like me I think the japanese made tokai is not worth it for the money :)
Thanks for your comment - I have to say, the Chinese guitar is absolutely lovely and I would have been happy for this to have been my only Tokai. You'll get a lot of pleasure from the Chinese guitar - build quality is very good and it feels like a guitar worth more than double its price. You can always put different pick ups in too, if you want to make it sound even better. Cheers!
Hello
Do affect to the Les Paul sound that the neck is made of maple?
Possibly, it may have a brighter tone but to be honest, whether this stuff is that noticeable is so subjective!
I hear folks going on about the guitars tone mmm....i have played 45 years now ...im58 .if i have a guitar with a bit less on the mid or top end "a bit wooly" has been the comment. I just tweak the mid or treb on the amp .if its too much then you can use the tones on the guitar .its easy thats the whole point of an electric guitar .you can alter it .also pure tone can never really be acheived on a amp full of f/x . Good review but guitarists ...learn your craft .
Indeed, there's a whole world of options in the guitar alone. So many players I know never use their volume or tone pots... oh well
MFGuitarLessons Just after some advice. If the price is the same...would you recommend a brand new Chinese model, or a second hand Japanese model?
Hi, Well... that's a good question... The sound of the Japanese pickups is definitely better than the Chinese model but being very honest, I found the Chinese model played better for my style... The reason is because the Chinese guitar had slightly bigger frets, which suit my style. I actually find the Japanese guitar almost too light to play, so I had to put heavier strings on and raise the action whereas the Chinese guitar felt great immediately...
Apart from that, the details of finish are so minor that it's almost imperceptible... These differences are the kind of quality aspects you don't really see, like the way the edge of neck binding feels, or the wood under the lacquer... So if you get a chance to play them, base your decision on how they feel... Otherwise, I would be more than happy to go for the Chinese guitar and upgrade the pickups in future. HTH - thanks for watching, good luck and let me know what you go for!
Thanks so much for your reply. I'll definitely try to find one local to me so I can try it first. Thanks for taking the time to post the above video!
my pleasure! Good luck and let me know if I can help in future! All the best, Mark
Josh White-Pearl the Japanese ones are getting more expensive and have been told are a great playing guitar
But the Chinese ones are made in the same factory as the chibsons
MFGuitarStuff more sustain on the Japanese one
I think the Chinese one just as good in Les Paul call me crazy if you like but I think they learnt of the Japanese how to build them the pick ups are great in tokais
I totally agree. Differences between them were so marginal!
@@MarkFeaGuitar I have a Japanese Tokai Tele from 1985 it’s my favourite fender type guitar I think the Tokai Chinese les Pauls are great so much better then Chinese burny Tokai never back down on quality my opinion
@@lostgroovemusic8494 funny, I nearly bought 2 Tokai Strats in 85 but bought a used Gibson V for the same money!
@@MarkFeaGuitar every Tokai I played as been amazing where ever it’s been made
The pots on the Japanese one are the expensive ones more output
Chinese ones are the cheap knock off ones less out put
That is rubbish, when a pot is turned fully up, it acts like a shortcut, but a cheaper pot might begin to scratch and have a less balanced volume curve. If there is a volume
difference, it is the output of the pickups.
Why did you use this cardboard amp, when you have a Fender in the same room?
Because a lot of people use line 6 so I wanted to use something relevant... you can hear the fender in the next video if you carry on watching 😉
Tokai have got it right for me with the UALS62F China. Love the tone ticks all the boxes finish and price.Just went out and got one its in hiding from my wife will break it gently to her.LOL
Hahahahahhhahahahah... sounds like an old mate mine lol
At 1:43 i thought you were going to go into Midnight Blues...
haha - it's easy to get carried away sometimes and forget your trying to do an info video lol! A few people asked me on my insta to do some Gary Moore, so maybe I should try and show some of his licks... anyway, Thanks for watching! Cheers
I can honestly say with that tone you had dialed in it sounded like Gary, and Thank You for taking the time to make these videos
Thanks again! Cheers!
The japanese one is nitro finish?
Hey, sorry, never saw some of the comments on here until now for some reason.. not sure what the finish is to be honest, as it's tough to get accurate info !
Japan guitars all the way 2nd best behind America
LOL