New Stuff Rocks!!!

Hoss

Joyfulnoiseologist
So i went to trade in my Washburn HB-35 on that tele copy last night and when i got there it didn't look nearly as good in person as in the pictures...not even close! it was rough with ALOT of nicks and dents and places where somebody try to patch up the paint, the bridge was really bleh...and the body was really thin. but, i didn't let that deter me too much.

i still plugged it in and gave it a whirl. it didn't do much for me so i asked the guy what else he had along the lines of a fender tele or strat in my range.

he pointed me to several mim & mik fender strats and teles and i played them all and gave them good once overs and thought a couple of them...especially a 70's ri strat and a nashville tele were pretty decent...then i spotted a Tokai 52RI behind the counter!!! so i asked to se it as it looked the best cosmetically, compared to the others and i took it into a room and plugged it into a small H&K amp and put it through it's paces.

WOW...now i know what all the fuss has been about when you guys talked about Tokai guitars! it honestly was heads and tails above those fenders...nothing was even close!!! hardware was on par with the mim stuff and maybe a little better...i dug the pups alot more and the neck felt better in my hands. sooooooooo i brought him home for my washburn (with a jacked up warped neck) and 14 bucks!

i'm happy as a mole in soft dirt!!! lol!!!

here's a pic of the model i bought (no actual pics yet)!

3d_1.JPG
 
Re: New Stuff Rocks!!!

congrats bro
welcome to the tokai 52ri club
tokaifull-sm.jpg

i love mine .. and it loves the duncan vintage stack for tele set and 4-way wiring
i keep mine in open G for stones stunes these days, but when i tune it up for standard tuning, it covers a lot of ground and is fun to play .. i love the chunky neck a lot ... i still need to get around to a new nut and compensated saddles, but it is VERY cool for the low$ it cost

enjoy and play in good health

t4d
 
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Re: New Stuff Rocks!!!

yeah...i thought you had one TFD!

i'm gonna probably try a lil 59 and a qp neck for some heavy grunt in it eventually!

i can't get over how much more i like this than the fenders!
 
Re: New Stuff Rocks!!!

i bet those pups will kill in it!!!

can you get a QP tapped? if you can, you could make soem REAL cool noise with a 5-way ... keep it tapped for vintage in one setting then click it all the way back for full mayhem ...

the one in your pic looks a bit better than mine - better neck tint ... i thought i'd not dig the stainless steel barrels, but i really like them, retains some 'zing' ...

let us know all about yours after you've run it through its paces

cheers
t4d
 
Re: New Stuff Rocks!!!

i bet those pups will kill in it!!!

can you get a QP tapped? if you can, you could make soem REAL cool noise with a 5-way ... keep it tapped for vintage in one setting then click it all the way back for full mayhem ...

the one in your pic looks a bit better than mine - better neck tint ... i thought i'd not dig the stainless steel barrels, but i really like them, retains some 'zing' ...

let us know all about yours after you've run it through its paces

cheers
t4d

that's not an actual pic of mine...but mine does have a really dark neck tint...maybe even darker than that pic!?!

yeah you can tap the qp neck...that's a good idea with the 5 way!
 
Re: New Stuff Rocks!!!

i'll fill you in on what i know...which is limited!

basically they are known for their fender and gibson copies...which are above average quality and low $$$. i had always heard they were at least on par with mim fender and epi and in alot of cases superior. (which i found to be the case...at least with the mim's in the store i bought this one in)
 
Re: New Stuff Rocks!!!

i'm looking forward to doing some minor mods on this dude...with addition to pups i'd like to maybe put either a gold or black pearl guard on it...maybe upgrade the bridge and tuners and nut!?
 
Re: New Stuff Rocks!!!

Well still have one of my old 84 Tokai strats left:D
Ha ve had two Tokai Tele's as well...have regretted selling them quite a few times by now!
Congrats man, sounds like a real good deal!
Niels
 
Re: New Stuff Rocks!!!

Welcome to the Tokai Club Hoss, glad everything worked out good in the end for you.

I can recommend the 5 way switch and tapped pup route. Lew recommened it for my mim Tele with a QP and a Tele Hot Tapped. Its wired so I get:

1. Hot bridge only
2. Hot bridge and neck combined
3. neck only
4. Vintage output bridge and neck combined
5. Vintage output bridge only

So you get the conventional and unconventional all in one guitar.

Just don't lend it to your friend!:)
 
Re: New Stuff Rocks!!!

Welcome to the Tokai Club Hoss, glad everything worked out good in the end for you.

I can recommend the 5 way switch and tapped pup route. Lew recommened it for my mim Tele with a QP and a Tele Hot Tapped. Its wired so I get:

1. Hot bridge only
2. Hot bridge and neck combined
3. neck only
4. Vintage output bridge and neck combined
5. Vintage output bridge only

So you get the conventional and unconventional all in one guitar.

Just don't lend it to your friend!:)

would it be just as easy to put in two push pull pots and just keep the 3way switch?!
 
Re: New Stuff Rocks!!!

would it be just as easy to put in two push pull pots and just keep the 3way switch?!

it would have the same effect, but would not be as fast to use live and you'd have to be sure you have the depth in the cavity to put the p/p pots
 
Re: New Stuff Rocks!!!

hmmm...i'll have to look into it...i have two push pull pots laying around here somewhere...the only thing is i think they are 500k instead of 250...i'd want 250 for single coils right?
 
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