flank
New member
hey guys, just givin a review of the Tokai Loverock Goldtop that i just got, i love it 
Finish/craftsmanship - the Goldtop is very well done and looks great, the only negative thing is that some parts on the back are a little sloppy looking, the back is a very nice stained color and the wood grain looks super cool, but some parts of the finish are a little swishy looking, but i'm ok with that, its on the back of the guitar! and besides, the wood grain is so nice anyways, there is also a few pinpoint sized black dots that are within the actual piece of wood, 3 in all, that are noticable on the back, but like i said, im ok with that considering the price of the guitar.....but the finish on the front is flawless....and the neck is the same color stain, but the wood grain is not as noticable, but theres nothing wrong with the neck
the binding is all well done, it is a nice cream color and there is nothing wrong with it, no finish bleeding over, etc...nothing...... the Fret inlays are nice as well, they are all even and set correctly as well..... the frets are fine as well, from what i can tell, there is no pointy edges when running the hand along the neck, and they all appear to be uniform.....the only string that buzzes is the low E, but i can easily fix that but adjusting the action just a tad higher, still, it doesnt buzz too much as it is....the nut seems to be cut well, theres no pinging of the strings or any snagging of anything, and the slots are nice and clean
the tuners seem fine, the guitar has pretty much stayed in tune for the 2 hours ive been playing it...all the rest of the hardware is nice as well, its all perfect
the body is a 2 piece Mahogany body, and the neck is a solid piece of Canadian Hard Maple..it weighs 9.7lbs, which is a good solid weight IMO... the headstock has the Gibson shape and the logo is a slightly pearloid inlay which is nice looking......from far back, the whole guitar is exactly like a Gibson
Playability/sound
well, it plays really nice off the bat...the strings seem like a 9-46 set, and bending is nice and easy.... the intonation is not right yet, as the strings are off when playing chords higher up on the neck, but i've yet to adjust anything yet...... the action is nice and low and only the low E slightly buzzes.....the fretboard feels nice, and the neck is bigger than a Strat, but not like some of those Les Paul baseball bat necks, somewhere in between.....its supposed to be modeled after a 59' LP neck style
as for the sound, it sounds better than my buddies Epi Les Paul, the neck pickup and middle position sound pretty nice actually, but the bridge pickup is weak and lacks punch and clarity....overall, the sound is the distinct Les Paul tone no doubt, but a set of Duncans are definately needed....the pickups do not have clarity or touch sensitiveness of Duncans.....i have the 59 bridge already ready to be put in, and Seth neck is on the way, so it should sound pretty sweet after that!
Final judgement:... well, for $500, i am definately satisfied! I love the feel, the craftsmanship is great, and the guitar is just so classy looking, and i think it compares very well to a Gibson LP.... soundwise, its not there yet, but once i have the Duncans in, i think it will be great, and sounds every bit as good as Gibson..a Gibson probably has a little better playability, but i've yet to set this one up yet, so maybe, maybe not....but, this guitar still feels great and plays nicely, which was what i was looking for
let me know if you have any questions, ill try to get some pics up if i can! here some from one dealer's website, mine is exact;y like this, only lefty
http://www.jsdguitarshack.com/images/love_rock_gt1.jpg
http://www.jsdguitarshack.com/images/love_rock_gt2.jpg
http://www.jsdguitarshack.com/images/love_rock_gt6.jpg
http://www.jsdguitarshack.com/images/love_rock_gt7.jpg
Finish/craftsmanship - the Goldtop is very well done and looks great, the only negative thing is that some parts on the back are a little sloppy looking, the back is a very nice stained color and the wood grain looks super cool, but some parts of the finish are a little swishy looking, but i'm ok with that, its on the back of the guitar! and besides, the wood grain is so nice anyways, there is also a few pinpoint sized black dots that are within the actual piece of wood, 3 in all, that are noticable on the back, but like i said, im ok with that considering the price of the guitar.....but the finish on the front is flawless....and the neck is the same color stain, but the wood grain is not as noticable, but theres nothing wrong with the neck
the binding is all well done, it is a nice cream color and there is nothing wrong with it, no finish bleeding over, etc...nothing...... the Fret inlays are nice as well, they are all even and set correctly as well..... the frets are fine as well, from what i can tell, there is no pointy edges when running the hand along the neck, and they all appear to be uniform.....the only string that buzzes is the low E, but i can easily fix that but adjusting the action just a tad higher, still, it doesnt buzz too much as it is....the nut seems to be cut well, theres no pinging of the strings or any snagging of anything, and the slots are nice and clean
the tuners seem fine, the guitar has pretty much stayed in tune for the 2 hours ive been playing it...all the rest of the hardware is nice as well, its all perfect
the body is a 2 piece Mahogany body, and the neck is a solid piece of Canadian Hard Maple..it weighs 9.7lbs, which is a good solid weight IMO... the headstock has the Gibson shape and the logo is a slightly pearloid inlay which is nice looking......from far back, the whole guitar is exactly like a Gibson
Playability/sound
well, it plays really nice off the bat...the strings seem like a 9-46 set, and bending is nice and easy.... the intonation is not right yet, as the strings are off when playing chords higher up on the neck, but i've yet to adjust anything yet...... the action is nice and low and only the low E slightly buzzes.....the fretboard feels nice, and the neck is bigger than a Strat, but not like some of those Les Paul baseball bat necks, somewhere in between.....its supposed to be modeled after a 59' LP neck style
as for the sound, it sounds better than my buddies Epi Les Paul, the neck pickup and middle position sound pretty nice actually, but the bridge pickup is weak and lacks punch and clarity....overall, the sound is the distinct Les Paul tone no doubt, but a set of Duncans are definately needed....the pickups do not have clarity or touch sensitiveness of Duncans.....i have the 59 bridge already ready to be put in, and Seth neck is on the way, so it should sound pretty sweet after that!
Final judgement:... well, for $500, i am definately satisfied! I love the feel, the craftsmanship is great, and the guitar is just so classy looking, and i think it compares very well to a Gibson LP.... soundwise, its not there yet, but once i have the Duncans in, i think it will be great, and sounds every bit as good as Gibson..a Gibson probably has a little better playability, but i've yet to set this one up yet, so maybe, maybe not....but, this guitar still feels great and plays nicely, which was what i was looking for
let me know if you have any questions, ill try to get some pics up if i can! here some from one dealer's website, mine is exact;y like this, only lefty
http://www.jsdguitarshack.com/images/love_rock_gt1.jpg
http://www.jsdguitarshack.com/images/love_rock_gt2.jpg
http://www.jsdguitarshack.com/images/love_rock_gt6.jpg
http://www.jsdguitarshack.com/images/love_rock_gt7.jpg
