Product: Tokai UJ200
Price Paid: GBP 260 USED
Submitted
03/14/2009
at
04:11am
by
Allyc
Features
:
8
This is Tokai's version of Gibson's famous "king of the flat-tops" j200 acoustic guitar.The finish is gloss and has been stained first to add a vintage look to it and to my eyes it looks slightly orangey.Body is full size jumbo, tuners are tulip button style and work very well, it has a lovely slim three piece maple neck with nicely finished frets,"crown" inlays and rosewood fingerboard which is bound with off-white plastic.Moustache style bridge with mother of pearl inlays. Made in Korea in 2006.Solid spruce top with flamed maple laminated back and sides which is extremely pretty.Also has a large elaborately designed scratchplate.There are no electrics on this model.
Sound
:
9
I bought this guitar second hand and changed the stings straight away but i only had 10's so they are too thin for a jumbo and i would advise using 12 gauge.Despite my poor string choice it sounds very nice, sweet, bright and clear with depth if you play harder. I would say it favours the treble side slighty but projects well enough to compete with other acoustic instruments, it reminds me of more expensive Takamines i've played.I'll give this high marks here because of it's sound quality in relation to it's affordable price.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
8
The set up on this guitar is spot on, intonation is great all over the neck and the low action makes it feel like an electric.Nut and saddle are very well installed.If you look very closely and want to nit-pick there are some minor flaws in the finish but nothing that troubles my fussy eye.Overall i would say the action fit and finish would shame some much higher priced instruments.
Reliability/Durability
:
8
I haven't had this long enough to say for sure but i don't see why it wouldn't last, it seems very well consructed.I would happily use this live without a back-up.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
I haven't had to deal with Tokai but the on-line forums suggest that they are very helpfull.
Overall Rating
:
9
I've been playing about 20 years and owned and played countless guitars and this is one of the nicest.If like me you want a j200 but don't have two and a half grand this may well be the closest you'll get, and i think it's pretty close.Also if your'e a brand snob there's no shame in owning a guitar that says Tokai on the headstock.
