Tokai ATE-50 Strat

A 2003/4 Tokai Japanese made Strat. Charcoal Grey, with a slight sparkle finish to the body, white 3-ply purloid s/plate and a gorgeous one peice maple neck. Everything is Stratocaster except the slight deviation from the original of the h/stock scroll. With this high end-to-end quality I`m prepared to overlook that small detail. The finish on this guitar immediately gives a feel of quality. All the hardware seems of a high standard i.e. smooth pots and kluson style machines, traditional 60s bridge etc. No gig-bag, case etc.

Strats are my guitar. Warm and smooth when you want them to be, or with a bit of butchering they will scream like a demon. It seems a shame to admit it but I allways have to fit a hot-rail in the tail/bridge position to get a Srat to really scream and also give you that chunky chord sound. Having said that the neck pick-up brings a classic clean strat sound that is incredibly authentic. My amp set-up is a 2003 Peavey Studio Pro 112 linked to a Sessionette 4x10 cab. I enjoy playing blues and malodic rock.

I allways find factory set-ups a bit suspect, never really spot-on. This guitar was better than most. Intonation very good but the action is without exception rather high for me. Naturally when you lower any action the pick-ups have to go down a touch also. Other than that the guitar is just about perfect. No blemishes or flaws at all.

Without doubt the guitar will out-live me (presently 48) if treated well as my gigging days are pretty well over, mabe the odd one now and again but I still enjoy jamming with freinds as often as possible. The guitar is of a build quality that will see it being played for years to come hopefully by my guitar playing offspring (I hope). I never gig without a back-up, you never know.

My local store are fantastic, I originally purchased a Tokai (Korean) Les Paul/Love Rock (just for a change). This guitar was badly built and the guys at the shop simply said choose another guitar for the same value. The Strat has a one year warranty but I do not anticipate any problems.

I have been playing guitar and bass for 30 years and I am without doubt a guitar nut (mental, not guitar component) and over the years have owned many guitars of good and not-so-good quality. If it were lost or stolen I would be heartbroken, its class. On the day of purchase I tried at least six other guitars of the same value and it stood head and shoulders above them (Epiphones, Tokai Korean, and Mex Fenders). The only thing I wish it had would be an authentic h/stock.