Tokai Breezysound Telecaster

Early 80's Japanese Tele, either ash or alder, its black so hard to tell. Not that it matters. The stock pickups are so so. dont let anyone tell you different. Medium size neck,well made and with excellent fretwork. Well cut nut, decent enough bridge, tuners etc. All the features you expect and want from a Tele. If you want more than 1 tone,1 volume and a 3 way switch, dont buy a Tele.

First let me state that after owning almost everything, Teles are my favourites. Secondly, I can only compare the sound to other Teles Ive owned. As far as Tele's go, the sound is pretty good, but compared to my 73 Tele, it is lightweight and lacking depth. That said, a decent Breezysound costs around ??500, a 73 Tele is around 5 times that. The problem with H.C.is that most reviewers rave about their guitars without being in the least bit critical. Nothings perfect, but you wouldnt think that from all the '10's' being dished out. I also have an '84 MIJ Squire Tele with Owen Duff pickups which plays as well as the Tokai, but sounds much better. For amps, Ive used a modified Sound City Concord - it was much too trebly - and Traynor Guitar Mate. The Sound City is superior in every way - once you get the treble thing sorted out.

Bookmatched??? hah! Ive been quite critical up to now, but as far as build quality is concerned, Tokai's in general are pretty faultless. Put in some decent pickups and for around ??650, you will have a very good Tele.

As everyone else says, its lasted 26 years. Guitar is very dependable, but strings aren't, so take a spare.

Had no dealings.

playing for around 40 years and been lucky enough to have owned something of everything.Nearly all the good Strat, Tele, Les Paul and 335 copies,[Squire, Tokai,Greco,Ibanez,Aria,Yamaha] plus some genuine oldies including a '59 Gretch Double Anniversay,2 mid '70's Les Pauls, a '73 and a '78 Strat, 2 maple neck 72 Tele's along with an 'orrible Mocha 78 Tele. Also 2 '68 335's and a couple of early 60's Melody Makers. There's probably many others which Ive forgotten. Lets not bother with the acoustics.For what its worth, my opinion of the Breezysound is that its a very good copy, but lets not get misty eyed of them. THEY ARE COPIES. Obviously, not everyone can or wants to own a genuine 30 year old,or older, Tele, but if you compare the two, the Tokai, and this is going to cause a fight, really is not as good, even if you change the pickup, you still can't change the wood, and thats where you get the real tone. That said, its a probably the best copy you can get and if it did get lost or stolen, then I'd strongly consider replacing it, but bearing in mind a Japanese '80's Squier would be much cheaper, I'd probably go for one of those as they are just as well made and are very nice to play.

Mine is a late 80's natural/honey finish bought second hand from a friend about 15 years ago. Gigged regularly ever since, my workhorse guitar, finish now very worn, looks much the same as Spingsteen's Fender tele. Absolutely as per a 50's tele but with more powerful pickups. Very comfortable neck, all hard ware high quality. Don't like the slot tuners, which get bent and allow strings to pop out.

Excellent tele sound, a bit toppy with tone full on, better tonal range than a Fender. Will do virtually anything bar shredding, especially good sound for country and power chords, of course. I have it in open G and use it for slide, both with some gain and quite clean with slapback and a midboost. Took action up a little, but sounds fantastic....made me realise what a great guitar it really is.

Got it second hand and had it set up, have tweaked it many times since. Looked nice to begin with, now really battered gigged in look. Pickups now rusty but sound great.

This is an unbelievably tough gigging guitar. It rarely drifts out of tune, it is unaffected by temperature changes, drop it and it doesn't mind. The pick up selecter did eventually get crackly and full of gunk, but a day with the guitar bloke sorted this out. I have gigged it to death and it'll out last me.

I bought this for ??150 with another guitar thrown in, the best investment I've ever made. I've played Fenders as good, but none better. It's a great guitar, totally basic yet highly versatile. I'd buy another if I lost it, but next time I'd get the paisley finish.

Bought for #250.00 inc h/case in 1987.This was the TTE50 model with 2 piece centre joined alder body finished in 2tone sunburst,One piece Maple neck.Gotoh h/ware which inc Kluson copy DELUXE tuners own design(at the time)6 way bridge(which i prefer).Tokai/Gotoh pickups,both wax dipped and marked TEB on the bottom,with braided wires(that`s on a copy!).Single ply 5 screw scratch plate.In 1994 i swapped the neck and scratchplate over from a 1983 Tokai Breezysound Custom.The neck was a 60`s spec "C"section Maple neck with curved Rosewood cap,the scratchplate 8 hole 3 ply which i preferred.In terms of features exactly the same as a real Telecaster!!

I have never felt the need to change these pickups,i have played many Telecaster`s over the years inc a 59 original,and feel the sound of this Tokai is easily the equal of them.The bridge pickup has that cutting bark+bite that a good Tele should have,the middle position has that TWANG in abundance,and the neck position(my fave)is blues heaven,deep and somewhat creamy.

The original set up from the shop was fine from what i can remember.The guitar itself was old stock that Musicground in Denmark Street had recently found during a clearout at the time and the guitar itself was actually an 84/85 guitar,which seems to fit because the importer for Tokai in the U.K,Blue suede music folded in early 1986 and Tokai`s did`nt start coming back into the country until the late 1990`s.The fit was excellent,i always judge Fender and similar guitars by how tight the neck fits in the neck pocket,and at that time Tokai was a hell of a lot better than some of Fenders 70`s guitars.The finish was thick polyester,but you could still feel the body vibrating when played.And the guitar weighs just over 7 pounds.Nothing was loose or rattled and the pots were and are still smooth

I used this guitar solidly for 3 years gigging without backup from 1990-93,i found it to be totally dependable.In 1994 i sold the guitar to an up and coming Irish comedian by the name of Dermot Carmody,he toured with the Tokai extensively for 10 years,during which time we lost touch.In 2004 my wife tracked Dermot down via the internet and he agreed to let me have the guitar back.When we travelled over to Ireland to get the guitar,i found the Tokai to be in a bit of a state,the body had 3 big dents around the top edge,several chips,3 of the machineheads were knackered,the chrome control panel was held in place with sellotape,and both control knobs plus the top hat selector were missing.When plugged in the pickups kept cutting out and there was constant bad contact noises from the jack socket,and the guitar was well and truly gunked up.I managed to buy new knobs,selector top hat and some screws for less than #6.00.I then replaced the machineheads with some Grover Kluson copies for #30.00.The guitar was then taken to David Millington at the Well guitar clinic in Colwyn Bay and he repaired the electrics,did some screening fitted a new bone nut and gave it a set up.It will soon need a refret but apart from that i reckon it`s as good as new plus it has that relic look which so suits Tele types,and this one`s real!!.

I recently phoned Tokai guitars uk ltd to enquire about buying a replacement neck(thought it might be cheaper than a refret)and R.K Murdoch,the managing director answered the phone himself,was very helpful and seemed so enthusiastic about Tokai guitars.

I`ve been playing now for over 25 years,i`m not giging at the moment but do teach beginer`s.I`m currently playing the Breezysound thru a Roland Cube 30,mainly through the clean channel with just a touch of reverb,but have put it through a Sessionette 75,Vox AC30 and a Vox Escort50 in the past.My other current guitars at the moment are a Santa Cruz H 14 fret standard model,see my review for that where i actually mention this Tokai(not realising that i would ever see it again),a Daion Heritage 78 acoustic(rare as hens teeth and going up in value all the time).In the past i have owned a Squier Telecaster,Japanese post JV series but prior to Korean production which had great wood but really poor hardware.An Ibanez artist ar300(very nice),A 1980`S Japanese Epiphone Sheraton re-issue(superbly put together but i thought let down by it`s pickups(i A/B it against a Korean 80`s Antoria Rockstar and thought the Antoria better at less than one third the price!!!).Westone Thunder 2A which was fantastic value,switch on the active circuitry and it could blow your head off!!!.I must admit i do have a penchant for Japanese guitars made anytime between 1977-1985,which i consider to be the second golden age of guitar making in which the Japanese came into their own.My wife i think will allow me the luxury of one more guitar,and that will be a Westone Rainbow Semi one day.Anyway i digress,as for this humble Tokai Breezysound,it can do whatever a very good Telecaster can do,and for that reason i give it a 10 and at a lot less money.A superb guitar and i`m so glad to have her back.Incidently for anyone interested an article with photo of this very guitar can be found in the June 2005 issue of Guitar and Bass Magazine,which has Steve Vai on the cover(God i`m mentioned in the same mag as Steve Vai!!!!!)

2005 Paisley (seems like '60s RI), MIJ. 1 pc. figure maple neck, black dots. Not sure what type of the wood is used for the body. Pretty lightweight, though. Kluson style vintage tuners, 3pc. bridge. No ash-tray. Chrome hardware. 2 MIJ PUs (later on that). Looks like Tele...

Here comes the main part of the story. The original PUs sound good, rather bright but somewhat rounded twang is present. The balance between the two PUs is excellent. What lacks is a character.
I literally robbed buddy of mine who just bought '63 Custom Relic Tele (actually, he wanted PUs with more output) and istalled '63 PUs (cloth wire, staggered polepieces on the bridge PU). Oh, boy! THAT is Tele sound! You can tell that even with your body, not ears! Lotta twang, full bottom. Plays great clean or overdriven.
My setup is Klotz LaGrange cable into Brunetti Overtone all-tube preamp into tube poweramp. Don't need anything else.
Strange enough, Tokai bridge PU doesn't have a still/copper bottom plate. The magnet strip is glued to a black (fiber?) base, that's it. How can you get the twang that way? Just another single-coil...

Straight from the box the guitar set-up was just wonderful: low action, no string buzz whatsoever. Perfect intonation, no pots squeak, stays in tune for weeks. Finish is absolutly perfect. High-gloss nitro on the neck, shiny body. 10 here, no doubt!

Seems like this guitar will last longer than me. Probably will gigging without backup, though noramally I take 2-3 different guitars with me.

Don't know. Perhaps, never will...

Playing 35 years, have/had 20+ guitars (Gary Moore signature LP, LP Standard DC, ES-335, few custom guitars at present). If this guitar were stolen or lost i'd get my money back from the insurance company and buy good ol' Tele from someone.

MIJ c.2004 '62 reissue double bound Tele with rosewood board and vintage pickups. Features? Well this is about as basic as it comes but suffice to say I have never been moved to write a review about a guitar before! I have a PRS Custom 24 (and some others)but this has very quickly become my guitar of choice.

Sounds fantastic!!! Has a real warmth but cuts through the mix just as a tele should. I play this through an all valve Trace Elliot Speed Twin and its great for everything from blues through pop to hard hitting rock. Each pickup suits a variety of tasks and I see no reason why I should upgrade (?) them at any point.

Beautiful guitar, superbly made. Not a piece of art but a real working guitar that looks as good as it sounds. Fantastic retro look with its double bound body and vintage style tuners. Neck (not skunk striped) is a joy to hold. I've had this guitar for more than a month and played it, on average, for more than 3 hours a day (so that's about 100 hours pf playing) and I just can't wait to pick it up again each time I put it down. Everything fits and works as it should - no wonder Fender took a lawsuit out on Tokai!!

I have absolutely no doubt this guitar would stand up to gigging - which I fully intend to do with it. Everything is solid and dependable and I would, if necessary, gig it without a backup (though doubt if I would in reality).

I have no idea and hope I never will!

I've been playing for longer than I care to remember (more than 20 years). I've never had a Tele before but I'm blown away by this one!! I tried US, Mex and Jap Tele's before buying this one (which is actually a slightly altered Fender Jap)but this one was just perfect. I did not buy it on price and would happily have paid more than twice as much for a Fender if I thought it was better - it isn't! Suffice to say this will be with me for a very long time.

this is one hot tele, kicks the fenders tele's ass! no but seriously there is no difference between the 2. Iv only just bort it today, an when i went into the shop i went in lookin for a tokai les pual, but then i got drawen towards this guitar. any way, for 400 GBP its worth every penny. usually you can notice things wrong with a guitar in seconeds within playin it but there is nothing wrong with it! this isnt the best looking guitar ive ever seen but its one of the best. the 2 tone sunburst is just divine!

This guitar can play any sort of style from cool calm an contempery to grunge rock....there is so much variety in the sounds you can make with this guitar, i have a carlsbro wahwah, Boss DS-1 Distortion pedal an a zoom 505 multi FX pedal an you can make every sound you want with this guitar! with this set up you almost sound like john fursciante, only thing extra you need is a mxr 90 phaser

well what can i say. the action of the fretbord is super quick, an the i was plesantly surpprised with the strngs it came with.... nothing wrong with it

well ive only just got it but i can see it with staining any hit!

Not had to us them yet! hopfully never will either!

Well iv been playin for 3 years now an its the best god dam guitar ive ever played an ive played gibsons an fenders an epiphones but this takes the biscuit! this is the closest thing to a fender tele...what am i saying?? this is better! any company that makes copied guitars then gets sued for making to good copy's of there guitars must be amazing! and it is!!

Hook this guitar up with a
-JIM DUNLOP Cry Baby
-Boss DS-1
-Elecrto Harmonix Small clone
-Boss Digital Delay

An she will be the best guitar ever! make sure though you put her throug a nice marshall tube amp!

Mid-80's breezysound telecaster with a six piece bridge.
Ash or alcder body...not too sure.
Bourght for 150 pounds in bath music shop(forget the name)in 85.

I use my tele with a fender frontline 25watt amp and a yamaha Va 10 battery amp when playing smaller venues.
I use a volume pedal and an Ibenez digital delay..mostly I go for a clean,toppy sound with plenty of reverb which rounds the tone off nicely.
I am an improvising guitarist and use as much of the guitar as possible(tapping the neck,using volume drops,plugging in and unplugging,harmonics,ect...)
My tele can take a lot of abuse and has done over the years!
I have lent her to dozen of other musicians and they all wanted to buy her after the gig whatever style of music they played!

Plain wood finish..been repainted several times!
Pick ups fine..bridge a little too sensitive to feedback when cranked up and loads of sustain with neck pick up but a drop in volume between the two.
No flaws to speak of..i needed to play about with the bridge a bit.

Ive been playing this guitar live since the mid-80's,fallen off stage with it and it stayed in tune!Played it violin bows,drumsticks,ect..build to last!
I could do with cleaning the bridge(tad rusty)but hardware is okay cept for dodgy input ive been meaning to fix for a while.
I don't use a strap these days(sit down to play in old age)
I can depend on this guitar for the rest of my playing days!
I only use this guitar..no back up no safety net!

I sold a 72 fender strat to buy this and never looked back!
Too many people are hung up on name brands!The best guitarists ive ever seen have been african with junk guitars but amazing talent and joy in their playing.
If my guitar was stolen..well It would sadden me but I would still have the ability to play which would be a lot worse!

I reckon this one was made between mid 70's an early 80's. The tobacco sunburst body with creme bindings could be ash, because it is not a real light-weight (but still comfortable). The neck is of maple (nothing special, but good quality) with a nice rosewood fingerboard and shows the spaghetti style "Tokai" logo on the headstock. The shape is rather 60's-like, not one of the clubs found on early Teles - nice to play. Despite the fact that the bridge is the copy of an early three-piece brass unit, proper intonation and tuning has never been a problem. The PUs are both "classic" single coils with 3-position switch, volume and tone knob.
So how to rate this category? A Tele is definitely no hi-tech guitar, and the limited number of features is no lack at all.

Alright, when you buy a Vintage style Tele, you're aware that hi-gain is something you'd rather try with different guitars. But otherwise I'm completely satisfied with the variety of sounds from clean to crunch - I prefer the clean sound on my Marshall Valvestate, but with all-tube amps like a good old Peavey Tweed Combo it is fun to really push the pre-volume, especially when you use both pickups. Given that the pickups are original (which I don't know) it is astonishing, that this axe sounds more authentic than many Fender, be it American, Japanese or Mexican. I first thought the bridge pick up was a bit edgy and harsh, but when I lately had the chance to test a new Mexican Tele, I revied my opinion. At least there's a tone knob which does a good job - especially with the neck PU you can achieve nice jazzy sounds. Only the volume pot was not exactly "easy action", so I built in a better one.

Can't tell very much about the state when the guitar left the factory. I like the choice of woods - the body is very fine-grained and you can hardly spot the joint-line of the two pieces it consists of. I mentioned that the three-piece bridge does not cause tuning problems - a little wonder according to vintage Tele lovers. No complaints - a wonderful guitar, the best Tele I ever played.

I very much liked the remark of some other contributor, that a good Tele needs to be dropped from time to time... I bought it used, and the previous owner(s) obviously did not keep it behind glass in the living room. Very good teaching material for the "aging" specialists at the Fender Custom Shop. Still no substancial damages. The plug in was a bit loose, but could be easily repaired.

Did not need them yet.

Hm. Basically, I'm a Strat fan because I think a good Strat is much more versatile and flexible. But when I visited my favorite guitar shop in Hamburg five or six years ago, I saw this Tele and fell in love with it before I ever plugged it in. At the same time, one of the best German guitarists, Markus Deml, rushed in and played it - "great guitar" was his comment. So I knew I had to be quick - I traded an American Standard Strat from the early 90's in for this one and never regretted. I would never use it for a whole gig, but on my rare lead vocal appearances I love its steady companionship - you don't have to turn it loud, but it will lead you through the noise all your bandmates make. And whenever a blues session is up, I will let her tell Tele-tales - she's so expressive...

I'd sure get another one if mine gets stolen or damaged - but I've never seen a similar one all over Germany.

This is really an update on my earlier submission (see below - prchased from Noiseworks in Coventry ....). I had said that it sounded great, but might be better with better pick-ups. well I shouldn't have given it a 10 then because, having now fitted a Seymour Duncan Broadcaster pick-up in the bridge it really does deserve the 10. What's more, I also recently bought a 1972 Fender Telecaster. Comparison?

The Fender pick-ups were bright, but to me a bit on the harsh side, and the guitar didn't really "twang". So I've put a Seymour Duncan 1/4 Pounder in the bridge of the 72 Tele. Now it sounds much better, it has some "twang", but sounds quite different to the Breezysound.

Which sounds better though. Well they bot sound like Teles, but Teles of different eras. On balance though, the Tokai is better. It is more refined (but still a Tele!!) and has that totally gorgeous range of sounds.

As below. Superb. Easily as good to play as the '72, if not better.

It's a Tele / Breezysound. What can go wrong?

So my update is that my new Breezysound is closer to a real Tele than the real 72 one that I have. I have played a few standard US new Teles in shops and they don't come close to either my 72 or the Tokai. Perhaps a US Custom Shop would get there - but why bother when you can get some thing as good fopr afraction of the price. No wonder Fender and Gibson got so worked up about Tokai (and therby did them an enormous favour in terms of marketing).

Basically Fenders (and Gibsons) are way over-priced.

1981 Tokai. OK features, not too many, as you know (Ted McCarthy called telecasters for plank guitars, and he was right).

You can trust me in this: A Tokai Tele is much better than a Fender original. At the same time, I had a Fender and a Tokai, and the Tokai blow the Fender away, completely. Three or four classes better. The frontpickup just kept singing for minuttes, and the treblepickup have that twang.

Nothing wrong (but that couldn't be said about Fenders original).

A simple guitar would not let you down, that for sure.

This is one of the best guitars, I've played. It outranks original Fender Strats and Teles, are more satisfying than most of the Les Pauls, that I've had. Tokais are sumply better buildt, and they sound a lot better than most of the americans.

This is an early-80s MIJ Breezysound; '83 or '84, judging from the transfer on the headstock. Alder body? Not sure. Fabulous, honey-coloured maple neck with medium jumbo frets, beautifully finished. Black, with a white single-ply pickguard. Standard Tele electrics. Six-piece bridge, strung through body.

Bought used, this one has been round the block a few times. Plenty of little nicks, and a big ding on the back, but what the hell? You don't buy one of these to hang on the wall. It's a real plank of a guitar, but wonderful to play. One of the sweetest necks ever to come off a lathe, I'd wager.

I play a mix of stuff, but with blues roots. Like all Teles, a really wide range of sounds, and the tone and volume controls offer nice variation, unlike the either/or pots offered on some guitars. Tone quality? Well, the jury's still out on this one. Compared to the Mex Tele standard that ended up on the dealer's rack in PX for this, the pickups are muddy and lifeless. On the other hand, the playability of the guitar is in another class. But since it's sound we're concerned with here, I'm struggling to get the sweet sound I want in the mixed position, and the bridge pickup is just too rasping for my money. The neck pickup is warmer and richer than the Mex, but a little timid. Everything sounds best with plenty of gain or a full open Cry Baby, so draw your own conclusions. I'm going to give some vintage Fender pickups a try and see if they can lift this guitar into the to-be-buried-with category.

Amps: Kustom valve and Marshall tranny. Mostly pure and simple, but with occasional contributions from a Cry Baby wah and 80s Boss chorus.

Beautiful, low action with no buzzing. Has obviously been worked hard - there's a bit of fret wear near the nut and most of the middle of the neck frets are polished to a high shine - but it's wonderfully playable. Someone clearly spent a lot of time and care fitting the frets, and I can't fault the overall look and feel of any significant part of the guitar. No particular buzzing or crackling. The cosmetic stuff doesn't interest me.

Like I've said, this is a plank. Rugged finish, dings, chips and dents, but loads of character. All the hardware is solid gear: domed pots, top hat selector, and the Gotoh vintage-style pegs keep the thing perfectly in tune for hours on end. Almost needs to be dropped occasionaly to make it feel at home. Bullet proof.

Everyone with experience seems to suggest that Tokai are rubbish in this category, but I can't see myself ever needing them. Even if it falls apart tomorrow, the guitar's already more than earned its keep.

I've been playing for over 25 years. My other guitars are an intensely sexy '81 Ibanez AS200AV semi and a mid-70s nylon string Ovation. Since I've had the Tokai, the Ibanez has hardly been out of its case. I can't play anything that doesn't sound good on the Breezysound - maybe if I was a serious jazzer or metal geezer I'd be happier with the Ibanez, but the Tokai suits me just fine.

With some decent pickups, this would be close to the perfect guitar. If it were stolen, I'd definitely try to find another. If I had loads of dosh, I might consider a really old Tele, although I'd probably end up buying a house instead.

Stock Japanese Breezy Sound. ca. 1979. Blonde maple neck, tobacco sunburst alder body.

great sound. mostly use both pickups, but each has excellent tone. This is the guitar I always wanted.

Best off the shelf tele I ever picked up. Has held same low action for 23 years. Body wood is not matched well, so the back isn't very nice with unmatched laminated wood showing through the glossy finish. Also this guitar had a serious ding on the back from falling off the hanger at the store, but I never look at the back

I added a Hip-shot Bbender, drop-D-tuner. Also, turned the switch plate around (I kept hitting the switch accidently playing rythm) and removed the tone pot which I didn't use. I've had a few offers over the years, but will take this one to the grave. It would be a big loss if it was ripped off.

Tele copy in Candy Apple Red w fosewood board Lefty.
Uaual tele spec and I think a vintage 7.5 radius fretboard camber, probably basswood body. Rated 6 but iy is all I need in a guitar of this type BUT I would like height adj on the neck P/U

I tried a R/H model in the shop prior to ordering this one and everything sounded good.
The L/H model I got had a faulty neck P/U which didn't allow the 1st string to sound, also the pots were wired R/H which is a pain

Neck lovely just a superb big ol 62 Tele feel, frets a bit rough.
Body had joins in the wood visible showing laminates spoiling completely the Candy Red finish. The bridge surround was rough and had coarse tooling marks on it.

Really Bad Quality

Can't comment as this guitar was rejected in the shop

E-mailed Tokai agent straight awayand no reply yet

It was a reject, it should never have been sent to the dealer.
In fairness to Sound Control I was there when they opened the box so they had no chance to attempt rectification, but the flaws were so serious that a new one is on order

OK I don't have great technical knowledge but will describe what I can. This is a new Breezysound, bought in Sept 02. Is is sunburst, with Rosewood neck. 21 frets. All standard as made by Tokai. Has white ribbing around body. I'm told it's a '57 copy. But I may have got that wrong. Body is two piece, I think it's Alder but might be Ash. Usual pick-up / switching combination.

I play a variety of styles. I'm mostly playing rock / R n B stuff at moment but also do alot of open tunings (Richards' style etc) and other things (Johnny Marr type jangly sounds). I play clean. No effects, other than the gain on the amp and reverb. I really believe that you don't really need much else, and too many players hide behing multiFX etc etc. Back to basics - and they don't come much more basic - in the very best sense - that this Tokai Breezysound. You can see - and hear! - why Fender got so uptight about them!!

The sound is just great. It sounds like a Tele. What more can you want? I tried one or two others, including a US Tele and a very cheap Chinese Squire, and this Tokai sounds more like a Tele than those. It has great range, the tone controls actually do something useful instead of just "muffle on / off". I'm told it would sound even better with Fender or Seymour Duncan pick-ups. But it would be more of the same I understand. So same sound just better and more of it. I understand that Tokai keep the price down by using slightly poorer quality pick-ups. As I say, to me it sounds fine, but it might sound better with "real" pick-ups in it. If so, just how good can this guitar get?

Whay can I say? I really don't know how thay do it for the price. I'm told the whole guitar is is CNC machine made virtually from start to finish. Human beings choose the woods and put the strings on at the end. Guess that must be how they reduce costs. It is truely beautiful. It is much better than the US vintage-copy I recentry looked at (and thatw as very good!!). At risk of sounding sad it is so nice you could hang it on the wall and just admire it all day.

However, it begs to be played and luckily, to me, sounds as good as it looks.

It's new so can't comment yet. It hasn't been gigged yet but will be. I don't anticipate any problems. It stays in tune faultlessly. It's real easy to tune to as the machine heads are so well made. As I say I use alot of open tunings and switching between them is a doddle.

I have had no problems with Tokai. Before I bought this from my local shop (Noiseworks in Coventry UK) I contacted Tokai factory and the UK distributor, both of whom replied the next day (email). So they seem fine to me. It's a shame the Tokai website is so poor and very out of date as it really doesn't reflect the quality of this guitar at all. I see much lower quality manufacturers with afr sexier sites.

I've been playing on and off for 25 years. I've owned an original 1982 Squire Strat, one of the first lot over here in the UK, as well as US Strats. If this was stolen a very big part of me would be gone. I would be heartbroken. I've lost one or two things in my life that I've always regreted ( that 82 Squire being one of them ) and you'll have a very hard job wrenching this out my hands.

Just bought this from the Music Live show at the NEC, Birmingham UK. It's a blonde tele with the most lush maple neck you could ever wish for. I have been looking for a great playable Tele for sometime but the best i could find from Fender cost #1,200. The bridge is vintage with through body stringing adding to the overall quality.

I play a variety of styles and have a Les Paul, strat and Mesa Boogie RectoVerb. This Tokai completes my collection. The neck pickup is warm and jazzy when the tone control is used whilst the brifge pickup gives that distinctive tele twag, great for Ska.

The Action is first rate, straight out of the box and into a gig, no problem. The overall finish is far better than the majority of Fenders and knocks any current model Squire or Mex in to a cocked hat; quality at a superb price. Remember Tokai, as i understand it, used to make the best of the Japanese Fenders. In fact, the new Tokai Love Rock comes with the same paisly pattern as on the new Fenders !

Excellent, I am a new fan of Tokai

not needed it yet.

I puchased my Telecaster, in 1983/4 from a guitar shop in Swanage Dorset.It was brand new.It has a solid body with fantastic wood finish with a slight wave effect hard to explain.21 fret maple neck with a really slick action all original fittings except for the neck pick-up,the orginal died on me just as I was starting to record some music, so I replaced with a Fender Telecaster pick-up

This guitar is relatively verstile, from a mellow warm sound to a good clear bright sound. I play it through a JCM800, a great guitar for blues etc. I own a 69 Les Paul and Fender usa strat, and others and this axe is as good as them all.

My guitar fell out the box playing great, but the quality of the bridge could have been much better, slight rusting early on but never got worse.It's not as good as my US made guitars. All other build quality and assembly is excellent.

My guitar has been gigged loads, and never let me down it's still in good condition for it's age with no loose bits, you can definately depend on it

no

I have been playing for 20 years owned my Tokia for about 17/18yrs. There is nothing I dislike about it and would sell it, well not yet. If stolen I couldnt replace it I havnt seen the same finish on any other telecaster to date.

Dont now what year this was made probaly early 70's though. Its got 21 frets, One Volume, One Tone telecaster style 3 selector switch body of the guitar is very soft too soft it dents VERY easily its finsih is a beautiful very dark red with creamy lines arounding the outsides absouloutly beautiful and the quality of the body well exceeds what i paid for it and it worthy of many higher end models. It has great tuners always stay in tune very solid. The only downfloor to this guitar is its bridge i bought this guitar and it was rusty which im sure i could get cleaned up if i tryed but the horrible coil shape ''crosses'' really let its looks down

Well i bought this guitar second hand and i dont know much about the pick ups but i do know that the bridge pick up and give out good resonating tone and the bridge is avergae nothing speacial im going to change the pick ups and hopefully transform the guitar.

This is where it excels Tokai have stoped at no expense to give this guitar ultimate quality and saying that this guitar is probaly about 30 years old and still plays abousutly beautifully with no problems with it show class Stunning

God this thig is too realible solid as a rock never goes out of tune and having known the person i bought it off he gigged with it for over 10 years with no problem brill

Never Had to deal with them

Ive been playing only a short time (1 year) but this is true quality i run it though a basic G15R CD with no effects and its sustain is brill i love the body nd beauty of this guitar but its horrible bridge let it down also it has a few knocks which slightly ruin the apperancce of this guitar was stolen i doubt i would but another one though for two reasons
1)dont think i could get me hands on another one
2)i want something with a bit more class mabye a les paul or sg copy

My email is rockon2k@hotmail.com so any qurys email me also if you live in England i live in wolverhampton and are interested in selling the instrument

Early 80s breezysound,3 x tone sunburst,rosewood neck,two single coils,volumne and tone knobs.
Also comes with vintage type tuners and medium size frets.

This was the main weakness of the guitar when I bought it.

Excellent playability and build quality but the pickups were lifeless.
5 out of 10 until I dropped in a pair of brand new fender vintage tele pickups (at a cost)and the guitar is now transformed.
Great for blues,rock,hm you name it yet still retains tele tones.

These tokais (the early ones)are well worth seeking out.The attention to detail is amazing and the finish first class.
This guitar had been well used now for 20 x years and yet it still plays like a dream and is aging beautifully.
hose guys at tokai really did pull it off with these copies.

This is my main gigging tool.Sounds great,looks the part,never ever goes out of tune and a guitar that you never want to put down.

There is a tokai factory website and I have e-mailed them twice but no-one ever replies.
Having said that I dont suppose nothing will ever go wrong that I cant get fixed.

Ive been playing for nearly 30 x years and own a number of guitars , mostly all fenders USA one of them being a vintage.
Im using telecasters for gigs and I take the best one of all as my no1.
This tokai !!.

I estimate very early 1980s. The Tokai logo is applied using crude letraset transfers. Herein lies a story.
I once lived near a guitar shop where the repairman used to work on the first Tokai's as they arrived in the UK. Fender were so alarmed at the quality that they took action which forced Tokai to change the logo from a dubious Fender homage to a crude 'Tokai'. This also compelled Fender to start the Squier operation to meet the challenge.
So what do we have? Solid body, I suspect its alder. Nice C neck with rosewood board, thin frets, traditional Tele bridge and tuners. Th finish is two-tone 'tobacco burst' with body binding. Oh, and it didn't cost me a penny - a mate had it scheduled for onstage demolition, but I talked him out of it.

The original back p/u was a bit shy, a Seymour Duncan Alnico does the job nicely. The original neck p/u offers an open, slightly underpowered option. The mixed sound is total Tele chime - open, glassy and deep with sweet, sweet top end. The solid body keeps the botton end tight. I play this guitar through loads of things - sansamps, Fender Twins, practice combos. It always sounds great.

When I got this guitar, the frets were turning green....
However the build quality is exception. Everything from wiring (where you can cheat) to finish (where you can't) demonstrates a commitment to quality. The action has settled at medium - this and a set of 11-48s gives you that Tele slice, but with weight and articulation

I use this guitar with no backup. It is completely dependable, as the original designer intended. Its the AK47 of the guitar world - no bits to break off or trem unit to make string breaks a complete disaster.

Never spoken to Tokai. I'm sure they're nice people.

I have wanted to say this for a long time. Compared to a solid body Jap Fender the Tokai cleans up. These guitars are just somehow more musical and sweeter sounding. I really like Fender guitars, and consider myself a 'Tele man' for life, but I firmly believe that the Tokai Breezysound is the best non-US take on the Telecaster you can buy. I recently saw a pristine Breezysound for sale in Denmark Street, London. The price? #450. So if you find one, get it..because everybody else is sure looking.

Bought new in London, 1989. Blonde body, maple neck. Picked it up in the shop and it played at least two notches above anything else I've ever owned. That was before I'd even plugged it in.

When bought, it was equipped with Tele-style pickups (which were OK for Tele sounds but I wanted something a bit more versatile - hence mods), a three-way toggle switch and one Vol, one tone pot.

It now has a Dimarzio stacked humbucker at the neck and a Seymour Duncan similar at the bridge. (sorry, can't remember the exact models - writing this at work). It really rocks! I replaced the volume pot with one that rolls off the volume faster and incorporates a push/pull swicth for coil-tapping both the pick-ups (depending where the selector switch is).

Neck is pretty narrow and has a significant curve on it, but it is also thin. It's great to play, esp for bending.

Only one proviso, really - as has already been mentioned, the body is made out of rather soft wood, so it picks up every ding going. I gave up trying to keep it pristine years ago.

I play rock, rock'n roll, blues, rhythm & blues and a bit of country, and the guitar copes with the lot. It's me that has the problems. I play through a fender twin or a Laney LC15 valve combo. Loads of treble, very little middle, about half the bass, about half the gain usually does it for me. Play through a Boss multi-effects pedal (the old one with real knobs that you can twiddle between songs!) using a bit of overdrive and delay for solos.

Mostly I play with both pickups on. I find the bridge pickup just a bit too hairy on its own except for the fullest-on rock 'n roll. The neck pickup does the business for anythinng jazzy or mellow. Coil tapping on the middle position gives me the country/Robery Cray blues range of sound.

The only problem I occasionally get is sudden feedback if I crank up the overdrive too far. I'm actually teaching myself to do without it.

In the shop, the action was A1, and has remained that way. The only flaw is a slightly improperly fitted pick-guard (which also covers the pickup fittings and wiring). The colour is a kind of washed-out blonde showing the grain clearly - attracts a lot of comments, all complimentary, even now.

It goes on and on. With the proviso of the soft body, I play it everywhere (though sadly that's only about 4 gigs a year these days, but it used to be twice a week). I can depend on it, and I always play it without a back-up.

Never dealt direct. Bought it from the London RockShop in Camden Town, who gave me a Fender case to go with it.

I love this guitar. Because it's not a big name Gibson or Fender, I don;t treat it with the kind of fake reverence that some guitars get. That means I'm not afraid to take it apart, muck about with the pickups, try new configurations (I want to try swapping the pickups around). I've learned more about guitars and how they function becasue of that. I don't know if I'd get another if it was stolen - I haven't seen Tokais around for a while - but if I caught the guy who pinched it...

Purchased new in 1985. Has two Tele style EMG low impedence pickups. Standard Tele 3-way switch. Records very clean. Blond body.

Good quiet clean sound, wide frequency response. Can record straight into the board.
Sounds great through various (nothing fancy) amps.

Everything is just fine, using medium guage strings (rhythm gtr mostly); the wood is soft and you can mark it with a fingernail if you're not carefull. The screws to the battery compartment/electronics look like they'll lose their threads someday. So far they haven't.

This has been well taken care of and is in very good shape.

I've never dealt with the company, but I liked the guitar enough to seek out another, an AST '56 strat.

I focus more on recording these days than on live playing; other guitars are an AST 56 srat by Tokai, a Gittler guitar and an Ashbory bass.
My first guitar was a tele (lame no-name thinline copy circa '80) and I always wanted a Tele that really worked well. This Tokai is great. My first "real" guitar.

Made maybe early 80's where ever they're made.Fairly short scale neck, C radius rosewood.Solid body, possibly alder it's light.not stock any more, I tore out the original p/u's they were too wimpy and stuck in a Mighty Mite Strat p/u in the neck and Seymour Duncan 1/4 lb'der in the bridge, then chucked out the original switches, in favour of a real Tele three way,proper volume pot and a mini toggle for the coil tap in the Seymour. Stock bridge,it's a very good six piece, instead of the old three piece ones, the intonation is great.neck has stock small fret wire, though getting pretty hacked, I'll re fret it with the same stock. really love the neck,not very wide and beautiful C radius, I cannot play flat necks at all.

Sound....big, I guess is the word, I can get a whole night's worth of noises out of it, from the twangy cowboy numbers up to the wonka wonka. my amp setup right now is a '61 Fender Vibrolux, volume on 7, bass on 4 treble on 7.Some might find it a bit bright, but hey, it works for me. I also use a Rockman 100 for my lounge gigs, it is very versatile and makes the guitar sound good at low volume. I tend to be a heavy player, and get heaps of harmonics off the pick, and being short scale,bending notes is a breeze, which I do heaps of, I use 10-46 strings.The only effect I use is a Dynacomp for solos and a volume pedal, only with the amp,but.

The guitar was set up well from the factory, BTW,I haven't mentioned price,cost me $250 Cdn with a huge heavy case of press board, I still have that. erkk. Original pick ups were alright but it played very well right from the start.Also the finish was very good, both with the body and the neck and is still in great nick despite almost twenty years of the stage and studio

this guitar has been my main instrument for 18 years, so far it has been bullet proof, the bridge hardware is losing some of it's chrome but that's to be expected, finish has been good, no signs of too much wear, I jump around a bit on stage and have never lost it yet.
Depend on it, 100% I have for years
I have travelled for several months at a stretch with that guitar only, the only thing I take is extra G strings as it can eat them on occasion, but maybe once a week.

Never spoken to the company, had it repaired, nothing.

how long have I been playing....too long, maybe 35 years.
also own a '71 Ricky 360/6 Delux, '72 Gibson 335,'88 Washburn bass, '70's Espana acoustic.
Anything I should have asked....how many more of these do you have??
If lost or stolen, I doubt if I could get another...I'm always looking.
Really,it was a toss up between the Toaki and a Les Paul...price had nothing to do with it,I didn't know what it was worth at the time.
A couple of it's cousins come to live with it.
A really solid, good sounding beast, it has been my sound for years, nothing else seems to be able to communicate like that

Late 80's or early 90's Japanese made Telecaster copy. This is a customized hybrid model with a rosewood fretboard, bound body, Burgundy-stained laminated curly maple top, six barrel saddle bridge, flat steel bridge plate, and low impedence vintage single-coil tele pickups. The 3-way switch and volume and tone controls are telecaster style. I believe the body wood is Basswood, but it could be Alder. The guitar is quite light and a real player. The neck is nice and meaty without being a bear to play.

With the Rosewood fretboard, Curly Maple top, and Basswood (or Alder) body, the tone is quite full and complex. The low-impedence pickups are a bit on the noisy side, but give a warm and detailed response. The neck pickup stays fairly deep and warm (not twangy). The bridge pickup has much more treble response without getting thin or brittle. The tone control offers a good range of treble roll-off. The volume control rolls off pretty fast.

Overall, it has a deeper and more resonant sound than standard telecasters. It is not as rock n/roll as a Stratocaster, nor does it have the fatness of a Les Paul. Rather it has a sound somewhere in between - meaning it has the clarity of single-coil pickups with the warmth of humbuckers.

I bought this used and it has seen a lot of road wear. The back of the body is pretty well beat up (which is kinda of cool) and the neck has a ding or two. I had to replace the bridge height screws; the nut and jack were replaced by the guitar shop prior to purchase. Tokai's are made very well and the fit and finish is comparable to higher-end models.

This baby has made it through some tough playing and is still going strong. In fact it's just now coming into its prime.

Out of business (for the old models). There is a new company that makes some models, but I don't think that they make strats or teles any more.

My third Tokai and one that seems to end up at the gig. A good sign and a friend for life.