Tokai LS-70F Love Rock

My full review is at http://www.drpickup.com/tokaias70/tokaias70text.html

Very low action, probably too low for slide. Buzz free neck
An excellent neck shape and good fret finish
A light guitar with great workmanship and finish
This guitar has the sound.

This Tokai guitar has THE sound
The pickups are both clear on clean and everything you can expect from a Les Paul Standard and then MORE
Great pickup balance - sustain on tap even when playing clean

The neck inlays don't look like a high end custom shop finish but like a regular Gibson Les Paul Standard finish with little bits of filler.
As this doesn't affect the playability or sound when I have + 5K US I'll pickup a Gibson Custom Shop where I expect the workmanship to be at least as good as on this Tokai.
Am I complaining? No way at this price (a third of the Gibson list price).
At that price this is a lot of guitar for the money.

Better than the original Gibson Les Paul Standard?
Yes, but maybe not a Custom Shop Gibson at more than 5 times the price:-)

Compared to a new Gibson Les Paul the Tokai is a very faithful reproduction with the right feel, action, neck, sound and an incredible quilt maple top for a fraction of the real thing reissue. Sorry about the oxymoron!

I have heard that Tokai have agreed to stop (I don't know whether it is manufacture or distribution) this particular model by the end of 2002 at Gibson request. They have agreed to change the shape of the headstock and the cutaway horn.

My conclusion if you have the money get yourself the real thing - a Gibson Les Paul Standard, if you want to renew your affection for Les Paul's, get one of the Tokai's cheaper and that will probably make you want to have the real thing even more!

This is another link to another Tokai
http://www.drpickup.com/Tokai0902/Tokaitext0902/tokainew.html

see other reviews

I play rock-metal, it isn't the greatest for metal just becasue of the difficult upper fret access as with all les pauls. For rock however, this is absoloutely amazing, it sounds beautiful, I play it through an Ashdown peacemaker with a Marshall bluesbreaker 2 (a boss metal zone for metal). This guitar sounds so rich and majestic, I love strats but this just sounds so much more grown up. It can feedback a fair bit at high volumes and I may get the pickups wax potted as they are not already. For bluesy rock to guns n' roses attitude this kicks ass! it is Quite high output and maybe slightly less ballsy pickups may work better for when you want to use the volume controls to clean it up, if I get the money I may put some Seymour Duncans in, but even with the standard pickups the sound is awsome.

the factory set up was not the best I have seen but not the worst, I play in e flat and the factory 9s were too low, I have put on some "skinny top, heavy bottom" Ernie Ball strings 52-10 and these sound really nice and respond well. The top on this guitar is a lovely flame however there were a couple of tiny dings from the paint that I only noticed after a couple of weeks of ownership, whether Tokai's, the shop's or my falut I dont know but they were a bit annoying. Pickup selector is a tiny bit scratchy as well, having said this, I picked up 5 Gibsons before I tried this, the first three! yes three! had bent necks, the next had been wired upside the wrong way round and only the last one I tried was good. The tokai is as good as the Gibson and is so much cheaper.

I don't play without backup guitars just in case a string goes for example, but apart from that I would not have a problem with gigging with this without a backup, it all seems pretty solid, the only worry being the fact that les-paul and sg necks have a tendancy to break so if you dont think you are gonna be too careful with it, look elsewhere i.e. fender!

not needed

before this I had a Fender Strat, I also play an Ibanez Prestige, I play through the Ashdown peacemaker with. This is a great guitar, forget about lusting for a Gibson and try this, I love Gibsons (when i find a working one,) but this is so similar, for the price, at least for those on a lesser budget, there is no choice, you have to have this. I would only go for the Gibson if money was no object, and only for the name. Beautiful sound, just realise upper fret access aint great, as with any les paul, you will not be dissapointed!

What more can be said?

The Tokai Love Rock is a single cut-away deisgn guitar, based on the 24.75" / 628mm scale length. It has a mahogany body, with a maple cap, this model has a flamed sycamore veneer over the maple cap. The neck is glued (set) in to the body with a long tenon, and is mahogany with a rosewood fingerboard and a 17 degree pitch headstock. Hardware is vintage style equipment, made by Gotoh of Japan, the tuners are plastic button Kluson copies which are light and accurate, pickups are chrome covered Gotoh Vintage Mk II's, which are a PAF voiced pickup, a Tune-o-Matic style bridge and Stop Bar Tail piece. Controls include 2 volume controls & 2 tone controls & 1 3 way pickup selector switch on the upper bout. Finished in a modern polyurethane varnish. No case included, but I bought it second hand.

It's a Lester "replica" basically.

Mine is Indigo Blue, built in 1999 (with mustasch/open bok headstock), in which I have installed a Seymour Duncan '59 in the neck, and a Seymour Duncan JB in the bridge position, as well as Schaller strap locks. It looks, sounds, feels and plays better than the US built equivalent guitars which cost twice to three times more.

It emulates a classic Lester perfectly. It can rock out, it can get low down, smokey jazz, and all stops inbetween. The stock pickups, not being wax potted, can tend to be a tad microphonic when shown some amp gain, but sound superb, giving that really PAF tone that is so sought after for classic rock & blues.

I changed the stock pickups on mine to Seymour Duncan 59 & JB pickups, which are well behaved when shown some gain, and have a real clarity of sound. I must admit that I kind of wish I'd kept the stock pickups in there, but the SD's are superb though.

I bought the guitar second hand (I traded in a lesser model Tokai Love Rock Custom for it), so there were a few knocks to the finish.

Generally, the finish is really well done, with very few, if any, finish flaws, binding is well executed, and there isn't any hint of filler on the "crown" fretboard inlays. Frets seem well fitted & finished, except there are one or two at the body end of the guitar, on the bass side, which have lifted a fraction, enough to notice, but not enough to interrupt playing.

There have been a number of complaints about the neck, as it tends to be described as "one piece" mahogany. This is true for the neck as a whole, from headstock to the end of the long tenon body joint, except that there is a tiny piece joined on at the heel (where the neck & body meet). In my opinion, this does not affect the tone of the guitar, as it is a small piece of wood in a relatively insignificant (tone-wise) area. You have to look really closely to see it anyway, as it is blended in really well.

This guitar is not a "budget" copy, but a solid replica that equals the modern "original", even down to '59 spec headstock angle and thin binding in the cut-away (so you see a tiny bit of maple showing through). Ever wonder why the big G made such a big fuss about the 2002 model (while it was threatening lawsuits to smaller manufacturers)? OK, so it was the 50th anniversary of the models introduction, but don't you think that the big G was a tad concerned about the cheaper, better quality replica's?

It's built to last, the hardware is solid, the electrics are of good quality and it is dependable. You could use it without backup quite safely.

Don't know, never dealt with them! Never had to.

I owned a Gibson LP Studio, and was looking for a backup for that. I bought an Epi Classic Birdseye LP, and it was an awful guitar to play, then I stumbled across a Tokai Love Rock Custom, which was stunning. The Epi went to get the Tokai, the Gibson went back in the case, and the Tokai became my main guitar. After a while I was GAS-ing for something else, and stumbled across this blue LS70F, it played wonderfully, and sounded superb, so the Custom went and Bluey came home with me. The Gibson stayed in its case. After a couple of years, the Gibson came out less & less frequently, until I realised one day that it had not been used for a long time. It went to go towards a Vintage Sunburst LS70F whose flame was stunning, and still had the stock pickups (unfortunately that one is no longer with me as I had to have a collection cull recently!). Bluey is not going anywhere without me!

These guitar's are definite "keepers". Basically, they're hand built in Japan (don't confuse the Korean one's with the Japanese built one's, though the Korean built one's are far superior to the Korean Epiphone's) and built solidly and well.

Overall rating, try a Tokai Love Rock today, chances are, it'll go home with you! (They're competitively priced too, and even better value second hand!)

Tokai Love Rock model,which is a pretty good replica vintage style les paul.Great features...mahogany body & neck,carved maple top & this one that ive just purchased has a book matched quater sawn flame top finished in tokai's violin burst which appears to be like an aged or mellowed vintage burst finish.Rosewood fretboard,medium sized frets;correct headstock angle,giving correct vintage style string tension.All other hardware is vintage style.Tokai's MK2 vintage H/Buckers.No hardshell case with this model,but for the price... who could really complain.

Sounds extremely good.Typical fat sustaining Les Paul tones.Deep& rich with good body to the sound.Through a Blues Deville(4 tens)tube amp this guitar matches up well& sounds fantastic.Jazz,Blues& Classic Rock are the key sounds best suited for this setup& my preferance here.This guitar can cop anything from Dicky Betts to Gary Moore& plenty in between.Very quiet p/ups& switching.A powerful& very nice guitar to play..(A pleasure). Great P/ups too.Very authentic sounding.

Great finish. Very good action/setup from buying it new.All controls work well with good feel& sensitivity etc.Hardware is nickle, good machine heads(vintage style)I owned a Tokai L/paul 57 GoldTop 10 years ago,and was sorry I sold it.That guitar was also very good,so I feel Tokai's are probably consistant with their product quality.I have no comlaints at all.If anything I'm amazed at the quality of this guitar & the cost of such a detailed instrument.

Well built, good hardware.The finish appears to be of high standard.I would use it without a backup guitar.It will be interesting to see how the finish stands up to wear/tear,as I plan on having this guitar with me for a very long time.I cannot afford a Gibson Historic 1959 reissue L/paul,so this one fills the gap beautifully.I have played this guitar with a band once since buying it just recently and it stood that test with no worries at all.Once again a pleasure to play.

Warranty?? Yes. 12 months to cover the possibility of defective materials or/and W/manship. Too early to really know,but this guitar is of a very good standard. Never delt with Tokai .Never had to.

Been playing 18 years.Owned plenty of guitars over the years.This one is definatly one of the best electrics i've played,with the exception of a Gibson Historic reissue 335.I love pretty much everything about this guitar, even the weight is good for a L/paul style guitar.I did compare this to a Gibson L/paul Standard (New)& prefured the Tokai for it's Tone,Feel,Appearance&lastly it's VERY friendly price.If it were stolen I'd buy another for sure.Amazing guitar (Thankyou Tokai).

Japanese Les Paul, year of production 2000, all the usual les paul features, mine is in a magnificent violin burst with a stunning flame top, equivalent of tea burst. The body and neck are mahogony and the top is solid sycamore, not laminated.Rosewood fingerboard which is nice and dark. Vintage voiced humbucking pickups. I got a Tokai vintage type case with pink lining, just like old Gibson ones.

I play mostly Blues and Rock, not very well I might add. I cant comment on what this guitar would sound like on stage, wound up, but for me it really does sound superb, I play it through a Tech 21 Trademark 10, POD 2, V-AMP using various other effects, I also own a Gibson Les Paul Standard and I can honestly say that for looks, feel and playability I prefer the Tokai, although I would never part with the Gibson

The setup when I got the guitar was faultless, no adjustment was needed. The bookmatching on the top is perfect, the best I have ever seen on any guitar at any price.

As I dont play live I cant really comment on this, except to say that the quality is such a high standard that I cant see why it would not last a lifetime.

I have met the guy who runs the U.K distribution for Tokai, infact he personally brought the case for my Love Rock to the North West Guitar show for me, as it wasnt available when I bought the guitar. He was very helpful, but buying a Tokai is not as easy as buying a Gibson or a Fender. (the 9 is for Nick, not for Tokai or Bonecat Music, where I bought the guitar)

I have been playing for 3.5 yrs and have a collection of 17 guitars, including a Fender 62 reissue, Fender American series strat, 2 Fender Cali strats, Gibson Les Paul, SG, ES 335, B.B. King Lucille. I am waiting on delivery of a Burns Brian May Signiture. Because I play in the bedroom/studio I cant, unfortunatly, make a lot of noise, hence all the amp modeling gear, which is a god send. I write and record my own stuff on a Boss BR8, which is great. I have bought and sold many other guitars, but the ones I have now are all keepers. My two favourite guitars, the ones I play most, are my sunburst Cali strat and the Tokai. I wouldnt be without my Gibson Les Paul (if you have a guitar collection, you have to have one) but I would have to say that I would not have paid #1,500 plus for one, mine cost me #850 second hand (6 months old) and is worth that, but overall, in my opinion, the Tokai is the better of the two, and I would have to replace it if it were stolen.

2001 model, Les Paul style, made in Japan. Mahogany body, flamed sycamore top. Chrome Vintage PAF humbuckers, plus all other LP features.

Run it through a Marshall AVT 50 amp. Play blues. Sounds fantastic given my limited ability, friends who've been playing longer rate it as superb, and all want one.

Set up with an excellent low action by supplier. Have changed the strings to Super Slinky 9s. The quality of construction and finish is stunning. Absolutely no flaws. Flame top is almost perfect.

Too early to tell, looks fine so far.

1 year warranty, supplier was very helpful. Tried contacting importer direct - no response.

Only been playing 9 months. Wanted a Gibson Les Paul, (Green,Page, Moore fan). Tried a couple of Gibson Les Paul Standards, Gary Moore Signature Gibson and numerous Epiphone equivalents. To me the Tokai beat them all. It may not have Gibson on the headstock, but I challenge anyone to find a better made and finished guitar of this type for the price. Almost #1,000 less than a Gibson Les Paul Standard in the UK, completely different league than Epiphone. If you can live without the US name on the top bit, track down and try one of these. You will not be disappointed.