Tokai LST-33M

I'm re-reviewing this guitar after owning it for a while. I wrote my first review the second day I had it. I can see why Harmony Central asks you to wait. I think I wanted to give this guitar a low score because it was not an American Strat. But the more I live with it, the better I realize it is.

This is a standard Strat copy-type guitar. Solid alder body, solid maple neck with rosewood board. It is supposed to be a re-issue of a 69's model Strat, and the hardware matches it pretty close. Because Strat's seem to have it all you gotta give this a high score.

Sounds awesome. Very strat like. Very blusey. Just awesome. Pickups like most Strats are noisy. Apparentlly in the 60's they hadn't discovered the reverse winding technique they do now on the middle pickup.

Frets are perfect. Beautiful, shiny and round. Not a buzz to be found. This has better action and less buzzing than any Fender or Gibson I've ever owned. And I've owned a bunch. This guitar makes me feel like I have been getting ripped off all of these years of buying expensive guitars.

To adjust the relief you have to remove the neck. One of the neck screws was a little crooked. The hardware is a little cheap, but then again, it was cheap on the 60's Fenders as well.

The "sustain block" (part of the vibrato) is kinda cheap. The pots and switch is on the cheap side. The pickups seem fine.

Moderately durable. Pots, wiring, switch are things I would replace. Other than that seems pretty reliable.

I emailed the company in Japan, but haven't heard back. I doubt if there is a warranty. The dealer was ok.

Been "playing" for 40 years. I love this guitar, and I'm hoping the current crop of Tokais are all this good. I plan on buying a few more including their 335 and Les Paul styles. I might even look at a Tokai accoustic. At these prices and at this quality level, I could buy every style I've ever dreamed of, and then some. Just to keep the snob side in check I'll hang onto at least one of the expensive ones.

Strat copy, made in Korea. Since I've never owned a Japanese Tokai, I'm thinking this must be there cheaper line. Features a solid alder body, one piece maple neck and rosewood fingerboard. Typical strat layout. While the wood is good quality, it's kind of a lightweight in the hardware department; comparable to a Mexican Strat in that regard. Pots are cheap, switch is no more than adedquate, tuners, while cheap do work good and the sustain block in the tremelo is half as thick as an American strat. Weird way to save money. Because decent hardware is a feature in my book, the score goes down somewhat.

Sounds strat-like. The pickups are suprisingly hot. It seems like Tokai is going for that Texas sound. They are a little thin and they are very bright. If you fiddle with the amp for a while you can get it to sound pretty good. It's easier to get a Stevie sound than a Ventures sound. Pickups will probablly have to go.

Paint is nice. Neck pocket tight. Most of the screws are in straight. I had to take the neck off to adjust the truss rod, and decided to take off the pickguard assembly while I had it apart to have a look under the hood. Not much shielding going on. Hardware inside is cheap. It's routed for a humbucker in the bridge position. A way to save money I'm sure.

It wasn't really set up. I adjusted the string height, tremelo claw, intonation, truss rod, and pickup height. All were pretty far off. The nut is cheap but cut pretty well. The frets and neck are very good. It seems like this guitar was built good enough so you can fix it up and have a pretty decent guitar. If you own one, I'm sure you'll agree that it needs new hardware and a decent setup.

Everything is solid except the pots, switch, and the wiring. Tuners are cheap, but they work. Suprisingly when using the tremelo it stays in tune. I think I'd bring another guitar along if I ever used this thing in public.

I emailed the company in Japan. No response. I do admit that my Japanese is a little on the weak side.

While this is nowhere near my custom shop Strat, it's every bit as good as an American Standard provided you upgrade the hardare and pickups. Of course that will cost about $400 and then you are at about the same level pricewise as an American Strat.