Tokai Guitars. Any good?

Bill Hicks

Our lead singer/guitarist tells me that I should buy a Tokai Strat cos they're better than Fender ones!
Any truth in this?
I can buy one off of fleabay for around £250. I can't see any online reviews for this Jap make.

Anyone own one? If so what are they like?

Cheers.

charvelj

Lead singers/guitarists always say that   They don't want you to have a better guitar than them !

Go for a fender........ it will have a better resale value.

KelvinS1965

They used to have a good reputation among guitarists a few years back. They did a '57 reissue IIRC that was pretty damn good. Having said that I've got a Japanese '57 reissue Squire Strat myself, but I always thought my cousin's Tokai played very well.

Disclaimer: I'm about 20 years out of touch.

charvelj

Any half decent guitar will play well if it is set up correctly

jamesrt2004

any guitar will play well if it is used correctly (well)

Radiation

I think you need to raise your standards higher than Fender and Tokai. Make some research into some of the independent brands rather than the big name companies that make poor quality guitars and charge for their name on the headstock. You will be pleasantly suprised.

Bill Hicks

Any clues as to who is best (And cheapest )

charvelj

What type of guitar are you looking for ?
What shape ?
If your looking for a strat type have a look at the Godins

You would be better going into a guitar shop and seeing what floats your boat.
Most guitars will play well with a good setup.

Bill Hicks

I ended up buying a Squire Telecaster Custom II.
Traded in my old Squire Jazz Bass and got £90 for it, so only paid an extra £99 for the Tele.  Plays better than most of the others I tried surprisingly enough including original Fenders! And a lot nicer to play than my Epiphone Les Paul!

See link....Squier® Guitars by Fender®: The Official Website

KelvinS1965

I bought a basic Squire Tele a few years ago just to sling in the back of my car to practise on when I was working away from home...a little practise headphone amp and I was happy without disturbing the other hotel guests. Eventually I picked up some Fender pickups and put them on it and made a surprising difference, as the neck, action, etc suits me it's made a good but inexpensive addition to my collection.

I've got an Epiphone Les Paul too, so you're in good company.