Another green guitar, in fact.
Pr0n first, then words.
Well, it came with a case. Let's open it.
Hmmm... it says "made in Japan" on it.
Let's flip the headstock around, see what we got here...
Hmm, a Tokai? That doesn't look like a headstock they'd put on a Gibson clone...
Blurry pic of nice wide, slim-side-of-medium-thickness neck:
Ending at quite a small neck heel:
And two cutaways? Hmmm...
Hang on, that looks like the outline of a PRS.
Let's flip this bad boy round!
Yep - nice thick quilted maple cap, lovely carved top a la USA-made PRS models... 24 frets, compensated wrap-around bridge, and in fact, two aftermarket DiMarzios - a Super Distortion bridge and a PAF neck.
Let's zoom out.
So there it is - my Japanese-made Tokai PR100, probably made in around 2000 (making it the oldest guitar I own). It's beautifully made and finished, and it plays and sounds fantastic. My guess at the weight would be around 9 lb, making it a little heavier than I was expecting - it's approaching the same thickness as a Les Paul, and has a genuine quilted maple cap, which is quite a hefty slab of wood in itself. It sounds relatively dark plugged in, as well. It sounds a lot like a Les Paul, but it plays a hell of a lot better than most I've tried, and access to all 24 frets is fantastic.
I did some digging on this, which wasn't easy given that they were never sold in the UK, there are probably only a few in the country and no-one seems to really know anything about it, not even on the Tokai forums. I did work out that the model number corresponds to the price it sold for new, in Yen. This is a PR100, so it sold for 100,000 Yen new in Japan - taking inflation into account, that's equivalent to about a grand now. I didn't pay anywhere near that much for it...
I am so fucking chuffed, seriously, you have no idea.
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Enjoy, young Bucket, enjoy.
“Theory is something that is written down after the music has been made so we can explain it to others”– Levi Clay
Ringleader of the Cambridge cartel, pedal champ and king of the dirt boxes (down to 21)
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"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
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