D*A*M Forum

how good or bad are they? on a par with Mexico? what would be the pitfalls to look out for? the thing I'm eyeing up is a MIK Tokai

My brother has a couple of Danelectros that I believe were MIK. I don't think he's ever had a problem with them, except for the "binding" tape coming off. My guess for any potential pitfalls would be electronics related, e.g. pots, switches, etc. I personally wouldn't place them quite on par with MIM Fenders, but pretty close.

Yeah I concur. China , Korea, Vietnam , Indonesia are all no goes for me

I owned a Washburn that was made in Korea about 15 years ago. It was a great guitar, build quality was really good.

Doc Holliday wrote: ↑Wed Sep 18, 2019 6:46 pm Yeah I concur. China , Korea, Vietnam , Indonesia are all no goes for me

I think Korean ones are getting better, No?

All the squier stuff nowadays is made in korea is it not? My squier bass vi is a fantastic instrument!!

Hmm.. there’s a lot of stuff on the net which for me personally I don’t buy.
My dad bought a chinese tokai a few weeks ago and the electrics were pretty crap.
Pots were not even Alpha.
Mickey Mouse wiring and ceramic caps.
His plan was to put in some SD pickups and put cts pots with switcraft switch etc to bring it up to a Japanese model level.
Personally for what you can get some Japanese models for I’d sooner just picked up a MIJ one.

It looked and played like a Epiphone to me but just didn’t feel like a Japanese model.

I know there’s a lot on the net atm with people on the gear page for instance saying there’s not much difference between the woods these days etc but I don’t know whether I buy that.

My dad also likes to tell me his Epiphone tribute pro he has is virtually a Gibson without the logo because it has 57 pickups , Grover tuners , 2 piece back etc with long neck tenon.
Still... for £450 I’m guessing although the wood is mahogany there’s different qualities and I’m guessing Epiphone use a cheap type hence the price plus being made in China.

Sorry I know I’ve gone off track as this is referenced to Korea models but although I hear they’re a step up from the Chinese models I still don’t buy there on par with the Tokai Japan models

For me personally I’ll stick to US and Japanese

the problem for me though, as a lefty I don't have that luxury so when something pops up that you have been looking for for a while then you have to have a wee think about it. I agree if it was china etc I wouldn't look at it but just thought Korean made guitars are not as bad as people think

Here it be, its had a couple of mods - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tokai-Firebi ... %7Ciid%3A1

Plus side is its local (for once) so might go and check it out

If it were me I’d knock it down a little further. That way if you change your mind you’ll get your money back. Being able to play it is a def pro.
I’d also put some lemon oil on that fret board too ;)

Nice guitar though colour looks great

Go play it, inner, and take it from there. These days it doesn't really matter where a guitar is made - all CNC machines are the same - and the quality of "cheap" guitars has improved exponentially over the last 15 years or so. There'll be good ones and bad ones. Get your hands on it and see what you think.