Gibson vs Tokai

Judge for yourself if the Tokai Love Rock compares to a real Gibson Les Paul...
 
This is a Japanese made Tokai Love Rock that a friend loaned me and I did a direct comparison against my 2023 Gibson Les Paul Standard 60's Faded. This is a quick, unscientific review with some audio samples and my personal opinions. My Helix patch is exactly the same for both guitars and I did not adjust any levels, EQ, or anything at all in post.

I hope you enjoy! Please let me know what you think in the comments.

Gear:
Gibson Les Paul Standard 60's Faded w/ Slinky 10-46 strings and Gibson Burstbucker 61 pickups
Tokai Love Rock w/ Gibson 9-42 strings and factory Tokai pickups(unknown)
Line 6 Helix
RME Fireface UCXII
Universal Audio Luna

#gibsonvstokai
#tokailespaul
#tokaiguitar
#gibsonlespaulstandard

[theox]

Wow, the warm tones from the middle pick up on the Tokai are fire!

[ChetKibodeaux]

Awesome Video! I can vouch in saying i have played this same exact guitar live and its dynamite… Im not even a Les Paul guy so wouldn't really be able to tell a difference in comparison, but its very clear, crisp, and plays extremely well. Loved jamming with it live!

[Pooker_CS]

Great video, man! I have an Edwards E-LP 130 ALS, which is owned by ESP and made only in Japan. The Japanese copies of the Les Paul are amazing. Played my Edwards and a '60s Les Paul back to back, and the Edwards felt better in every way—for a third of the price. :D

I would say it's as good as a good Gibson Standard, so if you don't care about the logo, I would definitely recommend the Japanese copies. They play amazing! Got mine used for 760 dollars.

(Not trying to start a war with the Gibson fans in the comments, just wanted to share my experience with these Japanese Les Paul copies.)

Cheers from Sweden! 🎸

[johnsmith-ohxo]

Love Japanese les Paul replica's I own a 1989 Greco EG59-70 Les Paul and it sounds and play's amazing it's a replica of a 1959 Gibson Les Paul....

[geezberry]

i had an LS196 it was better than my LP Standard in every way