# fakai questions



## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

i've heard some buzz here and there on this forum about the fakai LPs. i know they're collectible. 
what i am wondering is, how much you might expect to pay for a nice example.

also, as a guitar, how do you like them? any issues with them?


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## Sneaky (Feb 14, 2006)

Huh????????? (extra question marks added to meet minimum character quota)


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

a Fakai?...huh...never even head the name...LOL. what's next..amps called ****All?


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## edward (Jan 27, 2009)

That's a fake Tokai isn't it? Does that make it a fake fake?


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

yes, a fakai is a fake tokai


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

Here's mine...










Note the pot layout - like a PRS SC rather than a Les Paul. The truss rod cover has one screw instead of three. On the back of the headstock it says 'Make in Korea'. The serial number starts with 03***** to 05*****. Tokai never numbered their MIK guitars like this. They were made at the same factory as Dillion Canada guitars. They were made according to specs provided by the Tokai distributor in Canada, but not authorized by Tokai in Japan. Word has it that specs are better than real MIK Tokais. I would say this is very possible I like mine.


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

it's very nice looking. 
how do you like it?
what would/did you modify?
what would be a fair price for one like that?


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## bobb (Jan 4, 2007)

Just for fun, here's mine:










2004 with the controls in the correct place. All stock, plays great feels great.


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

cheezyridr said:


> it's very nice looking.
> how do you like it?
> what would/did you modify?
> what would be a fair price for one like that?




I like it very much - just as good or better than most LP studios I've tried. When I traded an amp and a little cash for it, the guy had already put Grovers on, had the wiring changed to 50s with PIO caps, a bone nut and Rio Grande pups installed. So this thing rawks! 

I like the neck - chunky, and the profile feels like a cross between a C and a D. Frets feel like medium jumbos. I'm guessing the radius is no more than 12.

The trade value was $500 and this was before I found out it was a Fakai. The Tokai faithful over at the Tokai forum feel these are the devil's spawn. I'm not sure of the fair value, some feel a fake is fake and wouldn't even give you half the cost of the upgrades, so... it depends.


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

bobb said:


> 2004 with the controls in the correct place. All stock, plays great feels great.




Yeah, I've noticed a few like that. I think someone here from Nfld. had a goldtop one on sale here like yours one or two years ago. 

In the last month, someone had one with the PRS SC pot layout for sale on Toronto's Craigslist. There was a picture of the back of the headstock, which was a dead give away. He did not acknowledge it was a Fakai or MIK. I replied to him in detail that it was a Fakai and why - I directed him to the Tokai Registry. He wanted _(choke) _$1500 for it. He didn't respond and it is no longer listed.


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## smorgdonkey (Jun 23, 2008)

Robert1950 said:


> just as good or better than most LP studios I've tried.


I always find this to be a strange statement.

Studios are built with the same quality as any Gibson model - they just don't have the 'fancy' attributes like binding and so on, so...what about the Standards or Customs (or other models) that you tried?


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

smorgdonkey said:


> I always find this to be a strange statement.
> 
> Studios are built with the same quality as any Gibson model - they just don't have the 'fancy' attributes like binding and so on, so...what about the Standards or Customs (or other models) that you tried?


I've tried more Studios than standards and other higher priced LPs because I didn't want to torture myself.


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

thanks robert, and others


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## smorgdonkey (Jun 23, 2008)

Robert1950 said:


> I've tried more Studios than standards and other higher priced LPs because I didn't want to torture myself.


HAHA!! Ok, I got you now man...I know that feeling!


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

Isn't there a whole bunch of fakey fakeys of other fakey fakeys?:rockon2:


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## edward (Jan 27, 2009)

What the fake are you talkin' about?


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

Just to clarify - a Fakai is a fake Tokai. The most famous is the Canadian Fakai. The Canadian Tokai distributor could not the specs he wanted for a MIK Tokai to distribute in Canada so he went to the people who manufactured Dillion guitars for the Canadian market and they built guitars to the specifications he wanted,... and they put Tokai on the headstock. They are considered by many to be better than the MIK Tokais.


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

Robert1950 said:


> Just to clarify - a Fakai is a fake Tokai. . They are considered by many to be better than the MIK Tokais.


The many that consider the Fakai is better than the MIK Tokais would they be the owners of the Fakai?


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## bolero (Oct 11, 2006)

wow, a fake replica of a replica, I'm getting confused


maybe they can use that in the plot of the next "inception" movie...

are no tokai's made in japan any more? and what exactly is different about the specs? looks like a les paul to me?


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## bobb (Jan 4, 2007)

FlipFlopFly said:


> The many that consider the Fakai is better than the MIK Tokais would they be the owners of the Fakai?


Actually, that's what started the whole stink. MIK Tokai owners elsewhere in the world were upset that the Canadian versions were better than their Tokais. Add in a couple very vocal "eckspurts" on the Tokai forum screaming fraud, the Cdn distributor should be tarred and feathered, etc. Mix liberally and watch the fun begin. :zzz:


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## smorgdonkey (Jun 23, 2008)

bobb said:


> Actually, that's what started the whole stink. MIK Tokai owners elsewhere in the world were upset that the Canadian versions were better than their Tokais.


 I have heard a lot of that as well. All I know is that I bought one thinking that it was a 'real' Tokai, found out shortly thereafter that it was counterfeit but marvelled at the build quality...after I got rid of the terrible pickups that were in it I am completely happy with it. 

I played MANY MIJ Tokai guiatars in the 1980s and they weren't to the build quality that this 'fakai' is...now mine is a 335 style and the ones I played back int he day were Les Paul style but it doesn't take much to leave the style out of it and critique the attention to detail and the build itself.

Anyway, it is my experience with the 1980s Tokais that gets me laughing and shaking my head when I see people talking about 'how much better' their Tokai is than real Gibsons. Yeah...and the Kraft Dinner that I had the other day was better than the time I ate at Le Caille On The Bow when I lived in Calgary.


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

It goes against human nature for humans in general to think that the item they bought is less of a product, whether it be a guitar or jelly beans, than the original, even though they may have paid a lot less. 

Have you ever listened to a Ford and Chevy pick-up truck owner talking about their trucks to one another? Apparently, they are both better than the other one. I kid you not! There is no way they could be prejudiced, could they?


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## Twhouston (Feb 12, 2011)

Regarding the "fake" Tokais. I am not sure if that is really true. I found this interview on the net (Q&A's with Mr. Shohei Adachi, president of Tokai Gakki at http://freenet-homepage.de/bluezz_ba...nterview.txt):

A11: As you know [our Korean licensing partner] made some LS models for our Canadian distributor without our permission. I met his president at Music China [Fair 2005] and we asked him not to make our LS models to our Canadian distributor any more and he accepted our proposal. I think they are still making Dillion guitars for Canada and USA. So I believe no more faked Tokai guitars in Canada. Now we are talking to our new Canadian distributor. So we believe faked Tokai guitars will be disappeared in Canada soon.

So if that is true, technically thise guitars are MIK Tokais , just sold without Tokai's permission. Basically Canadian distributor tried to "cut the middle man". If that is true, those might became a collectors item down the road 

As for me, I decided to go with J&D Les Paul copy, LS500, picking it up today.
Fret City Music Online Guitar Store - J&D LS500 Electric guitar

Regards,
TWHOUSTON


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