Tokai UALS62?

[irishmilkbottle]

I’m thinking of buying this, but am wondering how does it compare to an Epiphone or Gibson LP?

[ezbass]

 

I had a Tokai Love Rock many years ago, I only have good memories of it. However, I can’t help in terms of a comparison as I didn’t try Epi or Gibson LPs at the time.

[EdwardMarlowe]

For my money, the Tokais are at least as good as the Epiphone equivalent, with their higher end stuff as good as the equivalent Gibson, but more affordable. Depending on what you want, they're sometimes a "better" spec than the production line Gibsons. Some years ago, I was considering a white LP Custom type. At that point in time, the Japanese Tokai was 2/3 the price of the Gibson, plus it had the "correct" (per original Custom spec) *mahogany* top that Gibby didn't do (a few minor cosmetics aside in those days the only significant difference between the Custom and the Std were the pickups - and for a time even those were the same). 

To be entirely fair I've not compared the *latest* Epiphones (new headstock) against the Tokais, but at least before that the Tokais were actually visually much closer to the Gibson than the Epiphones, if that matters to you. 

FWIW, Tokais seem to hold their resale value pretty well in my experience, if that is part of your decision making process. They do seem to be much rarer now than they were at a time in the UK - I hear this is to do with the drop in value of the pound making them a lot more expensive than they used to be at UK prices. 

When I last looked at them (pre-plague) the Korean made Tokais were, to my judgment at least, a notch above the Epiphone brand, while the Japanese ones were at least as good as Gibson (subject to any personal preferences in specs). Even the export headstock (if you buy one made for the Japanese market, it's identical to the Gibson) was much closer to the Gibson than an Epiphone; I've mistaken Tokais for Gibbys at first glance, which  - at least before the switch to the "almost correct" headstock couldn't be said for Epiphones. If that matters to you, of course: it may not. 

At the price of a Japanese Tokai now I might rather look at something from Gordon Smith, though again what Tokai offer is, I think, visually closer the Gibson if that is what you're after - YMMV.