Tokai TLC-60 (LC-60) 1984 - Black Finish - Les Paul Custom - Black Beauty - 1957 Refine Model - With Original Hard Case - Made In Japan - MIJ

Used 1984 Tokai TLC-60 (LC-60) - Tokai's 1957 Refine Model - Les Paul Custom - In the always classic gloss Black finish - All mahogany construction - Nearly all original - With original Tokai hard case - Made in the "golden era" of Japanese guitars by the highly revered Tokai factory in Japan - MIJ.

• Serial Number: 4016242 (1984)
• Body: 2 piece mahogany top on a 3+ piece mahogany back
• Neck: mahogany (likely 1 piece)
• Fretboard: Rosewood
• Fretboard Radius: About 10"
• Fret Edge Binding: Yes
• Inlays: Acrylic pearl inlays
• Frets: 22 x Medium Jumbo (1.07mm tall x 2.7mm wide)
• Nut Width: 43.5mm
• Width at 1st Fret: 44.31mm
• Width at 12th Fret: 52.4mm
• Thickness at 1st Fret: 21.78mm
• Thickness at 12th Fret: 24.75mm
• Nut: Bone
• Tuners: Gold Tokai Deluxe Kluson style tuners
• Bridge & Tailpiece: Gold plated Japanese made ABR style bridge and tailpiece
• Pickups: Original Tokai '57 P.A.F. Vintage MK II with gold coves (back plate stickers in tact)
• Neck Pickup Resistance: 18.28K ohm
• Bridge Pickup Resistance: 18.34K ohm
• Pots: Original pots & PCB board (no date stamps on the pots)
• Strings: Ernie Ball Super Slinky 9-42 - E Standard tuning
• Weight: 8.86lbs
• Non Original Parts: Strap buttons (Gotoh EP-B1 gold finish), jack plate (from another 1984 Tokai, so should be the same)
• Case: Original Tokai black tolex case with green interior
• Truss Rod: Works as expected

Who doesn't love a Black Beauty? This is a 1984 Tokai TLC-60, which Tokai called the 1957 Refine Model, which is - you guessed it - a copy of the 1957 Gibson Les Paul Custom. This model first appears around 1981 from Tokai, and ran into the mid-late 80's and beyond.

While many other brands during this era were making a Les Paul Custom copy with maple caps, and speed knobs or which hat knobs, Tokai went back to the original LPC, making the body entirely out of mahogany, and bell knobs, giving it a unique tone, feel, while also keeping it lightweight. Speaking of which, this is a very lightweight Les Paul Custom at only 8.86lbs, making it a joy to play both sitting down and especially standing up.

I've had a few different MIJ Les Paul Customs from different brands (Greco, Edwards, Burny, Aria), and what I like best about Tokai is their top carve - it's a little more pronounced, giving it a really great look when it catches the light. It's hard to tell from photos, but when you compare them side by side, you can see it and feel the difference.

I also really like the neck carves on this era of Tokai's, and this one is great. It's not the thickest LP neck I've had, but it's by no means thin. It's a nice U shaped neck, and it fills the hand nicely. The fretboard is a medium dark brown rosewood with a a beautiful grain all the way up the fretboard, with acrylic pearl block inlays, and 22 medium jumbo frets with fret edge binding, that have been played, but still have lots of life left in them. The high E string 3rd fret is high, causing a significant buzz on the 1st and 2nd fret of the high E string. There's also some slight buzzing on the A and D strings on the frets below the 7th fret. So the frets will likely need to be leveled, or at least a spot level on the 3rd fret high E. The other buzzing may vanish if you change string gauge, tuning and/or setup.

The finish on this guitar is of course the classic Black finish, and it just looks amazing from every angle. Although it's hard to know for sure since it's a gloss black finish, this guitar is made from what appears to be a 2 piece mahogany top on a 3+ piece mahogany back, with a mahogany (likely 1 piece) set neck (likely with no heal cap or headstock ears).

The Original Tokai '57 P.A.F. Vintage MK II pickups, which both still have the back plate stickers in tact, are some of the meanest sounding pickups I've ever heard. They are by no means a "PAF" sound, with a thick ceramic magnet, and super high DC resistance, these pickups can drive any amp into overdrive or distortion. But if you roll back the volume, they can still be quite dynamic. To me, they sound best with some light gauge strings into a dirty or high gain amp.

When I received this guitar, the jack plate was cracked and unsalvageable. So I sourced another one from Japan, from a 1984 Tokai, so it should be the same (2 ply black/white). The strap buttons had also been swapped for some heavy duty chrome buttons, so I put some new gold Gotoh EP-B1 (Gibson style) buttons on it to bring it back to as close to original as possible.

Everything else on this guitar appears to be original, and the guitar is in good players grade condition. It has some dings and dents all over the guitar, including the top, sides, back, neck and headstock, with some buckle rash and worming on the back of the body. All of the gold hardware has varying degrees of corrosion, pitting, peeling and rust, but it all works expected with no issues.

Like all the guitars I sell, I test, thoroughly clean, and setup my guitars completely before I list them. Anything that is missing, damaged, or non original is mentioned in the listing.

I setup all my Gibson style guitars to Gibson factory specs - including neck relief, action, pickup height, intonation, and tailpiece height. With this setup, the high E string 1st and 2nd fret buzz because of a high 3rd fret, and the A and D string have some slight buzzing in the lower 7 frets, so it will need to be addressed - either a spot level or full level.

The original Tokai case is functional, but the bottom plastic "feet" had been removed when I got the guitar. Some of the tolex is peeling back as well, but I think both could be repaired. All of the latches and hinges are intact and functional, although they have corrosions/rust. And the tab to open the interior compartment is missing. But the case itself is solid - I've transported this guitar before with no concern.

Overall, this is a good player grade guitar, that has lots of mojo, is feather light for a Les Paul Custom, and looks and sounds awesome.

If you're looking for a vintage Japanese Les Paul Custom lots of mojo that can hang with the best of them, don't miss this one.

CONDITION ------------

Overall it's in fair player grade shape.

I've tried to capture all of the flaws in the photos and in the description.

The high E string 1st and 2nd fret buzz because of a high 3rd fret, and the A and D string have some slight buzzing in the lower 7 frets, so it will need to be addressed - either a spot level or full level.

Over the entire body of the guitar, top, back, sides, neck and headstock, there are dings, dents, scratches, chips, hazing, and swirling; similar to that of many other black guitars from 1984.

The gold hardware, bridge, tailpiece, tuners, and screws all have some form of corrosion, pitting, scratches, and rust, although not too much for the age, and some areas still have lots shine left on them.

All of the black plastics have many scratches and swirling on them.

All of the gold Tokai deluxe style tuners work properly.

Around the strap buttons there's some strap marks/swirling.

There is some light fret wear across nearly the entire fretboard, but overall there's lots of life left in these frets, and they play well.

SHIPPING ------------  

Will be shipped with tracking & full liability coverage, fully wrapped in bubble wrap, in a cardboard box meant for guitars. There will be proper support inside. In order to reduce environmental impact, the packing material (paper, bubble wrap, air packets, foam, carboard box & tube supports, etc...) used may be recycled.

Package dimensions are 118cm x 47cm x 17cm

Total shipping weight will be around 13lbs.

Shipping within Canada - via Canada Post Regular or Expedited Parcel from Ayr, ON, Canada.

Shipping to United States - via UPS Standard from Ayr, ON, Canada.

Shipping everywhere else - contact me for a precise quote on shipping.

Note: if you want an exact shipping quote, just send me a note with your postal/zip code, and I'll get a proper quote for your address. 

QUESTIONS ------------

Any questions? Want more photos or detailed shots? Measurements? Shoot me a message, and I'll be happy to answer them, or send more pics, or take any measurements you want/need.

Thanks for looking!