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Tokai ALC-45
List: $850
If you’ve read my Tokai Love Rock review previously, be in formed that the ALC-45 is merely its Korean, bolt-on brother. The major visual difference here is that the ALC-45 was cosmetically enhanced to impersonate a Les Paul Custom.
Construction/ fit/ finish
Of course, many of you would shriek/ whimper after reading that it’s a bolt-on make (a blasphemous feature in a Les Paul manifestation), but it’s a well-made bolt-on for sure. The neck-body joint didn’t feature a blocky protrusion like a Fender does; the virtually heelless construction was maintained for an authentic feel. As with its Japanese Love Rock sibling, the ALC-45 has a very accurate Les Paul feel through & through but this model was somewhat heftier than its set-neck counterpart. Top marks for the ALC-45’s physical presentation, now on to tone…
Playability/ tone
The only deviation the ALC-45 presented was that it’s equipped with a set of .009 string set as default. This is very un-Les Paul indeed but it made the guitar very shred friendly, especially with the low action it came with- you’d feel the need for speed instantly. No disappointment in this department. A trade off here would be the fret buzz should you strike the strings intensively but with a tone of this calibre, it’s really unnecessary to do so. Here’s why…
The humbuckers on board are obliging units; jazz/ blues/ rock/ metal, you name it, these darlings can pull it off. I was expecting a loss in sustain due to the bolt-on nature but it didn’t happen. Another unexpected trait is the thick bottom-end, it’s very well in tact, especially the bridge unit, which sounded adequately clearer than the average Gibson 400-series pickups. Comping fanatics, the neck humbucker clean is a sweet affair. Driven, it gives off this very pleasant PAF-type tone which I’m sure many would appreciate but watch your drive levels please; it didn’t perform as well with loads of distortion dialed in. It has this inherent transparency which needs moderate drive input to excel, it fared better with more volume rather than more gain. Between the two, the bridge counterpart triggers harmonics more easily but the neck unit cleans off better when the volume backed off.
Of course, the limited upper fret access curse is present with any guitar sporting this single cutaway design but the well constructed neck, fairly low action & those very pleasant pickups made sure that you need not try too hard to accomplish a feat beyond the 16th fret.
Last say
You might be put off after knowing that this LP impersonator is actually a bolt-on manifestation; you’d prefer a set-neck make but that’s where the Japanese models come in. Please do not equate bad, unbecoming tones with a bolt-on design; it didn’t happen with a Fender, it certainly didn’t happen with the ALC-45 either. Do yourselves a favour, the next time you try the ALC-45 out, make sure you play it with the set-neck Love Rock. You’d then be hard pressed to choose between the two which sound impressive for their respective prices.
Rating: 4/5
