The model numbers on Tokai guitars tell you how fine a guitar you are looking at. If you're buying an LP copy, make sure it's not a copy of a copy.

Tokai did have guitars made in Korea, but there are also fake Tokai guitars which are also made in Korea. The ones made in Japan are always superior guitars to the ones made in Korea. What you need to look for the most in any Tokai guitar, whether it be a Tele or Strat or Les Paul copy, is where it was made.

While those are good guitars, the ones with the Tokai name on them are often thought to be superior. In any event, the Tokai Gakki folks literally went to work for Fender and built Fender guitars in Japan at one time. Whether or not they ever actually filed a lawsuit is something I've not been able to determine. These name changes are the direct result of Gibson threatening lawsuits. In 1980 Tokai changed the name to 'Reborn Old.' Somewhere down the line the name changed again to 'Love Rock.' Many people refer to these guitars by one specific title, calling them 'lawsuit guitars.' The original Tokai Les Paul copies were called 'Les Paul Reborn.' These were manufactured from 1978 to 1979. The Tokai Gibson Les Paul copies come with different names. The people at Tokai, in Japan, are so damned good at making copies of American guitars that there are literally fakes of Tokai guitars. Tokai has long been revered for their amazing copies of Telecasters, Stratocasters, and Gibson Les Paul guitars.

Burny serial number check