Interested in a MIJ LP

kswilson89

Hi everyone

I've recently decided to look further afield than Gibson for a LP or 335 style guitar. I've had my eye on the guitars produced by the likes of Crews, Bacchus, Navigator and Momose for a while now but have never taken the plunge. They all look very high quality from what I've seen online but if anyone could share their experiences or opinions on these brands, or suggest other alternatives, I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks!

designerseye88

I'll chime in as Im currently selling a lovely Bacchus in the classifieds. Lovely guitar! 

https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/169518/fs-bacchus-classic-series-blp-std-fm#latest

IMO the brands you've mentioned above are of similar quality to Gibson custom shop they share many similarities including long tenons, one piece backs and solid maple tops which you'll only find on Gibson custom shop stuff. Even with the stock pickups the Bacchus i own is excellent and would happily put it up against any Gibson or LP style guitar, the finish in particular is excellent and plays very easily. When looking for a MIJ LP guitar i did alot of research. Their was alot of stuff on older MIJ stuff, Grecos, Tokais and Navigators but not much on modern ones. For me I was really impressed with what i was reading online, theirs also some videos which shows you the Deviser plant where Bacchus and Momose guitars are made. With regards to Bacchus after doing my research the Classic series for me offered the best specs however they were only made for two years. More modern Bacchus guitars are still nice but are not that similar to an LP and some are made outside of Japan. 

thomasw88

I have  a Tokai LC85 in wine red. I also have a Gibson les paul standard which a guitar tech said was the nicest les paul he'd ever seen.

   I marginally prefer the Tokai although the gibson does smell nicer!

But to answer your points, I think the nice Tokai's are phenomenal.

DrJazzTap

I had a jap tokai a es130 (335 copy), incredible guitar well worth the money. If the les Paul's are as good, i would highly suggest investigating them.

Kittyfrisk

 Gibson did a lot of real guitar innovations, but they don't & never did actually make wood.
So why should they automatically make a better guitar than another craftsman/quality guitar factory with access to good wood?
I'd probably take a Navigator/Bacchus/Momose over most USA guitars & my MIJ Tokai's are very high quality instruments.
YMMV 

brooom

As I've gone down that path myself, and tried/owned most of the brands/models that can be tried (maybe with the exception of fullertone and G'Seven). My favourites are Navigator N-LP-380/480( mainly post 2001), Crews KTR select and LED models and Greco Mint collections (yes I prefer mint collections to super reals).

That doesn't mean that all others aren't great guitars, they are. All these japanese brands, especially if you look at high end ones, some of which are produced in the same factories, have real great craftsmanship.

But those three in particular I've had several examples of, and in general they've been consistently great.

Navigators and Crews LEDs will have giant necks (really big 58 style profiles). Crews KTRs (especially the select models) can have 59/60s sort of neck profiles which I absolutely love and are quite airy sounding guitars (think tele on steroids). Navigators are really beefy sounding.

A good Mint collection will be magical. I have relatively cheap EG59-50 from 1984, which is quite literally the best Les Paul I've ever played. Which after owning several Historics and a real 1959 single cut junior, is saying a lot.