1982 Tokai Love Rock LS120 Gallery

[sandlewood]

I picked up this guitar in 1984. It had been lightly used and the previous owner had only replaced the tone and volume controls with speed nobs. This is a mod is a game changer. Other than that it is all 100% original.

As you know the LS120 model is an exact copy of the holy grail 1959 Les Paul. I often marvel at playing an exact copy of $500k guitar. I read Slash sleeps with his in his room. Makes perfect sense to me. Not sure why more players don't pick these guys up. Or even serious recording studios. The tone is legendary.

You might have seen that Les Paul did a '59 reissue recently and drilled holes inside the body to make them lighter. I understand the logic and I know this guitar does weigh a ton. However, every time I lend it out for 'song or two' it never comes back. The guy will play it until his arm falls off. Something about the sustain or the tone and they just can't stop playing it. I'd be interested in your guys experience with this too.

I also read somewhere the original Les Pauls based their bridge pickup on the tele sound. That makes sense to me. It can go from gritty to barking to screaming. It's hair raising for sure. Has anyone read anything on the inspiration for the neck pickup?

I'm also interested in reading more stories about pro's who took these on the road so their real '59 didn't stolen.

Thanks for your time, hope you enjoy these:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/189424881@N08/albums/72177720304476548

 

[Sigmania]

Beautiful guitar!

Is yours a veneer or solid? Can be hard to tell.

Also interesting to see DiMarzios covered. Did they come like that?

Thanks for sharing!

1982 Tokai Love Rock LS120

 

[Sigmania]

Circa 1981/82 DiMarzio ad.

 

[Sigmania]

And you might like this thread of solid flamed maple capped Tokais.

http://www.tokaiforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=22232&hilit=flametop+gallery

 

[Sigmania]

Spring 1982 catalog:

1959 MODEL
LS120V-OS ¥134.000
GUITAR ¥120.000
VINTAGE HARD CASE ¥14000
Elegant and beautiful arched top
with real maple veneer solid
flame grain. An orthodox vintage
model that values the goodness
of maple material. The mahogany
one-piece connection inherited from
the L$200V and special spec
hardware perfectly reproduce
the stvle and taste of the old
standard. Dedicated to the Steve
Lukather freak aiming for
contemporary rock with the old
and sensible sound of the covered
type DiMarzio PAF.

Looks like it is a solid top. The Japanese word for solid translates as "veneer".

And the DiMarzios were covered per catalog specs.

Your color is "OS" or "old sunburst".

 

[Sigmania]

VINTAGE Model

This vintage model is the pinnacle of standard models. The body top is made of book-matched 2-piece curly maple with bright tiger stripes, creating an artistic and mysterious feeling. Vintage sound produced by body construction with 1-piece mahogany back and 1-piece mahogany neck. The vivid cross grain top perfectly reproduces the style and taste of the old standard. In addition, it goes without saying that thorough analysis and research have been carried out down to the smallest parts such as pegs, bridges, tailpieces, and mounting rings. Old lyrical sound supported by perfect hardware, rich sustain, and various tonal colors are unique to LS vintage models. The LS100V, a high-cost performance model, is also newly introduced, making it the ultimate guitar that perfectly meets the needs of old guitar enthusiasts as well as professional guitarists.

 

[Sigmania]

1982 catalog

 

[Sigmania]

You might like this too:

http://www.tokaiforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=26114

 

[Sigmania]

Btw, I have an '82 LS120 also and mine has the same issue with the Love Rock script wearing off.

The headstock on these is different than alot of others. Many other (earlier?) Love Rocks have a plastic veneer. These are like black paint or a very thin wood veneer like the original Gibsons.

 

[sandlewood]

Hi Sigmania,

That’s an amazing looking guitar you’ve got! I love the finish.

Thanks for sharing the catalogues. It’s so nice to read the translations. Much appreciated.

Nice to see the thread with the LS-80’s - LS-200’s too. I could look at these all day long. It’s like when you start playing one of these, a couple of hours can fly by.

In my humble experience, I have never ever over played this guitar. You know when you pick up a guitar and there is a flat chord or hollow solo register somewhere? It seems like there are no flat spots on these guitars and what ever you throw at it, it always gives back more. Plus, you can happily play them without an amp. Lol

For your question, everything is the same as when I got it in 1984, including the pickups. I believe the only change was the knobs, which I found to be actually really nice.)

I know it will never happen, but I would love to see a comparison of a real ‘59 and one of these. I think if players heard the comparison, these would go way up.

I’m sure this has been shared a thousand times but still great to see:

1997 Billy Gibbens Tokai - Brown Sugar