1983 Goldstar Sound

[huntgl]

I have owned this guitar for a few years now (Vintage White, Maple neck, 1958 Strat copy I believe?) but I want to flip the 5 way switch around so that the neck pickup is selected at the bottom etc etc (I keep kncking the switch out of position when playing hard). While I'm doing this, I'm thinking of giving the electrics etc a complete going over, possibly shielding everything and star grounding. Could anyone give me an honest opinion of the quality of components that went into these guitars (particularly the pickups), as now would be a good time to upgrade them? How do they compare to the more modern/boutique bits and bobs that are available?
Many thanks,
Gary.

 

[blake375]

Regarding pickups, I personally think Tokai pickups are fairly high quality and sound pretty good, especailly for a vintage sound, though many people do chose to change them - I've changed them in my Goldie but not in my Springy.

If you do change the pickups it should be because you are not happy with the way they sound - so rather than asking our opions, have a listen!

The Tokai pots are pretty good too, and if your Goldie has the little brass plate in it that's worth keeping. Note that CTS pots might not fit through the holes in your Tokai scratchplate - the shafts are slightly wider than the Japanese pot shafts.

 

[Anonymous]

I agree with blake. The scratchplate is great, with the brass grounding plate - better than anything Fender produced. Same with the switch - better than any of the Fenders. Pots are about the same quality - after 25 or 30 years they can sometimes get scratchy, but then so do US Fenders. Replace only if you have to is my advice.

Which leaves the pickups, & there is nothing more subjective than pickups! Everyone will have their own opinion, & few of us will agree. Personally, I reckon most Japanese single coil pickups are a touch on the bright side, with a tendency to sound harsh at the top end. There are exceptions - my 1980 Breezy has great pickups.

So I reckon that changing the stock pickups to some ordinary Seymour Duncan vintage type pickups should be an improvement, but it doesn't matter what I think, it depends what your ears tell you. Put it this way, the guitar should easily be good enough to justify some better pickups if you prefer the sound of these other pickups. But if you do change them, keep the originals. One day you may want to put them back, & you won't get much if you sell them.

Let us know what you decide to do.

Mike

 

[huntgl]

Thanks alot for the responses. I totally agree with you both on the subjectivity of the pickups; I'm waiting for my first nice valve amp (Matamp) to arrive, and really plan to give it a good listen at more volume etc etc. I guess I was more interested in the construction of the pickups themselves; were the early models made by DiMarzio? I know there's alot of opinion out there about wax potting etc, and although I'm interested, I don't fully understand it enough to be convinced it's a load of rubbish. Does anyone know if the middle p/u in this Goldstar would be reverse wound?

Any thoughts on the shielding and star grounding?

Thanks again.

 

[JohnA]

Shielding and star grounding, My personal opinion is this is way over the top. I can put up with a bit of noise in a live situation, and even recording if you position yourself correctly, you can silence most Strats. But if you are super picky about noise then it may be an option.

The 'E' pickups were made by Dimarzio, I think the 'U's were too, but have heared different opinions on this.

I'm sure the standard pickups will sound great through your new Matamp, whether some different one would sound 'better' is again, purely subjective.

 

[Anonymous]

I know there's alot of opinion out there about wax potting etc, and although I'm interested, I don't fully understand it enough to be convinced it's a load of rubbish. Does anyone know if the middle p/u in this Goldstar would be reverse wound?

Any thoughts on the shielding and star grounding?

Thanks again.

Pickups need wax potting when they are microphonic. What that means is if it starts to howl & feed back when the volume & gain is cranked up. The bridge pickup in my Breezy squealed like a pig the first time I took it to rehearsal and hit the overdrive pedal. It cost ?10 to get it potted, & it's fine now. The neck pickup didn't need doing.

Do you have this problem with your Goldstar? If not, don't worry about it.

I agree with John, I expect a bit of noise from a Strat, & I just live with it. Turning down the volume between songs at a gig or rehearsal is satisfactory for me. Do you do lots of gigs at high volume? If not, I wouldn't worry about it.

I thought that only the E pickups (which I don't like very much) were Dimarzios, while the rest were made by Gotoh? I'm pretty sure the middle pickup on Tokais is not RW/RP.