A little help please.

[Guitargismo]

About 4-5 years ago I bought a fender copy(tokai), and since then it has just been sitting in my collection, I know it's kind of old but not how old, and I can't figure out if it's a keeper or how valuable it is, would it be a mistake to mod it because it's near mint condition, it don't has a single scratch and almost no wear on the frets.
So can any of you guys maybe help me out with some info on my guitar.
I bought it for around 150$

 

[Sigmania]

Yeah man. That fits in with the ones Voidoid56 and I have been trying to dig up info on.

It’s from a time period where not much is known 1986/87 roughly I would say based on your serial number, 214092.

Here’s a related thread:

The Mystery Of The - Hyphen, Dash, or Minus Sign

If you open it up, the pots may have a date code stamped on them.

Probably has the brass ground plate.

Tuners and pickups etc will give us an idea of the model.

 

[Sigmania]

Your bridge saddles are the bent steel ones so it’s like a TST50 or above based on that I would say.

Color is Olympic White (OW).

 

[Sigmania]

This is from the 1987 catalog. Doesn’t have much info to tell them apart. The TST80 should have a nitro finish. The 50 and 60 probably have different pickups.

 

[Guitargismo]

Okay is there any kind of info that I can provide to get a idea of what kind of model it is?

 

[Guitargismo]

Here is a picture of the tuners

 

[Sigmania]

Those tuners were on the lower models. TST 40 something. But it has the bent steel saddles so maybe it’s the TST50? I’m more familiar with earlier models. These are a gray area for me.

What would really help with the dates and contribute a lot to the overall knowledge base is pictures of the pots and the codes stamped in the pickup cavity and butt of the neck as well as the pickups. That would be awesome to see.

 

[Guitargismo]

I can post some pictures tomorrow of those things, but so far I'm really thankful for the info you have provided, what are your thoughts on changing the pick up on the guitar? Would it be a shame or hurt the value on a guitar like this?

 

[Sigmania]

I don’t know. It’s one of the lower priced models for that year so the value for a collector would be hard to gauge.

I would say that you should set it up the way that you like and would want to play it in.

But if you do something like that I would hang onto the original pickups and whatever parts you change out, and keep them in the case so that if the next owner wants to restore it they can.

 

[Sigmania]

That’s if you’re going to keep it. If you’re going to sell it I would leave it as is and let the next owner mod it.

 

[Sigmania]

I just saw this interesting article:

The Tokai TST-50 Goldstar Sound in the 1980s​

Bob Leggitt | Wednesday, 25 September 2013

Based on the industry sales feedback charts I’ve been able to check, it appears that the Tokai TST-50 Goldstar Sound was easily the UK’s best-selling accurate vintage Strat replica of the period between its inception in late 1983, and the onset of the '90s. Coming in a choice of 1958 or 1964 replicas, the TST-50 offered extremely convincing renditions of earlier Fender Stratocasters, at prices which, initially, were laughably low. Good, solid wood construction, to a standard of assembly at least on a par with an old Fender Strat…




....By 1986, the TST-50 had an RRP of £357 – not that much less than that of the Japanese Fender-branded vintage reissue Strats at the time, and double what the TST-50 could be bought for just two years earlier. However, in practice at the point of sale, the TST-50 couldn’t command anything close to its RRP, and the musicians’ paper Making Music cited a typical selling price of £245. Perhaps predictably (bearing in mind the likely ignorance of the core customers), the TST-50 was still competing with the now inferior Squier Strat, and not the Fender MIJ reissues it was really a match for. The good reputation built by Squier between ’82 and ’84 was now supporting a compromised product, and the Fender logo alone was allowing Fender to charge £100 more for an MIJ ’62 Strat, than Tokai could get for a product which was, on paper, at least its equal. Subsequently, Tokai acknowledged that the TST-50’s RRP was unrealistic, and lowered it….”

The Tokai TST-50 Goldstar Sound in the 1980s

 

[bluejeannot]

The six digit serial number and the non vintage tuners denotes an 84/85 St 40.The pickups will almost certainly be lower quality ceramics.If I intended to play the ST40 seriously, then I would swap the pickups out for alnicos.

 

[Sigmania]

Hey bluejeannot. Nice to see you.

These non Fender type six digit serial numbers starting with a 2 and having the - in the body and neck codes all seem to date from around 1986/87.

We have pot dates to confirm that.







The Mystery Of The - Hyphen, Dash, or Minus Sign


In the late 80s and into the 90s things got weird and are very different than the early 80s as tastes changed and vintage style guitars were less of a focus for Tokai.

If you look at 90s Tokai catalogs you will see pretty much only low end STs. I think that’s because Tokai was making Fenders in Hamamatsu and the STs they were offering labeled as Tokais were made in Korea and were low spec as a result.

You don't really see higher spec Tokai STs until 2009 when it seems Tokai stopped making Fenders and focused on their own brand.

See this thread:

Tokai Built Fenders

One exception are possibly these high spec Goldstars, but I think we’re made in the early 90s before Toksi started to make guitars for Fender around 93/94?

Very Unusual High Spec Goldstar, Custom Build?

That’s my theory anyway. Just trying to sort this out using actual examples with things like pots that we can date to fit the puzzle pieces together.

 

[Guitargismo]

Hey guys I will post picture of the inside of the guitar later today, I didn't get around to do it yesterday.
I saw the article you put up and it make a lot of sense since the guitar is sold in Denmark at some point in history.

 

[Guitargismo]

Hey guys her are some pictures of the inside

 

[Guitargismo]

I don't think it is possible to see on the picture but the base of the trem says made in japan

 

[Sigmania]

Oh heck yeah! Awesome!

Pots date to January 1987.

Neck code says it was put together in February.

Awesome! Thank you!

 

[Sigmania]

Furthermore.... The body and neck codes use different systems like another one that showed up from the same period.

Makes me think the bodies and necks are finished in different places physically, whether that is feet away or miles. Not the same stamps.

 

[Guitargismo]

Okay are there anything telling if it is a st50 or st40

 

[Sigmania]

Here is your guitar's cousin.

What Tokai do I have