Help identify my Tokai: Goldstar Sound ST-80?

[harpoonman]

Hi folks. I'm absolutely new to the site and was directed here by others who are "in the know" about Tokais. I've never owned one of these guitars to be perfectly honest but am obviously aware of their fine reputation, especially the earliest ones. In any case, I recently acquired a Tokai Strat model in trade and was told it was an " '84 Goldstar Sound ST-80". Here's what I know:

- finish appears to be original CAR (Metallic Red in Tokai-speak?);
- pickups are grey bottom with "E" stamps and all other electronics appear original;
- maple neck with an obvious "V" back carve, vintage-sized frets and 7.25" radius, pre-CBS Fender headstock shape, a single round "Tele-style" string tree, and gold Script Logo ("Clapton-style" cig burn included!);
- Neckplate is stamped with just 4 digits (2330);
- saddles are stamped "Final Prospec".

The guitar sounds GREAT, both acoustically and plugged in. DEFINITELY needs a good cleaning and could probably use a new set of strings and proper set-up but still plays pretty well as-is. Anyway, I'm assuming folks here know A LOT more than I do about this model so I was hoping for confirmation or, at the very least, some advice about "what to look for" in identification. Finally, if anyone can comment on an approximate value (or range) for the guitar, that would help as well, since I'm really not certain I'm keeping it ( I have FAR too many other GREAT guitars already!). Thanks in advance....

 

[greco_burst]

hello
Would you be able to provide pictures showing the pickup cavities, any codes, neck butt, and back of the pickguard showing pups and wiring please, thank you!

 

[harpoonman]

hello
Would you be able to provide pictures showing the pickup cavities, any codes, neck butt, and back of the pickguard showing pups and wiring please, thank you!

I've uploaded pics of the areas you've mentioned and provided a link to them below (larger images are available to view this way). While snapping pics, I discovered the following:

- all 3 pots marked A250K ohm;
- 5-way switch marked "351";
- All pickup leads are cloth covered;
- Front cavity for pots/switch stamped "9=4 MR Y";
- Butt of neck stamped "9=4";
- Tuners stamped "DELUXE";
- Full-size trem block is steel (confirmed with a magnet).

Other things to note: 1) The truss rod moves freely in both directions; 2) The body "appears" to be 1-piece as I could find absolutely no evidence of a seam anywhere; 3) I was unable to "confirm" a laquer finish. I took the previous owners word for it but saw no obvious evidence of an "acetone test' in the trem cavity as stated. There is some "checking" throughout the finish however and I've ONLY ever seen that effect in laquer finished guitars so....

Anyway, pics are available here for viewing: http://community.webshots.com/album/582309415DuCYFp

 

[marcusnieman]

If you take a Q tip and dip it in Acetone (nail polish remover) and rub it on the finish (in an non obvious location) it should dissolve the the finish if its lacquer. Poly won't show any effects.

 

[bluejeannot]

If your guitar has a separately applied maple finger board which it doesn`t appear to have from your pics then it`s a nitro finished st 80.otherwise it`s an st 60 poly finish e pickups nice guitar though so don`t worry too much.Gabe

 

[harpoonman]

If your guitar has a separately applied maple finger board which it doesn`t appear to have from your pics then it`s a nitro finished st 80.otherwise it`s an st 60 poly finish e pickups nice guitar though so don`t worry too much.Gabe

Thanks for that info. Neck is definitely a 1-piece maple...

 

[greco_burst]

Hi Gabe, my TST has a one piece neck, no maple cap, V neck, are u saying no maple cap is a TST-80?

regards, Mick

 

[mirrorboy]

Mick, all there is to say is that if the neck has a maple cap then it is most likely a TST-70 which was listed as something like "Special Guitar" in the Tokai catalogue, a 1964 replica I believe. A maple cap Stratocaster could be special ordered from Fender back then.

 

[greco_burst]

Thanks mirrorboy,
I agree, the TST70 has a curved maple cap on a maple 64 U neck (with celluloid 3 ply pickguard), the rosewood boards have curved cap up to TST-60 and a flat cap (slab) TST-80 upwards.

http://brochures.yokochou.com/guitar-and-amp/tokai/1984/en_05.html

I think OP guitar is a TST-60 (same as mine with st vintage pups, maple one piece neck 54 V profile, poly)

 

[harpoonman]

So, without confirmation on the finish, let's assume it's an ST-60 then. With that said though, have others observed "finish checking" in poly finished guitars? I'll see if I can snap a pic to capture what I'm referring to on this guitar...

In any case, the conclusion is disappointing in as much as I was told the guitar was an ST-80 and traded on that assumption. If I have to resell it then, any ideas what a reasonable asking price would be? Not looking to make money here...just hoping to minimize potential losses at this point. Thanks in advance!

Hard to capture, but you can probably spot the wavy "check lines" running up toward the horn...

 

[muccax]

hi
i got a tokai goldstars sound from 1982 ,,,, it too has a 4 digit serial number ,,,,, and e pickups ... V neck .... mine is in nitro and i belive mine is a st 80
all the best
otto

 

[jonah65]

st 60 - ?450-500.
st 80 - ?700- 850

you must be certain on the finish harpoonman.
condition and c/w hardcase will help reach the best re-sale price.

the other "great guitars" must be good, if they're better than a vintage tokai.

 

[harpoonman]

If you take a Q tip and dip it in Acetone (nail polish remover) and rub it on the finish (in an non obvious location) it should dissolve the the finish if its lacquer. Poly won't show any effects.

Ok, I did the "acetone test" and....nothing! Tried both the neck heel and trem cavity and same results. I then tried it on the back of a parts neck I had laying around, which was known to be nitro finished, and...voila! The result was immediate and the difference was obvious so I think it's fair to say the finish on mine is NOT nitro.

Appears to be an all original Goldstar Sound TST-60 with the E stamped pickups, in excellent overall condition and w/o an original HSC....

 

[mirrorboy]

So, without confirmation on the finish, let's assume it's an ST-60 then. With that said though, have others observed "finish checking" in poly finished guitars? I'll see if I can snap a pic to capture what I'm referring to on this guitar...

Hard to capture, but you can probably spot the wavy "check lines" running up toward the horn...

Those check lines do appear on poly Goldstars, usually following the grain pattern as the finish is so thin. BTW I would estimate value at ?500 for an original used TST-60 but one in mint condition should fetch more than that. 60's are usually 2 piece body, are you sure you can't see a faint line down the centre?

 

[harpoonman]

I inspected it quite closely under natural light and simply could not find a centre seam. No evidence of one in the neck pocket or trem cavity either.

I also wanted to point something out, the following chart I found on this site led to my initial confusion here as it indicates the lowest model with a 4-digit serial as being the ST-80: http://www.tokairegistry.com/tokai-info/tokai-fender.html

 

[greco_burst]

hi
i got a tokai goldstars sound from 1982 ,,,, it too has a 4 digit serial number ,,,,, and e pickups ... V neck .... mine is in nitro and i belive mine is a st 80
all the best
otto

That would be a Springy from 1982 :wink:

 

[greco_burst]

I inspected it quite closely under natural light and simply could not find a centre seam. No evidence of one in the neck pocket or trem cavity either.

I also wanted to point something out, the following chart I found on this site led to my initial confusion here as it indicates the lowest model with a 4-digit serial as being the ST-80: http://www.tokairegistry.com/tokai-info/tokai-fender.html

That is referring to Springy Sounds, not Gold Stars....because the info comes from a 1982 catalogue..

You have a TST-60 8)

 

[harpoonman]

...BTW I would estimate value at ?500 for an original used TST-60 but one in mint condition should fetch more than that....

Thanks. With everyone's help here, I'm now confident about what I have. As I indicated earlier, I'm not planning to keep it though as I have plenty of others at home. Perhaps I'll post it here in the classifieds, with a link to this post, and see what happens. I'd wager that folks here would better appreciate the guitar over some anonymous bidder on feebay. Anyway, I need $ right now more than another guitar so I'll have some flex on the price. If anyone is interested, by all means, PM me or just watch for a post in the classifieds.

Again, thanks to everyone here for your assistance. Cheers!

Steve

 

[harpoonman]

The guitar is now posted here: http://www.tokaiforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=154594#154594