Springy Sound 1980 ST 60 (or 80)

[Anonymous]

Gah! Well done, Mike.

Does that mean I can start looking for rosewood board springys on eBay now?

I was going to say that you haven't been a forum member long enough to own a Springy! :lol: But now that I have one, you may....

I also have a (much cheaper) rosewood board Goldie ST50 on it's way, so I'm rapidly turning into one of the collectors that I've criticised in the past. :-?

Anyway, you're still supposed to be madly in love with your new blonde ES120 aren't you?

Mike

 

[AlanN]

It's triggered the worst case of GAS i've ever, ever had. In the past week, i've very very nearly purchased:

- a 1978 les paul standard;
- a Brian Moore i1000;
- a 2006 Tokai LP Special;
- a 60s Fender Bullet; and
- a Hagstrom Super Swede.

Add to that the twenty-two eBay auctions i've got my eye on at present, and i'm on the fast road to bankruptcy if it doesn't abate soon!

 

[Anonymous]

:lol: Welcome to the forum :lol:

What's a 60's Fender Bullet? Didn't know there was any such thing

 

[dongrosh]

xxxx

 

[Anonymous]

What a terrible problem, how do you cope? :lol:

We have a saying in England "A problem shared is a problem solved", though I don't think it was supposed to apply to guitars.

Mike

 

[dongrosh]

What a terrible problem, how do you cope? :lol:

We have a saying in England "A problem shared is a problem solved", though I don't think it was supposed to apply to guitars.

Mike

Mike, thanks a lot for helping me to solve my problems
today i got this amazing amp:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBUxUB-6qjw

 

[Anonymous]

My pleasure. Please don't start making me want extra amps as well as guitars! Though I do need a spare amp.....

Mike

 

[bunbury]

Mike,

The details you were questioning (no headstock 'plug', no '80' stamp, 3-ply, 11 screw etc) are all the same on my 1980 ST-80.

On mine, I can just make out the imprint of the '80' sticker at the base of the neck (the back). You need to get the light just right.


Bunbury

 

[AlanN]

:lol: Welcome to the forum :lol:

What's a 60's Fender Bullet? Didn't know there was any such thing

That'll be my fat fingers. Should have been 80s!

 

[bluejeannot]

Congratulations Mike,I`m counting on you now for an objective review of your new guitar.Is all the hyperbole justified?I know It`s prettier than most Goldies or lower model Springys.I know it`s ash, generally a sprangier sound than alder.Iknow it`s nitro and if Tom Anderson says that confers no advantage over poly with regards to sound,then thats good enough for me.and I know it`s one piece ,again not necessarilly better sound wise,The p`ups are the famed Di Marzio E`s,are they that good? .Does this guitar significantly outperform adecent st 50 goldie or Springy,with say Lollars or Fralins fitted? How about an A/B test with one of your Goldies?I`m really curious,Gabe.

 

[Anonymous]

Sure, I'll be happy to do that, though it'll be better to wait until I've had a chance to try it out at rehearsal or a gig. A guitar can sound good at home, but not quite cut it at greater volume.

Actually the body looks like it's a 2 piece joined in the centre, if you look closely. Not that that should make much difference. I'm curious to see what difference the ash body makes, as I think all my other Strats are alder (hard to tell with solid colours though). My ash bodied Tele sounds quite a bit thinner than it's alder bodied sister, so that should be interesting.

As for nitro, the advantages there are more to do with the feel of the back of the neck, as far as I'm concerned. I'm wondering how the V shape neck profile will feel, compared to the more standard profile of a rosewood board Goldie. I've only tried a V shape maple neck before - I don't think Fender ever made a V shape neck with a rosewood board, they changed the profile before the rosewood board was introduced in 1959.

It should all be very interesting. I'm just annoyed that the money takes between 2 & 5 days to get to Germany, even though I paid ?21 for the international transfer. :evil: That sounds ridiculously slow to me - typical bank rip-off.

I'll get back to ya

Mike

 

[Anonymous]

:lol: Welcome to the forum :lol:

What's a 60's Fender Bullet? Didn't know there was any such thing

That'll be my fat fingers. Should have been 80s!

Are the Bullets worth looking at? I always assumed they weren't.

Mike

 

[AlanN]

For the money (?180 for the one I was looking at) you just can't go wrong on the early ones. I've heard the Squier era wasn't so great, but with a proper fender neck and that snappy fender sound, if you find a decent one then you're laughing. The bridge is a bit of a joke, but they play beautifully and sound superb.

 

[dongrosh]

Hi Mike,

the neck is more an D, not V, it?s near the same like on my Goldstar -
so it?s easy for you to play....

 

[Anonymous]

For the money (?180 for the one I was looking at) you just can't go wrong on the early ones. I've heard the Squier era wasn't so great, but with a proper fender neck and that snappy fender sound, if you find a decent one then you're laughing. The bridge is a bit of a joke, but they play beautifully and sound superb.

OK, but you can probably get a Silver Star for that money. And sometimes a Goldstar will go for under ?250. I think I'd rather have the Tokai, personally. I suspect the quality of the components will be higher, though perhaps that depends where the Bullets were made.

Mike

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Mike,

the neck is more an D, not V, it?s near the same like on my Goldstar -
so it?s easy for you to play....

Oh, OK. I thought all the Springys had V profile necks. Just when you think you've researched your Tokais, you learn something new! Shouldn't be a problem either way.

Mike

 

[bluejeannot]

Bullets? Schmullets!

 

[AlanN]

Bullets? Schmullets!

A well argued point that I won't attempt to refute.

 

[kmarccoco]

1978-1980 have number stamped on last fret. st 80 will have v(or soft v) shape neck and nitro finish.

I believe st 60 came with e pups sometimes, were two piece body, and were poly finish.

It looks pretty shiny, mabey a poly finish??

 

[bunbury]

1978-1980 have number stamped on last fret. st 80 will have v(or soft v) shape neck and nitro finish.

I believe st 60 came with e pups sometimes, were two piece body, and were poly finish.

Correct for the ST-60. However, my 1980 ST-80 does not have the 80 stamped on the last fret. I think linking features to specific dates is difficult.

The nitro/poly finish will tell you more ... but you'll know that when you see it. Pictures can be very misleading.