Hey all, I Just bought a stratocaster custom edition. The seller said it is from the 80's. I am not completely sure. The number on the neckplate is: 0110. Does anyone have any idea?
Tokai custom edition - which year?
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Hmmm. That’s puzzling.
In order to try and solve this we need pictures under the pickguard showing the pots, and and codes stamped in the cavities. The code on the end of the neck would help too, but most importantly we need to see the pots and the wiring.
My guess is that it was built between 1985 and 1991, but we need those pics to confirm.
Thanks
In order to try and solve this we need pictures under the pickguard showing the pots, and and codes stamped in the cavities. The code on the end of the neck would help too, but most importantly we need to see the pots and the wiring.
My guess is that it was built between 1985 and 1991, but we need those pics to confirm.
Thanks
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In the meantime, as you are seeing if you can get pics showing the internals (especially the pots), the model of that guitar is somewhere between ST28 and ST40 with those trapezoidal tuners. The pickups are most likely ceramic if they have not been replaced. They would tend to be a bit hot compared to vintage pickups.
1989 catalog
1991 catalog
1989 catalog
1991 catalog
the Tuners have not been replaced. The seller is the first owner, got it as a child ca. 30 years ago.
Looks like you just quoted yourself. LOL
The reason I used those catalogs is because they show pictures of the related models.
The trap tuners absolutely make the guitar fit under the ST50 level (i.e. 28, 30, or 40)
The problem you have is that the 4 digit serial number is extremely odd for this guitar.
We need to see the pots to get the codes off of them to date the guitar.
There was a period around 1985/1986 when AST56 guitars also had 4 digit serial numbers.
AST-56 Gallery
This is after the Fender style serial numbers ended in spring of 1986. A 4 digit number would not have been used on a guitar with a rosewood board under that system. Also Tokai Custom Edition labeled guitars first show up at the end of 1985 as I recall.
So I am wondering if they used the wrong plate on this guitar or if it is something else.
We need to pot codes and pictures under the hood to know what's up.
The reason I used those catalogs is because they show pictures of the related models.
The trap tuners absolutely make the guitar fit under the ST50 level (i.e. 28, 30, or 40)
The problem you have is that the 4 digit serial number is extremely odd for this guitar.
We need to see the pots to get the codes off of them to date the guitar.
There was a period around 1985/1986 when AST56 guitars also had 4 digit serial numbers.
AST-56 Gallery
This is after the Fender style serial numbers ended in spring of 1986. A 4 digit number would not have been used on a guitar with a rosewood board under that system. Also Tokai Custom Edition labeled guitars first show up at the end of 1985 as I recall.
So I am wondering if they used the wrong plate on this guitar or if it is something else.
We need to pot codes and pictures under the hood to know what's up.
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Thank you! I'll send the pics as soon as possible.
Hi, now I can provide you with some more pics. Hope, they help in some way. I look forward to your anser.
Attachments
And this is fascinating to me because it’s right before the 01xxxx serial numbers that so far from what I’ve seen begin in 1991.
Six Digit Serial Numbers Starting With 01xxxx 1991 1992
Six Digit Serial Numbers Starting With 01xxxx 1991 1992
... and do you know, if the guitar has an alder body?
ok. It is quite heavy. Thats maybe the reason.
Could I ask you another question? How can you read the date of manufacture from the potis?
That type of pot is known as a year/month code pot.
The first digit is the year. In your case it is 1990 because that guitar was not made in 1980.
These pots with these datable codes disappear in 1992.
You may want to read this excellent post by Voidoid56:
The first digit is the year. In your case it is 1990 because that guitar was not made in 1980.
These pots with these datable codes disappear in 1992.
You may want to read this excellent post by Voidoid56:
Pot codes... yeah, well... it's a bit of a black art, innit?
I'll share what I know... or rather what I think I know. It's basically all theories in the classic scientific sense, i e interpretations that seem to work and have yet to be disproven. Proof would be credible period documentation spelling it all out, but I've yet to see that, and I doubt we'll ever see that, frankly. I mean, we don't even know who the manufacturers were in most cases.
Most of what I have is based on the guitars that interest me the most, i e Greco Fender copies. Which is a good thing, since they more or less invariably have a plaintext month and year of manufacture in their serials, giving you a solid date to compare any pot markings to.
Anyway, first up:
The "YM X" codes seems to have been first interpreted by Burny enthusiasts, as an aid to dating unserialled instruments from the 80's and 90's. It also works fine with Grecos, which have them from about 1980. The earliest I've seen in Tokais have been 1982, and they seem to be in most guitars from about 1985-86 or so.
It's on pots with embossed markings, below the kOhm number (rarely, there's what appears to be a parts number instead, I've seen 504071, 504041, 50472 and 50442 so far).
The first character is the last digit of the year, the second one is the month (1 - 0, plus N for November and D for December). A space follows, then a letter, almost always K, but P turns up infrequently and I've heard V being reported as well. The meaning of the letter is unknown. Some sources claim that P is on push-pull pots, but this is clearly incorrect, since PP-pots are technically very different, with a large switch box (like the lower part of a mini toggle switch) attached to the bottom.
You see these in various guitars from about 1980 to at least 93-94, so there's an overlap. So, for instance, a 2 for the year could mean either 1982 or '92. In practice, that's seldom a problem, most guitars have construction tells that lets you tell the decades apart.
View attachment 1092
Late '81/early '82 Burny RLG-50. Visible codes are 18 for Aug '81 and 1N for Nov '81.
View attachment 1093
1985 Tokai TST-50, 56 for June '85.
View attachment 1094
Tokai PB-45, 26 for Feb 1982, with the very rare P code (and clearly no push-pull pots). This is one of the earliest instances of pots with these codes I've seen in a Tokai.
View attachment 1096
0D for Dec 1980 in a early'81 Greco SE. The D is easily mistaken for 0.
View attachment 1097
The "parts numbers" version of this code style. 504071 and -41 with 06 and 07 date codes in a 1990 Greco RG-950 Rickenbacker 360 copy.
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