Tokai TS 50 Neck

[musicmart1]

Hi.. I have a pristine and genuine all original 1984 Goldstar Strat that I have faithfully stood by for 26 years without making any changes since a/ It was my first Elec Guitar & b/ I love its sound. I must confess that of late I've been having an affair with a Godin XTSA and my playing has come on enourmously.I can only put it down to the difference between the frets. Godins got medium jumbo to jumbos whereas the Toks very very flat (almost fretless - not through wear).So heres the predicament. Accept it for what it is and buy a different Strat or replace the neck (maybe get tempted to go for a rosewood neck instead of solid maple)? Reluctant to to refret for obvious loss of originality. Come on guys & girls what should a boy do???

 

[JohnA]

re-fret it and get some use out of the guitar!

 

[Anonymous]

So heres the predicament. Accept it for what it is and buy a different Strat or replace the neck (maybe get tempted to go for a rosewood neck instead of solid maple)? Reluctant to to refret for obvious loss of originality. Come on guys & girls what should a boy do???

Leave it alone! Refrets are harder on a maple board than on rosewood anyway, the finish is quite likely to peel off in places. Not good. Leo Fender never intended his necks to be re-fretted, he assumed that players would just buy a new neck & bolt it on rather than re-fretting.

Jumbo frets ruin Strats - in my opinion of course. If you can't live with the "pristine & all original" (your words) Goldstar, sell it to someone who will appreciate it, & buy a Strat with bigger frets.

Or just learn to live with it, like I have with the big frets on my 2 Love Rocks. All guitars are not supposed to be the same. :wink:

And besides all that, a re-fret ain't cheap - don't waste your money & butcher a Goldie all at once!

Mike

 

[JohnA]

re-fret it and get some use out of the guitar!

I take it all back, Mike's argument stands up much better!

 

[JVsearch]

If you like the guitar you should re-fret it with medium jumbos.
I wouldn't hesitate if it was me. Peeled off finish on maple necks looks good, or it can be re-finished when the fret job is done.

But... re-fretting does cost. However, you will probably pay a lot more for another Strat of the same quality that already has bigger frets.

And guys, what's with the idea that re-fretting is butchering? A bit OTT don't you think, frets wear out and people replace them. We are talking about an 80s Japanese Strat that was made in large quantities after all. :wink:

 

[glaister3]

+1 JohnA & Jvsearch Get it refretted!You like the guitar,it`s yours,make it suit you perfectly and to hell with keeping it original for someone else to anorak over in the future!

 

[Anonymous]

OK, here's another way of looking at it. If you get it refretted, all the money it costs is lost - the guitar afterwards will be worth (at best) no more than it's worth now.

On the other hand, there are many Strats on the market with bigger frets, flatter fingerboards etc. The Fender US Standard Strat (or is it the American series now?) is a good example. I'm not mad keen on them, largely because of the bigger frets, but there are loads on eBay for something around ?200 more than a Goldstar would sell for.

So, check out the necks on these Fenders in the nearest store. If you like them, sell the Goldie and use the money you would have spent on the refret on the Fender, which will hold it's value for the future.

Maybe you guys are enthusiastic about ripping the frets out of the old Goldie because you have only ever seen good refrets? I've seen a couple of bad ones.... :-?

 

[glaister3]

If Musicmart has owned it for 26 years I very much doubt monetary value is an issue!He should have it altered so that he`s even happier with it.Why would he want anything else?
As for bad refrets,if you research who you use properly it shouldn`t be an issue!

 

[Anonymous]

He should have it altered so that he`s even happier with it

Assuming that he is even happier with it after the deed has been done. Big frets on a Strat don't feel the same as big frets on other guitars - and once it's done, it's too late to go back....

 

[glaister3]

You could always get it refretted! (lol) Fwiw I`ve got 3 strats and 1 tele,all with jumbo/med jumbo frets and wouldn`t have them any other way.I did have an old Goldstar once,didn`t like the small/low frets, was going to get it refretted but didn`t and sold it.I now wish I had,I would still have it!

 

[Anonymous]

I must confess that of late I've been having an affair with a Godin XTSA and my playing has come on enourmously.I can only put it down to the difference between the frets. Godins got medium jumbo to jumbos whereas the Toks very very flat (almost fretless - not through wear)

How do we know that the "problem" is the frets? Does the Godin have a vintage Fender type 7.25" radius board? Or is it (as I suspect) flatter? If it's the flatter fingerboard that musicmart1 actually prefers, replacing the frets won't make things any better.

More research needed, I think....

 

[JVsearch]

If you do decide to re-fret it, definitely don't go bigger than medium jumbo IMO (which is medium really). Dunlop now do two sizes around medium - codes 6105 and 6125.

Good point Mike - what are the specs on the Godin neck? Radius possibly has more effect than frets on how it plays. A few snippets on the web seem to say that it has a 16 inch radius, and if so, that is very different to a vintage style strat. As far as I know the flattest radius ever put on a Fender Strat was 12 inch, most are 7.25 or 9.5.

It's possible that what you prefer about the Godin is the flat fret board more than anything? I still say I would re-fret the Strat but only if you like it.

 

[Diamond]

Huge mistake to put jumbo frets on a 7,25" radius neck...IMO...I had a MIM Road Worn 60s Strats, it was practically impossible to setup without it fretting out beyond the 12th fret, even with a seriously high action.

I love vintage frets, I say get used to them...just like Jimi and Gilmour got used to them. :wink:

I agree with Mike, I'd keep the guitar as is, rather buy another guitar but don't mess with the neck of a 1984 Goldstar.

 

[JohnA]

Jumbos on a 7 1/2 radius neck won't make it any harder to set-up than vintage frets, if youre Road Worn strat was a pain it was most likely that the frets weren't level

 

[Diamond]

Jumbos on a 7 1/2 radius neck won't make it any harder to set-up than vintage frets, if youre Road Worn strat was a pain it was most likely that the frets weren't level

True

But if you have a jumbo fretted neck and a vintage fretted neck with the same action, to me the action feels higher on the jumbo fretted neck because of the distance between the wood and strings...do you agree?

In other words, I like a lower action with jumbo frets and a higher action with vintage frets, thus the vintage radius jumbo frets combination just seems odd to me.

 

[JohnA]

I agree it looks higher with jumbos, and I used to find I tended to hurt my hand a bit as I was constantly trying to press on to the fret-board, jumbos require a lighter touch.

It's all personal preference at the end of the day, but anyone who says you 'need' jumbos to help bending should listen to David Gilmour, the master string bender all with vintage frets.

 

[Anonymous]

But if you have a jumbo fretted neck and a vintage fretted neck with the same action, to me the action feels higher on the jumbo fretted neck because of the distance between the wood and strings...do you agree?

Exactly. I have a jumbo fitted Goldie that I'll be selling shortly to a forum member (if he hasn't been put off by this thread!!), & that's the problem for me. My fingers are used to making contact with the wood, & the wood is further away, so the action seems higher, even though it isn't.

My tech (mainly a Gibson fan) did a great fret dress on my one, & he said he liked it better than any other Tokai of mine he's worked on. I don't, but then I'm happy with well-stoned 30 year old frets that are down to very little above the octave. Lots of players wouldn't be.

I guess you simply need to get used to fretting more lightly with a jumbo fitted Strat neck - something a Gibson (type) player would find easier.

There's no right or wrong here, just a (big) difference of opinion about the best way to go.

 

[musicmart1]

Firstly a big big thanks to all of you guys for your posts on this subject. To be totally honesty I had no idea just how much debate this would receive or the level of passion that was around for Toks. All considered I reckon theres been enough guitar tampering (vandalism?) that people have lived to regret & I dont fancy joining the club. SO I've decided to keep it with all parts original,learn to use it accordingly, buy a cheap Strat (at risk of starting another debate cant see the real benefit of USA vs Mex or Jap Fender these days) and most importantly make sure my grandson learns to live with it since one day its all gonna be his. Long live the Tokai debating society - its a great privilege to be part of it.

 

[Diamond]

musicmart1

Glad you're keeping it.

Perhaps you should try raising the action a little, that might get you the best of both worlds.

 

[Anonymous]

8) 8) 8)

Do try one of the Fender Standard Strats (US or Mexican) as you may find that the bigger frets and slightly flatter board are just what you want.