tst-56 ? Maybe? Bueller? Bueller?

[i_mackay]

Hey dudes,

I've had a tokai strat for about 16 years now - (bought for my 15th Birthday), And I've never really known much about it, apart from it's a copy of a fender...

After a bit of research I believe it's a 1982 TST 56. I will post up some pics when I can find my camera (and it'd be really helpful if you guys could tell me what to take notice of), but in the meantime, a description is:

neck bolt-on plate has a 4 number code: 2356
Headstock has the tokai curly logo, with a crossed T (rather than backwards F) gold colour with black outline, Goldstar sound, "the quality musical instruments of the world, Oldies but Goldies), round end, rather than more pointy (i.e. fender shaped)

21 frets, rosewood fretboard, lighter wood back (no truss rod line)

tuning pegs state deluxe on the back

black body

Bridge - states "Final prospec" one each string holder

5 way pickup switch (although main three are easier to flick to - the dual pickup positions are less defined

11 screws holding the face plate

faceplate is 3 ply, white-black-white with a little semicircle indent next to the neck

three white single coil pickups, marked IIV but appear original

Volume and two tone knobs - original

Inside: I've covered the inside with copper foil in order to stop an annoying electric buzz a few years ago (worked a treat too) so can't see any lettering or numbers - I don't remember there being any though - i'd probably not have plastered over them if there were - perhaps someone could let me know if there should be any, and if so, where, and I might carefully peel the tape off to find out..

All in all to my untrained eye all parts seem genuine - and in the last 16 years I've not changed anything.

The main reason I'm posting is because I don't really use it too much, and am thinking of selling it in favour of a nice acoustic (mellowing in my old age!) hands down at the front!

It's a little bruised but only slightly - "Gigged" might be the term, and unfortunately the bridge and neck bolts are a little rusty, but probably nothing a good going over with wire wool couldn't sort out.

Like I said, I'll post some pics in a day or two, but for a start, could anyone confirm or deny my suspicion that this is a tst 56?

Cheers Guys, I look forward to your replies, and probably a battering about why I let rust on it...

Ian

 

[bluejeannot]

Hey dudes,

I've had a tokai strat for about 16 years now - (bought for my 15th Birthday), And I've never really known much about it, apart from it's a copy of a fender...

After a bit of research I believe it's a 1982 TST 56. I will post up some pics when I can find my camera (and it'd be really helpful if you guys could tell me what to take notice of), but in the meantime, a description is:

neck bolt-on plate has a 4 number code: 2356
Headstock has the tokai curly logo, with a crossed T (rather than backwards F) gold colour with black outline, Goldstar sound, "the quality musical instruments of the world, Oldies but Goldies), round end, rather than more pointy (i.e. fender shaped)

21 frets, maple fretboard, lighter wood back (no truss rod line)

tuning pegs state deluxe on the back

black body

Bridge - states "Final prospec" one each string holder

5 way pickup switch (although main three are easier to flick to - the dual pickup positions are less defined

11 screws holding the face plate

faceplate is 3 ply, white-black-white with a little semicircle indent next to the neck

three white single coil pickups, unmarked but appear original

Volume and two tone knobs - original

Inside: I've covered the inside with copper foil in order to stop an annoying electric buzz a few years ago (worked a treat too) so can't see any lettering or numbers - I don't remember there being any though - i'd probably not have plastered over them if there were - perhaps someone could let me know if there should be any, and if so, where, and I might carefully peel the tape off to find out..

All in all to my untrained eye all parts seem genuine - and in the last 16 years I've not changed anything.

The main reason I'm posting is because I don't really use it too much, and am thinking of selling it in favour of a nice acoustic (mellowing in my old age!) hands down at the front!

It's a little bruised but only slightly - "Gigged" might be the term, and unfortunately the bridge and neck bolts are a little rusty, but probably nothing a good going over with wire wool couldn't sort out.

Like I said, I'll post some pics in a day or two, but for a start, could anyone confirm or deny my suspicion that this is a tst 56?

Cheers Guys, I look forward to your replies, and probably a battering about why I let rust on it...

Ian

It sounds to me like an st50.Is this the USAmodel with the modified headstock?Also the pickguard should be single ply white not laminated if this is an all original maple necker.

 

[mrsuspend]

Hello Ian,

Your guitar sounds like a 1984-85 Goldstar, possibly tst-50, though the pickguard most probably has been changed (it should be 1-ply and AFAIK Tokai guards didn't have the truss rod indent). What do the backs of pickups look like?
The Tokai stamps are located on the end of the neck (you'd have to unscrew it) and in the control cavity. This is the only way to tell if the body is genuine so to be sure you'd have to remove the foil.

/Magnus

 

[i_mackay]

Sorry guys, I got my wood wrong - it's not a maple neck at all - it's a dark wood fretboard with a lighter wood back... sorry!

Backs of pickups are blank - the pickups have white fronts but greyish plates on the back..

Photos to come in a bit - when I get my lunch break...

Cheers

 

[Anonymous]

Whenever somebody mentions foil shielding in a Goldstar, I get flashbacks to this guitar-from-hell:

:-?

Your pics will confirm what you have, Ian, better than any description can.

Mike

 

[i_mackay]

Here's the headstock:

 

[i_mackay]

back of the tuning pegs:

Probably a bit small but it says "Deluxe" down each.

 

[i_mackay]

Bridge:

 

[i_mackay]

My foiled interior:

 

[i_mackay]

And the front with the plate in place (11 screws):

 

[i_mackay]

...and the neck plate: serial 2356

 

[i_mackay]

and finally the back with the back plate removed:

 

[Anonymous]

Most likely a 1984/85 ST50. Are there any stickers on the back of the neck, like this?

Your pic of the tuners wasn't displayed.

It would be helpful to see the body code; if it's black it should be similar to this:

 

[i_mackay]

Thanks Magnus, I'll unscrew the neck tonight and have a look.

Whereabouts inside would I find the serial number in the body? (i.e. back of the bridge pickup, on side wall, etc etc - if I can I'd rather just remove the necessary area of copper insulation..

Do the photos provide any further clues? Sorry they're a bit blurry - I took 'em this morning with my phone before work and I wasn't fully awake...

Thanks guys,

Ian

 

[i_mackay]

Hi Stratman, noticed one of my pics didn't work so I've fixed it...

There aren't any stickers on the back of the neck - the previous owner must have removed them.

I'll have a look when I get home and see if I've got a serial number inside where it is on your pic. Thanks for that.. v useful..

Ian

 

[mirrorboy]

I think a four digit neck plate usually means it's a higher spec than TST50, but they are usually on Fender '54 spec with a maple fingerboard.

 

[Anonymous]

It all looks fine, with perhaps a bit of over-kill on the shielding front! Interesting that the serial number seems wrong for a rosewood board model - they usually have a serial number beginning with L. But there seem to be a few exceptions to this "rule".

So your pickups are unstamped? Snap - my black ST50 is just the same:

It's good to know that Tokai forgot to stamp a few pickups around 1984, not just mine! From the readings from mine, they are probably Us, & I imagine yours will be too.

Should be a nice Strat?

 

[Anonymous]

This should make it clearer where the body code should be.

It's not a serial number though - that's the number on the neckplate. But on Goldstars from this period, the serial numbers don't help with dating, unfortunately, they're sort of copies of the serial numbers Fender would have used on the guitar Tokai were copying. So on a '64 Strat copy (like yours & mine), you would usually get an L serial number, like a real '64 Strat would have.

 

[i_mackay]

Ha, what can I say, except that I had some spare copper tape! - well and truely killed the buzz though (at one point I was considering installing some humbuckers - kinda glad I didn't)

Now that you show the innards from that angle, with the tag in the body, it DOES ring a bell... *unsheaths stanley knife excitedly*

I'll let you know..

great work with the clear pics - I hope you didn't take your guitar apart just to show me the tag?!

Thanks again,

Ian

 

[Anonymous]

Nope, when I get a new (to me) Strat, I always wire it with a master tone control & a .022 cap. In the case of the black one, I also wanted to remove the bridge humbucker you can see in one of the pics. So while I have a guitar in pieces, I take pics to save me having to strip it down again if I want to check up on some minor details that I might forget about.

The pics have proved to be very useful!