Strat copies new or old???

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QuattroSte

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Hi All,

I am looking to get a Strat copy (in research mode at the moment). I have been reading about all the vintage Tokai (Breezy, Silver, Gold etc) and hearing lots of good things about them, but there is never much said about the new Tokai Strat copies (Springysound) AST50 or AST50R. Are these vastly below the vintage model standards?
 
The new MIJ ones are build in the same factory as the original/vintage Fender copies. The only thing missing is the "lawsuit"/vintage vibe and the headstock change.

Ned
 
Cheers Ned. Have you played them? Would you rate them as, as good as the vintage models?

I like the neck to be slim. Any idea what models have the slim neck?
 
It's been a long time since I played a Springy Sound and I have not had the chance to play the new MIJ's as they are extremely rare in North America. I've got a MIK AST33 which is significantly different than my MIA Fender Strat. Would love to side by side a MIJ Tokai to my MIA Fender.

Ned
 
Quattroste and Ned,

I am going to do the same thing. I have three vintage strats (76 Blond, 82 Gold Smith Collectors, 79 Silver Anniversary) and two (soon to be 3) vintage 7okai Silver Stars - two 79's and a 78.

I am going to set the switch and tone settings the same on each guitar and then record a small song snippet of each guitar without effects directly into Pro Tracks. Then I am going to put on headphones, and then objectively compare the tone across all guitars. I may do the same experiment using a factory setting through this DigiTech GNX4. I also have a 96 G&L Legacy with a big sound that I am going to add to the study.

It will be interesting to see which of the 7 guitars bubble up to the top as far as my top choice for tone. Maybe it will be too close, but I believe I know which one. Mainly, it will be good to easily hear one guitar right after another on the timeline.

I love my Tokais, but this 1982 Smith Gold Collectors Strat is a tone machine, man. I think it's going to win - but I should be unbiased going into the study.

Glide
 
:D Of the 7 MIJ Tokai strats I have, my favorite is the GSS "Blackie" I bought 2 years ago from Songbird in Toronto. 8) The best neck of all my strats. Amber colored and a fat chunk of maple. PUP's were a bit shrill. Solved the problem by swaping the VanZants in my pink AST62' with the GSS pup's. The shrillness went away with the rosewood board 8) Ned is right about the vintage vibe being strong in the older Springys and GSS,AST's,TST's of the 80's. But by most standards being 20 something years old they are vintage :lol: TG
 

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