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For Sale: 1980 LS80 Love Rock

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Red Tele

Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2004
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Location
Colorado Springs CO
1980 plaintop "teaburst" Love Rock in very good condition. Original case included. $1150 + shipping.

Pics available if interested.

Please no PayPal. Money Order preferred.

Thanks for looking,

Kai (Red Tele)
 
I still have it, but I can't send pics till later this afternoon (they reside on my home PC).

I'll send them out as soon as I get home (roughly 4hrs. from now).

Cheers
 
Note: The red is somewhat less prounounced than the pictures indicate.

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A board member has asked me the following questions regarding the sale of my LS80, and given me permission to post them and my answers in this forum.

I pride myself in my integrity and honesty. I have answered every question to best of my ability. If I don't know an answer, I say so. I do not make up facts for the sake of a sale. I would prefer to sell it to a board member than resort to eBay, even though it's quite possible I could get more than my board price of $1150 + shipping.

Admittedly, I am hoping for a quick sale to feed my Marshall small box head fever and help pay a bill or two.

And off we go!!

1. Is everything original an this guitar or have parts been changed?
Original pups, original circuit board and pots/caps, original finish, original tuners, original frets, Gibson TOM. The previous owner informed me the original bridge had buckled and had to be replaced. I am unsure about the tailpiece. It comes with its original "Tokai" brass labelled case with dark green lining. The pics I have posted make it look like a cherry burst, but she's actually more of a tea/light tobacco burst. It is a beautiful and well crafted instrument. I'd put it up against ANY Gibson.

2. How long have you been playing/owning it?
I have owned/played it for about one year, maybe a little more, and I'd be keeping it if I did'nt have Marshall small box head cravings for my 1965A/1965B cab stack. At the moment I am using the Marshall Artist 3203 hybrid head (EL34 power tubes/solid state preamp) which is nice, but I'd like to try an all tube (small box) Marshall. Perhaps the JMP-1 tube preamp will get me there.

3. Does it have the lightweight tailpiece?
To be completely honest, I do not know. I have never removed the tailpiece during string changes.

4. Any issues?
Just gobs of sweet, creamy tone! No, it has no issues, cracks, repairs, etc. The usual wear on the back, nothing through the finish or grotesque. Frets are in fine shape. Very, very, low action.

5. Does the Love Rock still have the 18 degree headstock & nitro finish?
It has the appropriate and original headstock angle for a 1980 LS80 Love Rock. The finish is original which I assume is nitro. Perhaps more knowledgable board members can help out on these two questions.

6. And how much does it weigh?
She's a featherweight at 8lbs. I've had heavier Strats!

7. How much would shipping be on this one? And why no paypal - because of the fees?
I have only shipped to Europe once, and it was a long time ago. I do not recall the shipping cost. I do prefer to use FedEx however. If a person showed genuine interest at my selling price of $1150 + shipping, I would investigate shipping charges further. The PayPal fee is a pisser. If the buyer absorbed the PayPal, I would accept PayPal payment and/or add the fee it to my selling price. When all is said and done, it is still a bargain for this fine instrument IMHO.

That's the long and short of it. I hope she finds a good, deserving home with a Tokai Forum member. If not, she's off to (ugh!) eBay.

Kai
 
Red Tele said:
3. Does it have the lightweight tailpiece?
To be completely honest, I do not know. I have never removed the tailpiece during string changes.
5. Does the Love Rock still have the 18 degree headstock & nitro finish?
It has the appropriate and original headstock angle for a 1980 LS80 Love Rock. The finish is original which I assume is nitro. Perhaps more knowledgable board members can help out on these two questions.
Tokai grouped their Love Rock series into "Vintage" with those higher specs and "Standard" at least from 1981 on (see that catalog), but probably already in 1980 (no catalog available). The "V" Love Rocks started with the LS120V, although a black LS100SON is also shown on that page. Anyhow, LS80s were not part of that group (and there is only a Goldtop LS80 in that catalog), so my guess would be that a standard LS80 from 1980 neither has a lightweight tailpiece nor a solid flamed maple top nor a nitro finish which could be different for special orders. It might have a one-piece mahogany back, because it seems that Tokai also used those on early low-end Reborns now and then, maybe because they were too heavy for the top models which got selected lightweight bodies (only guessing here, no proof).

On the main site you can find a translation of the 1979 catalog specs for Reborns which mentions 18? headstock angle and one-piece back for a LS80, so it's likely that one year later they still had these specs:

http://www.tokairegistry.com/tokai-info/tokai-gibson-models.html
 
Thank you for the update.

After closer inspection and comparison, I'm pretty sure my LS80 has the 18 degree headstock angle. It is considerably more angled than other Paul copies, and modern Pauls I have.

Hope this helps!

Kai
 

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