Help ID my love rock!

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no soul

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Hey guys, Im new to the forum and Tokais!

Ive been after a Love Rock for quite sometime now, but living in the USA has made getting a nice one a pain in the ***, so I gave up on the idea a few years back, and actually just went out and bought a Gibson.

Well about a week ago, I bought an old LoveRock (with its original hardshell case and an old Sunn amplifier) for what I believe is a great price (200USD).

Problem is, Id really like to figure out which model, or what year it is exactly.

The person I purchased it from claimed to have picked it up in 1982.

Im not sure if the pickups are original, but the bridge looks to be a dimarzio (not sure which one) and the neck looks like any other PAF clone.

Ive got a picture, as well as the serial# if that would be any help in getting an ID for this guitar. Thanks in advance!

196591412_l.jpg
 
no soul said:
Hey guys, Im new to the forum and Tokais!
D'oh, there he is, the 200 bucks man... ;)

Ive got a picture, as well as the serial# if that would be any help in getting an ID for this guitar.
The serial number is the key, if it starts with "020...", it is indeed from 1982. A better picture would also help, e.g. of the pickups who might be DiMarzio PAFs, but maybe original Gotohs which look similar. If you pull out the pickups, you can also see if it has a veneer (on that photo it looks like a plain two-piece maple top) and how many parts the mahogany back has. DiMarzios pickups are stamped on the back, Gotohs, too.
 
ok, while stumbling arround the registry I found the serial # thing.

It starts w/ 10, so I suppose its an '81 (just a few more months until its really considered vintage!)

The bridge is definitely a dimarzio, it has hex bolts for the poles. The neck pickup however, does not.

also, its a single piece body, plain top, and Im pretty sure its not a veneer, since I can part of the maple peaking out from the binding on the cut away, just like a gibson. Plus based on its weight alone, Id say its definitely a reap maple cap.
 
no soul said:
It starts w/ 10, so I suppose its an '81 (just a few more months until its really considered vintage!)
Right, got one 0 too much in my posting.

The bridge is definitely a dimarzio, it has hex bolts for the poles. The neck pickup however, does not.
Still might be a Gotoh look-a-like, so it's better to get them both out.

also, its a single piece body, plain top, and Im pretty sure its not a veneer, since I can part of the maple peaking out from the binding on the cut away, just like a gibson. Plus based on its weight alone, Id say its definitely a reap maple cap.
Plain tops are always solid on Tokais, but I couldn't tell from the picture if there is some flamed graining or not. How much does it weigh? To tell if the back is one piece you can also look closely at the sides of the body. And two piece maple top or three? Then it's probably a LS50 (3) or LS60 (2).
 
By the way, does the neck have binded frets, or are they blank? Fret binding would mean a higher model than LS60, e.g. a LS80.
 
Then it's probably a LS80 in brown sunburst (BS) because of the plain top, and the pickups (might be DiMarzio Super Distortion and PAF) could have been installed by the first owner who also changed the tuners to something looking like Schaller M6s. An original 1982 LS150 with those pickups would have a solid flamed maple top, by the way.

I forgot to mention that you can sometimes find the model number and finish written in the pickup cavity, but e.g. neither my LS120 from 1981 nor my 1984 LS60 has them.
 
additional info :

Brass saddle bridge is LS-80 upwards as well as nickel hardware instead of chrome (bridge section and tailpiece parts)
 
well, I called the original owner, these arent the original pickups.

I took the neck one out and confirmed it to be a seymour duncan.

So LS80 in brown sunburst it is!

What do these things usually sell for?
I was offered a 1000 USD for it the other day, but I turned it down.
 

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