Tokai Ls80 1978 with funny thing on neck

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aroomstudios

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https://reverb.com/jp/item/5372163-excellent-1978-tokai-ls80-reborn-electric-guitar-ref-no-507

Look at picture number 11

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It almost looks like the neck is two pieces. Have any of you ever seen something like this? I think this is defiantly a LS80 as it has FEB but the neck thing is really weird.
 
it is a two piece neck; some of the earliest Tokai LS examples had two piece necks, joined at the 'center line'

Bacchus did the same with their early production white limba aka Korina lumber examples from their 'Vintage Series' line back in the late 1990s
 
Thanks for that.

I remember the Gibson Les Paul's (I think Deluxe) from the 1970's that had 3 piece necks. I think they also had something like a 12 piece body or something like that. Those things sounded terrible.
 
aroomstudios said:
I remember the Gibson Les Paul's (I think Deluxe) form the 1970's that had 3 piece necks. I think they also had something like a 12 piece body or something like that. Those things sounded terrible.

I believe that Gibson LPs went to a 3 piece neck early in the 1969 model year. Well prior to adding the volute or "Made in USA" stamp.
 
Mick51 said:
aroomstudios said:
I remember the Gibson Les Paul's (I think Deluxe) form the 1970's that had 3 piece necks. I think they also had something like a 12 piece body or something like that. Those things sounded terrible.

I believe that Gibson LPs went to a 3 piece neck early in the 1969 model year. Well prior to adding the volute or "Made in USA" stamp.

Yes, but maple 3 pieces, not mahogany
 
So, what is the sound difference in the 2 piece neck vs a traditional one piece? Was this just done to make the neck stronger? Or was is cheaper to do?
 
yes but i have also paid shipping and import duty from japan so when you add that on to the price its expensive

for me to bring that to my door in europe would be 1720 euros with shipping and customs fees, i sell these with a 1 piece neck at 1600 euros, so you can see why i think its quite expensive....
 
I think in europe this guitar would be expensive but to say Australia or USA the guitar is priced average. This guitar would cost me 2400 AUD but your LS 80s from europe would be 2800-3000 which I believe to be overpriced.
 
yes because you don't pay anywhere near the rate of import duty that we in Europe have to suffer.... it works out overall at 25% of the guitar and shipping costs!! so obviously if you buy a guitar which is already in Europe then the seller has already paid these costs to get it there, which is why it is expensive for people in the USA or Oz to buy from Europe as opposed to buying from each other or Japan...
 
aroomstudios said:
So, what is the sound difference in the 2 piece neck vs a traditional one piece? Was this just done to make the neck stronger? Or was is cheaper to do?

if the join is properly done likely no difference in sound; two piece could actually be a more stable neck

two piece neck is cheaper to construct because larger bits of lumber are not required
 
dombat said:
Mick51 said:
aroomstudios said:
I remember the Gibson Les Paul's (I think Deluxe) form the 1970's that had 3 piece necks. I think they also had something like a 12 piece body or something like that. Those things sounded terrible.

I believe that Gibson LPs went to a 3 piece neck early in the 1969 model year. Well prior to adding the volute or "Made in USA" stamp.

Yes, but maple 3 pieces, not mahogany

No. Not maple in 1969.
 
Is that an Inkie ?? I personally don't think a 2 piece neck will make any sonic difference but to each their own. Whenever you drop large amounts of cash on anything it should be what you want. Some people have to have nibs, couldn't play a guitar with a volute or a veneer etc. Don't settle, just get what you want. Saves time and $$
 
guitar hiro said:
aroomstudios said:
So, what is the sound difference in the 2 piece neck vs a traditional one piece? Was this just done to make the neck stronger? Or was is cheaper to do?

if the join is properly done likely no difference in sound; two piece could actually be a more stable neck

two piece neck is cheaper to construct because larger bits of lumber are not required

Strictly from a wood engineering point of view - which we know doesn't mean all that much to guitarists, this thread being an example...

* a 2 piece laminated neck is stronger and more stable, that's why they do it.

* considering the grain needs to be opposing or mirrored in the halves for best results, you can't just put any two pieces of wood together in a neck, so the idea of using smaller pieces or scraps making it cheaper to build is wrong... cutting, selecting, gluing up and machining a neck takes longer than just machining one from a 1 piece blank, again it's done because it's stronger and more importantly it's more stable.
 
J.E.M. said:
guitar hiro said:
aroomstudios said:
So, what is the sound difference in the 2 piece neck vs a traditional one piece? Was this just done to make the neck stronger? Or was is cheaper to do?

if the join is properly done likely no difference in sound; two piece could actually be a more stable neck

two piece neck is cheaper to construct because larger bits of lumber are not required

Strictly from a wood engineering point of view - which we know doesn't mean all that much to guitarists, this thread being an example...

* a 2 piece laminated neck is stronger and more stable, that's why they do it.

* considering the grain needs to be opposing or mirrored in the halves for best results, you can't just put any two pieces of wood together in a neck, so the idea of using smaller pieces or scraps making it cheaper to build is wrong... cutting, selecting, gluing up and machining a neck takes longer than just machining one from a 1 piece blank, again it's done because it's stronger and more importantly it's more stable.


but then, one would likely ponder the notion that Tokai Gakki only utilized this two piece neck construction technique for a few months of the first year of LS production, and why was that, considering the total time of LS production has been nearly 40 years

if Tokai Gakki utilized this production technique for basically < 1% of the total time they have been producing LS examples, and considering as you claim the technique is utilized for a more stable & stronger construction, then why would Tokai Gakki NOT utilize said construction for the other 99% of LS production for the past nearly 40 years?

Obviously, there is another, different explanation, than what you state
 
First difference is that as I mentioned, two piece is more labor intensive and for the reasons noted that extra cannot always be offset by material savings.

The other difference is that as Tokai and others in Japan lead up to the glory days of 78 to 84, they tried to make replicas as closel as possible to the Gibsons/Fenders, a move which which resulted in said glory days.

The switch over was from knock offs made from pictures to replicas built from examples in hand.

All sorts of different things can be found on guitars from this time period, the first Springy's had smaller neck plates etc etc

Up to 79 the Greco LP's 700 and up were pancake construction with 3pc Maple necks like the Norlin Gibsons of the 70's - Following that the Super Real series brought in 1 piece Mahogany necks.
 
well, as stated previously, if Tokai Gakki was under the impression that a two piece neck was actually the way to go then we would have seen that on LS models for the past ~40 years, but that was not the case

don't know how Springy's, Greco LP's, Norlin Gibsons, or Super Real have anything to do with the concept of Tokai LS examples having a two piece, or a 1 piece neck
 
villager said:
yes because you don't pay anywhere near the rate of import duty that we in Europe have to suffer.... it works out overall at 25% of the guitar and shipping costs!! so obviously if you buy a guitar which is already in Europe then the seller has already paid these costs to get it there, which is why it is expensive for people in the USA or Oz to buy from Europe as opposed to buying from each other or Japan...

Thats what I was trying to say... Location when buying guitars is very key. In Australia Japanese replicas are popular compare to the US as a new LP standard here is approaching 5000 AUD
 
The two piece neck was probably just an experimented in those early days. Prototypes of any guitar having changing specs especially in the first few months. The burst Tokai modelled off may have been used a few months after they started building the LS series, who knows?
 
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