What's in the control cavity?

Tokai Forum

Help Support Tokai Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

willivory

Active member
Joined
Apr 28, 2002
Messages
34
Reaction score
0
I have a '80 Reborn Old (LS-50 LP Style) that has circuit boards in the tone control cavity. I'm certain the guitar's electronics are all original as I've seen the circuit board in pictures of other Tokai guitars of similar vintage and make. However, I recently procured a '81 Love Rock LS-80 GoldTop that does not have the circuit boards. It does have what I think are two rather large cylindrical capacitors instead (I could be wrong as I'm not an electronics expert). I know the bridge pickup is a replacement. What strikes me about this beautiful guitar, which has a dark-stained body and neck with binding covering the fret ends, is that the attention to detail is incredible. The cream parts are yellowed and the top is a faded gold, giving it the look of a Tom Murphy-aged Gibson Historic Reissue. So the question is this: Did someone modify the controls (even the pots look like the original Gibson type) in an effort to give this guitar a vintage Gibson vibe or did Tokai make certain models this way, with a more vintage style control setup as commonly found on Gibson LP's? The circuit board would seem to be an electronic modernization of some type. I would think, if Tokai used them in '80, they would continue to do so thereafter rather than revert to a simple arrangement of pots and capacitors. I couldn't care less if this happens to be an aftermarket mod as the guitar is a real monster. Just curious.

Will
 
Hi Will,
this is a good question so I'll see if we can't make sense of it.

The "bumblebee" capacitors were used on the top-end Love Rocks whilst the rest of the range were given the Circuit Board. This much is certain.

Now before you go and strip off the Gold finish to look for a flame maple top, read on.
From what I can gather, the solid flame top LS150 & LS200 were not released until 1982. This would make the LS-80 the top end guitar in 1981. In all the eBay auctions I've followed over the past 18 months, I have not seen a pre81 Tokai Les Paul/Love Rock higher than LS80.
There must be some people who have pre81 Tokai (Yoshi???) who can support or clarify this point.

regards
Peter Mac
 
Thanks, Peter Mac. Makes me feel even better about the guitar. I'm not about to strip the finish. I've owned a number of flametops, even a Guitar Trader reissue. The funny thing about flametops is that there's always a one out there that can rival whatever you own in beauty, and people get kind of wacky about grading the wood. I prefer the Black or Gold finish on an LP. What you see is what you get and no one's going to say "my guitar is blacker than yours!". I think.

Will
 
I own a '81 Tokai LS 150... the serial number is 1013524...
TOM

Peter Mac said:
Hi Will,
this is a good question so I'll see if we can't make sense of it.

The "bumblebee" capacitors were used on the top-end Love Rocks whilst the rest of the range were given the Circuit Board. This much is certain.

Now before you go and strip off the Gold finish to look for a flame maple top, read on.
From what I can gather, the solid flame top LS150 & LS200 were not released until 1982. This would make the LS-80 the top end guitar in 1981. In all the eBay auctions I've followed over the past 18 months, I have not seen a pre81 Tokai Les Paul/Love Rock higher than LS80.
There must be some people who have pre81 Tokai (Yoshi???) who can support or clarify this point.

regards
Peter Mac
 
:eek: I thought that the "control cavity" was what a woman has that she uses to make a man do as she wishes? :roll:
 
Barry is right. And if the guitar in question is in the Ohio area of USA, let ME know where it is, and... I'll pass the info on to Barry... (Heh...)
 
Hi guys,

Tom, what type of truss rod cover does your LS-150 have - bell or diamond?
It could be that 1981 was the 1st year for solid flame tops, not 1982.
Still, I have not seen any pre82 LS150 or LS200 on EBay. Tom is one of the lucky guys.
Would I be right in presuming that there is no model number stamped into the fretboard after the 22nd fret.
Supernaut, any pics or other features you can tell would be most helpful..or better yet, mail it to me in Australia and I will personally examine it for you AT NO CHARGE.
Barry, that Ralph Denyer book - excellent. I have 2 copies, one is a hard cover 1st Edition and the other is a soft cover 3rd Edition.

regards
Peter Mac
 
the truss rod cover is diamond shape
i will take some pictures this weekend


Peter Mac said:
Hi guys,

Tom, what type of truss rod cover does your LS-150 have - bell or diamond?
It could be that 1981 was the 1st year for solid flame tops, not 1982.
Still, I have not seen any pre82 LS150 or LS200 on EBay. Tom is one of the lucky guys.
Would I be right in presuming that there is no model number stamped into the fretboard after the 22nd fret.
Supernaut, any pics or other features you can tell would be most helpful..or better yet, mail it to me in Australia and I will personally examine it for you AT NO CHARGE.
Barry, that Ralph Denyer book - excellent. I have 2 copies, one is a hard cover 1st Edition and the other is a soft cover 3rd Edition.

regards
Peter Mac
 
opened a new post with some pictures from the guy i bought it
how you like it?
i could buy a '85 gibson pre-historic reissue for about 2500$
and i don't know to give my tokai away for it???
see picture here:
http://members.aon.at/haram/lp2.jpg
TOM
 
I have 2 Tokai Reborn Old LS120 --0009384
Tokai Reborn Old LS120 --0007817
Both have a very mild flame with a quarter-sawn cut or maybe it's rift sawn?? One of them has some blister or rather a bubble like figure sort of between a bird’s eye and quilt.
Both of them sport Demarzio's and sound PHAT-

I'm kind of thinking 1980 was the first year that Tokai actually sported Flame tops and each year after that they got better and better Flamed maple???

I have heard a few references to certain LS-120's from '81 had laminate tops?? And the person making that statement claimed he had an inside source at Tokai that actually dated it for him?? WHAT A CROCK!! But to this date I have never actually seen any (Laminate top early eighties that is) or should I say they never have been photographed and documented??? I suppose that would be my challenge to a few of these fellow Tokai enthusiasts--to show me as I'm from the "Show me State"

I had this one guitar local GURU --swearing up and down that all of the MIJ flametops from that era including late 70's were "FAKE" but when I actually brought a couple of mine down there pickups removed and offering to take it apart even further-he never really could show me the "fake" flame-just mumbling "those japs are tricky"

Anyway I was under the impression that there might have been photo flame tops on the 1983-4 models but now the same guy that told me that has changed his tune and his auction states "models lower than LS120’s all have veneer flame tops" I just wish someone would :( "Show Me!!"
 
aaahhh...i see. if japanese are so tricky that we cannot even tell a laminated from a real top how can we be sure that any claimed solid flame top on LS-whatever is real? IMO according to guitars real is what we can see AND touch and not what we were told by others.
 
here are the new pics of my '81 LS-150
http://520050480163.bei.t-online.de/Tokai_LS-150/tokai_ls-150.html
 

Latest posts

Back
Top