Need help with identification and setup info

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steve285

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Hi all,

I just managed to rescue this Strat copy from a friends rubbish container and I intend to give it some TLC. I have put some strings on it and it plays quite well all things considered, but it needs an MOT. I am not a guitar tech but have a mechanical background so I think I should be OK if I get all the relevant specs. I would like help with:

a) identification of the model. It has 7 digits on the neck plate and this doesnt seem to be an option in the Dating and ID section.

b) all relevant setup info, string / pickup heights etc. A tall order I guess, but any info would be welcome.

I cant seem to figure out how to insert pictures into the post so this is the best I can do http://picasaweb.google.com/steve285/Tokia

Thanks in advance....Steve
 
gold hardware; could be a ST100

does it have a number stamped in between the last fret & the neck end?

Is the head stock the same color as the body? Hard to tell from the photo

Whatever model, it has to be one of the best looking Springys I have ever seen 8)

Congrats :D
 
thanks for the feedback so far, to ansewr all the questions:

there is no number between the last fret and the neck end

the headstock is light wood, identical to the first picture in the "til 1985" section of Tokai Manufacture Date Chart on the Dating and ID page.

re the photo in the pickup cavities, I dont really want to take it apart until I get some setup specs.

In defence of my friend, he was trying to start a "new life" and it did look a bit sad sitting there stringless and dusty...(the new life didnt work but he isnt getting it back!)
 
There is no such thing as the "correct" info for setting up a Springy. A Springy is a Strat, and the correct way to set up a a Strat depends on your personal preferences as a player. Even if I have a professional work on a guitar of mine, I usually tweak a few details to suit my preferences when I get it back.

There is basic set up info on the Fender website, and this applies to Springys just the same as it does to anything made by Fender. A Strat rarely sounds good with a very low action - the 7.25" fingerboard radius means you need it a bit higher to avoid choking off on bends. And it will probably sound better too. If you're not confident about setting up the guitar yourself, find a decent guitar tech to do it for you.

I recently bought a 1980 Springy, and setting it up was a little beyond me as it needed the frets stoning to get the action right. Even though you may have got it for nothing, a Springy is a sought after guitar, so look after it, get it set up properly, then enjoy it.

I've never seen a Tokai in that colour before. I have a Fender in gold, but it's lighter than yours.

Enjoy - it sounds like a great Christmas present to me :p
 
This was a great save from the bin! When you string up you cut the string a bit longer beyond the 'peg' then put a 90 degree bend on the last centimetre and slot this down into the peg then wind as normal. Hey presto, no loose string ends!
 
I don't - I cut the string to length and poke the end down the slot in the tuner. As long as it's not cut too short, I don't get problems with slippage.

Mike
 
Wish I could be walking past a bin when someone is throwing away a quality guitar !. This is the second story I have heard like this, the owner of the local guitar shop was walking past a rubbish skip and rescued a nice early black Love Rock!
 
aren't ST100 supposed to be 57?

But that's one of a kind I've never seen before.

Cheers! Rup
 
Presumably ST100s come in a 50s (maple) version and a 60s (rosewood) version, like all other Springys? They must do as settebello has a gorgeous blond ST100 with a rosewood board. This one, apart from being a very rare colour, looks like a fairly typical Tokai 64(ish) clone.
 
MIJvintage said:
gold hardware; could be a ST100

does it have a number stamped in between the last fret & the neck end?

It's clearly a later (ie 1980 to 1982) model, as it has the top mounted truss rod (no skunk stripe), 11 hole scratchplate etc. So it shouldn't have the model number stamped into the end of the fretboard - that was only on pre 1980 Springys, wasn't it?
 
Hi Mike!

I've got flamed once (by you) when I said that a 57 should be maple. I had some exchange with Fender and they say that there were quite a few maples.

Apparently the key reason was availibilty of rosewood in 57.

However, original spec was and is rosewood, as you said.

In any way I've never seen an ST100 being 11-hole i.e. 62. There are quite a few ST50/60/62/80, but to my knowledge not a single ST100 being a copy of a 62.

Cheers! Rup
 
You're confusing me Rup - what do you mean "a 57"? You mean a 1957 Fender Strat? Rosewood boards were introduced to the entire Fender range in late 1959, and maple boards were dropped until around 1967, except for a few rare special orders. Is that what you mean?

With regard to the scratchplate holes, surely it doesn't matter which model it is - up till around 1979/1980 a Springy had the 8 hole plate (along with all the other 50s features, even if it had a rosewood board). After 79 or 80 the rosewood board models had the "correct" 11 hole scratchplate.

settebello has a gorgeous blond ST100 with a rosewood board that's a great match for kmarcoco's maple board blond ST100 - both of these beautiful guitars were pictured on the forum a few weeks ago.
 
Hi guys

It looks like a 1981 ST-55 GM. GM is the code for Gold Metallic. Ive seen quite a few as Goldstars but not that many Springys

Year is 1964 replica
Good colour

Peter Mac
 
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