Which model Silver Star have I bought?

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I can see any stamp on the end of the fretboard on the pics of mine, so I assume that means its a 1980/81/82?
 
So is the nut width 42mm also on these? Or something else? :)
 
I'll post pics when I get it - the seller says he's going to send it tomorrow. Just got in from a Tokai-only rehearsal - played my new white Goldstar 90% of the time, my Springy ST80 the rest of the time. Very impressed with the Goldie - compares well with the Springy,which cost more than twice as much. The SS is going to have a hard job to compete with the Goldie. :p
 
Nice one Mike!

I really like the necks on these. They're a little skinnier than Goldstar/Springys--41 mm at the nut, at least on mine. Your SS is probably a 1982 from the serial on the neck--same rules apply as other Tokais I presume. These will only have the model stamped into the neck if they're from mid-1980 or earlier (same as other Tokai guitars).

A few drawbacks to the lower end models that I've noticed: no brass ground wiring harness under tone controls, so-so tuners, 2 piece neck, and flat-pole pickups. None of these are really big deals, and these pickups can actually sound really good depending on your setup. These are nice guitars with good old wood, and great feeling necks.

The higher end Silver Stars improve greatly as you go up in model. I have an SS-80, an SS-50 (or maybe 60, or 48--not exactly sure), and an SS-36 or 38 like this one. The SS-80 is a great guitar--V neck, nitro finish, Dimarzio pickups (I recently read FS-1 model--can't confirm this--they have black backs) and a 1-piece sen body. It's got unusual brass saddles and a brass nut that just make it sing. At first I found the Dimarzio pickups a bit too hot for my liking. I had replaced them with a spare set of Tokai U-stamps, but I recently reinstalled the originals and found that by just changing my amp settings a bit it sounds great, and different in a nice way from my Springys and Goldstars. The Dimarzio pickups nicely define each note--you can hear everything you play, if that makes any sense.... and loads of gain if you want it. The tuners on it are a lot like Schallers--not traditional looking at all, but really smooth, nice high ratio and totally stay in tune.

http://s215.photobucket.com/albums/cc152/gothamcitydrugstore/

I just got my SS-50 and 38 last week (again, not exactly certain about these). The 50 has the same tuners as my SS-80, but a C-profile neck and poly finish. It's got staggered pole pickups (grey-back, but unmarked), brass ground wiring harness, and chrome saddles. The nut is regular plastic. I like the C-profile neck more than the V with a neck this thin--the nut is 41mm. The pickups on this are quite nice.

The flat-pole pickups on the SS-38 are fairly interesting, but they sound about the same to me as the ones in my Goldstar TST-40, so I've swapped them out for a set of grey-backed Tokai VIIs that I bought on ebay. This guitar now has the nicest strat-chime--wow! I'm not impressed with the tuners, but they work and stay in tune which is what they're supposed to do. Again, the C-shape of the neck feels very good with a neck this skinny.

These clearly were Tokai's run at Fender's current models when they first came out. I've owned 2 1970's Fender strats (both long sold, although I wish I had waited a bit longer to sell...), and I like all of these better. The higher end models are worth waiting for--they come up the odd time. The tuners feel really nice on these, and the 80 models are finished in nitro. There was an SS-80 model on ebay recently--I don't think it sold, and it was listed at $600 US.

I think SS-60s are about the same as my SS-50, but have the brass saddles with a plastic nut. I can't verify this, but this is what I remember from compulsive ebay auction watching. Not sure what pickups they have either. All in all, Silver Stars are underrated IMO.

Enjoy!

Chris
________
Full Melt Hash
 
Hi guys,

All in all - Silverstars ARE under-rated.
Just to clear up a few points . . .
* ONLY 78 - 82 SS-80's had Brass saddles and Ash bodies.
* model stamps on fretboard finished early-1980
* body blanks were same as springy / goldstar
* 36/38 & 40 series - same build spec - different colours
* 48 & 50 series - same build spec - different colours
* ALL SS-60 have 4-bolt necks
* DiMarzio FS-1's have much wider pole pieces than anything

play nice and have fun

regards
Peter Mac
 
OK guys, it arrived this morning. Haven't had a chance to try it properly, but a brief test suggests that it feels good (and looks pretty good too), but is maybe rather thin sounding. Changing pickups is always a possibility in the future.

I'll post pics later.

A question about the micro-tilt neck - how do you adjust it? Do I just have to find the right size of Allen key to put into the small hole? The bridge saddles are almost at the bottom of their adjustment, so tilting the neck back a touch should help with the action - a bit like putting a shim under the body end of the neck.

It seems to be a three piece alder body, nicely joined but without the grain being matched like it is on my Springys. Which is fair enough for the lower price. It looks like the bottom part of the headstock is joined, which makes it a two piece neck. The neck is nice and slim, the tuners seem OK.

So, to sum up, it's from after 1980, as it clearly had the sticker on the back of the neck, which has now gone. Before 1983, because of the older type decal. Does everyone agree with cheshirecatsmile's verdict that it's a 1982?

It seems that it must be an SS36, SS38 or SS40 from what people have said? I'll take some pics under the scratchplate later, when I put a .022 cap into it - are there any clues I can look out for to decide if it's a 36, 38 or 40?

Thanks everyone for your help - looks like I started an interesting discussion about Silver Stars. 8) I am right in thinking that these were only released in Japan, aren't I?
 
A question about the micro-tilt neck - how do you adjust it?

I had a go at one of mine when I first got it to straighten out the action, which was a bit high at the 12th fret. I don't know if this is the correct method, but it seems to have worked well on mine. Find an Allen key that fits the slot at the back (metric I believe--I think there is a recent post where Luis measured his--I can't remember the exact size--I just rummaged in a bin till I found one that fit!). Loosen up the 3 screws on the neck plate a bit (1/2 turn or so?--just so there's a bit of play on the neck). I think I also tuned the strings down so they were not at full tension, but still taut. Turn the Allen key slowly until your action is straight, or at least adjustable with the bridge saddles, then tighten the screws back up. You may need to fine tune the action further at the bridge saddles.

Another approach might be to set your bridge saddles to a good medium height before adjusting the tilt. You may have to do a little bit of further fine tuning on individual strings with the bridge saddles after adjusting the tilt, but this might be a better way of getting your bridge saddles into a position where you have play on either direction, as well as possibly being a bit easier, as you know your saddles are about where you want them when you're adjusting the tilt. Hope that makes sense... :D

Chris
________
One vaporizer
 
Thanks Chris. I've put heavier strings on, so I'm waiting for the truss rod to settle down after being tightened. I'll have another go at getting the action right tomorrow.

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It is surprisingly thin sounding, compared to my Goldstar with U pickups. I was surprised that the pickups measure as stronger than the Us - they don't sound like it. I guess it must be the way they are voiced - perhaps some sort of treble peak to make them sound more like 70s Fender pickups? The Us measure around 6.1/6.2k, these ones read 6.3/6.5k.

Here are the pics, for anyone who is interested:

http://s183.photobucket.com/albums/x153/stratman323/Tokai%20Silver%20Star/
 
stratman323 said:
It is surprisingly thin sounding, compared to my Goldstar with U pickups. I was surprised that the pickups measure as stronger than the Us - they don't sound like it. I guess it must be the way they are voiced - perhaps some sort of treble peak to make them sound more like 70s Fender pickups? The Us measure around 6.1/6.2k, these ones read 6.3/6.5k.

I checked mine and looks like is a 76 strat clone, so that's could be the reason. but on the other side - when I plug it into Marshall JMP superbass it sounds like hell. maybe because that amp has too much balls and with this guitar screams fantastic. I tried one Fender strat from mid 80's with lace sensor pickups and it didnt' sound so good. maybe is this winning combination ;)
 
a lot ;)
as I mentioned in previous posts: it's not a universal guitar but with JMP sounds fantastic. and it's really great fealing when you play it. I think Silverstars are definitelly underpriced. And I'm glad is like this ;)
 
Diodibuh said:
when I plug it into Marshall JMP superbass it sounds like hell. maybe because that amp has too much balls and with this guitar screams fantastic. I tried one Fender strat from mid 80's with lace sensor pickups and it didnt' sound so good. maybe is this winning combination ;)

I guess that we all have a different idea of what the "winning combination" is. Perhaps with a Marshall, it's fine, but through a rather bright Fender amp, the SS sounds a bit too thin. I don't like Lace Sensors either - too sterile sounding.

I can't say I'm blown away by the Silver Star so far. The trouble is, whenever I pick up my white Goldstar, it feels, looks and sounds better. Maybe I'll change my mind, but I think buying this has just confirmed to me that the real Tokai bargains are the Goldstars - they don't cost much more, but they seem a fair bit better.
 
exactly. on mesa boogie mark III doesn't sound good. but on JMP sounds great. that's why I have mode guitars and more amps. ;)
but if you look how is made - comparing to goldstar - is there a big difference?
 
Diodibuh said:
but if you look how is made - comparing to goldstar - is there a big difference?

It's hard to tell as the Goldie is a sold colour, so it's not possible to see the details of the body construction. But, the neck just isn't such a snug fit into the body pocket on the SS - there's a slight gap on the treble side. It's only about 1 or 2 mm, but the neck on the Goldie is as snug a fit as I've ever seen on a Strat.

And I'm finding it hard to get the right balance of low action and no choking on the top E on the SS. Maybe I'm just being clumsy with my adjustments, but the white Goldie almost set itself up! I will admit that the bullet truss rod is much more convenient than having to take the neck off each time, but it is a bit ugly too.

The tuners feel cheap on the SS, the Goldie's are fine. The pickups sound thin on the SS, whereas on the Goldie, I've changed my mind about fitting a set of Seymour Duncans I have spare - I think I'll stick to the Us. On the Goldie, and on Springys, there's a neat little brass plate under the controls for soldering the earth leads to. The SS just has a piece of foil.

Finally, the headstock has two extra bits of wood glued on - the Goldie's neck is one piece of maple.

Having said that, the white Goldie is the best Goldie I've played, and is the best of the three I own, so maybe it isn't an entirely fair comparison.

Please don't think I'm just having a whinge, the SS was cheap, and I was curious to see what the difference is between the two types. I might change my mind later when I get it set up properly. But initial impressions are that a Goldstar is worth the extra, as far as I'm concerned.
 
Apart from the tuners and the several pieces headstock. How many peices neck is it and how's the resonace of the guitar? Hard to see how many pieces body?
 
Stratman.Take a look at this SS on e-bay at the moment,i was thinking about it,but only thinking at the mo :wink:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=320241506399&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=011
 
Rossi said:
Stratman.Take a look at this SS on e-bay at the moment,i was thinking about it,but only thinking at the mo :wink:

Well it looks nicer than mine, but you can't beat a white Strat! It has the newer decal, so arguably less desirable. Replaced tuners, I assume?

Seems to me like a lot of money, once you've paid shipping and Customs. Better off buying one from the UK, I reckon. Or getting a Goldie!
 

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