Early 80's Tokai Goldstar ST50

Kickstand4 · Feb 21, 2016

New member here. Would like some info as to the year produced on this Tokai Goldstar that I just bought. I attempted to date it myself using info from the registry here but I am not sure that I am doing it right.

Photos and more info, and discussion can be found here:

http://www.squier-talk.com/threads/ngd-early-80s-tokai-goldstar-st50.90618/

Thanks in advance for any help/info provided.

brokentoes · Feb 21, 2016

Wow thats a real nice au natural you have there. Very Lowell Georgesk. Do the pickups say "U" on the back or "VI" or the like ?? I know the "U" And "E" Pups came before the "V" marked ones. What year they made the switch you'd have to research more. You might also be able to date it by the pot codes.

Wish i could be more help. Hopefully others will chime in.

Congrats on the Sweet axe !!

Kickstand4 · Feb 21, 2016

Thanks brokentoes. The pickups have a V on them. I'll add a couple more photos to the squier-talk thread showing the pickups.

J.E.M. · Feb 21, 2016

From a close look at the headstock and the partially non-existent decal, it looks like a 1984 Goldstar.

Kickstand4 · Feb 21, 2016

Thanks J.E.M. That is where I am at, at the moment, also, 1984 because of the decal and the headstock shape. 1984 was a leap year, do the stamped letters on the neck heel and in the pickup bay signify month and day by any chance? The 2-29?

J.E.M. · Feb 21, 2016

AFAIK there's no correlation between the Strat serial numbers and the year, but Goldstar's with that headstock were available for a short time, as the saddles are marked Tokai and not Final Pro Spec I think it may be a late '83 or early '84.

Hopefully one of the experts will chime in on this but a Goldie with that headstock and Tokai saddles should pretty much give a short but specific time frame for manufacture.

edit; I see you were talking about the stamped numbers, sorry but I defer to the local experts on that as there's been much debate on those numbers and I don't know for sure what they mean...

felixcatus · Feb 22, 2016

Kickstand4 said:
do the stamped letters on the neck heel and in the pickup bay signify month and day by any chance? The 2-29?

I've asked Tokai and here's what they told me: code number express month and lot number.

Kickstand4 · Feb 22, 2016

So my Tokai would be a 1984 TST50, built in February and was part of lot 29 then?

felixcatus · Feb 22, 2016

Kickstand4 said:
The 2-29?

Kickstand4 said:
built in February and was part of lot 29 then?

Yes, something like that. :wink:

felixcatus · Feb 22, 2016

J.E.M. said:
Tokai saddles should pretty much give a short but specific time frame for manufacture.

Transition from Tokai stamped saddles to Final Prospec, occurred around mid '81.

Kickstand4 · Feb 22, 2016

felixcatus said:
Kickstand4 said:

The 2-29?

Click to expand...

Kickstand4 said:

built in February and was part of lot 29 then?

Click to expand...

Yes, something like that. :wink:

Then it's a 1984 guitar that has had the saddles changed out.

Thanks again felixcatus.

bluejeannot · Feb 23, 2016

if the guitar was 84 it would have a 5 digit serial number and U pickups.This is an 85 Goldie in my opinion.

J.E.M. · Feb 23, 2016

bluejeannot said:
if the guitar was 84 it would have a 5 digit serial number and U pickups.This is an 85 Goldie in my opinion.

Good point, does it also explain the saddles, did they drop final pro spec in '84?

bluejeannot · Feb 23, 2016

No, I think that the saddles were still marked final pro spec in 85 so they may well have been swapped.There is something a bit odd about the pick guard though because it has aliminium foil under the brass control pot plate.The brass plate dissapeared somtime after 84 and the cheaper foil was substituted.Given the tokai stamped saddles unusual brass plate and ali foil this might be a bitsocater, or the guitars body and neck which share the same codes may have been put together in the factory from leftover bits and bobs in 85.it would be interesting to know if the bridge block is steel or alloy.

Kickstand4 · Feb 24, 2016

Thanks for your help in this bluejeannot.

How can I check the trem block to see if it is steel or alloy? Is it as simple as using a magnet? If so it is steel, or will a magnet be attracted to an alloy block as well?

bluejeannot · Feb 24, 2016

Yes ,just use a magnet.

Kickstand4 · Feb 25, 2016

It is steel.

Sigmania · Jan 17, 2023

Pots date to January 1987, production date is February.

1987 TST50N

MKII pickups.

Similar serial numbers here:

Six Digit Serial Numbers With 2xxxxx

Early 80's Tokai Goldstar ST50

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