HI new here, I need to know more about my TST...

Hi! My name is of no importance, but it is Sune and I come from Sweden.
I recently joined this forum as I am one proud owner of a great Tokai Goldstar Sound Strat which I bought new in a Swedish music store (Ajax musikverkstad in Lund? someone living in the south of Sweden that remember it? ) around 1985-86. I?ve always loved this guitar and it still sounds great, maybe even better now. In fact I have compared it with a new Fender Highway One with Customshop C?54 pickups and it is not the same sound but almost? a bit smoother and not as much highs but perfect for chord hammering.
What I have been told it is manufactured in 1984 but I can be wrong.
That?s why I?m asking for help for more info about this guitar.

Facts I guess you need to know and some pictures I hope will be at your service?

• Olympic White body with a replacement pickguard, and aged white plastic parts (still got the original, a white 3-ply, and the white plastic parts.)

• Rosewood fingerboard and pre-cbs head shape with the Goldstar Sound logo.

• A six digits serial number on the neckplate, all numbers (not L+5 digits, as said here on the Tokai Directory that Tokai started to use in 1981, which makes me curious?)

What I remember, Ajax told me that Tokais with maple necks and 1-ply pickguards were copies of Fender Strats from the fifties and rosewood necks with 3-ply pickguards were copies of early sixties Strats.

And this link will take you to a page with some info and pictures of my Tokai?
http://wickmanska.se/strats/tokai.html

Now I?m wondering?
Is it a 1984 Goldstar Sound?
What model is it? TST 40/50/55/60 or 80?
Is there anyway else to look for more info on the guitar? The pickups? The pots the neck mount routing or..?

I hope there's someone out there that can help me... I'm so curious.

TIA / Sune (Frankie_Strat)

Hi Sune,

Welcome and ... nice to have you here ... :lol: :lol: :lol:

I'm not the Strat specialist - if I'm one at all - but there are alot of our mates who will tell you more ... 8) 8)

Some close-up pics would help to ID her correctly ... :wink:

I know Lund from the Wallander books - if my memory serves me well - but he's never been in a pawn shop there ... :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

So - enjoy staying here ... :lol: :lol:

Roger

Thank you for being so kind Roger. And yes, Lund is mentioned in some of the Wallander books... but here?s no pawnshops in Lund, we have to go to Malmoe for that...
There are some closeups on the web site I posted if you click the images... and if someone needs any other closeups that is necessary for dating and ID-ing my Tokai just tell me.

Frankie_Strat said:

There are some closeups on the web site I posted if you click the images... and if someone needs any other closeups that is necessary for dating and ID-ing my Tokai just tell me.

Click to expand...

Sorry for ignoring your 'perfect' approach here ... - my fault !!!

If you take a look at the body ... how many pieces is it built from ???
Show the backside of the mounted pups and the pups's cavities at least ... :wink:

Roger

No worries mate!
How many pieces the body are made of... I cant really tell... I can't see any marks that shows how many... but I will take off the pickguard soon (a bit lazy and take some snaps of the pups and the cavity.

Sune

This part below is not a Tokai discussion but I thought it might be interesting for some people anyway...
If someone is interested me and my son built a Fender Highway One out of Fender parts that we bought on the web. A funny project with a great result.
Here?s a link to that page
http://wickmanska.se/strats/index.html

Now there's some new images on the page showing the pups, pots and the stamps in the cavity and the end of the neck.
I think this is all things possible to photo on my Tokai.
If you want to take a closer look just click the thumbnails.
New question about the stamps... can it be that this Goldstar was made 1983? The stamps made me curious... take a look!
I would really appreciate if someone could help me ID my guitar.

Thanks in Advance, Sune

http://wickmanska.se/strats/tokai.html

Hi Sune!

The Goldstar is definitely not from 1983, first year for the Goldstar is 1984, previously they were called Springy Sound. My guess is that it is from the year you bought it. Also, the logo was different in 1983. I bought my first Tokai in 1984, it is a TLS-50 gold top Love Rock LP. The next year I bought a white TST-50 (unfortunately traded for a Jackson style JSX-70 the following year).

I still have the swedish 1985 price list fom the Music House group (Musikhuset) btw.

The Goldstar is definitely a TST-40, TST-50 and better models had Kluson type tuners. I notice that your guitar has vintage style bridge saddles, I suppose they have been replaced (TST-40 should have cast saddles like the 70's Fender strats)? The pickups with a ceramic bar magnet under was only used for TST/AST-40 and other low end models like the MAT-451. I have an AST-40 Goldstar myself and it's a great guitar, I have replaced the pickups with Seymour Duncans (Little '59 and hot stacks). Shown here with a TST-60/80 v-neck from 1984, it now has it's original neck again:



8=3 is some kind of date code but not the year of manufacture. The neck and body code are normally the same.

Another thing: the AST/TST-40 models are not 50's and 60's replicas, that's why my AST-40 has a 3-ply 11 screw early 60's style pickguard and a one piece maple neck. A fifties model should have a single ply 8-screw pickguard. Also, the tremolo used for the 40 model is cast in one piece like on the 70's models, it was also used on the Silver Star 70's replicas.

Mike

I am bit confused here coz I still have the original receipt for my Tokai Goldstar which I purchased in 1983 , so there must be some Goldstars from then, maybe the change over period?

ZIPPY

ZIPPY said:

I am bit confused here coz I still have the original receipt for my Tokai Goldstar which I purchased in 1983 , so there must be some Goldstars from then, maybe the change over period?

ZIPPY

Click to expand...

Did you buy it late in 1983? This is the logo that was used in 1983:

http://www.tokairegistry.com/images/tf_block.jpg

My guess is as you say that the 1984 models were available late in 1983.

Mike

Thank you all for your helping hands! And especially Mike?s (Javelin70) were really helpful.
I agree and I know according to TokaiRegistry that Goldstar Models didn?t arrive until '84 and looking back I bought mine in early '85 so that make sence... I thought it was a TST40 and you?re right I believe I changed my string saddles almost immediately... looked more vintage to me then... don?t know if I saved the old ones.
And my original Tokai pickguard is an 8-screw pickguard 3-ply white and a rosewood neck... they must have mixed it up 50'ties and 60'ties...

Mike, you said you still have the Swedish pricelist from '85... is it possible for you to scan it for me?

Have a nice day!
Ha en bra dag!

Sune

Frankie_Strat said:

Mike, you said you still have the Swedish pricelist from '85... is it possible for you to scan it for me?

Have a nice day!
Ha en bra dag!

Sune

Click to expand...

Yes, I'll try to do that as soon as possible. I also have the 1985 catalog, you can also find it at the registry home page www.tokairegistry.com

Mike

Hi guys

Welcome Frankie... saw the web page, very impressive. I do have Hi-Res images of the pages shown should you wish to have them.
I will concur with Mike - the TST-40 would be my summation of your guitar also except i would put the year at 1985, not '84.
I cannot find anything to support a Goldstar 40 series before 1985.
Please note that the 10,000 yen difference between the 40 and the 50 series was in electrics and hardware - the body and neck are identical to that used on the TST-50.

regards
Peter Mac

Peter Mac said:

I do have Hi-Res images of the pages shown should you wish to have them.

Click to expand...

I would love to have them! How? Can you put up them somewhere where I can download them via ftp or so? Have a restricted mail size.

Peter Mac said:

I will concur with Mike - the TST-40 would be my summation of your guitar also except i would put the year at 1985, not '84.
I cannot find anything to support a Goldstar 40 series before 1985.

Click to expand...

Interesting... I was pretty sure it had to be from 84 according to Tokairegistry info, but you may be right, would like to know why you think it?s from 85 and not 84.

And you?re right the electronics look pretty crappy, but they works pretty good anyway.

Thanks, Peter Mac

Hi Frankie,

Essentially the TST-40 and AST-40 did not appear in Tokai literature until the release of the 1985 year series. Even taking into account that new models are released 2-3 months prior to the Year model, it is still 1985 before a 40 series Strat replica is released.
Catalogs are : 1985 - SRV cover (USA) ; Tim Farriss INXS (Australia)
: 1984 - Tokai World Vol8 (Green Cover) ; Trad Series Vol1 - this is the one that you have on your web page.
regards
Peter Mac

I recently went through some old receipts, and I found the receipt dated 8/12/83 for my first Strat, an ST50 in Sunburst with maple board, and I remember that it had the Tokai Goldstar Sound decal, the Fenderish one, not the block lettering. I remember wondering what Goldstar Sound meant, and why the model numbers didn't appear on the guitar. Now, thanks to this site, I know, a mere 23.5 years later!

Mike