1983 Goldstars Script Logo

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I think the guitar I got given yesterday lives in this category, but am prepared to be disabused.

The problem I have is that the electrics have gone - it had Iron Gears in it when I got it (now removed). Everything else looks like it came from the same guitar.

What I have is:

Tokai Script Logo Gold Star
- four digit serial number - first number is 3 which made me think it might be 83 but apparently the four digit numbers don’t work like that?
- neck and body have matching codes - 5-18 on both
Maple Neck
- V carve
- single piece of wood
- “Klusons” are stamped Deluxe
- Fender accurate headstock (not US or modern)
Body
- finish does *not* pass the acetone test - so it’s poly, not nitro
- Final Pro Spec bridge, bent steel saddles, big steel block

Until I found my acetone I was excitedly imagining this was the carcass of an ST-80, but it seems that’s no longer possible. So puzzlement. I guess it is possible that the neck plate comes from another guitar - it’s obviously been hacked around at some point - but the rest seem to match.

So a couple of questions:
- is there any way I can date this more accurately than “early-mid 80s”
- any idea which model it might be?

Jim

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4 digit neck plate and V carve maple neck (54 V) means you are the proud owner of an 83/84 Goldstar ST60.The bad news is that this guitar would originally been fitted with hand wound E stamped pickups which really nail the early strat tone.
 
No electrics at all I’m afraid. Pots would have decided it nicely.

One other detail that points to it being an 86 TST50 is that the string tree is a tree, not a 50s button style one. I’d assumed it had been replaced, but if not it‘s a TST50
 
4 digit neck plate and V carve maple neck means you are the proud owner of an 83/84 Goldstar ST60.The bad news is that this guitar would originally been fitted with hand wound E stamped pickups which really nail the early strat tone.
Yeah. I’m kind of upset at the disrespect this guitar has been shown in the intervening 35 years or so. However, if I happen to have a set of Bareknuckle Apaches lying around looking for a home, so I should soon be in 1955 heaven
 
Bummer about the pots.

Here is a May 1986 TST50 with replaced pots for reference.

Serial number system had changed by May of 1986 away from the Fender style system yours has.

Note string tree and VII pickups.

Tokai Goldstar Sound TST-60s 1984 Cream White Fender Stratocaster reissue | Reverb UK

I need more examples to confirm some of this, so take my views with a grain of salt.

Other people obviously have other views.

Original pots on this one and yours would have helped immensely.



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The neck and body markings look almost exactly the same on mine. - clearly bit of painters tape left to keep the body markings clear and same red mark before the neck code (hanko stamp?). So I’ll take that as solved. Thanks much all. Unfortunately looks like I am in the wrong place with an 86 ;-)
 
Bummer about the pots.

Here is a May 1986 TST50 with replaced pots for reference.

Serial number system had changed by May of 1986 away from the Fender style system yours has.

Note string tree and VII pickups.

Tokai Goldstar Sound TST-60s 1984 Cream White Fender Stratocaster reissue | Reverb UK

I need more examples to confirm some of this, so take my views with a grain of salt.

Other people have obviously other views.

Original pots on this one and yours would have helped immensely.



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1985 catalog says on the maple fretboard models:

TST50 is the 1958 model
TST60 is the 1954 model
TST80 is the 1954 model

Fender changed from the round guide to the tree or butterfly type in 1956.

Because of that and the VII pickups in the one I linked, I think they are both TST50's. Just my opinion of course.

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And your production date is also May, 5, so I believe it is one of the last with this 4 digit number before the changeover to the 6 digit system starting with 2xxxxx.

Fascinating.
 
The white Goldstar on Reverb is an ST50 from 85/6 not an ST60. Maple necked St 60s always had a 4 digit neck plate until 85, they also had V neck, round string tree and either E or V stamped pickups and 2 piece body. RW necked St 60s had either E V or even Us and also a U shaped neck 5 digit plate and 2piece bodies.
 
The white Goldstar on Reverb is an ST50 from 85/6 not an ST60. Maple necked St 60s always had a 4 digit neck plate until 85, they also had V neck, round string tree and either E or V stamped pickups and 2 piece body. RW necked St 60s had either E V or even Us and also a U shaped neck 5 digit plate and 2piece bodies.
Yeah, I said it was a TST50. The seller on Reverb is the one calling it a TST60.

Btw, in fairness to bluejeannot, the 1984 catalog says the TST60 had the V neck....

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You gotta love this stuff.

50 or 60, 1984, 1985 or 1986 it's a nice guitar.

Congratulations.
 
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Also worth noting that these models seemed to change between 1982 and 1985 in the way Tokai described them.

Look at these specs from 1982 and 1985.

Look at the ST60 and TST60 and notice how they are described very differently in the two catalogs.

The 1958 model becomes the 1954 model.

In 1982 they are saying that ST50 and 60 are both 5 digits.

By the time your guitar was made it's 4 digits obviously, whatever it is.

4 digits would be a 1954 guitar, a TST60. But that would be a round string tree and a V neck if they are being consistent.

And I didn't notice all of the 4 digits from this period until I started logging TST-56 and AST-56 guitars. There are also a bunch of 5 digit TST-62 and AST-62 guitars.

Confusing to say the least.

1982 catalog

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1985 catalog

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Look at the
 
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FWIW, I just looked at a bunch of Goldstars with 50 and 55 stickers and I am seeing both round guides and string trees on the headstocks.

So they were not that attentive in differentiating them.

I would go with what bluejeannot said, that it is a TST60 based on the V neck shape. Forget the string tree.

I think it's probably from late 1985 or 1986. If it is, it would have had V pickups.

If bluejeannot is right, and it's from 1983/84, it had U or E pickups.

But I think he is right that it is a TST60.

Does it have the brass ground plate on the back of the pickguard?
 
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Looks like a nice book. Unfortunately I don’t have a copy so have had to sort this stuff out on my own which is a blessing in many ways because I’m not biased by what I’ve read.

Don’t get me wrong, I would love to have a copy of his book and have let him know many times. Lol.

The good people at Tokai as we all know did not always follow their own rules. If you look above you will see that in their own catalogs they changed the model year that the ST60/TST60 is supposed to represent from 1958 to 1954 between 1982 and 1985 while using the same serial number system…. Confusing to say the least.

Also, I have found at least one 1985 TST60 with a five digit serial number. New designation, old system.

I started logging TST50 and 60 maple necked guitars to see how consistent they are. Will see.

And let me say a special word about Photobucket. What a horrible company. We all posted on there in the past because of their free hosting then they started charging for subscriptions and countless images of guitars are now gone forever. I can’t say on here what I think about them. Just wanted to say once again how much they s@$&!

Thanks for posting those pages. I’m slowly assembling his book with screenshots and pages posted online. :)
 
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To further illustrate that you have to be clear about what year guitar you are talking about, check this is from the 1982 catalog.

Again this apparently changed by 1985, but it's about as clear as mud.

Peter does not make this distinction in his book. Maybe it is changed in the revised edition.

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Back to the subject of this thread, 1983 Goldstars with script logos.

I noticed in Peter's book that he is also saying the script logo began in 1983.

My guide is that the pickups changed for 1984, so if they have E or U pickups they are 1983 guitars, unless of course they had a bunch of extra pickups lying around they wanted to use up....

May never know unless some of these had pots that we can date. So far I have not seen any.

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