There is no way to identify year from the serial number alone but your spaghetti logo indicates it is no later than 1982. Notice that the T looks a lot like an F (for Fender). IT was changed to block logo in 1983 and back to script in 1984 but the T no longer resembles a F by 1984.
Hi All, I bought last week new from a music shop a Tokai Goldstar Sound (presumably TST50) strat copy. They had it in the shop for years and I finally decided if noone else was having it then I would. The strange thing is, I thought Tokai were not making these fender copies in 2009, and that they were still manufacturing for fender japan at the time? There are a few other features of the guitar that make it stand out from my other two TST50s (a 2011 sunburst and a 2013 mary kaye), namely: -Very bright 'amber' sunburst -One piece swamp ash body -Parchment pickup covers/knobs -Deeply tinted maple neck -Plain unstamped (gotoh presumably) saddles -09 serial number Is it possible with the above features this was part of a limited run? The (apparently) one piece body in particular is very unusual. Click to expand.Interesting. And congratulations too, that looks very nice.
First, let's tackle the old 'a slight step down from a Springy Sound' myth. Complete nonsense.
The Springy changed to the Goldstar in mid 1983. All that changed was the name & the decal. A 1982 Springy & a 1984 Goldstar are pretty much identical, no significant change in specs took place when the name changed. This article might help to explain what happened back in the day.
Now we're getting more into speculation with the more recent models, so I'll tell you what I know to be the case, & also what I believe is probably the case. As far as I can make out, Tokai made some of the Fender Japan guitars for a period of about 10 years, ending some time around 2007/8. Around 2010 MIJ Tokais with the Fender headstock shape started appearing for sale on a couple of internet sites in the UK. My assumption at the time was that Tokai had assembled them from parts left over from the Fender Japan contract & just re-badged them.
But they still seem to be around, so my theory seems to be incorrect. I did wonder if they were going to be a limited batch, & therefore quite rare, but that doesn't seem to be the case.
I bought a Breezy TE50 from Rockem on eBay in 2010. It doesn't have a serial number, & none of the others I have seen did either. So the serial number on this guitar is a mystery to me. Mine has what seems to be a 3 piece ash body, beautifully joined. My assumption was that the two colour SB body came from one of the MIJ 50s Teles, with the neck from a 60s Tele. That assumption now seems to have been incorrect. As for 'No, the one piece body on a Goldstar Sound is not unusual at all nor is it particularly rare.'
- also not true, I'm afraid. One piece bodies are very rare on Strats, whenever & wherever they were made. Back in the 80s, only the top of the range ST100 had a one piece sen body, & they are as rare as hen's teeth. Even my nitro finished 1980 Springy ST80 has a centre joined 2 piece body, so if this Strat here really does have a one piece body, that's something I can't explain. It IS rare though.
Unless the joins are just very skillfully hidden? I do wonder what the body wood is though. If it is, why do they use ash now when they used sen 30 years earlier?
Is sen harder to source? Have you contacted Tokai UK for clarification?
There used to be a helpful guy there called Bob Murdoch, but his e.mail ad. Seems to be dead, so maybe he has left? To the OP - it would help to know where you live. Narnia isn't a great help. By the way, Tokai has a history of using serial numbers that are not date specific, so (for example) you can't date a 1984 Goldstar from it's serial number - the rosewood board models used L prefixed serial numbers, just as old Leo used on 1964 guitars. I can understand your logic in assuming that an 09 prefixed serial number means it dates from 2009, & you may be right. But it may just be a coincidence.
I'm surprised it has a serial number at all, so I'm now wondering why some instruments have them while others don't. One consistent thing about Tokai over the years - they like to keep us guessing! By the way, Tokai has a history of using serial numbers that are not date specific, so (for example) you can't date a 1984 Goldstar from it's serial number - the rosewood board models used L prefixed serial numbers, just as old Leo used on 1964 guitars. I can understand your logic in assuming that an 09 prefixed serial number means it dates from 2009, & you may be right. But it may just be a coincidence. I'm surprised it has a serial number at all, so I'm now wondering why some instruments have them while others don't.
One consistent thing about Tokai over the years - they like to keep us guessing! Click to expand.Hi, I believe that the above no longer applies. All three recent tokais I've bought all have serial numbers that correspond with the year, so this one starts with 09, the other sunburst one with 11, the Mary Kaye style (produced by order via tokai UK last year) with 13. This cannot be coincidental so I am confident that they now have year specific serials as standard. I do know that earlier in the last decade they typically just had 'made in Japan' on the neck heel, but now they all seem to have both this and a logical serial number. Hi, I believe that the above no longer applies. All three recent tokais I've bought all have serial numbers that correspond with the year, so this one starts with 09, the other sunburst one with 11, the Mary Kaye style (produced by order via tokai UK last year) with 13.
This cannot be coincidental so I am confident that they now have year specific serials as standard. I do know that earlier in the last decade they typically just had 'made in Japan' on the neck heel, but now they all seem to have both this and a logical serial number. Now we're getting more into speculation with the more recent models, so I'll tell you what I know to be the case, & also what I believe is probably the case. As far as I can make out, Tokai made some of the Fender Japan guitars for a period of about 10 years, ending some time around 2007/8. Around 2010 MIJ Tokais with the Fender headstock shape started appearing for sale on a couple of internet sites in the UK. My assumption at the time was that Tokai had assembled them from parts left over from the Fender Japan contract & just re-badged them.
But they still seem to be around, so my theory seems to be incorrect. I did wonder if they were going to be a limited batch, & therefore quite rare, but that doesn't seem to be the case. I bought a Breezy TE50 from Rockem on eBay in 2010. It doesn't have a serial number, & none of the others I have seen did either.
So the serial number on this guitar is a mystery to me. Mine has what seems to be a 3 piece ash body, beautifully joined. My assumption was that the two colour SB body came from one of the MIJ 50s Teles, with the neck from a 60s Tele. That assumption now seems to have been incorrect. As for 'No, the one piece body on a Goldstar Sound is not unusual at all nor is it particularly rare.' - also not true, I'm afraid. One piece bodies are very rare on Strats, whenever & wherever they were made.
Back in the 80s, only the top of the range ST100 had a one piece sen body, & they are as rare as hen's teeth. Even my nitro finished 1980 Springy ST80 has a centre joined 2 piece body, so if this Strat here really does have a one piece body, that's something I can't explain. It IS rare though. Unless the joins are just very skillfully hidden? I do wonder what the body wood is though. If it is, why do they use ash now when they used sen 30 years earlier?
Is sen harder to source? Have you contacted Tokai UK for clarification? There used to be a helpful guy there called Bob Murdoch, but his e.mail ad. Seems to be dead, so maybe he has left?
To the OP - it would help to know where you live. Narnia isn't a great help.
Click to expand.Hi, I'm in the UK - Narnia is just there for tax purposes. Anyway, thanks for shedding some light on it, I do indeed agree that one piece bodies are never common, particularly on production guitars. If this one is not a one piece then it is a seriously skillful join, because I can't see it. Compare this to the very apparent joins on my 2011 TST50 (3 piece): and 2013 Mary Kate style (centre joined 2 piece): All reports from dealers and the Tokai UK site are that these are 'swamp ash'. Whether Sen Ash is deemed to be Swamp Ash in Japan, I don't know. I haven't asked Tokai UK about this one, but I have dealt with Bob in the past, as far as I know he is the MD of Tokai UK so he most certainly should still be there. Any dealers here I know who sell Tokais are able to custom order stuff through him.
Regarding the issue of leftovers from fender japan production, it begs the question, where does a Tokai end and a Fender Japan begin, are the timbers used identical and the differences in the hardware and pickups, or is there more to it than that? I'm not sure I have shed much light on anything, to be honest! My theory about these UK market models being assembled to use up parts from the Fender Japan contract looks less likely to be correct after reading your post & hearing about your three recent Tokais. Do we know if these new models were sold outside of the UK?
My understanding is that sen is not related to ash. It's an Eastern wood which is more closely related to ivy than it is to ash, even though it has visual similarities to ash.
I wonder why they stopped using sen? Is swamp ash grown in or near to Japan? I do have an early 80s Breezy TE120 which has a one piece sen body, & these are very rare indeed. With Bob Murdoch, the e.mail ad. I had was but the last time I tried it, it seemed to be dead. As for 'where does a Tokai end and a Fender Japan begin, are the timbers used identical and the differences in the hardware and pickups, or is there more to it than that?' - good question.
I'll bet none of us could tell one from the other in a blind test. That Mary Kaye looks gorgeous - how about some more pics?
I'm not sure I have shed much light on anything, to be honest! My theory about these UK market models being assembled to use up parts from the Fender Japan contract looks less likely to be correct after reading your post & hearing about your three recent Tokais. Do we know if these new models were sold outside of the UK?
My understanding is that sen is not related to ash. It's an Eastern wood which is more closely related to ivy than it is to ash, even though it has visual similarities to ash. I wonder why they stopped using sen? Is swamp ash grown in or near to Japan? I do have an early 80s Breezy TE120 which has a one piece sen body, & these are very rare indeed. With Bob Murdoch, the e.mail ad. I had was but the last time I tried it, it seemed to be dead.
As for 'where does a Tokai end and a Fender Japan begin, are the timbers used identical and the differences in the hardware and pickups, or is there more to it than that?' - good question. I'll bet none of us could tell one from the other in a blind test.
That Mary Kaye looks gorgeous - how about some more pics? Just thought I'd add this which comes from the Tokai Registry.
'As 1983 came to a close, Tokai’s Springy Sound was reborn and somewhat revamped in the shape of the Goldstar Sound. It had a new model name, a nice new logo and debuted in the UK to mixed reviews.
Some said that it was a slight step down from Tokai's much loved vintage offering while others maintained that it was of the best quality in Tokai’s history (a significant few sporting one piece bodies of Sen or Asian Ash).' This does seem to indicate that one piece bodies are indeed a rarity. My apologies for that.
Tokai Guitar Serial Number 13 April 22, 2018 Tokai Guitar Serial Number 13 ronelmarj Tokai Guitar Serial Number 13 Gibson Brands Forums:. I've never played, or even seen a Tokai guitar. But, this thing is quite nice. Welcome to the Tokai Guitar Registry The Tokai Guitar Registry was created to help identify manufacture dates and model makes of all Tokai guitars. Serial number. Find Guitar 13 Today.
Shop Guitar 13 at Target.com. Fender Squier Serial.
Fender and Japanese guitar factories took place. Tokai was seriously considered to.
Gretsch guitars also have a CY serial number. History of Tokai Guitar. Tokai Gakki Co.,.
Serial Numbers Tokai uses a 7-digit number usually press marked on peg head back for the Gibson type replicas.