difference between a st42 and a st50

[jujucaster]

Hi, my name is jujucaster and I'm new here.
One day I found at my ex luthier an old great ibanez bass(78 Pbass).
I bought it for 250 euros and later found out vintage japanese guitars were the ****(I also have a hummingbird type acoustic). Yesterday I bought a greco 500 strat type on ebay.
I'm about to buy a tokai and I would like to know what's the difference between the 42 and the 50 st models.
If anybody know please tell me.
Thanks a lot.

 

[JohnA]

The main difference is the ST50 has Alnico, rather than ceramic pickups and better (proper Kluson style) tuners

 

[MIJvintage]

****, that JohnA is spot on with the shizzle of info 8) ...............

dude, you's crackalackin' 8) ...........



:lol:

.................

 

[greco_burst]

The main difference is the ST50 has Alnico, rather than ceramic pickups and better (proper Kluson style) tuners

Springy ST-42 have U pickups, staggered......same as ST-50

 

[greco_burst]

Ok, the difference between st-42 and st-50 is only the tuning pegs and the body wood......
ST-50 is always 3 piece Alder, and has also been 2 piece Sen
ST-42 is 3 or 4 piece, and the grade of Alder is not as good as ST-50......8)

regards.

 

[jujucaster]

Ok thanks guys.
Does it make a real big difference in the sound of each model?

 

[greco_burst]

Ok thanks guys.
Does it make a real big difference in the sound of each model?

Hi, i don't think it makes a huge difference to sound, however, every guitar has it's own sound and feel etc, because that is the beauty of wood.
The Springy Sound ST-42 is a great bargain.

 

[luis]

Late 80?s ST were basswood if I recall well....And I suspect made in korea according to pics never saw any direct however...

 

[DJ2257]

Ok, the difference between st-42 and st-50 is only the tuning pegs and the body wood......
ST-50 is always 3 piece,
ST-42 is 3 or 4 piece, and the grade of Sen or Alder is not as good as ST-50......8)

regards.

Check out my reply in the following thread with regards to the number of pieces an ST50 body (can!) be made of.
http://www.tokaiforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=13783

 

[greco_burst]

Ok, the difference between st-42 and st-50 is only the tuning pegs and the body wood......
ST-50 is always 3 piece,
ST-42 is 3 or 4 piece, and the grade of Sen or Alder is not as good as ST-50......8)

regards.

Check out my reply in the following thread with regards to the number of pieces an ST50 body (can!) be made of.
http://www.tokaiforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=13783

I saw that, and I am not convinced anyway, a 2 piece ST50 nope, doesn't happen, check your guitar very carefully, also, it would be nice if you could show some pics of the neck pocket for any stamp marking, also the in the pickup cavity stamps will also tell a story, thanks, but with Tokai, well, sometimes something will pop up, that doesn't match what is supposed to be, perhaps yes you do have a rare ST50 with a 2 piece, the 2 piece for the ST50 is most likely because the grade was not good enough for a ST60, which is always 2 piece, I saw your grain, and I have seen low grade Alder look like that too.
I have never seen a 3 piece ST-50 and there has never been a cataloged 2 piece ST-50, and if it is, well, good for you! it is rare! 8)

 

[DJ2257]

Highly figured 'low grade alder' doesn't seem to make sense to me to be honest, but thanks anyway for your input. I'm almost certain it's sen, but I dont really mind what it's made of as long as it's a good weight (which it is). I will get some cavity/neck pics sorted.

 

[leadguitar_323]

I have never seen a 3 piece ST-50 and there has never been a cataloged 2 piece ST-50, and if it is, well, good for you! it is rare!

This statement means absolutely nothing. I have 2 guitars { tokai} that are not in the catalogues and know of plenty more. The quality of the wood is the same just the amount of pieces differ, and there is every possibility that it is a 2 piece body. There is no absolute certainty with any brand of MIJ guitars, there are anomalies with all manufacturers, throw custom orders and owner mods and there are definitely no certainties.

Mick

 

[Anonymous]

Some lower model Silver Stars have a 4 piece body, but it doesn't seem to affect the quality of the sound, they just don't look quite as pretty. Remember folks that 2 piece pre-65 Fender bodies are not common, most will be 3 piece, some 4 piece. And this is on a guitar that would cost you between ?10,000 & ?30,000! Maybe even more.

I can't imagine that Tokai staff had the time to sit down and study each Springy body in detail prior to assembly, there surely must have been a rough system of assessment so that 2 piece bodies went into one pile (ST60), 3 piece into another pile (ST50), etc. Sometimes a better than average body will have made it's way into the ST50 pile, I would have thought.

And remember that Tokai hid the joins in their Strat bodies better than most other companies, so on a solid colour Springy it will be difficult to see how many pieces actually do make up the body.

 

[DJ2257]

pics added in the other thread (see link below)

http://www.tokaiforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=101026#101026