skalie
Well-known member
... that it's about 400 guitars older than mine. 
LS 145S Review and Photos
- Thread starter Johny642000
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Anonymous
Guest
Oh, do the numbers actually run in sequence? I'm used to Goldstars and similar where the numbers are not related to year of manufacture. So how old is mine then?
skalie
Well-known member
... sorry, no idea stratman, I know nothing about serial numbers, except yours is about 400 less than mine.
Although mine was sold as "new" in december '07, I imported it from Japan myself.
Although mine was sold as "new" in december '07, I imported it from Japan myself.
07xxxxx = 2007
Volker
Volker
skalie
Well-known member
.. while we're here.
Wierdness with my Goldtop. If I turn the volume knob all the way down on either of the pickups the guitar is silent if the pick-up selecter is the middle position. That can't be right, can it?
Probably a job for Mr WD-40.
Wierdness with my Goldtop. If I turn the volume knob all the way down on either of the pickups the guitar is silent if the pick-up selecter is the middle position. That can't be right, can it?
Probably a job for Mr WD-40.
A
Anonymous
Guest
I think this is the 50s wiring issue. I was gonna come back to that and start a new thread when I get the GT. This has been covered in another thread somewhere, but I need to have the guitar to make sense of it, cos Les Pauls confuse me. :-?
Wanna come back to the wiring issue next week?
Wanna come back to the wiring issue next week?
A
Anonymous
Guest
settebello said:
Thanks Volker. 8)
skalie
Well-known member
stratman323 said:
Sure, will be quite happy running everything on 10 for the meantime. :wink:
Edit: Curiousity has got the better of me, wiring query thread >>>>
http://www.tokaiforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=63620#63620
Johny642000
Well-known member
Mike - congratulations on your new purchase and best of luck picking it up over the weekend.
I don't know if you've already seen this but here's a review from Harmony Central:
http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar/product/Tokai/LS-85S/10/1
All the best,
John.
I don't know if you've already seen this but here's a review from Harmony Central:
http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar/product/Tokai/LS-85S/10/1
All the best,
John.
A
Anonymous
Guest
Thanks John. The first thing I read was "this has the old baseball bat neck".....
Oh dear :-? I hope the reviewer is wrong about that. Mind you, he later says that his has a one piece body, but mine is clearly at least 2 pieces, so I'm hoping he's wrong about the neck - maybe he has smaller hands than I do?
Oh dear :-? I hope the reviewer is wrong about that. Mind you, he later says that his has a one piece body, but mine is clearly at least 2 pieces, so I'm hoping he's wrong about the neck - maybe he has smaller hands than I do?
skalie
Well-known member
I thought my LS-85S had a two piece back as well, but for the life of me I can't see a join.
As for the neck, it's not far away from my 1972 Thinline, won't be anything like a Strat of course.
Pretty sure the guy from the review got his guitar from the same source as I did.
As for the neck, it's not far away from my 1972 Thinline, won't be anything like a Strat of course.
Pretty sure the guy from the review got his guitar from the same source as I did.
Johny642000
Well-known member
My LS145S has got a wider fretboard but shallow neck profile, my LS75Q has a slightly thicker neck profile but narrower fretboard and my ES130 has a slim narrow neck & fretboard - 60s profile, I believe...
None of my Tokais has a baseball bat neck so I'm sure you'll be fine with it.
Regarding the reviewer's comment about 1 piece back - I'm sure this is wrong as generally Love Rock models LS95 and below tend to have 2-3 piece backs - though the bookmatching is generally very good indeed.
Anyway, Mike - good luck and I hope you enjoy your new guitar!
John.
None of my Tokais has a baseball bat neck so I'm sure you'll be fine with it.
Regarding the reviewer's comment about 1 piece back - I'm sure this is wrong as generally Love Rock models LS95 and below tend to have 2-3 piece backs - though the bookmatching is generally very good indeed.
Anyway, Mike - good luck and I hope you enjoy your new guitar!
John.
A
Anonymous
Guest
For those who are interested, I've started a new thread about my LS85S:
http://www.tokaiforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=10095
Mike
http://www.tokaiforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=10095
Mike
A
Anonymous
Guest
John very kindly invited me round to try his LS145S, and to take my LS85S as comparison. I couldn't resist.
At first glance, they look very similar. The nitro finished 145 has slightly less shine than the poly finished 85, which I expected. Apart from the fact that you see the join on the back of mine, & John's has a one piece back, you have to look hard to see a difference.
The thing is, most of the improvements are not visible. The 145 has - aluminium tailpiece, better bridge, pickups, pots, switch, cap etc, as well as a longer neck tenon. The neck is slightly fatter on the 145, but it's not a great difference.
I noticed more difference in sound when John played both of them than when I played. With a fairly aggressive rock tone, the 145 just had more of a quality sound to it - there was no harshness in the treble, when there was a little harshness with the 85. The better guitar sounded sweeter - more subtle. And I'm sure that the nitro finish would be a lot more comfortable once hands start to sweat.
So, is the 145 worth the extra? Well that depends how much money you have! But yes, it is noticeably better, even after a living room trial. The LS85S is a perfectly good guitar for the money, & I won't be rushing out to buy a 145 (now LS160S I believe, due to Tokai's ridiculous policy on model numbers), but maybe one day I'll upgrade to the better model.
I know there is a lot of interest in these rather nice Goldtops, so I hope this post has been some help. Perhaps John would like to add his comments?
My thanks to John for the invite, and for letting me play his guitars. Such nice people on the Tokai Forum.
8)
At first glance, they look very similar. The nitro finished 145 has slightly less shine than the poly finished 85, which I expected. Apart from the fact that you see the join on the back of mine, & John's has a one piece back, you have to look hard to see a difference.
The thing is, most of the improvements are not visible. The 145 has - aluminium tailpiece, better bridge, pickups, pots, switch, cap etc, as well as a longer neck tenon. The neck is slightly fatter on the 145, but it's not a great difference.
I noticed more difference in sound when John played both of them than when I played. With a fairly aggressive rock tone, the 145 just had more of a quality sound to it - there was no harshness in the treble, when there was a little harshness with the 85. The better guitar sounded sweeter - more subtle. And I'm sure that the nitro finish would be a lot more comfortable once hands start to sweat.
So, is the 145 worth the extra? Well that depends how much money you have! But yes, it is noticeably better, even after a living room trial. The LS85S is a perfectly good guitar for the money, & I won't be rushing out to buy a 145 (now LS160S I believe, due to Tokai's ridiculous policy on model numbers), but maybe one day I'll upgrade to the better model.
I know there is a lot of interest in these rather nice Goldtops, so I hope this post has been some help. Perhaps John would like to add his comments?
My thanks to John for the invite, and for letting me play his guitars. Such nice people on the Tokai Forum.
8)
Alex gold guns
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Congrats on your new guitar - (both of you) hope you enjoy them loads and loads!!!!
Johny642000
Well-known member
Well, Mike, it was a pleasure to meet you and chew some fat on our favourite subject.
Regarding the difference between Vintage and Premium series guitars, the difference is subtle and becomes noticable over time. Certainly the LS85s is a very good guitar - my LS75Q is my favourite go-to-guitar - and Mike is right that when he was playing there was very lttle tonal difference between his LS85S and my LS145S on a mild crunchy setting. However, when I flipped to the patch I use for recording my punk lead guitar, then the extra quality of the LS145S did become more noticable.
As I've stated before, at the time of purchase, there was approximately a ?170 difference between buying a new LS85S with case in the UK and importing my LS145S with case from Hisashi. This to me was money well spent. However, as the prices have gone up and the exchange rate has gone down, then the price differential has widened for those thinking of making the same choice...So, as with everything, you pays your money and makes your choice... Certainly the LS145S (now LS160S) is a keeper and now that I've owned it almost a year, I do appreciate the extra quality more and more...
Although Mike didn't leave feeling the need to rush out and upgrade his LS85S he was rather taken with my ES130...
Such a short life and so many guitar-related decisions to make...
Anyway, it was great to meet another forum member and hopefully we can do something to get other UK members together at some point in time..
Best,
John.
Regarding the difference between Vintage and Premium series guitars, the difference is subtle and becomes noticable over time. Certainly the LS85s is a very good guitar - my LS75Q is my favourite go-to-guitar - and Mike is right that when he was playing there was very lttle tonal difference between his LS85S and my LS145S on a mild crunchy setting. However, when I flipped to the patch I use for recording my punk lead guitar, then the extra quality of the LS145S did become more noticable.
As I've stated before, at the time of purchase, there was approximately a ?170 difference between buying a new LS85S with case in the UK and importing my LS145S with case from Hisashi. This to me was money well spent. However, as the prices have gone up and the exchange rate has gone down, then the price differential has widened for those thinking of making the same choice...So, as with everything, you pays your money and makes your choice... Certainly the LS145S (now LS160S) is a keeper and now that I've owned it almost a year, I do appreciate the extra quality more and more...
Although Mike didn't leave feeling the need to rush out and upgrade his LS85S he was rather taken with my ES130...
Such a short life and so many guitar-related decisions to make...
Anyway, it was great to meet another forum member and hopefully we can do something to get other UK members together at some point in time..
Best,
John.
JohnA
Well-known member
I'ts good to hear that you both think the LS160 is worth the extra money, I have definetely got one on my shopping list. I've managed to go some-way to satistiying my P-90 Goldtop requirements with a new Edwards which is a great guitar, but will probably be replace by an LS160 at some point
A
Anonymous
Guest
Johny642000 said:
Ah, the ES130! Yes, that was the real surpise. AlanN started it all (months ago) by posting pics of his gorgeous dot neck blonde ES, then trying John's made me realise that actually 335s are rather nice. Noticeably slimmer neck than any of the 3 LPs, & I think I could have fun with a nice blonde ES.
So, thanks John & Alan, that's something else that I need to try to get hold of at some point. :-?
