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.
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