NGD 1981 LS100S ON All Mahogany Love Rock

[Sigmania]

Looks like you have to do it on a phone app...

For iPhone

https://support.google.com/translate/answer/6142483?co=GENIE.Platform=iOS&hl=en

For Droid phones

https://support.google.com/translate/answer/6142483?co=GENIE.Platform=Android&hl=en

 

[guitar hiro]

Anyway, we put that one to bed. Now my question is whether not having the center seam in the top accounts for how well this guitar sustains notes, or is that just the mahogany cap, or the individual pieces of wood in my guitar? I don't know. I wish I had all of the different options in hand to do side by side comparisons.

IMO you could have 100 examples of the exact same model of guitar, all made from the exact same species of lumber, constructed in the exact same manner, and they would all sound different, even if to some minute degree. Some examples would have a very discernible sonic difference. An oscilloscope could verify this, and a very few instrument makers actually utilize the use of oscilloscope, though these are typically not electric instruments.

Let's look at the potential for variables within components, in the modern electric guitar: Natural components & man made components.
Man made components have a much greater potential to be consistent, thus offering more potential for consistency in sonic response.
Natural components (lumber being the main natural component) have a much greater potential to vary, thus offering more potential for inconsistency in sonic response. Lumber is a natural product, with particular variables within species, and then throw in the fact that lumber can be flat sawn, rift sawn, quarter sawn, etc.

Your example sounds the way it sounds because every guitar is unique within the context of the physics of the lumber.

There are many within the electric guitar community that believe every guitar could sound the same because of 'pickups' & electronics. :roll: :lol:

 

[Sigmania]

Oh that worked flawlessly...

That translates as "I want you to love me" :lol:

 

[guitar hiro]

that has to be the Tokai 'Cheap Trick' Model

 

[Sigmania]

Anyway, we put that one to bed. Now my question is whether not having the center seam in the top accounts for how well this guitar sustains notes, or is that just the mahogany cap, or the individual pieces of wood in my guitar? I don't know. I wish I had all of the different options in hand to do side by side comparisons.

IMO you could have 100 examples of the exact same model of guitar, all made from the exact same species of lumber, constructed in the exact same manner, and they would all sound different, even if to some minute degree. Some examples would have a very discernible sonic difference. An oscilloscope could verify this, and a very few instrument makers actually utilize the use of oscilloscope, though these are typically not electric instruments.

Let's look at the potential for variables within components, in the modern electric guitar: Natural components & man made components.
Man made components have a much greater potential to be consistent, thus offering more potential for consistency in sonic response.
Natural components (lumber being the main natural component) have a much greater potential to vary, thus offering more potential for inconsistency in sonic response. Lumber is a natural product, with particular variables within species, and then throw in the fact that lumber can be flat sawn, rift sawn, quarter sawn, etc.

Your example sounds the way it sounds because every guitar is unique within the context of the physics of the lumber.

There are many within the electric guitar community that believe every guitar could sound the same because of 'pickups' & electronics. :roll: :lol:

Yeah, I hear you, but every post I have read about all mahogany guitars seemed to mention either exceptional sustain or how surprised they were that it didn't sound as "dark" (whatever that means) as they expected.

So from what I have read (this is my only mahogany topped guitar), I was surmising that it was the wood species of the cap affecting what I was hearing.

And this guitar in particular is more dense than many of the other all mahogany examples I have read about where the owners mention them being light.... This one is not light, and was listed as weighing 9 lbs 11 oz when I bought it. Still need to verify that, but I think it is close if not exact.

 

[Sigmania]

that has to be the Tokai 'Cheap Trick' Model

LOL! :lol:

 

[Sigmania]

OK. There is hope!

I tried the translator phone app again with the text at the top of the LS page in the 1981 catalog and it looks accurate.

Awesome!

"The perfect neck and body structure has already surpassed the original... and has begun to be whispered."

 

[Sigmania]

So I have been working on the translator with the 1982 spec page on the LS100S. Unfortunately, it really doesn't help us....

Thankfully we were able to figure it out empirically with guitars in hand.

The third and fourth columns are "Body Top" and "Body Back". For the LS100S you can see they are combined with one answer, unlike all of the other models.

What it says is "Mahogany piece single plate".

So.... something is off.

Either:
1. my guitar and settebello's Joe Walsh are not "S" models,
2. the the translation is not accurate, or
3. the chart is not accurate...

The next to last column is color. ON and OR are color options for the LS100S only. So it sure seems like my guitar (ON) and the Joe Walsh (OR) models are “S” models. Curious to say the least.

I'll attach photos of the translations here:

 

[Sigmania]

Again, the next to last column is color. ON and OR are color options for the LS100S only....

(Note the translator misread the hand written "G" in "GT" as an "&")

 

[Sigmania]

And...speculating here... could the "7" looking thing possibly be a Tokai trademark that they actually wrote out in describing the body top???

Probably just a quirk of the translation software not recognizing that little circle symbol, but wondering aloud what that is.

I probably need to go back and cut that out of the image and see how it translates without it.

 

[guitar hiro]

Excellent job Geoff 8) you are to be commended for your efforts to obtain the information

 

[Sigmania]

Thanks. At least I figured out how to use the translator even if it didn’t give a clear answer.

Hopefully someone else can use the information.

Thank you.

 

[HAMAMATSU]

thank you for the great info and you are such a deep researcher! this forum really needs the deep people like you lately. anyways, i am japanese so ask me for the translations! (when i am not sleepy & sloopy!) it seems that the 1981 catalog and the 1982 catalog are different on the spec chart, tokai was so hot then so they made a lot of the spec changes on their products back then. i think i read/misread? that in the 1981 catalog, the LS100S has the 1 piece mahogany top & 1 piece mahogany back. but in the 1982 catalog shown above by you says that its only got a 1 piece solid mahogany all the way for the both top & back. tokai changed the specs of the LS100S a bit between 1981 and 1982. or more on before or after possibly. anyways, i write here the exact translation of the LS100S section of the 1982 catalog. if you need my help for more then ask me anytime!

the 1982 LS100S.

body top & body back = mahogany 1 piece solid wood.
neck = mahogany 1 piece, 18' neck angle.
fingerboard = best quality rosewood.
PUs = dimarzio PAF covered type.
parts/etc = special spec old style parts.
color = lacquer finish. ON, OR, GT.
price = 114000 yen. (guitar=100000 yen, hardcase=14000 yen.)

8) hopefully this time not mistaken, its 6am in japan now!)

 

[Sigmania]

Awesome! Thank you so much for doing that.

Mine is an ‘81. So the ‘82 is supposedly solid? Anyone have one that can look?

Thank you again! Domo arigato! (I think I said that right. If not, my apologies

 

[HAMAMATSU]

8) you are very welcome! so the 1982 LS100S seems solid all the way for the top & back. tokai might have made many changes on the specs of their guitars in those days for many reasons. sometimes for better, sometimes for not better. but each one is very tasty from the golden era of tokai then.

(the extra info)

we always thought that LS100S means LS100 SOLID. the solid body or solid colors. but "S" probably means "SPECIAL". tokai uses "S" for their model names now and then and it isnt about the body construction or solid colors often. its given to the special model. special somehow from the standard model. i have found tokai was calling some models as "SPECIAL" in the catalog articles. so, LS100S is actually LS100-SPECIAL! very cool really. cool!!!

 

[Sigmania]

Awesome....

I just removed "Solid" from the thread title.

And just for the record this guitar is absolutely incredible. I am stunned every time I play it.

"Special" fits.

 

[HAMAMATSU]

Awesome....

I just removed "Solid" from the thread title.

And just for the record this guitar is absolutely incredible. I am stunned every time I play it.

"Special" fits.

8) great !!!!!

 

[Sigmania]

Hamamatsu, Can you tell me what this says in the diagram from the 1981 catalog that seems to show a one piece top over a one piece back?

 

[HAMAMATSU]

8) it means that we should be careful because some of the non-tokai arch-top solid body guitars have a top arch on the top wood but the tokai arch-top solid body guitars have a flat surface on the arch-top wood like the gibson original les pauls. i think it says something like that. its not about the 1 piece top & back of the models like LS100S.

 

[hunter]

I have 3 of the 1981 LS100S models. Two red and a gold top. All three appear to me as being solid one piece mahogany blanks carved with the archtop.