NGD: 2004 Tokai LS 150?....pic heavy and looking for info.

[lewis_grey]

Hello all,

You guys will probably hate me for this.....but I just bought this off of ebay on a hunch for ?350, it was advertised as 'possibly Japanese but doesn't say anywhere' and it has SD Blackout active pickups which are REALLY not my thing but worth some money. I thought it was probably an LS 90 or 100 from 2004 that I could easily sort out and flip for a nice tidy profit but I just got it tonight and immediately knew it was more......

As soon as I took it out of the case I noticed the finish looked pretty dull but unmistakably nitro and the weight was definitely sub 9lbs....I started getting excited! Further investigation discovered a one piece back and a flame top that was so deep and 3D that it I couldn't believe it would be a veneer. Then sure enough when I checked under the pickups....bingo! What looks to be LS 150 VF (Violin Finish), and 100% a solid flame top!

So I guess I scored the jackpot and here's some pics...

After a polish...

Neck rout...

Bridge rout with model number...

Fret board after an oil....tooling marks?

And finally headstock front and back...

So my question really is age, serial I thought was a slam dunk 2004 but I also thought the 'Made In Japan' ink stamp was introduced in 2003 or so, so just wondering if anyone Tokai experts have any insight?

Also looks like there's some tooling marks around the inlays and they don't look stock so this leads me to think they've been changed, if anyone cares to offer they're opinion on this?

Regardless, I'm obviously chuffed as nuts and probably gonna hang on to it for a while. I have a set of correct pickups for it on the way pulled straight out of an LS 160 courtesy of forum member Mosster47 and original 500k pots are in the case so gonna get it straightened out and spend some time with it!

 

[Diamond]

Unbelievable!

What kind of a moron would sell a Premium Series LS150 for ?350?

The 150 in the bridge rout would appear to confirm it's a Premium Series which would then confirm it's a solid flame top...looks like the top of a LS150F AAA.

Are the saddles brass, does it have Sprague Orange Drops, is the toggle switch a Switchcraft?

Looks like you scored an incredible bargain...I'm jealous.

 

[lewis_grey]

My kinda moron! The guy really didn't seem too switched on guitar wise, he said the switch was wired upside down but it wasn't....I wanna know what moron put active pickups in wood this nice!

Yeah I'd say brass saddles. Factory pots are in the case with orange drops still attached. Haven't checked the switch yet.

The top really is stunning, not OTT but lots of interesting figuring going on.

I can't wait to get her fixed up properly, plays like a dream.

 

[Paladin2019]

It may have had a "made in japan" sticker on the headstock, those tend not to last very long.

Congrats on the bargain of the decade! How did this idiot end up with such a high end model in the first place - and with the open book headstock too?

Flog the actives and get something decent in there. I think you can afford to treat this one to something special!

 

[brokentoes]

Sweet lookin' axe !! I have one from 2005. Does the tenon from the neck not come into the pup cavity like mine ? Or is it just the same colour as the insides ??

 

[Reborn Old]

Stunning top on that one, and possibly one of the best Tokai bargains ever,

congrats !

I wouldn't be too concerned about the lack of a MIJ ink stamp,
it obviously wasn't made in China or Korea, and the serial# is a legit 2004 number.

 

[felixcatus]

Yep, nice score, congrats.

 

[Lucke Luke]

lewis_grey,

hate you.

 

[lewis_grey]

It may have had a "made in japan" sticker on the headstock, those tend not to last very long.

Congrats on the bargain of the decade! How did this idiot end up with such a high end model in the first place - and with the open book headstock too?

Flog the actives and get something decent in there. I think you can afford to treat this one to something special!

They're coming out and going on fleebay the minute the replacements get here. I have some Tokai PAF MKII's on the way pulled straight out of an LS 160, they look to be the more premium Gotoh ones as they have 2 conductor braided wire and the bridge reads 8.4k (I'd expect the Keiyo MKII bridge to be around 11k).

May upgrade to some Bare Knuckles at some point in the future depending on how good the MKII's turn out to be.

The guitar plays like absolute butter, frets are original and not a lot of play time on them! Just sounds awful plugged in right now though thanks to these **** active pups. Rings like a bell unplugged though, I have a stellar Gibson CS R9 sitting right next to it and it's easily as loud acoustically and plays just as well. My Gibbo is 9.2lbs and the Tokai is noticeably lighter too.

 

[lewis_grey]

Sweet lookin' axe !! I have one from 2005. Does the tenon from the neck not come into the pup cavity like mine ? Or is it just the same colour as the insides ??

Cool! Yeah, see pic 3. The part that has VF written on is the tenon and is painted the same as the rest of the rout.

 

[lewis_grey]

lewis_grey,

hate you.

Noted and entirely justified...

 

[Mick51]

As I recall - I can't find the link right now - Tokai made a run of 2004 or 2005 LS150s with much nicer tops. Tokai had spec'd 3A maple from a Canadian firm, and what they received was 4A (or better). So there is a run out there with exceptionally nicely figured tops, and yours appears to be one of them.

You see one of these come up on eBay once a year or so. But, you got a lovely guitar and a fantastic deal!

Enjoy!

 

[lewis_grey]

As I recall - I can't find the link right now - Tokai made a run of 2004 or 2005 LS150s with much nicer tops. Tokai had spec'd 3A maple from a Canadian firm, and what they received was 4A (or better). So there is a run out there with exceptionally nicely figured tops, and yours appears to be one of them.

You see one of these come up on eBay once a year or so. But, you got a lovely guitar and a fantastic deal!

Enjoy!

That's interesting, could well be...It's not an absolute show stopper top at first glance like my Gibson R9 pictured on the left.

It really is very dependent on light and angle with this one, looks pretty plain from some angles but then the figuring just pops at others....definitely a very cool top to look at, probably more like what I'd imagine a lot of real bursts are like.

The only thing bugging me is the nitro finish which has been neglected and is pretty dulled up, I've had a go at it with some virtuoso polish which has helped a lot but in places but still a lot of elbow grease to go as yet!