TOKAI LOVE ROCK LS50 BODY QUESTION?

[villager]

interesting...

 

[Koubayashi]

interesting...

I searched for photos of the 1800 in my computer but had only of the front. Think I have pics stored in a memory card but that is down at my "workshop". If I don't have any I will ask the guy who bought it to take some pics.

 

[mojo hobo]

Well thanks everyone for the interest ,this guitar has opened up a can of worms and i find it very enlightening and informative,hope everyone that read this thread has been enlightened by its posters,thanks guys!

Koubayashi you have the benefit of living in japan and you have pleasure of trolling through japanese guitar shops looking and playing these MIJ at first hand,you luckly dog!

I got this TOKAI pretty cheap,not mega cheap, so no great loss really,might sell it on e-bay,anyone fancy it?PM me and make me an offer.LOL IT IS RARE!


MOJO HOBO

 

[leadguitar_323]

what is fake mahogony??

Hi Mark, That is what Edwards are made of.....

Mick

 

[Koubayashi]

what is fake mahogony??

Hi Mark, That is what Edwards are made of.....

Mick

Are we talking about the same wood?

 

[le juge]

Nato ?

 

[Koubayashi]

Nato ?

To me it appears hard to make guitars from fermented beans

 

[mojo hobo]

OK ! I really like this post and the discussion going on ,but i never got any real answers,sorry! surely there must be someone whos know about this LOVE ROCK and why has the tokai registry not heard of basswood bodies on love rocks before,somebody must have stumbled upon one of these guitars before apart from me and chingo. They must have made more,other wise this tokai is as rare as hens teeth
Or DID TOKAI hunt them all down and distroyed them all,as not to tarnish the good tokai name and quality brand.
This guitar is a good les paul ,well made!I brought it to resell anyway,but it kinda throws a spanner in the works ,not being made from mahogany,but it is a better quality guitar than the new lower model ls from china!so it must be worth more than them,YES!
I might donate it to some charity or pay it forward on to somebody! Now that gives me an idea?? might rebalance my KARMA!

MOJO HOBO

 

[RocknBlues]

here is a pic of my chinese model that is made of Basswood for you to compare,, sorry bout the quality of pic

 

[Cali Girl]

In my opinion it is a real Tokai.

 

[mojo hobo]

Hi cali girl ,
Happy new year ant!
yeah!it is a real TOKAI ls50,made in japan in 1985!But it is not made from mahogany,A total mystery guitar ,all i know is that e-bayer seller chingo123 sold one the same ,when ?how much? I do not know ,it was only becuase nwobhm informed me of this fact.
So thats it no-one has a clue about this weird ls50 ,then in my opinion that must make it rare,I know peter mac was browsing the forum last night ,thought he might have an answer.
I was looking at the pickups,the bottoms look like old gotos,same construction with they 4 screws ,brass coloured,mmh :-?

It is a **** fine guitar by the way,but i have too many ,and a new burny on the way sometime soon.So i will have to make up my mind
if i am keeping it ,if it is rare,well then !!!

MOJO HOBO

 

[iainblack]

Hi, do you have a macro setting on your digital camera, that will let you take in focus close up shots of the guitar as it is really difficult to make out any of the features you are describing from these photos.

 

[mojo hobo]

YEAH my photography skills are not too impressive,but i do not have digital camera at the moment,using my mobile,I will get some decent photos up soon,promise :lol:
I am pretty sure the back body is not mahogany,unless it is a a odd piece of lumber.
I know two bits of mahogany cut to the same dimensions will not weigh the same or sound the same,dependent on water content,water retention ,the climate changes the wood was grown in,how old ?
But this just does not look like mahogany.


mojo hobo

 

[mojo hobo]

OK fellas ,i had to go spend over a 130 quid on a super little panasonic digital camera,
Here is my first catalogue of photos of the pup cavities on this love rock ls50 with the funny back body.
Hope these are good enough;

what do you all think now ,is this just a odd piece of mahogany,i do not think so!



MOJO HOBO

 

[Cali Girl]

Hi cali girl ,
Happy new year ant!
yeah!it is a real TOKAI ls50,made in japan in 1985!But it is not made from mahogany,A total mystery guitar

Happy new year to you as well

I wouldn't worry too much about what kind of wood the guitar is made from, probably whatever stock they had at the factory at that time. If you are very curious I have heard that you can send a small chip of wood to an expert who will look at it under a microscope and determine the species.

Villager, in his writings on the forum, talks about how Tokai specs changed and loosened in the mid 80's when the company had some financial trouble. Things in the 1984 and 1985 period can get really confusing, even for the expert collector. As a rule I find it safer to stick with the earlier guitars, which are potentially confusing enough as it is!

 

[MIJvintage]

I have 2 LS-200's from 1985 both are 1 piece mahog back, and beautiful solid flametop, I will only buy 150's and 200's after 1982 dur to the huge variation in lower model specs, but, I have never seen any high end Japanese guitar with a basswood body.

are you saying you will not buy a 1980, 1981, or 1982 LS-150 or LS-200?

 

[mojo hobo]

Thanks cali girl,
YEAH, I am totally conviced that this tokai is result of the specs loosening and money being tight at the time for tokai.
Here are some more photos ,MAN! I love this digital camera ,how did i manage without one :lol:

Just finished cleaning it,it is a nice guitar! Keep it or sell it ,mmmmh it is in very good condition.


MOJO HOBO

 

[Anonymous]

It seems strange if the specs on the 1980 to 1983 Love Rocks were variable as the same doesn't seem to apply to the Springys or Breezys. They skimped on the Gibson clones but not the Fender clones?

 

[Anonymous]

MAN! I love this digital camera ,how did i manage without one :lol:

It's true, how did we manage without them? :lol: And no more costs for developing films either. :wink:

 

[leadguitar_323]

I have 2 LS-200's from 1985 both are 1 piece mahog back, and beautiful solid flametop, I will only buy 150's and 200's after 1982 dur to the huge variation in lower model specs, but, I have never seen any high end Japanese guitar with a basswood body.

are you saying you will not buy a 1980, 1981, or 1982 LS-150 or LS-200?

I think he's saying that he wouldn't buy any lower models from that period...

Mick