TST-'62 info please

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sminggali

Member
Joined
Sep 6, 2010
Messages
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Location
Nashville, TN
Hello all, I'm brand new to the forum, and would appreciate very much some info on my Tokai.

First, a brief history, as I have read enough posts to know as much info as possible is needed for any feedback. Ok, here goes. My wife bought me this Tokai back in the mid '80s from a dealer here in Nashville, called Nashville Used Musical Instruments. As such, I am not sure if it was used at that time or new, as they sold both. It came with a hard case. At the time I thought it was just a cheap Japanese copy, sort of a "starter guitar" for begining players. Little did I know I would fall in love with it over the years. Since stumbling upon this forum, I have learned much about Tokai and how much they are appreciated by others.

Now, I would appreciate some info if possible. I have searched the site looking for pictures of similar instruments and have seen several, but none with the logo like mine. It has neither Springy Sound or none of the other model names I've seen listed, and when I registered it, I wasn't sure which one to use. On the end of the headplate, it has a decal saying"Vintage Series". I am attaching a link to some photos and if further info is needed, (without taking it apart), I will try to provide.

Thanks in advance, and I'm looking forward to hearing more about my old friend.

Bill Mingle
Nashville, TN

http://s1186.photobucket.com/albums/z377/sminggali/Tokai%20TST-62/?albumview=slideshow
 
Welcome, & well done for telling us where you are in your first post. I wish more people did that....

Presumably that catalogue & those model numbers were just for the North American market?

Mike
 
Thanks guys for responding to my post, however the catalog photos raises more questions. If these catalog photos were for the '85 / '86 models, then i presume my wife bought it new, as this was the time period it was purchased. If that was the case, when did Tokai move to the regular shaped 'T'? Mine has the backards "F" looking T. I can't make out most of the logos in the photos, but the one I can make out shows the regular "T".

Does it have anything to do with mine being a TST-'62, and not the american sellable AST? and that raises another question. If mine was new when purchased, how was the dealer here able to sell a new TST model?

So many questions :eek: Getting more confused by the minute. Heh

Thanks for indulging a newbie!
 
You're right about the different letter Ts. It's not the same 7okai that the Springys had either. Hmmm. I didn't think the 7okai logo was used after 1982.

I think the truth is that we don't know the story of the US models as well as we do with the gear we got in Europe at the same time, mainly because we don't have a high proportion of US members. I'm pretty sure you guys got the modified headstock shape in 1983, & there seem to have been US market Goldstars too, but I'm not clear if they came before or after the ASTs.

Hopefully some of our US members will have some answers.
 
It would be interesting to see under the scratchplate - pickups, controls, body cavities. That might tell us something. Is there anything stamped on the saddles and tuners?
 
stratman323 said:
You're right about the different letter Ts. It's not the same 7okai that the Springys had either. Hmmm. I didn't think the 7okai logo was used after 1982.

I think the truth is that we don't know the story of the US models as well as we do with the gear we got in Europe at the same time, mainly because we don't have a high proportion of US members. I'm pretty sure you guys got the modified headstock shape in 1983, & there seem to have been US market Goldstars too, but I'm not clear if they came before or after the ASTs.

Hopefully some of our US members will have some answers.


Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the TST mean "Tokyo Strat", and the AST models were made to sell in the US? Mine is a TST model, and could very well be pre 1982. It was bought in a used musical instrument store 25 + years ago by my wife, and I don't know if it was used or not. I guess that's one thing I'm trying to determine is it's age.

As for under the scratchplate, etc., I am leary of dis-assembling it for various reasons, one of which is I;m enjoying playing it, but possibly next time I re-string, I may consider opening her up and having a peek inside. If I do I will post pics. Until then however, if anyone could shed anymore light on this mistery it would be much appreciated!

Bill
 
Looks like an AST to me as it has the altered headstock. (Ignore the decal, that altered shape is far more telling).

The bridge saddles aren't stamped either (with either Tokai or FINAL PROSPEC) so it's not going to be pre-'82.

Finally, goldies weren't introduced til (late?) '82. Before them it would have been a Springy Sound. It's an '82 or '83 even with the script logo:
http://www.tokairegistry.com/tokai-info/tokai-fender.html
"Goldstar's had script logo through 1983"

Don't worry about popping the scratchplate off - yep, do it next time you restring; there's no way you'll break anything and it's robust enough and easy enough to put back on.
 
sminggali said:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the TST mean "Tokyo Strat", and the AST models were made to sell in the US? Mine is a TST model, and could very well be pre 1982. It was bought in a used musical instrument store 25 + years ago by my wife, and I don't know if it was used or not. I guess that's one thing I'm trying to determine is it's age.

"Tokyo Strat" is a new one on me. Unlikely.

The problem with yours is that I am not aware of any Strats with the modified headstock shape prior to 1983, even for the US market.

One person on here who may have the answers is one of our longest serving members, Peter Mac. I haven't seen him around lately, but if you don't get an answer in a day or two, you might want to try to find him in the list of members and send him a private message (PM).
 
AlanN said:
Looks like an AST to me as it has the altered headstock. (Ignore the decal, that altered shape is far more telling).

The bridge saddles aren't stamped either (with either Tokai or FINAL PROSPEC) so it's not going to be pre-'82.

Finally, goldies weren't introduced til (late?) '82. Before them it would have been a Springy Sound. It's an '82 or '83 even with the script logo:
http://www.tokairegistry.com/tokai-info/tokai-fender.html
"Goldstar's had script logo through 1983"

I wouldn't rely too much on that page Alan - at best it's a simplistic summary of what happened, & it doesn't allow for variations between different countries. According to that page "Re-shaped headstock on USA models AST56 & 62 (US Market) in 1985", but I was under the impression that we had established that this started in 1983? It also refers to the block logo in 1983, which is true for the UK market, but I don't think the US ever got the block logo. It also says "Goldstar's had script logo through 1983" - and that's not true either. :-?

Goldstars were introduced (in the UK at least) in 1983 with the block logo, & this was replaced by Goldstars with the script decal in 1984 (actually very late 1983 - I bought one in December 1983).

But in the US......?
 
True enough Mark! But still, the bottom line is that we don't have pre-82 goldies to my knowledge, so assuming it's older than '82 is wrong.
 
AlanN said:
True enough Mark! But still, the bottom line is that we don't have pre-82 goldies to my knowledge, so assuming it's older than '82 is wrong.

Who's Mark?

And who said it's a Goldie?

:eek:
 
AlanN said:
Looks like an AST to me as it has the altered headstock. (Ignore the decal, that altered shape is far more telling).

The bridge saddles aren't stamped either (with either Tokai or FINAL PROSPEC) so it's not going to be pre-'82.

Finally, goldies weren't introduced til (late?) '82. Before them it would have been a Springy Sound. It's an '82 or '83 even with the script logo:
http://www.tokairegistry.com/tokai-info/tokai-fender.html
"Goldstar's had script logo through 1983"

Don't worry about popping the scratchplate off - yep, do it next time you restring; there's no way you'll break anything and it's robust enough and easy enough to put back on.

An anomalie for sure, with the altered headstock and the 7okai scipt logo, however if I had bought it within the last five years or so I would be far more willing to ignore the decal. Having recieved this as a gift from my wife over 25 years ago, my guess is back then there was no reason for anyone to replace decals or try to make it appear as if it were something other that what it was / is. The truth is we may never know, until I dis-assemble it and quite possibly that will bring even more questions.

One thing I noticed in the page from the link was the serial number designation for the years. Mine has a five digit serial number, (13782), which according to the chart, would designate it being for a 1956 ~ 1960 model replica My decal is TST-'62. Another anomalie? Chart accurate? More questions I'm afraid...

Anyway, I welcome any more info whether speculation or fact, and very much appreciate the views already expressed!

Bill

(edited: Found this article of TST-'62. Pic shows the altered headstock and the 7okai logo. just FYI)
http://www.tokairegistry.com/images/ads/im_test_p1.jpg
 
stratman323 said:
AlanN said:
True enough Mark! But still, the bottom line is that we don't have pre-82 goldies to my knowledge, so assuming it's older than '82 is wrong.

Who's Mark?

And who said it's a Goldie?

:eek:

Sorry Mike, I was talking to a Mark in work as I was typing! Brain meltdown.

Think I crossed wires with another thread too re: reading it was a goldie. (I'd viewed the pics earlier). What a day...

Bill - ignore me.
 
AlanN said:
stratman323 said:
AlanN said:
True enough Mark! But still, the bottom line is that we don't have pre-82 goldies to my knowledge, so assuming it's older than '82 is wrong.

Who's Mark?

And who said it's a Goldie?

:eek:

Sorry Mike, I was talking to a Mark in work as I was typing! Brain meltdown.

Think I crossed wires with another thread too re: reading it was a goldie. (I'd viewed the pics earlier). What a day...

Bill - ignore me.

No worries! We've all had those days belive me. But ignore you? No way,,,You were good enough to respond to my newbie questions, (you and Mike / Mark) :wink: Thanks to both of you, and maybe we'll still be able to figure this out one day.

If anyone else wants to weigh in, iit may shed more light as well.

Bill
 
sminggali said:
An anomalie for sure, with the altered headstock and the 7okai scipt logo, however if I had bought it within the last five years or so I would be far more willing to ignore the decal. Having recieved this as a gift from my wife over 25 years ago, my guess is back then there was no reason for anyone to replace decals or try to make it appear as if it were something other that what it was / is. The truth is we may never know, until I dis-assemble it and quite possibly that will bring even more questions.

One thing I noticed in the page from the link was the serial number designation for the years. Mine has a five digit serial number, (13782), which according to the chart, would designate it being for a 1956 ~ 1960 model replica My decal is TST-'62. Another anomalie? Chart accurate? More questions I'm afraid...

Anyway, I welcome any more info whether speculation or fact, and very much appreciate the views already expressed!

I agree - the way it was bought means that the danger of it being tampered with prior to sale is very slight indeed. Nobody bothered trying to fake what many considered to be "cheap copies" back in those days. Of course, we now know that Tokais are amongst the best Strats to come out of this period - be grateful that you never sold it for a couple of hundred dollars one year when you were short of cash, like so many of us did.

Tokai serial numbers have sometimes been known to cause as much confusion as they saved!

I expect you will get some answers about this one, but you might have to stick around & resurrect the thread from time to time. I hope you do get answers - I have had a couple of North Americans send me a PM to enquire about Tokai Strats from this period, & I have to tell them that I don't know enough to be able to help them. It would be nice to get the history of the US guitars documented as well as the UK market ones are now.

It's not of any direct relevance to your guitar, but you might find this article interesting, if you haven't already seen it.

http://www.tokairegistry.com/tokai-info/Andrew%20Munro%20Article-July2008.pdf
 
stratman323 said:
It would be interesting to see under the scratchplate - pickups, controls, body cavities. That might tell us something. Is there anything stamped on the saddles and tuners?

Well, curiosity got the better of me, and I put on new strings. During the process, I removed the pickguard and took a few pics. I'm not sure if it will help with identifying or not, but here is the link to the new pics.

http://s1186.photobucket.com/albums/z377/sminggali/?albumview=slideshow

Interested to hear if this helps. Thanks again!

Bill
 
OK, well what the pics tell me is that (judging by what we have seen in the UK) it's not one of the cheaper models. Generally E stamped pickups only appeared on the better models - ST60, ST80 & above. The US may have been an exception to that, but I don't see why it would be. So if the US market models came in different "grades" like most Tokais did, yours should be the equivalent of ST60 or above.

I assume that yours never had a small oval sticker on the back of the neck near the base? That was Tokai's usual way of indicating model number (after 1980).

Another point is that it has the neat little brass plate under the controls (an improvement on Leo's original design). I have heard a theory that Tokai stopped using this around 1985, so that & the T in the decal point towards 1984 or earlier.

The final point is that the stamped codes in the body cavities follow the usual Tokai pattern (BB is black), but they almost look hand-written - I've never seen one quite like yours before. This is the usual style.

124_2459.jpg


Having said that, I'm not sure what it tells us!
 
Well guys, it has been quite a while since last posting, but on advice in earlier conversations, I am resurrecting this thread with hopes more light can be shed on my Tokai identification issue.

I appreciate any info or insight which may be given me. Thanks in advance.

Bill
 
Hello to all, and once again I am bumping this back into the forum in hopes by now some answers may be found. Hoping that more info has been posted by US members, and maybe this will generate response by some who may not have seen this thread back when originally posted.

Thanks for any help given.

Bill
 
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