7okai silver star experts help ID my new ss-?

mojo hobo · Dec 23, 2009

It finally got here , one of my SEA shipments from rinkya, 6 weeks from japan to the uk by a canoe :lol:
In That container was 1 7okai silver star 1981:
1 gneco stratocaster 197?
1 greco super sounds strat 1977:
I will post in the greco section the others at a later date,not today?
I want to ID this silver star ,I reckon it is a low model ss-40,but you never know with 7okai ,so here goes,
serial no=1017356
Neck stamp>1=5
Body stamp neck pup>1=5
tone controls body stamp>1=5ys

Three piece body with a nice grain & figuring:
Grey bottoms unstamped on all pickups with blue and black wire :
Cast trem block with made in japan on it:
umarked bridge no saddle marking , which i feel is a replacment!

Looks like a 1 piece neck,3-ply pickguard.

Ideas anyone ,just a low life model?sorry for the blurry pictures again,back to usung my ****** mobile phone camera again.

MOJO HOBO

colinhotrod · Dec 23, 2009

Is it a 1 piece body?

mojo hobo · Dec 23, 2009

Hi colin ,At 1st i thought it was one piece body but after cafeful inspection and taking the pickguard off,you can see the two seams,only thin pieces mind you no more than the actual horns width.
When i brought it from yahoo it was the body figuring and grain that made it stand out from the crowd?
IT feels really really good,I have not played a strat of any sorts for a while ,but i am liking this baby ,nice sustain,quite suprised by the sustain actually do not remember my springy sustaining as much ,i will have to dig it out see :lol:
It feels very tactile in my hands ,the body finish feels ,mmmmh,

MOJO HOBO

Anonymous · Dec 23, 2009

If that's a 3 piece they did a very nice job on picking the wood & joining it so well. And that's on one of the cheaper models! It almost looks like sen, but I guess it must be alder.

The bridge might well be original, the rest seems to be. The tuners mean it must be a 40 or 38 or whatever the numbers were - it was 36 & 38 but I think that changed to 38 & 40. I was never sure with mine that I sold.

Looks like you got a nice one. Was this from chingo?

Mike

marcusnieman · Dec 23, 2009

stratman323 said:
The tuners mean it must be a 40 or 38 or whatever the numbers were - it was 36 & 38 but I think that changed to 38 & 40.

Mike

Yup

mojo hobo · Dec 23, 2009

Thanks STRATMAN323,I was waiting for you to log-in and give me your expert opinion on this silver star.Thanks!
It is very well matched indeed ,i had to really look to find the joints,its the figuring and grain that made me pull the trigger.
I got it from yahoo japan using rinkya,worth the wait ,do not think i will use SEA shipping again ,seven weeks is just too long!But it was a whole lot cheaper than EMS.
So the saddles might be original,where all the silver star saddles from the lower model unstamped ,i thought they would have been stamped with tokai,but i do not know that much yet on strats from 7okai.

MOJO HOBO

Anonymous · Dec 23, 2009

mojo hobo said:
So the saddles might be original,where all the silver star saddles from the lower model unstamped ,i thought they would have been stamped with tokai,but i do not know that much yet on strats from 7okai.

I don't think any of the SS saddles were stamped. My SS60 has unstamped brass saddles, & these are the ones from my SS38/40/whatever that I sold a few months back.

mojo hobo · Dec 23, 2009

YEAH your right think i am getting confused with TOKAI ST springy specs,
Cheers !

MOJO HOBO

Anonymous · Dec 23, 2009

I don't know much about the 70s Strats they were copying, but I think they had similar unstamped cast saddles, so I guess that's what Tokai copied.

marcusnieman · Dec 23, 2009

stratman323 said:
I don't know much about the 70s Strats they were copying, but I think they had similar unstamped cast saddles, so I guess that's what Tokai copied.

Yup #2

greco_burst · Dec 28, 2009

Hey, nice guitar MOJO HOBO.
SS36,38,40 would have H pickups (flat poles), cbs style saddles, F-Key tuners
SS48,50 would have S pickups (staggered poles), cbs style saddles, Schaller tuners
yours looks like a 1981 SS38/40
Mick

rayq78 · Feb 7, 2010

greco_burst said:
Hey, nice guitar MOJO HOBO.
SS36,38,40 would have H pickups (flat poles), cbs style saddles, F-Key tuners
SS48,50 would have S pickups (staggered poles), cbs style saddles, Schaller tuners
yours looks like a 1981 SS38/40
Mick

hi there..i got an SS36. can you tell me the exact specifications of my guitar? especially the pickups... thnx...=)

http://www.sulit.com.ph/index.php/view+classifieds/id/1952524/recent/1/Tokai+Silver+Star+1979+Vintage+-+Stratocaster

Peter Mac · Feb 24, 2010

Hey Mick,
thats not quite accurate -
SS-36/38/40 : F-key tuners, flat pole p'ups, (H)*
SS-48/50 : F-key tuners, flat pole p'ups (S)*
SS-60 : Kluson tuners, staggered pole p'up (U)
SS-80 : Schaller tuners, flat pole p'ups (FS-1 DiMarzio)

Prior to 1981, these p'ups had grey bobbins and no stamp. After they had black bobbins.
regards
Peter Mac

settebello · Feb 26, 2010

Hi Peter,
please ad the other SS60 to your list.
SS60 - Schaller tuner,brass sadles,grey bottom pups(flat poles),two piece body,poly
1976 copy

Volker

Anonymous · Feb 26, 2010

settebello said:
Hi Peter,
please ad the other SS60 to your list.
SS60 - Schaller tuner,brass sadles,grey bottom pups(flat poles),two piece body,poly
1976 copy

Volker

Yeah that's the SS60 I have. I think the ones Peter mentioned are less common - they're the '67 copies without the bullet truss rod aren't they?

settebello · Feb 27, 2010

stratman323 said:
Yeah that's the SS60 I have. I think the ones Peter mentioned are less common - they're the '67 copies without the bullet truss rod aren't they?

Yep,the 4 bolt SS-60's are '66 or '67 replicas.
How do you like yours?I love mine to dead(with changed pups),but yours look nicer in withe. 8)

Volker

Anonymous · Feb 27, 2010

settebello said:
Yep,the 4 bolt SS-60's are '66 or '67 replicas.
How do you like yours?I love mine to dead(with changed pups),but yours look nicer in withe. 8)

Volker

I'm not sure really. It's a nice guitar, but the neck is a bit fatter than my Goldstars, so I'm not so keen on that. Also, I'm experimenting with pickups on a few guitars now, but the SS60 seems to lack a certain "sparkle", & I'm not sure how much of that is the pickups and how much is the brass saddles. I'm not convinced that brass is the best choice of material for the bridge saddles on a Strat.

I'm more likely to pick up a Goldie, to be honest.

Peter Mac · Feb 28, 2010

Hi guys,
OK now . . . throw me a bone. What year are the SS60 with Schaller tuners and brass saddles made in and does it have a bullet truss rod ? ? ?
and yeah I am referring to the 1966 style SS-60 which had klusons and metal saddles, 4 bolt neck and no bullet truss rod.

Interestingly, in 1984, the SS-80 (76 style) that did have Shallers and brass saddles was dropped from the range in favour of the SS-60 (66 style) but with a Kahler-style locking tremelo.
regards
Peter Mac

settebello · Mar 1, 2010

Hi Peter,
mine is a '81 SN 1012756.It has the bullet truss rod.2 piece alder body.60 sticker in the back of the neck.

There was another one from forum member Diodibuh,which had have a 3 piece sen body,also a'81.

Volker

Anonymous · Mar 1, 2010

Peter Mac said:
Hi guys,
OK now . . . throw me a bone. What year are the SS60 with Schaller tuners and brass saddles made in and does it have a bullet truss rod ? ? ?

Mine is from 1980, bought from Japan last year.

7okai silver star experts help ID my new ss-?

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