1980 TOKAI LOVE ROCK. Is this an original? What can I do?

Tokai Forum

Help Support Tokai Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Tigerheart

New member
Joined
Aug 11, 2018
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Hello there... This is my very first post in this forum.
I want to ask about this guitar right here:
wDUrQe.jpg


UnUJpG.jpg


nFBMtE.jpg


pNlIB5.jpg


p2r6qw.jpg


My brother at Netherlands bought this 2nd handed guitar there, changed the broken machine head and knobs, but he haven't played much since he bought her (He is actually a Bass Player).
Then after a few times, he said to me that I can have her if I want...
He said she is a 1980 Tokai Love Rock, and equipped with some gotoh pickups

I want to ask you guys here whether she is an Original Japanese Made Tokai Love Rock or not?
And what can I do to fix her?? since I spotted some broken piece on her (The Cracked Neck Binding, the broken nut at treble side)...
Also, what you guys think about the neck? is it Warped or twisted?? or she will be fine after I fix her up?
I'm willing to pay as much as I can to fix her up if it is worth to fix her...

Thank you so much before...
Please, Please help me...
 
1980 MIJ Tokai LS50.

You'd have to take it to a luthier in your area to find out how much getting it tuned up/playable would cost. Unless you can do some of the repairs yourself like replace the nut. Since you got it free it's a nice bonus right off the start. This is a lower end model so it isn't worth as much to begin with.
 
Drop a few bucks into her and she will probably be a fine player level guitar.
I have a 1980 LS50 inky that I really get along well with.
I have really good luck with the 3 piece body types too. The Tokai I have and several 1970's Les Paul deluxe I had were all fine sounding guitars. Maybe something about having one solid piece of wood running under the bridge and tailpiece instead of a center seam??
Nah, shouldn't matter at all. My center seam guitars all sound good too.
 
The neck does look twisted. I have 2 1981 LS80s. One looks like it was stuck in a closet for 40 years and looks brand new. The other has been used a lot. That one has the same twisted neck thing going on. But it is not as bad as your neck. I have asked my luthier about the neck a few times and there seems there is probably nothing that can be done to fix it. He said if the guitar was re-fretted (which it does need a bit) the neck could be sanded to compensate. But that is just putting a band-aid on it. Maybe there is something else that can be done about the twist from:

http://www.mylespaul.com/threads/gibson-es-les-paul-custom-twisted-neck.413353/

But $200+
 
Hi guys,

Just to add . . .
Tuners and knobs have been replaced.Other than that it appears to be a late 1980 Tokai LS-50 Made in the Hamamatsu factory.
Pickups appear to be genuine Goto double cream, double pole from that era as does the hardware.
A good repairer can straighten the neck and change the binding so don't fret too much (pun intended)
regards
Peter Mac
 
Thank you so much for all of your replies!!
It really helps me a lot!

Well, It actually scares me a lot to see the damage at her headstock that she might have a twisted neck from it... Because from what I've read, it will be a huge pain to repair...

I haven't get my hands on her yet, and I sure hope she will be fine after some fixes...
 
She was yours @Ziltoid?? Wow, world sure is a small place!!
I finally got my hands on her~
Here she is
jBLrCh.jpg

xkkyZo.jpg

9nMPn8.jpg


She got a lot of small dents, broken nut and broken neck binding... She was really really dirty too...
After my bro gave her to me, I took her to a local Luthier and pay around $50 to fix her up
Now she plays amazing, she sounds amazing, and she is BEAUTIFUL!!
Thank you so much guys for your advises!!
 

Latest posts

Back
Top