LS152 JS BB?

[Crawfy99]

Here’s a picture of the back of the headstock. I forgot to add this earlier.

 

[Crawfy99]

I’ve found this thread and the serial numbers are very similar: http://www.tokaiforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=57697
Unfortunately the pictures are no longer available so I can’t confirm it’s definitely the same as mine

 

[Sigmania]

Unfortunately there was no paperwork with the guitar. The guitar was sold as an LS152S-JS BB but I have no idea why they thought that was the model number. I’ll ask them and report back.
Not sure what the link is with the PCB? Did these only exist in certain models?

Obviously that model number is completely wrong. As I said originally it’s a custom. So it’s not an LS anything.

And PCBs were not used above a 120 model in this period I believe.

Anyway, it’s a moot point. It’s not an LS152S...

Not sure which models were made as Sykes models. The numbers relate to price in yen. Lower models had multiple pieces of wood for the bodies. Different hardware etc. Hard to see the wood in a painted guitar though.

It’s a nice guitar. Hope it plays well.

 

[Sigmania]

Btw, there is no such thing as an LS152, so that was made up at some point.

 

[Sigmania]

I found this japanese site with a very similar one for sale:
https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=https://theguitarshop2.jp/&prev=search&pto=aue

That’s wild. Never seen that before.

I have to wonder if this is an accurate model number? No head stock picture or year on this link, so this may be a current version/price of the old LC60?

 

[Sigmania]

It's in this cat on page 7. TLS 150 JS BB. The extra 2 for 152 could of been adding something specific on request.
https://www.vintagejapanguitars.com.br/en/tokai-1985-catalogue-2/ still don't know what the JS refers to, or is it a particular musician?

For some reason I am not seeing this.

I see a TLC65 JS on page 8 of this 1985 catalog though.

 

[Sigmania]

So that is it. Looks like later Korean models were made and may still be made in Japan with a higher model number refelcting the rise in prices. So the LC152 thing may be the newer model/price?

But your guitar looks like this one for sure. Congrats!

 

[mdvineng]

Yep page 8, mustn't of scrolled down far enough for the page number to change over, must use a bigger screen :lol:

 

[Crawfy99]

Thanks everyone, I think we have a consensus: it’s an LC65-JS BB. The investigation has been interesting and I’ve learnt a lot about my new purchase and Tokai’s in general.
Any clue as to its real value?

 

[Sigmania]

Value is probably similar to an LC60 I would guess. Unless you find a Whitesnake fan. 8)

Check this one out.

https://reverb.com/item/31488968-tokai-lc-60-1983-bb-used

or this one:

https://reverb.com/item/637030-tokai-lc-60-wr-love-rock-1983-with-tokai-case

or this one from a fellow member.

https://reverb.com/item/11741880-1984-tokai-lc-60-custom-vintage

 

[J.E.M.]

Yes that looks like a 1985 Tokai John Sykes, Burny and Greco also did a Sykes model in '84 / '85 - looks like it was a 65 model with fret nibs, one year only I think so pretty rare but not sure it's worth any more than any of the other Customs from that year, looks like a very nice guitar.

 

[Sigmania]

I think the serial number indicates 1984 build date.

 

[mdvineng]

Catalogues ran October to September, hence 85 came out Oct 84. Iirc

 

[Sigmania]

Yep. I just wanted to clarify that this particular guitar was made in 1984.

 

[Sigmania]

I'm curious what pickups they put in these?

 

[mdvineng]

8)

 

[Sigmania]

"John has a particular fondness for Gibson Les Pauls, and for most of his career he has used the same black Les Paul Custom. During the Thin Lizzy days, at Phil Lynott's suggestion, John changed the pickup mounting rings, pick guard and toggle switch plate from the stock Gibson parts to pieces made of chrome, giving the guitar its unique look.

John's main guitar is a 1978 model Gibson Les Paul Custom and it has been used for thousands of shows and on every recording John has made for the last 20 years. There are some serious signs of wear and tear. As you can see in the photo above, much of the finish has worn off the back of the guitar, and the neck has some worn spots, too. But all things considered, it's holding up well. The photos above are about 12 years old and the guitar has another decade worth of tours on it now and shows considerable more wear.

John has replaced the stock Gibson tuners with Grover tuners. The guitar also has a brass nut. There was a Gibson "Dirty Fingers" pickup in the bridge position for many years but that pickup started malfunctioning after all the years of wear. It was replaced with a lower output Gibson PAF re-issue pickup a few years ago. The guitar has been re-fretted several times. The current fret wire is a medium jumbo size and has a very different feel from the "Fretless Wonder" style frets Les Paul Customs often have. John likes the action on his guitars pretty low and he really likes the slick feel of the ebony fingerboards on Les Paul Customs."

https://www.johnsykes.com/equipment.html

 

[Sigmania]

 

[J.E.M.]

I missed the pic of the back of the headstock, so yes you guys are obviously correct that it's an '84 model, October to October for the catalog explains how the Sykes model appears only in the '85 catalog, I've never seen another Tokai Sykes, anyone else ?

So in 1984-85 Burny, Greco and Tokai all did a Sykes model, I guess he was big in Japan that year... Here's my Matsu made '84 Burny Sykes, BTW it's got a maple neck and the bridge is as hot as a Dirty Fingers...

 

[Sigmania]

If you google Tokai and John Sykes you will see a bunch of newer ones that look like they are Chinese or Korean.

Not as faithful of a replica however (knobs, nut, pickups, etc).

https://reverb.com/item/39973766-tokai-ualc-60-john-sykes-black-beauty

There are also some threads on here mentioning the Chinese ones:

http://www.tokaiforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=7475&highlight=john+sykes

http://www.tokaiforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=58109