LS152 JS BB?

[Sigmania]

Just wondering if there were other replicas of particular player's guitars made by Tokai? Interesting if this was the only one.

I vote for a flame top Peter Green, Duane Allman, Jimmy Page, Pearly Gates, etc. model. Or a Peter Frampton Custom. 8)

I assume it was a licensing/money thing?

 

[Sigmania]

Now I want a Tokai Custom.... My LS100S all mahogany guitar sounds amazing. I bet these customs sound good.

So how are they different than an LS Love Rock? Ebony board? I saw a mention of "fretless wonder". Is the action low? Small frets?

I assume the LC100 had a one piece back?

I'm curious now... Dangerous thread. 8)

 

[Sigmania]

In addition to the pickups, I wonder what wood this guitar is made of?

Can anyone confirm if it is mahogany?

 

[Crawfy99]

If it’s a simple upgrade from the LC60 then it will be the 2-piece mahogany top with a mahogany back

 

[Sigmania]

That would be great. Have you pulled the pickups to see what they are, and checked to see if there is an unpainted section in there where you can check?

 

[Crawfy99]

Leave it with me. I’ll take a look and report back

 

[Sigmania]

Thanks. I’m curious. There is a thread on here with an LC that didn’t look like mahogany so just was curious. I love my all mahogany LS100. Amazing sustain and tone.

 

[Crawfy99]

Do these pics help? It all looks pretty solid to me

 

[Sigmania]

Cool. Two piece mahogany back it looks like.

Can’t see the top. Can you see any grain along the top of the pickup cavity where the edge is rubbed? Wondering if it’s mahogany.

And uncovered Tokai PAFs.

Thanks for that. Hope you like playing it. Cool guitar!

 

[Crawfy99]

I’m no expert but it does look like mahogany to me. Here’s a view of the bridge pickup:

 

[guitar hiro]

Don't know for certain but I believe the lower end (60/65) LC examples from the early/mid 1980s range had maple tops, if they were finished in BB, CS, or SW. WR color finish had the hog top aka all hog body.
The top on the JS in this thread looks very smooth so, likely a maple top; finish isn't sunken down into the grain like on some of the hog top LCs I have seen.

 

[Sigmania]

Ah. So maple over mahogany most likely? So guessing it sounds like an LS60, but has an ebony fretboard (?). And the different hardware, fret markers and binding on the back.

 

[Sigmania]

I read that Gibson starting using maple for tops in 1968.

https://rmusic.ru/articles/all-about-gibson-les-paul-guitars

And then this about Les Pauls and Customs.

Ted McCarty

“We did the gold finish because it covered the blemishes in the wood, the cosmetic appearance. If it was maple [like the later Burst], it had to be fiddleback maple, had to be perfect, couldn’t have any blemishes, couldn’t have any mineral streaks in it. But we used to cover it up with that [gold] paint.

“We added the Les Paul Custom just to have another one. You have all kinds of players out there that like this and like that. Chevrolet has a whole bunch of models, Ford has a whole bunch of models. And there was a good reason for it. We were having more and more of a problem getting real good clear mahogany from Honduras. We’d get mahogany and it’d have streaks in it and whatnot.

“So that Les Paul Custom was a solidbody, it was not a sandwich, it was solid mahogany, but painted black. So you had some with streaks in it? You made Customs out of it. Dolled it up fancy with binding and other things on it, and sold it for a higher price.”

https://www.google.com/amp/s/guitar.com/guides/essential-guide/the-oral-history-of-the-les-paul/?amp

 

[Crawfy99]

The ‘85 catalogue states that the TLC60 BB has a Mahogany 2-piece top and mahogany back. Is this the model that my ‘84 TLC65 JS BB is based on?
https://www.vintagejapanguitars.com.br/en/tokai-1985-catalogue/

 

[Sigmania]

Should be the same I would think.

Interesting that it says rosewood fingerboard. Is yours rosewood or ebony?

 

[Crawfy99]

Definitely rosewood, it’s not dark enough to be ebony

 

[Sigmania]

Thanks and sorry about all of the questions. I haven’t owned a custom and this thread got me curious. Turns out there’s not a lot of the 80s LCs out there. Good score.

 

[Crawfy99]

No problem. I’ve been grateful for all the help and have learnt a lot about my guitar and Tokai in general. Thanks for all the contributions

 

[togps]

Check out:
https://www.faberguitar.com/TLC65-BB-JS-John-Sykes-1984

 

[Crawfy99]

I found this one too: https://www.faberguitar.com/Tokai-LC65-BB-1984-L43. It's not a JS but it's nearly the same!