Hi everyone! I started poking around on this forum about a week ago trying to learn more about Tokai guitars since I already knew they had a great reputation here in Canada (seen older Tokais at local Toronto guitar stores for big bucks, ie. Songbird Music). Because of all your great comments posted, it didn't take me long to realize that I had to have a Love Rock! Thanks to Ian's constant preaching about looking for good deals on older models, I decided to take his advice and go the vintage route and try my luck with an old Love Rock sold in Japan. Amen brother!
I bought this from Hiro of Japanoldguitars off Ebay. I noticed from my research on this forum that he is highly regarded and respected so I felt comfortable placing the winning bid on the '81 Love Rock. By the way, I concur, he's excellent!
http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7330484179&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1
Unfortunately it doesn't have the original Gotoh pup however, if I was unhappy with it, I would have switched to a Duncan Alnico II Pro anyways :wink: I'm very happy about the 1 piece back however I'll have to see it for myself. But I trust Hiro on this.
My question however......
Can anyone tell me anything about the original bridge Gotoh pup? From all the other '81 LS50s I've seen talked about on this forum, the original pups were all exposed double cream coils. And the info in the registry also indicates that the early '80 LS50s were exposed coils (LS Dynamic-II, exposed). Is my pickup perhaps the same one that was used on the older LS50 Reborn models? I can't figure out why my pup has a cover (not complaining though).
I emailed Hiro seeking more info about the pup, and this was his response (you'll have to mind his English)....
"This guitar is all original except for rear pickup. Gotoh PAF is used in LS50-80 from '79 to '82. They are 3 types and their looks are different. Minus screw have 2 types (Old PAF types). Hexangular screw is Dimarzio Super Distortion type. Their 3 types looks are different, but their sounds are all PAF type. The guitar you bought is Hexangular screw type pickups. LS50 usually have Hexangular screw type pickups. Tokai 57 PAF is used in some LS from '83 to '85. MK Pickup is used in Tokais after '90s "
I'm a little confused with his response because of the language barrier and my lack of knowledge on Gotoh pickups. Can anyone provide more info on this pup with perhaps the exact name or model number? Further, can anyone describe the sound of this pup in comparison to other PAF pups?
I haven't received the guitar yet and I'm not very handy so it's unlikely I'll be fiddling with taking the pups out, checking cavities, etc.
Thanks again everyone for this great forum which has shown me the light! Sorry if this post is too long.
I bought this from Hiro of Japanoldguitars off Ebay. I noticed from my research on this forum that he is highly regarded and respected so I felt comfortable placing the winning bid on the '81 Love Rock. By the way, I concur, he's excellent!
http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7330484179&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1
Unfortunately it doesn't have the original Gotoh pup however, if I was unhappy with it, I would have switched to a Duncan Alnico II Pro anyways :wink: I'm very happy about the 1 piece back however I'll have to see it for myself. But I trust Hiro on this.
My question however......
Can anyone tell me anything about the original bridge Gotoh pup? From all the other '81 LS50s I've seen talked about on this forum, the original pups were all exposed double cream coils. And the info in the registry also indicates that the early '80 LS50s were exposed coils (LS Dynamic-II, exposed). Is my pickup perhaps the same one that was used on the older LS50 Reborn models? I can't figure out why my pup has a cover (not complaining though).
I emailed Hiro seeking more info about the pup, and this was his response (you'll have to mind his English)....
"This guitar is all original except for rear pickup. Gotoh PAF is used in LS50-80 from '79 to '82. They are 3 types and their looks are different. Minus screw have 2 types (Old PAF types). Hexangular screw is Dimarzio Super Distortion type. Their 3 types looks are different, but their sounds are all PAF type. The guitar you bought is Hexangular screw type pickups. LS50 usually have Hexangular screw type pickups. Tokai 57 PAF is used in some LS from '83 to '85. MK Pickup is used in Tokais after '90s "
I'm a little confused with his response because of the language barrier and my lack of knowledge on Gotoh pickups. Can anyone provide more info on this pup with perhaps the exact name or model number? Further, can anyone describe the sound of this pup in comparison to other PAF pups?
I haven't received the guitar yet and I'm not very handy so it's unlikely I'll be fiddling with taking the pups out, checking cavities, etc.
Thanks again everyone for this great forum which has shown me the light! Sorry if this post is too long.