1978-1985 vintage LS solid flametop gallery

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Reborn Old

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I thought I would start an LS solid flame top gallery ...

only one top pic per guitar, starting with LS-80's and working my way up to LS-200's at a rate of about 7 per week.
At that rate the thread should be reasonably complete between Christmas and New Years.
If I left some out, you're welcome to post them, or if you don't want
yours posted or prefer a different pic posted, please let me know.
There are too many to ask individual permission for.

I'm limiting my posts to solid flame tops for now, only because there are so few documented solid flame top examples to be found,
probably under 100 so far.
I can post the balance of LS-120's and plain top LS-80+ examples in the new year, if there is interest in doing so.

Comparisons of "which is better" or best should be discussed elsewhere.
Be kind and remember each of these fine examples is connected to a proud owner.

I'm leaving serial #'s out of the thread, but other than this first bunch of
1983 LS-80's posted below,
the rest will be more or less in production order from oldest to newest.

Finally, I have misplaced pics to the following LS examples, so if you care to post them, or share a pic of those tops with me,
I'll post them if/when they become available :
LS-150 #1013962 1981, LS-150 #5024378 1985, LS-200 #1010626 1981,
LS-200 #1013036 1981, LS-200 #5025862 1985, LS-290 #5033733 1985 (w genuine vtg PAFs)

Enjoy !

Beginning in 1983, LS-80 solid tops no longer included 1 piece backs while veneer topped examples continued to include 1 piece backs.
All other specs such as nitro finish and fret edge binding remained in force for 1983


1983 LS-80 solid tops :

















I was asked why LS-50 + LS-60 examples aren't included.
It's mainly due to time constraints and the fact that I personally didn't keep track of many of them.

Owners are more than welcome to participate and include pics of theirs
in this thread, or post any I will accidentally leave out. Apologies to anyone who might have felt excluded or slighted.
 
OK, from earlier to later years and lower models to higher models for the rest hopefully ...

Some model #'s or dates may have been misidentified or difficult to determine, I suspect, but in most cases I've left info as reported.

1978 LS-80


1979 LS-80


1979 LS-80


1981 LS-80 (originally BB finish)


1982 LS-80


1978 LS-100


1979 LS-100


1979 LS-100
 
Cheers guys

A 1981 LS-80 solid top that should have been posted earlier, followed by earliest 1981 LS-100's ..

1981 LS-80


1981 LS-100


1981 LS-100


1981 LS-100


1981 LS-100


1981 LS-100


1981 LS-100
 
LS-80 zebras are all Gotoh 57 PAFS

Catalogs show LS-100 solid tops (1978-1982) with uncovered cream Dimarzios,
so quite a few of these examples have either had covers installed
or pickups changed, I suspect.
 
That's too funny- I used to have so many Purdy flametops -now I'm down to 1 LS150 ;-(
 
Hi ochay,

An amazing collection for sure ! Nice to see you posting here again.
I found a link displaying many of your former LS-80 to LS-120's.
With your permission, I would like to post some of them in this post
if you choose not to post them here yourself ?
Serial numbers would be removed from pics prior to posting, to preserve past and present owner anonymity.
I would love to hear about your LS-150 also, as I don't recall it ever being posted if you would return my PM ?

Cheers,
Reborn
 
No problem, I believe I still have some really nice pics of true flametops looking at the pickup cavitys- I have to look
 
Here are a few 1981 + 1982 presumed to be LS-100's for your viewing enjoyment ...

This first example might actually be a 1981 LS-120 or LS-150 model,
but lack of documentation such as model decal or warranty card, and hardware changes have cast doubts on what model it might actually be.


1981 LS-100


1981 LS-100


1981 LS-100


1982 LS-100


1982 LS-100


1982 LS-100


1982 LS-100 or LS-120 ?
 
I can't say with certainty that all of the following are solid top LS-120 examples,
since in a few cases I only had one pic to evaluate,
but the following 19 or 20 examples appeared most likely of the 150 or so LS-120 examples I looked at.
Again, if you think your LS-120 has a solid top and was overlooked,
you are welcome to add it to the gallery.

1980 LS-120


1980 LS-120


1980 LS-120


1981 LS-120


1980 to 82 LS-120
 
Thank you for doing this. Amazing thread. Wish there was a "like" button on these. ;)
 
Much appreciated Geoff, thanks to you + all other LS owners for contributions that have made this thread possible !

A big thank you to Gottfried at http://www.tokaiguitar.de/1.php Villager at http://www.japanguitars.co.uk/
and Ochay, who have generously agreed to share pics from their amazing collections + websites.
 
1981 LS-100


1981 LS-120


1981 LS-120


1981 LS-120


1981 LS-120


1981 LS-120


1981 LS-120


1981 LS-120


1981 LS-120


1982 LS-120


1982 LS-120


1982 LS-120


1982 LS-120


1984 LS-120
 
Hi John,

An awesome thread.
I feel left out cos I don't have a flame top Tokai anymore - only the Gibson.

it is pictured next to an '82 LS-100S ( for credibility)

 

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