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FordFanJpn

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Howdie folks. I just checked my profile and found that the last time I posted on this forum was 2007. Where did those 14 years go?!?!

Back then I was the happy owner of 3 new Tokai 335's. Two of them are now with friends in the UK and US. The third one, natural finish and best sounding IMHO, now has new wiring and a set of Lollar Low Wind Imperials. It's still a favorite guitar.

Ok, the question. Yesterday I bought a 1979 LS80 Les Paul Reborn. I love it. It looks and sounds great. But, it has the original "Goto" pickups and the PC board wiring. The guitar sounds great, I don't have any complaints about that. But that wiring and the uncovered pickups bother me a little. So what is the general consensus when it comes to ripping out the pickups and wiring in that guitar and replacing it all? Is that something people often do, or is it better to keep it original? FWIW, I bought it to play, not to flip.

Thanks for any advice.
 
My 1980 LS100 came with 'Bareknuckle Mule' pickpups, altered wiring and Gotoh Magnum Lock tuners.

Sound is good, playability is good and it's all functional, so I have no problems with it.
 
My opinion is that it’s your guitar, so you should set it up the way you like.

What I recommend is that you keep all the parts in the case so someone else can reverse the mods if you ever sell it.

One of the first Tokais I got was a 1979 LS80 GT Les Paul Reborn. I wasn’t a fan of those zebra gotos and put DiMarzio PAFs in it. Much better I thought. I didn’t change the board though. If I had I would have hung onto it for the future just in case.

The thing I recommend against is irreversible mods like drilling or routing the body for tremolo units, etc. Those can be heartbreaking in my opinion.

As an aside, the higher end Love Rocks (above LS120) did not have the PCB.

http://www.tokaiforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=25805&p=194518&hilit=Wiring#p194518

If you do switch out the harness, please post pics in the thread on re-wiring your Tokais, and welcome back!

http://www.tokaiforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=26065
 
Thanks for the replies. Much appreciated.

I think I will go ahead and replace the wiring and the pickups. I don't think I care for the zebra pickups that are in it now, and even though it's probably not a valid concern, I don't care for the pc board wiring either. As suggested, I will document the changes when I do it, and I'll keep all the old parts in the case.

It's nice to find that there are still friendly folks here on the Tokai forum. I'm looking forward to spending more time here. Once I figure out how, I'll post some pics of my new baby and my 'old' Tokai 335.
 
Awesome. Please do post pictures when you are done. :wink:
 
Assuming this works, here is the LS80 on my lap waiting for new strings.

n4tJtbs.jpg
 
FordFanJpn said:
Howdie folks. I just checked my profile and found that the last time I posted on this forum was 2007. Where did those 14 years go?!?!

Back then I was the happy owner of 3 new Tokai 335's. Two of them are now with friends in the UK and US. The third one, natural finish and best sounding IMHO, now has new wiring and a set of Lollar Low Wind Imperials. It's still a favorite guitar.

Ok, the question. Yesterday I bought a 1979 LS80 Les Paul Reborn. I love it. It looks and sounds great. But, it has the original "Goto" pickups and the PC board wiring. The guitar sounds great, I don't have any complaints about that. But that wiring and the uncovered pickups bother me a little. So what is the general consensus when it comes to ripping out the pickups and wiring in that guitar and replacing it all? Is that something people often do, or is it better to keep it original? FWIW, I bought it to play, not to flip.

Thanks for any advice.

So, "The guitar sounds great, I don't have any complaints about that. But that wiring and the uncovered pickups bother me a little."

IMHO if it, "sounds great" and you, "don't have any complaints" then aesthetics shouldn't be any real concern.

What happens if you change the 'look' of the instrument but then you don't care for the way it sounds?

Less could actually be more but then hey.
 
guitar hiro said:
So, "The guitar sounds great, I don't have any complaints about that. But that wiring and the uncovered pickups bother me a little."

IMHO if it, "sounds great" and you, "don't have any complaints" then aesthetics shouldn't be any real concern.

What happens if you change the 'look' of the instrument but then you don't care for the way it sounds?

Less could actually be more but then hey.

You're absolutely right. There is always the risk that it will turn out worse instead of better. But I'm afraid my OCD won't leave me alone until I make the changes. I will save all the original parts so that it could be returned to original if necessary.

I'm currently in the middle of doing the same thing to a new Epiphone Lazarus Les Paul. I've already replaced the bridge and tailpiece with parts from Faber and I'm waiting for a set of Bare Knuckle Mules before I rewire the whole guitar. It's a sickness.
 
I just wanted to let you folks know that I decided to keep the LS80 mostly as is, with the only change being the tone caps. I replaced the little green chiclets with some Russian paper in oil caps. I just disconnected one end of the green caps and moved them out of the way, and soldered the new caps in using 50's wiring. The old caps could easily be soldered back in if someone wishes to do so in the future.

Thanks to everyone for the comments and suggestions. Next I'm thinking about maybe getting a new Tokai LS 196. Any comments for or against?

Cheers.

EHlVMxD.jpg
 

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