I ended up buying this guitar after doing some online research here and on other sites, and from reading one very enthusiastic, though not entirely accurate, seller’s listing on eBay from a while back.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Rare-Vint...2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0
I also asked Peter Mac who was very helpful as always. He may chime in, but he thought it was a legit ST70R that seemed original except for the pick guard.
Other 1981 ST70Rs I have seen had the ‘64 hole pattern. This one has a ‘62 pattern and foil on the back as Peter noted, so it’s probably not original. Will see. I’m thinking it would look cool with a mint green (or parchment as Peter suggested)
Peter thought the guitar was a special/custom order non production line piece. My guess was that it was possibly used at trade shows to promote the new model? But could also just be a one off. Also has the “D” stamp on the fretboard which some people think may mean “Demo”.
I’ve found 4 other examples of 1981 ST70s. Three were 3 tone sunburst, YS finish, with the slab rosewood board and one was Flamingo Orange with a maple laminated board over a maple neck.
Further, as Peter pointed out, this is probably actually what we would call an ST75R because of the metallic paint upgrade.
And last, I read here in other threads that ST70s have a two piece center seam body with poly finish, but some members had one piece bodies. Hard to tell from the picture of the neck pickup compartment. Would be interesting if it was a 1 piece. Maybe if it says “ST70S”, the S really does mean solid? Interesting mystery.
It was funny. I kept looking at the writing in the neck pickup cavity and thinking it looked familiar. Then I realized that it’s very similar to the handwriting in the early catalogs.
Will be interesting to see how it plays and sounds. I’m wondering if I’ll be able to hear a difference with the slab board? I have an ST80R MR from the same year with the rosewood veneer board.
It’s being shipped from Japan to the US. No case, but hopefully packed well. Will post more pictures when I have it in hand. Fingers crossed that it arrives safely.