![]() In June of 1984, I went to the Guitar Center in downtown San Diego ("C" Street) and bought a chrome Floyd Rose tremolo (R2) for $159. The next big step was to replace the stock Strat tremolo with a genuine Floyd Rose. I also took off the original strap buttons, and installed eye hooks similar to what Ed used. Just like Edward Van Halen's guitar, I disconnected the neck position single-coil pickup, removed the middle pickup and screwed in the partial 5-way pickup switch, and cut the pickguard to expose the pickup cavity. ![]() The Peavey T-60 also had an old zebra Seymour Duncan Distortion humbucker (circa 1981) in the bridge position, and I took that out and put it on the Red Devil II, too. I even painted the headstock red and black to match the body. Later that summer, I also picked up a black Peavey T-60 with a maple neck with chrome Gotoh tuners I took that neck with the tuners and placed it on my Red Devil II (an explanation of the name Red Devil II will follow). And someone in San Diego bought one, sanded it down, painted it red, taped it off, and then sprayed it black. Tokai is a Japanese manufacturer that specialized in Les Paul and Strat knockoffs in the late 1970s. ![]() Then I stumbled on a Tokai serial number database and the number matches up perfectly to a '79 Strat model (900 = 1979). I always thought (hoped) it was a real Fender, but online Fender serial number data banks were way off. * I did not realize this was a 1979 Tokai Springy Sound "Strat" until 2021, when I was researching the serial number (9006555). Bill Zolla wanted $159 for it so I put down a $20 deposit and came back a week later with the balance. It had a black pickguard with two single-coil pickups, a Bill Lawrence humbucker in the bridge, a stock trem, and a rosewood neck. and I saw the guitar of my dreams - a beat-up old '79 Tokai* Strat (serial number 9006555) that had been striped with a Van Halen II-inspired red and black design (the paint job was OK, but it had a wax-like substance for a finish). I was going to the beach with a friend of mine (Edmundo!) and we were driving through Pacific Beach and we went by Zolla Guitars in P.B. ■The Tokai ST series has YS (Yellow Sunburst) and OW (Olympic White) in the four colors below.Where do I start? This is the second guitar I ever purchased, back in the early summer of 1984 (I was 17). Of course, the 3-tone control that makes it easy to create halftones, the sharp head one-point string guide, the one-piece body and its shape, all of which made me think, "If only I had a time machine." The unit panel uses a single white plate and is fixed with 8 screws, which is the original design.It is designed so that long sustain can be obtained even if the screws are not attached to the body as much as possible. ![]() In particular, the V-shaped neck of the maple dress, which fits comfortably in the hand and does not feel sticky, the authentic model also has the Kluson type (Al), and the pickup bridge that has the original and powerful sound. The Tokai Electric Guitar ST series is a series that spans from professional musicians to the original Stratocaster. I have seen this one pager that is probably from 1978. THE ELECTRONICS All electronic components are shielded with a rolled brass plate to eliminate hum and extraneous noise.ĬOLORS OW - Olympic White, BB - Black, YS - Yellow Sunburst, N - Natural, GS - Golden Sunburst. Tokai's craftsman work to tolerances never before accomplished in guitar production. Three dimensional computerized machine tooling produces a body shape and contour exactly the same as guitars made during those vintage years. THE BODY Tokai features solid alder on all ST models. THE SWITCH For that bluesy hollow tone so characteristic of the Golden Era, Tokai includes a 3-way 5 position switch on all ST models. Type B is production model of the same pick-up. Type A is a hand made exact alloy reproduction of a 1954 single coil unit. PICK-UPS The ST Series 1s avAilable with either ST-A or ST-B Tokai Pick-ups. The rear channeled truss rod is fully adjustable at the body. Tokai's necks are available in two popular shapes the familiar U shape or the V shape of the 1950's. THE NECK Constructed of one piece hard North American maple. Our ST Series features all of the options available in 1954 with a few pluses. Tokal's Golden Era Series takes you back to the design and quality of two decades ago. 8003028 ST60 BB “Plate Stamped” (bluejeannot)Ĩ002080 ST100R BL (Cliff, note rosewood board)Ĩ001578 ST60 YS (Reverb) *Guessing on the "1" digit.Ĩ000989 ST100R BL (Cliff, note rosewood board)Ĩ000963 ST? OW (posted by tokaigeek & Jeremycanlapan)ħ7000011 ST60 YS (CliffsComicWorld) *Note Serial starts with "770" and not "70".
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