Tokai Goldstar Strat 1984, worth a punt?

spev11

Theres a Goldstar on Badlands Guitars for £499, had a refret and its not got original saddles (doesnt bother me) I think its a TST50 (not 100%) I'm not a huge fan of Strats but this one is more appealing to me than most ( I can't put my finger on why though) . I think its a good price but I'm wary of the Tokai hype.
Should I? Or look for a MIM Strat instead?

Svartmetall

My first decent guitar was a TST 50. You'll be fine.

Stuckfast

I've had a couple of Tokai Fender copies from that period and much preferred them to modern MIM jobbies.

ElectricXII

I inherited one about 12 years ago. It was a good enough guitar but I didn't bond with it, because a) it was a strat, and b) it had a maple neck.

spev11

this is half my worry, I prefer maple necks but i've had a 3 strats and moved them all on within weeks, admittedly they were all squier CV models. Oddly some of my favourite players use Strats (mostly Blackmore and Gilmore but 100% not Clapton).

Neilybob

Saw this Tokai pop up on my feed, very nice looking indeed. 

Blackmore and Gilmore both had modded Strats which is worth thinking about and might influence your dislike of the strats you have had in the past. 

mark123

spev11 said:

Theres a Goldstar on Badlands Guitars for £499, had a refret and its not got original saddles (doesnt bother me) I think its a TST50 (not 100%) I'm not a huge fan of Strats but this one is more appealing to me than most ( I can't put my finger on why though) . I think its a good price but I'm wary of the Tokai hype.
Should I? Or look for a MIM Strat instead?

We are in a new era...when the 80s tokai and Squier jv's came out they were up against junk, high action,shit build quality,crap pick ups no competition anywhere.....F/Forward to now 44yrs later and the guitar world has changed...Squier classic vibes , Fender player series all the same if not better than Tokai and are cheaper..we are so lucky in 2024 but the misty eyed bedroom dealers and other chancers try to tell you otherwise...

mark123

To add on to that i've owned a 80s Tokai goldstar/Fender classic player strat/squier classic vibe strat, they have all gone , and a olympic white jet js300 1st run playability and feel wipes the floor with the lot , pick ups were average but i have a set of oil citys to go in and happy days...
The 1st run Jets are a league above the 2nd runs

spev11

All good info, I'm trying to work out what it is I dont like about strats really, I love Teles (although neither of the ones I have are standard by any stretch, 1 Baritone Cabronita and a Charvel supertele with Fluences) . I'm a firm believer that liking how it looks is as important as any other consideration. I had a fantastic playing and sounding Epi Les Paul with JAzz and JB pickups but I just didn't like the look of it so I didnt like playing it.
 It might be that I'm very colour dependent and I also think (this is ridiculous I know) but the little plastic knob on the end of the bar cheapens the whole look ( I know I can remove it but It starts me off on the wrong foot). Unfortunately I have this feeling that I should give one (as long as it meets my visual and sound likes) a proper good go, I might be missing out on the "right" instrument.
 I shall keep browsing as I'm not in a rush, its not like I've got nothing to play (although the Baritone may be moving on as It was an itch I needed to scratch and, as great as it is I'm not sure I can make enough use of it.

Musical_Mystery_Tour

mark123 said:

We are in a new era...when the 80s tokai and Squier jv's came out they were up against junk, high action,shit build quality,crap pick ups no competition anywhere.....F/Forward to now 44yrs later and the guitar world has changed...Squier classic vibes , Fender player series all the same if not better than Tokai and are cheaper..we are so lucky in 2024 but the misty eyed bedroom dealers and other chancers try to tell you otherwise...

Yup. Witness all those shite late Seventies plywood LP copies with bolt on necks going up on on ebay for ludicrous asking prices, being described (erroneously) as 'lawsuit era' guitars (something which never actually happened). They are hoping people will imagine those plywood monstrosities were somehow so brilliant in comparison to a genuine Les Paul, that Gibson was shaking in its corporate boots. Yeah right. 

Tokais were a bit cheaper than Fenders and Gibsons and made pretty well in comparison to all of the above, so they were an attractive option back then, but these days any sub-200 quid copy made with CNC cutting will piss all over them; those new things genuinely are a threat to Gibson and Fender's sales. There is no need (other than some rose-tinted nostalgia), to buy any of those Tokai. Besides which, all those shite names they gave them are just embarrassing. Love Rock, Breezysound etc. You might as well write 'twat' on the end of your guitar with a Sharpie.

spev11

All fair comments, i played a jet js450 and it was lovely but it wasn’t a tele

Funkfingers

spev11 said:

I'm trying to work out what it is I dont like about strats really,   

Good thinking, Batman.

Does it have to be a regular SSS Stratocaster? Would a Superstrat be more suitable? Is it the Strat sound that you are after or the look?

What would it cost to modify your Charvel to have a Fishman Fluence SSA middle pickup and some fancy wiring?

Come to think of it, for under forty quid, you could rewire your Charvel according to the Fishman Tosin Abasi circuit.

Neil

It seems to have sold now anyway.

Did you buy it @spev11 ?

Stratavarious

I had one many years ago.. it was an outstanding guitar.   A number one for years. 

As others have said, lots of options today.   I might feel different putting some modern equivalents side by side at that price.

spev11

Neil said:

It seems to have sold now anyway.

Did you buy it @spev11 ?

I didn’t no, I’m actually being patient for a change

spev11

Funkfingers said:

spev11 said:

I'm trying to work out what it is I dont like about strats really,   

Good thinking, Batman.

Does it have to be a regular SSS Stratocaster? Would a Superstrat be more suitable? Is it the Strat sound that you are after or the look?

What would it cost to modify your Charvel to have a Fishman Fluence SSA middle pickup and some fancy wiring?

Come to think of it, for under forty quid, you could rewire your Charvel according to the Fishman Tosin Abasi circuit.

I think I keep looking at strats because they are so popular that I think there must be something that I don’t get. Realistically though it doesn’t matter if I don’t “get it” there’s loads of other interesting and exciting options, so why chase something I’m not keen on. 

Id really like a tele shape with a Floyd rose, fast modern neck, HSH and a d-tuner, but nobody makes one and I don’t have the money to commission one. I might build a partscaster version when I have more time

OilCityPickups

Musical_Mystery_Tour said:

 You might as well write 'twat' on the end of your guitar with a Sharpie.

Er ... you mean people don't do that? (embarrassed grin) 

ElectricXII

Musical_Mystery_Tour said:

Tokais were a bit cheaper than Fenders and Gibsons and made pretty well in comparison to all of the above, so they were an attractive option back then, but these days any sub-200 quid copy made with CNC cutting will piss all over them; 

I disagree. For build quality and feel, the Tokai Goldstar I owned was at least the equal of any Classic Vibe or Fender Player I've had or played. The pickups were a bit lacklustre I suppose, but that was its only real negative, apart from the fact that it wasn't a Tele. I would like to like strats, but I can't.

Danny1969

I've got an 84 Goldstar strat. I was given it as a thank you for converting half a garage into a small studio. It's my favorite guitar and I wouldn't swap it for a USA strat. 
The pickups on mine are top notch, the trem holds it's tuning and the guitar has that realistic relic look that 40 years gives. 

I don't know what mode it is but it's a great guitar 

ICBM

At least £499 was a sensible price - some sellers are trying to ask twice that.... same with JV Squiers, they were excellent guitars back in the day, better than most then-current Fenders, but Fender have caught up and in my opinion overtaken them, even at the top end of the Squier range. That doesn't mean that any individual one might not be outstanding, some were - if you get a great one for that sort of price it's a good buy, but I wouldn't pay more than that without trying it.

It being refretted was not a disadvantage or at all unusual - they had very soft frets in my experience, although to be fair, many were bought by semi-pro players who used them hard so that might partly explain it.

Funkfingers

spev11 said:

I'd really like a tele shape with a Floyd rose, fast modern neck, HSH and a d-tuner but nobody makes one 

MIM Charvel San Dimas Style 2 HH, perhaps? (Trick Superswitch wiring to get the Stratty sounds.)

Most of your wishlist spec could be achieved by modifying a Sterling AX40(D). D for DiMarzio! Again, trick selector switch wiring. (I suggest the John Petrucci 4P3T circuit.)