Tokai Goldstar Strat 1984, worth a punt?

Dave_Mc

Danny1969 said:

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 

I'm with you (and @ElectricXII ;;). I've got an (I think) 1984 ST-80, so a fairly high-end, nitro model. Aside from ideally needing a bit of work on the frets as @ICBM said, mine's killer. I remember fairly soon after I got it I tried a few (new) AVRI Fenders, I guess this would have been around 2010-ish, maybe a year or two earlier. I thought my Tokai was better. And it was less than half the price. (A new one would've been a fair bit cheaper too, IIRC.) I've currently got a Fender USA Deluxe Strat too, and I play the Tokai more, it has more "mojo" for want of a better word. Now, to be fair- the Fender is a much more modern take on the Strat and I think I prefer the more vintage ones (and I also think I prefer the pickups I put in the Tokai... though the stock Tokai pickups were really nice too and a lot nicer than the stock Fender noiseless ones). Oh yes I also have an AVRI Thinline Deluxe Tele, and it's not at all obvious that the Fender is any better (aside from the frets). In fact again I suspect I prefer the Tokai. (I've also got a more basic MIJ Tokai Tele, and aside from not having nitro, again it's not obvious that the AVRI Fender Tele is any better.) But there you go.

Don't get me wrong- I agree with @ICBM that the prices have gone nuts on them (I got mine years ago) and I wouldn't pay £1000 for one or anything like that. And I also agree that there are a lot more options available now. And I really like a lot of the cheap guitars you can get now for very little money (I got a few of the Harley Bentons in that 25% off sale, and they're killer for the money).

But a £200 CNC Harley Benton, or Vintage, or whatever, as good as a decent example of an MIJ Tokai? Just no. That's a similar statement (to me, anyway) of saying they're as good as a Gibson.

I haven't got around to trying any of the newer Fenders like the Players, but back when I went into guitar shops a lot more I tried quite a few Fenders against MIJ Tokais... I felt that the MIJ Fender-style Tokais I tried were quite a bit better than any Fenders under the MIM Classic models, and probably even slightly had the edge on those (and these were the cheapest MIJ Tokai models, not the higher-end one like I have).

@spev11 Are there any Floyd Teles with a scratchplate? You might be able to HSH-up one of those if you're lucky with the routing under the scratchplate...

spev11

So far none in my price range, i'm currently thinking of maybe a HB Fusion Tele, retro fitting either a floyd and d-tuna or leaving the 2 pivot trem on and fitting a hipshot D tuner thing then fitting a pickguard and  doing it that way. Dunno yet, mad ideas are swirling around in my head, my MIL is in A+E so it's all gone a bit bonkers here anyway

bbill335

the prices have gone mental but no current  production fender types have necks as nice as the old tokais. that includes current tokai and mij fender

Habanero

@spev11

Guitarzilla have an '87 white Tokai Custom Edition 'strat' for £495. What makes it custom is that it has just one tone control. They also have an '85 Blue/Black Super Edition HSS for the same price.

Dave_Mc

spev11 said:

So far none in my price range, i'm currently thinking of maybe a HB Fusion Tele, retro fitting either a floyd and d-tuna or leaving the 2 pivot trem on and fitting a hipshot D tuner thing then fitting a pickguard and  doing it that way. Dunno yet, mad ideas are swirling around in my head, my MIL is in A+E so it's all gone a bit bonkers here anyway

That's going to get expensive fast...

(What's "MIL"?)

spev11

I know I might need to rethink, although the speed my brain is running through ideas at the moment I'll change my mind about 100 times
MIL=Mother In Law

Dave_Mc

Don't worry about that, you can't be more crazy or indecisive than me!

Very sorry to hear about your MIL, I hope she gets better soon

spev11

Ta, shes home, blood pressure was 214 over 99 at one point, bit like a Geyser waiting to blow I think, back down a bit so I'm back on the search for a something guitar

Dave_Mc

spev11 said:

Ta, shes home, blood pressure was 214 over 99 at one point, bit like a Geyser waiting to blow I think, back down a bit so I'm back on the search for a something guitar

Wow, glad she's doing a bit better  

Sarge

Ibanez, Aria and Westone (concord) are similarly aged but made better strat types than the Tokais I've experienced. in my opinion.
cheaper too. 

Stuckfast

I don't think I have ever seen faithful Strat copies branded Ibanez, Aria or Westone, though they all made somewhat Strat-like models. I did have a Cimar Strat copy at one point, I think that was a sub-brand of Ibanez. It had a plywood body and definitely wasn't in the same league as a Tokai.

The Japanese 'silver series' Squier Strats from the mid-90s can be pretty good and relatively affordable.

Sarge

Stuckfast said:

I don't think I have ever seen faithful Strat copies branded Ibanez, Aria or Westone, though they all made somewhat Strat-like models. I did have a Cimar Strat copy at one point, I think that was a sub-brand of Ibanez. It had a plywood body and definitely wasn't in the same league as a Tokai.

The Japanese 'silver series' Squier Strats from the mid-90s can be pretty good and relatively affordable.

This is why I said "strat types" 

ICBM

Stuckfast said:

I don't think I have ever seen faithful Strat copies branded Ibanez, Aria or Westone, though they all made somewhat Strat-like models. I did have a Cimar Strat copy at one point, I think that was a sub-brand of Ibanez. It had a plywood body and definitely wasn't in the same league as a Tokai.

Aria did in the 70s - actually 70s-style ones with the CBS headstock, usually quite nice (multi-piece) ash bodies, but a horribly inappropriate metal truss rod cover on the headstock. I don’t think Ibanez did - they went to original designs a bit sooner - and Westone definitely didn’t as far as I know. Cimar, CSL, Maya, Hondo, and quite a few other brands - all from only a small handful of actual factories - also did copies with varying degrees of quality and accuracy.

roberty

bbill335 said:

the prices have gone mental but no current  production fender types have necks as nice as the old tokais. that includes current tokai and mij fender

I had a 1984 Breezysound and the neck was to die for. It had been played *a lot*, the edges had rolled off naturally

Henrytwang

I own one of those old Tokai Strats and it’s a nice guitar, over the 45+ years I’ve had it I’ve never felt the need to do anything to improve it. I also own a few fairly recent Squier Classic Vibe Stratocasters and regard them as being of equal or better build quality and sound great. Tokai certainly frightened Fender when they introduced those old guitars and probably caused the introduction of those  fist Japanese JV instruments but the prices being asked for old Tokai and JV Stratocasters are a bit optimistic.