Lighting and Wood: Tokai LS-80

Old Tokai LS-80s are a real pleasure to play and photograph. This particular one is an early one from 1978 with mother of pearl fretboard inlays and chrome plated hardware.

It was a sunny winter day here in Tokyo with the sun coming in hard through the windows. The top of the LS really caught flame and revealed the fine figuring of the old maple.   

A very clean headstock with the early pearloid tuning pegs.

A more subdued look in the shade.

Not your typical back grain here on the 1-piece mahogany.

Why do those Dry Zs sound so good? - About those Super Real Pots

Greco Super Real Custom 1980 with split block inlays

I admit it. I did something bad with my 1980 Greco Custom. I sold the Dry-Z pickups and replaced them with some PU-2 pickups. DRY-Zs are the bees knees but PU-2s are dear to my heart as well and I guess needed the money that the sale brought in.

So out came the Z's and in went the PU-2s. Sounded great, if lacking the upper mid bite of the Zs. Then I got to thinking why not replace the stock Greco volume and tone pots with 500k pots and wire it 50's style. You are probably thinking "why?" at this point since of course the Super Real guitars had 500k pots like the old Gibsons.  But did they?

Bye bye Zs, hello PU-2

For some reason Kanda Shokai went with the odd combo of 300k volume and 100k tone pots for the Super Real series. As far as I have seen this was the way it was until late 1981.

The catalog says the 300k volume pots "have a smooth volume change" while preserving the highs and the 100k tone pots "give a sharp tone change." My experience is that they definitely do give a sharp change from having a nice balanced high end at 10 to pretty much no hi-end at 8.

For all the mystique of DRY-Zs and how they sound so good, please remember that if you are listening to them through 300k volume and 100k tone pots on "10" it is more or less equivalent to a 500k volume pot at 8.5 and a tone control on 6.5. That is a sweet spot for some nice tones on an LP and the DRY-Z works well in that zone. Change the pots to 500k all around and it opens up some nice tonal areas for the neck and bridge and also gives a bit more output on the volume.

From 1980 Catalog

Just in case you came this far and still need some more proof, here are some pot-shots for you with meter readings....

Tone measuring in at 90.3K fully open

Volume measuring in at 331K fully open

Tone pot: Here the leading "1" means 100K

Volume pot: Here the leading "3" means 300K

Strats...I've had a few

MIJ strats. 

Here are a few of the ones I have had over the past couple of years. Some great Grecos, Tokas and Bacchus guitars along with a Fernandes and a very cool Aria Pro II Jeff Beck Model. 

Tokai ST-80 1980

 

Tokai ST-50 1980

Aria Pro ST-600 Jeff Beck Model

SE-500 Spacey Sound. One of the best Grecos I have ever played.

The "lowly" SE-450 Spacey Sound with case and original paperwork.

1979 SE-500 Super Sounds, just before the Super Real line came out.

1980 SE-600 Super Sounds.

Late 1981 SE-500J Jeff Beck Model. Mint condition but with a thin neck :-(

A refin project for a 1979 SE-600J Jeff Beck model

Greco's version of "The Strat". Super Sounds SE-600 perhaps?

Tokai Goldstar ST-50. 

A well-played 1979 SE-800J Jeff Beck model coming in at 10 lbs

Very nice Bacchus Strat. It has the Vintage-style decal but a modified headstock with the truss rod adjustable from the headstock. All-nitro finish. 

Lower-model "Limited Edition" Fernandes.

Minty SE-450 with changed knobs and pickup covers.

Tokai Custom Edition with flame maple veneer and gold hardware.

Tokai ST-70 version of Fender's "The Strat"

Thirty-six MIJ Guitars

Back at the old place in Aoyama the sun came through the window just right to take pictures of guitars on the wall hanger. Here are 36 Japanese made guitars from Greco, Tokai, Burny, Bacchus, Epiphone, Edwards (yes, an MIJ in there!), Orville by Gibson, Navigator (ESP) and a very rare Bison Golden Era reissue. I wish I had kept a few of these but they all have since passed on to new owners. 

And yes, I know I should have kept that Greco SG-800 Custom in cream.