Tokai TST50 Stratocaster 1983 in Fiesta Red - 40 years on, the guitar that changed it all for me!

 

The Tokai TST50 in Fiesta Red -

One of my top guitars of all time!

On Monday 19th November 1983, I purchased a guitar that change everything for me - the Tokai TST50 Stratocaster in Fiesta Red for £199 from ABC Music in Surrey. 40 years later, I am still enjoying a couple these fine 1983 guitars, both in Fiesta Red.

For some years starting in the 1970's, I had been making do with unsuitable guitars whilst learning to play and because I had no money to buy a decent one. Occasionally I would be able to get my hands on someone else's guitar to try and to realise what I was missing or what was eluding me.

The controversial Tokai TST50 -

it outclassed the Fender guitars of the day  

I was ideally looking for a guitar suitable for the playing I wanted to do and the sound I wanted to create. In those pre-internet days, that meant looking at guitar magazines, visiting guitar shops and hoping the advice from the shop was good and not from someone looking to offload a guitar.

                                       1985 on stage with the Tokai TST-50 guitar

In 1980 when I was 14, the Shadows released an album called String of Hits and this was the right sound at the right time for me to aspire to playing and creating, for a short time, this was mostly attempted on a Starway Stratocaster copy guitar borrowed from my English Teacher at school. 

                                      1985 at the Hope Pub in Richmond, London 

                                                playing the Tokai TST-50 guitar

The Shadows at that time were recently back on tour and in the singles charts with singles from the string of hits album such as Don't cry for me Argentina and theme from the Deerhunter, I could see on their television performances and hear on the record a guitar style and sound I wanted to perform - that of the Shadows lead guitarist Hank Marvin.

1983 Tokai TST50 - the equal of the pre-CBS 1959 Stratocaster

The string of hits LP cover had artwork by a studio called Cream, and their album art was a joy in itself to look at, clever, stylish and just outstanding.

By early 1982, I was now playing often in various short lived bands with people at school, I was round my friend Dave Kent's house when he played me a 7 inch single from 1960, called 'Apache.' Like many before me, it had changed their playing and Dave and I listened to this single again and again, the 7 inch record material seemed to give it a special resonance, almost ethereal. What a fantastic sound. Dave purchased a used Musima guitar made in the GDR which was sort of Stratocaster like and had a trem arm.

The Shadows first album from 1961 -

it features Hank's first Stratocaster on the cover -

It would take me 17 years to get the same 1959 year guitar 

After leaving school, some months later I got back in touch with Dave around late 1983, I had only then recently purchased the Tokai, at the time I was working in London on an evening shift for a wine company, so in the mornings I had the time to myself and one Monday in November 1983 went to buy this great guitar so I could try and emulate the Hank Marvin sound I was after, whilst the house was empty.

The price of the guitar at £199 was then for me 4 weeks wages for this new icon and worth all of it. Getting home that day with the guitar in a cardboard box under my arm, which I had walked home 2 miles with, I only had a brief time to try it  out.

I plugged it in and briefly played along with a Shadows record. This was the sound and the right looking guitar. It even looked like Hank Marvin's guitar. This was the start of a journey. 40 years later it is still inspiring me to play.

The Shadows String of Hits album from 1980 - 

I was lucky to find this signed copy on sale

Soon enough with 3 schoolfriends and Dave's brother, we had ourselves a small band going and for a few years made a lot of noise down at the local youth club! I was meanwhile learning the Hank Marvin style and have been doing the same thing since.

Hank Marvin playing his 1958 Stratocaster in the late 1980's

Recently I put a book together with pictures of every guitar I have owned since 1977, it was called 150 guitars later, because that is where I am now, 150 guitars on from 1983.

A barely played 1983 one owner TST50 with rare decal mistake!

One thing is for sure the Tokai TST50 is one of the great guitars I have owned and has been seldom equalled. Nowadays I have 2 of these TST50's to hand, both from 1983. Next to a maple neck 1959 Stratocaster I restored in 1999, the Tokai is on a par with that, not much else is, except the recent Mexican made 50's guitars from 2018 onwards.

Playing eat again on the 19th November 40 years on, it is still one of the best guitars ever.

Tokai Goldstar TST50 Springy Sound in Fiesta red review v TST50 Springy Sound from 1983

Tokai TST50 Goldstar TST50 review

Tokai TST-50 (lower) from 1983 with a 1959 Stratocaster I restored

Not much has changed since 1983 - except the decals

Back in 1983, I purchased a Tokai TST-50 Springy Sound Stratocaster, as an avid Hank Marvin fan, as it was about the closest I would get to Hank's legendary 1959 Fender Stratocaster.

My quest to find a 1959 Stratocaster took me around 16 years and came in the form of a guitar that needed restoring, now complete and pictured above. 

However, the Tokai from 1983 really was about as good as you could get back then for what I could afford. Weighing in at £199 or £250 with the case, a 1959 in Fiesta red was about £5000 if you could find one. That seems like peanuts now!

A pity I didn't back then as today it would be worth around £40-50,000. 

The TST-50 from that era featured a 1958 C shape neck, it was basically as good a replication as you could get of one of Fender's golden era guitars, made before 1966. 

Tokai were acknowledged even by pop players as great guitars and some were even used by big names over Fender, they were quite amazing. I did find the pickups were rather weak on my own 1983 original.

But, a big legal argument ensued because these guitars were too close to the Fender original and better than Fender's then current 3 bolt neck guitars which had lost their way due to cost cutting.

In the mid 80's, Tokai seemed to disappear from the Stratocaster style guitar market, they later on reappeared with a changed headstock shape Stratocaster style guitar many years later.

Cut to about 2010 and Tokai have come back with a very much nuts and bolts replica of the Stratocaster, right in the style of the Fender Stratocaster.

So I decided to try a new one, to see how they compared to the 1983 one, which I now have a pair of, both in fiesta red. 

The new TST50 Goldstar-
Little unchanged from the 1983 guitars

One good upgrade Tokai made has been the use of Gotoh vintage pickups, they are stronger than the ones on my 1983 guitar. They give a good sound and have enough power in for the sort of instrumental playing I do and for general pop music.

 

The revised decals

The neck is still the 1958  C shape which I prefer and is easy to play with the vintage wire type profile frets. Tokai install a spacer under the string tree which I personally like. These were on the 1983 guitar too, a modification I have done on a number of my other Stratocaster guitars. 

The neck on the modern Goldstar is slightly deeper than on the 1983 but the difference is negligible and only noticeable if you have an original old Tokai to hand to compare.

The Goldstar is still an easy guitar to play when set up correctly. I use it for a few different styles of music and find it works well.

If you are considering one, I would say go for one, the build quality is very good, playability good, sound is good. For a made in Japan guitar, it offers great value. 

I don't think you'll be disappointed. And being built in fairly limited numbers, they are a good investment too. You rarely get a bad Japanese made guitar and I am very pleased with the one I have.