1983 Tokai TLS-200 — A Well-Kept Legacy

I purchased this TLS-200 at the end of 2008, from a well-known used-guitar shop in Nakano.
It had once belonged to a famous guitarist from a legendary Japanese pop-rock band that dominated the charts in the 1970s.

Expensive guitars tend to be treated with care, and this one is no exception — its condition is outstanding.

Although many assume all LS/TLS-200s were finished in cashew lacquer, this particular instrument is finished in standard nitrocellulose lacquer.

Starting in 1983, Tokai switched the bridge and tailpiece plating from nickel to chrome.
Personally, I’ve always preferred the way aged nickel turns that muted, smoky silver over time — a kind of patina that chrome can never quite capture.

The maple top is beautifully figured, though it lacks any prominent flecks.
Perhaps the maple used by this time came from younger trees than on earlier models.

The pickups are Seymour Duncan ’59 Vintage, which matches the catalog specs of the period.
However, inside the control cavity there are slight melt marks on the insulation tubing, suggesting that some soldering work was done —
so it’s unclear whether these are the original pickups or replacements installed early in its life.

Interestingly, among all the LS/TLS-200/150s I own, this is the only one without an inlaid Tokai logo on the headstock.
Why that is remains a mystery.

Weight: 3.80 kg (including strings)
(Updated August 26, 2016)