“Only recently getting its due as one of the best S-style guitars to come out of the Land of the Rising Sun, this mid-’80s Tokai TST-56 has been my default axe for the last 25 years,” says Ken Weissel. A previous owner installed the German-made Floyd Rose and ditched the original pickups. After several pickup rotations, Weissel ultimately settled on a Fernandes Sustainer system and a Seymour Duncan JB in the bridge.
To accommodate the dual-humbucker configuration, the factory S/S/S pickup cavity was professionally routed to retain maximum body mass. For tonal variety, the JB is housed in a Duncan Triple Shot pickup ring to provide parallel/series/split options. “I have quite a few guitars,” says Weissel, “but this is the one I’d go after if the house was on fire.”
Throughout the year we collect stories and photos of guitar-mod projects created by you, our beloved readers. Some of these guitars are so inspiring we’re compelled to share them with everyone in this annual Hot Rod issue. As always, you don’t disappoint. And by using fetching racecar flame designs, several readers even revealed their devotion to the original “hot rod” culture!
We couldn’t fit all of your mod submissions here, but look for more stories in our “Hot-Rod Gallery – Reader’s Edition” online next month.
