Tokai AST-423 Goldstar HSS Sherwood Green MIJ Ash Body Maple Neck

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A classic S-style electric guitar built for players who value feel, versatility, and musical responsiveness. You will receive the exact guitar shown in the photos. This guitar will receive a professional inspection and setup prior to shipping, dialed in with a comfortable medium action suitable for most players.

Professor's Notes

Some guitars impress you in the first thirty seconds. The Tokai Goldstar HSS is the kind that keeps getting better the longer you play it. Exceptional attention to detail, resonant ash construction, and a lively, articulate response come together in a guitar that feels less like a collection of features and more like a resolved whole.

Description

The Tokai Goldstar HSS takes the familiar S-style platform and gives it a wider working vocabulary without losing the feel that makes the design so enduring. It still has the clarity, balance, and touch sensitivity players expect from this style of guitar, but the bridge humbucker adds extra authority when the music asks for more weight, sustain, or drive.

What makes the Goldstar compelling isn't a long list of features. It's the way the instrument feels resolved. Tokai has earned its reputation by focusing on the things that matter most in a guitar: outstanding attention to detail, carefully selected materials, remarkably consistent construction, clean fretwork, stable hardware, and a playing experience that feels intentional rather than accidental.

The value here is not novelty or feature count. It is execution: resonant materials, clean fretwork, stable hardware, and the kind of responsiveness that makes a versatile instrument feel cohesive rather than complicated.

The ash body contributes to that character with a lively, articulate response and excellent note definition, giving the guitar a sense of immediacy that rewards a nuanced picking hand. Combined with the HSS pickup layout, the result is an instrument that moves comfortably from clean rhythm work to edge-of-breakup textures, expressive lead parts, and heavier gain without feeling like a compromise.

That matters because a great S-style guitar has to balance versatility with feel. Too much emphasis on features can make the instrument feel generic; too little range can limit its usefulness. The Goldstar HSS succeeds because it feels cohesive — not like a traditional guitar with extra parts added, but like a complete instrument built around clarity, responsiveness, and musical range.

Tokai complements its build quality with equally thoughtful component choices, including vintage-voiced Gotoh pickups, a Sprague Orange Drop capacitor, and premium Gotoh hardware. These details may not be the headline, but they contribute meaningfully to the instrument's consistency, reliability, and overall playing experience.

Whether your style leans toward rock, indie, blues, alternative, pop, fusion, worship, or modern session work, the Goldstar HSS provides a versatile foundation that rewards touch, dynamics, and nuance.

Specifications

Model: Tokai Goldstar HSS
Weight: 7 lbs 10 oz
Case: Gig Bag
Profile & Thickness: “U” Shape / 1F: 21.5mm, 12F: 24.0mm
Nut width (measured): 1.65 in
12th fret width (measured): 2.03 in
1st fret depth (measured): 0.83 in
12th fret depth (measured): 0.94 in
Color: Sherwood Green Metallic
Body: 2PC Ash
Body Type: AST Type / Flat Top
Finish: Polyurethane
Neck: 1PC Canadian Hard Rock Maple
Fingerboard: Maple
Scale Length: 25.5"
Radius: 9.5"
Nut Width: 1.65"
Nut Material: Bone
Frets: 22 Medium Jumbo
Pickups: GOTOH ST-Classic_α (Neck), GOTOH ST-Classic_α (Middle),  GOTOH PAF-Vintage MK2 (Bridge) Nickel Cover
Capacitor: Sprague Orange Drop 715P 600V 473J
Controls: Master Volume - 500k pot), Tone 1 (neck) and Tone 2 (middle) – 250k pot, 5-Way Pickup Selector
Bridge: Gotoh 510T-SF1
Tuners: Gotoh SD91-05ML
Jack: Mono S-type (Chrome)
Strings: GHS GBXL 009-042
Accessories: Hex Key 5.0mm,1.5mm, Whammy Bar

Why Buy From Professor Nigel's

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Please inspect promptly upon delivery. Preference-based returns must meet all return-policy conditions, including original condition, complete packaging, and advance authorization.