Sure, we have a great deal of posts about Tokai basses here. But, as far as I could see, there is not yet a club.
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The Tokai Club
- Thread starter Nekomata
- Start date
Kicking it off not with one of those revered ‘lawsuit’ models, which seem to be quite popular around Talkbass. Instead, I present my most recent ‘score’:
Tokai APB-97, made in Japan in 2016, in candy apple red.
If I’m not mistaken, it features a two-piece alder body, a Canadian maple neck (one-piece) with a rosewood fretboard. The neck, I’d say is on the Jazz Bass side of the spectrum. The pickups are MIJ PB-Vintage MK3×2 alnico; electronics are Gotoh. The hardware is Gotoh (tuners) and Tokai (bridge).
I must say: the build quality, feel and sound of this kind of blows me away. Happy NBD!
Tokai APB-97, made in Japan in 2016, in candy apple red.
If I’m not mistaken, it features a two-piece alder body, a Canadian maple neck (one-piece) with a rosewood fretboard. The neck, I’d say is on the Jazz Bass side of the spectrum. The pickups are MIJ PB-Vintage MK3×2 alnico; electronics are Gotoh. The hardware is Gotoh (tuners) and Tokai (bridge).
I must say: the build quality, feel and sound of this kind of blows me away. Happy NBD!
Circa 1984 fretless Jazz Bass, with a couple of its JV Squier cousins.
Stock fretless, without a pickguard, I think these were intended as a Jaco clone.
The neck is quite chunky, the original wiring is a little temperamental , but the instrument really sings with a great voice that belies the relatively humble price point. Had this maybe 25 years
Stock fretless, without a pickguard, I think these were intended as a Jaco clone.
The neck is quite chunky, the original wiring is a little temperamental , but the instrument really sings with a great voice that belies the relatively humble price point. Had this maybe 25 years
Mine is a lowly factury surplus SGB-48:
This bass came with a 30K mudbucker neck pickup, oversized Firebird bridge pickup, and the 3-way selector. I replaced the bridge pickup with an oversized mini-hunbucker, and modified it with the EB-3 Series 1 circuit. Now you can get an uprightish tone (Position 4), normal versatile 2-pickup bass tone (position 3), Jack Bruce tone (Position 2), and ultra-deep subby bass tone (position 1) from it.
This bass came with a 30K mudbucker neck pickup, oversized Firebird bridge pickup, and the 3-way selector. I replaced the bridge pickup with an oversized mini-hunbucker, and modified it with the EB-3 Series 1 circuit. Now you can get an uprightish tone (Position 4), normal versatile 2-pickup bass tone (position 3), Jack Bruce tone (Position 2), and ultra-deep subby bass tone (position 1) from it.
I don't own a Tokai presently, but I once had an old Tokai Strat. A question: how do the newer Tokais compare to the old ones, quality wise?
That's an impressive armada!never tired of posting my tokais. these are just some of my collections.
I have owned MIJ 'new' Tokai and these are very well built, but they don't sound the same as 'old' Tokai. Lawsuit era Tokai sounds better to my ears,. The vibration is also different, when you hold both and pluck the string you could tell.
These new Tokai Hard Puncher are semi-custom order when Shohei Adachi still owns Tokai, all nitro finsh, brass saddle, light weight alder body and east indian rosewood fretboard, plays like butter, sounds great. My friend made this video to demo new Tokai, hope you enjoy, have fun!
Attachments
Not technically a Tokai, but closely related: a short scale stone logo Fernandes P Bass, made by Kawai in 1978. It’s rare (I’ve only seen two online, and one of them was this one) and a beast of a bass!
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That clip sounds very good! Bonus: the 'classic' headstock shape. You don't see current-day MIJ Tokais often...
Well... I do have a Tokai - honest. What I don't have, is the ability to load pictures on to this verkakte laptop - or to post them. Anyhow; mine is a left handed '88 TB48 Thunderbird. It replaced a nice, but pretty "Meh" Eastwood Magnum bass, that was holding down the "Long Scale Bolt-Neck" spot in my Bass Herd, about 18 months ago. It's a beautifully made bass, with a 3TB finish. With the right strings (Optima 4099RL "Chromes", in my case)? It will definitely give my '13 Gibson T-Bird a run for it's money, tone-wise. Build/finish-wise? It's a very close 2nd - to a bass that rivals my Alembic Epic, in fit and finish. I just wish that it wasn't quite so long. It's almost an inch longer than the Gibson - 'cause the headstock is actually bigger than the Gibson's...
Other than that? It feels - and plays - just like a "Real" Thunderbird. It wants to bang the headstock into every object in the room; the upper frets are a loong way away; and unless you sling it low, with the headstock 'way up in the air? It's a world-class neck diver... But, I know how to play a T-Bird, so... I'm Very happy with it...
I bought it off of Reverb, for a price that seemed... well, more than a little low. After I got it, I took it down to my basement work area; did the basic function check-
; then did the clean-up/set-up thing. When I finished tuning the strings, and started the intonation? No Go; it just would not intonate - AT ALL. After checking all the usual reasons for that failure, I finally decided to measure the scale length. And... Surprise!! I measured 17" from the nut to the 12th fret; but, from the 12th fret to the G string saddle? Only 16 3/8ths of an inch. Which was most probably why it sold for so little...
I did some research, and... looking closely at some pictures of TB48's? Seems that Tokai used 2 bridges on them. They were identical - except that some had the plate screw holes toward the front edge of the base plate; and some had the screws holes toward the back edge. They had drilled the holes in my bass for one plate - but mounted the other one (the one with the holes in the back). Resulting in an un-intonatable, 33 3/8" scale bass. Once I found the problem, though? It was an easy fix. I chamfered the existing screw holes, and installed 4 Phillips head screws, flush with the top of the body. Then I set the bridge saddles in the right spots; measured exactly 17" from the 12th fret to the G string saddle; marked and drilled 4 new holes; and re-installed the bridge. The bass tuned up - and intonated - with no problem at all... The bridge covered up the old holes completely; so, other than a very faint mark in the finish, that shows where the bridge used to be? There's no sign that it was ever moved. However...
Every time I pick it up and play it, I wonder... Why in the Hell did it take 34 frickin' YEARS before somebody finally figured out what the problem was?!?
Other than that? It feels - and plays - just like a "Real" Thunderbird. It wants to bang the headstock into every object in the room; the upper frets are a loong way away; and unless you sling it low, with the headstock 'way up in the air? It's a world-class neck diver... But, I know how to play a T-Bird, so... I'm Very happy with it...I bought it off of Reverb, for a price that seemed... well, more than a little low. After I got it, I took it down to my basement work area; did the basic function check-
; then did the clean-up/set-up thing. When I finished tuning the strings, and started the intonation? No Go; it just would not intonate - AT ALL. After checking all the usual reasons for that failure, I finally decided to measure the scale length. And... Surprise!! I measured 17" from the nut to the 12th fret; but, from the 12th fret to the G string saddle? Only 16 3/8ths of an inch. Which was most probably why it sold for so little...I did some research, and... looking closely at some pictures of TB48's? Seems that Tokai used 2 bridges on them. They were identical - except that some had the plate screw holes toward the front edge of the base plate; and some had the screws holes toward the back edge. They had drilled the holes in my bass for one plate - but mounted the other one (the one with the holes in the back). Resulting in an un-intonatable, 33 3/8" scale bass. Once I found the problem, though? It was an easy fix. I chamfered the existing screw holes, and installed 4 Phillips head screws, flush with the top of the body. Then I set the bridge saddles in the right spots; measured exactly 17" from the 12th fret to the G string saddle; marked and drilled 4 new holes; and re-installed the bridge. The bass tuned up - and intonated - with no problem at all... The bridge covered up the old holes completely; so, other than a very faint mark in the finish, that shows where the bridge used to be? There's no sign that it was ever moved. However...
Every time I pick it up and play it, I wonder... Why in the Hell did it take 34 frickin' YEARS before somebody finally figured out what the problem was?!?
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Pics are needed, verkakte laptop or not. “Kak” means sh*t in Afrikaans. Assuming verkakte isn’t too far off lol?Well... I do have a Tokai - honest. What I don't have, is the ability to load pictures on to this verkakte laptop - or to post them. Anyhow; mine is a left handed '88 TB48 Thunderbird. It replaced a nice, but pretty "Meh" Eastwood Magnum bass, that was holding down the "Long Scale Bolt-Neck" spot in my Bass Herd, about 18 months ago. It's a beautifully made bass, with a 3TB finish. With the right strings (Optima 4099RL "Chromes", in my case)? It will definitely give my '13 Gibson T-Bird a run for it's money, tone-wise. Build/finish-wise? It's a very close 2nd - to a bass that rivals my Alembic Epic, in fit and finish. I just wish that it wasn't quite so long. It's almost an inch longer than the Gibson - 'cause the headstock is actually bigger than the Gibson's...
I bought it off of Reverb, for a price that seemed... well, more than a little low. After I got it, I took it down to my basement work area; did the basic function check-
I did some research, and... looking closely at some pictures of TB48's? Seems that Tokai used 2 bridges on them. They were identical - except that some had the plate screws toward the front edge of the base plate; and some had the screws toward the back edge. They had drilled the holes in my bass for one plate - but mounted the other one (the one with the holes in the back). Resulting in an un-intonatable, 33 3/8" scale bass. Once I found the problem, though? It was an easy fix. I chamfered the existing screw holes, and installed 4 Phillips head screws, flush with the top of the body. Then I set the bridge saddles in the right spots; measured exactly 17" from the 12th fret to the G string saddle; marked and drilled 4 new holes; and re-installed the bridge. The bass tuned up - and intonated - with no problem at all... The bridge covered up the old holes completely; so, other than a very faint mark in the finish, that shows where the bridge used to be? There's no sign that it was ever moved. However...
Every time I pick it up and play it, I wonder... Why in the Hell did it take 34 frickin' YEARS before somebody finally figured out what the problem was?!?
- so, yeah; close enough...
My Tokai Hard Puncher precision bass 1980. Strung with LaBella Low Tension Flats.
Brought my APB-97 to the band rehearsal yesterday night. When we were done, our drummer said to me: 'You really are in love with her, right? I could tell from the look on your face all evening.' He was right. This is one of those basses that hits the sweet spot for me.
No disrespect to the good old Richwood P-copy I used to play with these lads. It fits in perfectly with what we try to do.
But the Tokai really is a step up, simply because it oozes quality and sounds just right. And it is a joy to play (low setup, easy neck, perfect balance and way less weight to carry—which matters in long sessions).
No disrespect to the good old Richwood P-copy I used to play with these lads. It fits in perfectly with what we try to do.
But the Tokai really is a step up, simply because it oozes quality and sounds just right. And it is a joy to play (low setup, easy neck, perfect balance and way less weight to carry—which matters in long sessions).
Yes, quite. My first bass is my Aria Pro II precision with rounds. I use the Tokai when a flatwound sound is preferred.
Funny, the seller from whom I bought my Tokai noticed me 'wrestling' a bit with both the flatwounds and the light gauge of the strings (GHS Precision Flats light). Indeed, both are underexplored territory for me. He said: 'Do yourself a favor and keep them on for at least a week. Thank me later.'
He was right, in that sense that the strings work well with this bass. I don't really notice a lack of punch/oomph on the E- and A-string (but haven't yet learned to get more volume out of the D- and the G-string). The action, dialed in by the seller, is rather low, so there is some 'klang', even with my light touch. Yet this doesn't disturb me when playing 'in context'. So for now, the Tokai will be my go-to flatwound Precision, too.
But I can also imagine this P-bass working very well with roundwounds.
The LaBella Low Tension flatwounds aren't that heavy either; 042, 056, 075, 100. They are harmonious with enough overtone to produce a melodic and dynamic sound. I have tried many brands and gauges, but I these flatwound strings the best.
As the name suggests they are quite flexible, yet they don't easily "klang". Or perhaps it's my technique
As the name suggests they are quite flexible, yet they don't easily "klang". Or perhaps it's my technique
