Tokai Legacy P Style Bass?

[Jiriho]

Hi everyone,

I have been thinking of getting a P bass and through my search stumbled across a store selling a Tokai Legacy P Style bass for only $350 AUS brand new, which is really cheap for a guitar here.

These are the specs posted on the website:

BODY: Basswood
NECK: Canadian Maple Bolt-On
NECK STYLE: Medium C
FINGERBOARD: Kabukalli
FINISH: 'Relic' Urethane
MACHINE HEADS: 'Relic' Vintage Style
BRIDGE: 'Relic' Vintage Barrel
PICKUPS: Tokai Legacy PB Style Split Single-Coil
ELECTRONICS: 1 Volume, 1 Tone
WIRING: Modern
SCALE LENGTH: 34"
NUT: 42mm
FRETS: 21
WARRANTY: 3 Year

I live in a different state to where the store is, so can't go in a try it before I buy.

Given the price, I'm tempted to give it a go.

I can't really find any reviews for this guitar online, so thought I'd post here to see what others thought, or if anyone knows anything about these?

 

[SteveCS]

...
Tokai Legacy P Style bass for only $350 AUS brand new
...
Given the price, I'm tempted to give it a go.
...

That looks like about half the recommended retail so unless it turns out to be a total lemon* it's probably worth a gamble. Besides, if it is new and has the warrantee, the most you can lose is return shipping, right?

* Tokai turned out some very good Fender replica instruments in the '80s (better than Fender in many cases) so back then they knew a thing or two about building decent instruments - whether the knowledge and skills persist 40+ years on is anyone's guess...

 

[Jiriho]

That looks like about half the recommended retail so unless it turns out to be a total lemon* it's probably worth a gamble. Besides, if it is new and has the warrantee, the most you can lose is return shipping, right?

* Tokai turned out some very good Fender replica instruments in the '80s (better than Fender in many cases) so back then they knew a thing or two about building decent instruments - whether the knowledge and skills persist 40+ years on is anyone's guess...

Yeah, I'm thinking this is probably worth the gamble. And if the pickups don't sound great, can always replace them.

Do you think Tokai would be fender spec? Wondering if upgraded pickups would fit.

 

[SteveCS]

...

Do you think Tokai would be fender spec? Wondering if upgraded pickups would fit.

No idea, but if they have revived the old jigs and/or drawings then it is probably likely...

 

[micguy]

The P bass is the AK47 of bass guitar's. The AK47 was intentionally designed such that, in any communist country, even with sloppy manufacturing, you can make the thing, and it will work - the design is insensitive to small variations. The P bass is that same thing, but applied to a bass guitar - as long as you follow the designed with some degree of accuracy, you can be sloppy, and it'll work.

Yes, making it more precisely makes it a little better (Sadowsky and others of similar ilk do this), and som e alp them together (Glarry, etc.) but fundamentally the thing that is likely to vary the most is the wood that's used for the parts. So, you get necks with worse dead spots on some basses (they all have areas where the sustain is reduced, but depending on who's criteria you apply, some qualify as "dead" and some don't). You can also get twisted/warped (not straight) necks. There may be some correlation between makers and how straight the neck is after a few years, but individually that doesn't mean you can say that a particular neck is straight or not by who made it or when.

So, what do you do with all of this data? Nothing precisely - there is no rule to apply from this knowledge, other than you need to try whatever bass you're interested in before you buy. If you don't, the result will be a crapshoot.

 

[H K]

Yeah, I'm thinking this is probably worth the gamble. And if the pickups don't sound great, can always replace them.

Do you think Tokai would be fender spec? Wondering if upgraded pickups would fit.

The P-bass is a very simple "recipe" for a good bass. It's hard to get it wrong, and good components have been increasingly easier to obtain. So pretty much any classic P bass split coils will fit.

I know little about Tokai's standards today, but the vintage ones are well known. I'd definitely take the gamble.
If it's kinda bad, you can always buy a fret file, shim, new pickups etc etc and sort it out yourself.

Keep us posted!

 

[PennyroyalWe]

The fit and finish, fret work, etc is more so what I’d be worried about. More than the pickup not being spec. If the frets are uneven, sharp on the ends, gritty, etc. it’s not gonna be much fun to play. P pickups are pretty universally drop in.

 

[garrett77]

Looks like the new "Tokai" bass in Australia is made in China. I do not know how the current brand relates to the Tokai from the 1980s. Caveat emptor.

There's a shop in the UK selling new Made in Japan Tokais - so maybe they are nice?
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[Bass4ThePublic]

The P bass is the AK47 of bass guitar's. The AK47 was intentionally designed such that, in any communist country, even with sloppy manufacturing, you can make the thing, and it will work - the design is insensitive to small variations. The P bass is that same thing, but applied to a bass guitar - as long as you follow the designed with some degree of accuracy, you can be sloppy, and it'll work.

Yes, making it more precisely makes it a little better (Sadowsky and others of similar ilk do this), and som e alp them together (Glarry, etc.) but fundamentally the thing that is likely to vary the most is the wood that's used for the parts. So, you get necks with worse dead spots on some basses (they all have areas where the sustain is reduced, but depending on who's criteria you apply, some qualify as "dead" and some don't). You can also get twisted/warped (not straight) necks. There may be some correlation between makers and how straight the neck is after a few years, but individually that doesn't mean you can say that a particular neck is straight or not by who made it or when.

So, what do you do with all of this data? Nothing precisely - there is no rule to apply from this knowledge, other than you need to try whatever bass you're interested in before you buy. If you don't, the result will be a crapshoot.

Hate to be that guy but ak47’s actually require pretty precise machining. You don’t want anything sloppy around the front trunnion.

 

[micguy]

Hate to be that guy but ak47’s actually require pretty precise machining. You don’t want anything sloppy around the front trunnion.

Design​

The AK-47 was designed to be a simple, reliable fully automatic rifle that could be manufactured quickly and cheaply, using mass production methods that were state of the art in the Soviet Union during the late 1940s.[40] The AK-47 uses a long-stroke gas system generally associated with high reliability in adverse conditions.[28][41][42] The large gas piston, generous clearance between moving parts, and tapered cartridge case design allow the gun to endure large amounts of foreign matter and fouling without failing to cycle.

 

[Jiriho]

Looks like the new "Tokai" bass in Australia is made in China. I do not know how the current brand relates to the Tokai from the 1980s. Caveat emptor.

There's a shop in the UK selling new Made in Japan Tokais - so maybe they are nice?
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

This bass looks very nice and of likely higher quality than the one I'm looking at, given the price point. Perhaps that it's made in Japan is the difference.

 

[Jiriho]

The fit and finish, fret work, etc is more so what I’d be worried about. More than the pickup not being spec. If the frets are uneven, sharp on the ends, gritty, etc. it’s not gonna be much fun to play. P pickups are pretty universally drop in.

Yeah, this is what I'm a bit worried about.. the fact that the store has reduced the price from retail significantly makes me wonder if they're trying to get rid of them. If I could try it out in store it'd be fine. I'm also looking at a Squier CV P bass in a walnut with maple neck/fretboard in a store near me for $719. I've had some time with the CV Squiers and have been pretty impressed with the quality. Maybe the extra money is worth it?

 

[Jiriho]

The P-bass is a very simple "recipe" for a good bass. It's hard to get it wrong, and good components have been increasingly easier to obtain. So pretty much any classic P bass split coils will fit.

I know little about Tokai's standards today, but the vintage ones are well known. I'd definitely take the gamble.
If it's kinda bad, you can always buy a fret file, shim, new pickups etc etc and sort it out yourself.

Keep us posted!

Thanks. Currently deciding whether I take the gamble on this knowing it might need a little work to it, or just drop some extra money and get a Squier CV P bass from a store near me, can try this one out beforehand too...

 

[Jimmyll]

The P bass is the AK47 of bass guitar's.

This tracks, the strings on my P bass are Kyrgyzstan military surplus

 

[GIBrat51]

I couldn't say yea or nay, really. If that store has a good return policy? Yeah... might be worth a shot. Same with the Squier, too though. They've been known to make a dud, every now and again...
I have an '88 Tokai TB48 Thunderbird bass. Which, other than being even longer than my Gibson T-Bird (by about an inch), is a really nice, very well made bass. Well, except for the bridge being in the wrong spot when I bought it. Which I discovered, after putting new strings on it, and spending a frustrating half hour trying to intonate the @**!@ing thing. I found out - after looking at several pictures of TB48's - that Tokai used 2 different bridges on these things. One with the mounting holes at the back of the bass plate - and one with the holes near the front. Turns out, they drilled my bass for one bridge - and then, simply put the other one on it. So, the distance from the nut to the 12th fret was 17 inches, but the distance from the 12th fret to the G string saddle. was only 16-3/8". A pretty simple - and quick - fix. The bass works like it should, now; and there's no trace of the mistake. However...
I bought the bass about a year ago, and I'm still wondering... why did it take 35 frickin' years before somebody figured out why the bass wouldn't intonate?!?

 

[PennyroyalWe]

Thanks. Currently deciding whether I take the gamble on this knowing it might need a little work to it, or just drop some extra money and get a Squier CV P bass from a store near me, can try this one out beforehand too...

I have an older Crafted in China CV70s p bass, and it’s wonderful. The newer ones I’ve played have all been solid basses as well.

I would say, though, that a bass being in clearance doesn’t necessarily mean they’re crap. Sometimes shops just need to move inventory. I’ve gotten a few good scores from such clearances.

 

[moles]

I've previously owned an early 80's Tokai P Bass, and also what i assume was an early 2000s (or maybe late 90s?) model. Can't remember the country of origin on the later one - but it was a great, well made bass.

Wish I still had them both.

I have no experience with the AK-47 or its modern variants FWIW.