My first ever Tokai - Olympic white Jazz Sound (with pics).

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Fender32

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Now that I think we've safely established that this bass is a geniune Tokai Jazz Sound (see link :wink: ...)

http://www.tokaiforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=102174#102174


... I think that it's a good time for me to post some pics of it :) .

I'm afraid that I don't know too many details about it (year of manufacture, model number etc.), but maybe some of the resident Tokai experts here could chime in, if they have any comments or opinions about it!?


Gracious and Curvatious
Bodyfront_799.jpg



Very Fendery Headstock Shape
Headstock_799.jpg



Unusual "Split" Headstock Logo
AJH_4064.jpg



Indian Rosewood?
Fretboard_01_small.jpg



Made in Japan, from Finest Shell of Plastic Tortoise
AJH_4062.jpg



Wot no Buckle Rash!
Bodyrear_799.jpg



Unusual Tuners, for a 'Jazz Sound'
Tuners_799.jpg



Horny Beast
AJH_4073.jpg



Zero Fret Wear
AJH_4076.jpg



Mmm, curvey!
AJH_4082b.jpg



That last photo has been "sexed up" a bit with some photo processing software, so that I (and anybody else who wants to) can use it as desktop wallpaper :D ...

As I said before, all input regarding the date of manufacture, model number etc., would be much appreciated :wink: .

Thanks for looking. :-?
 
JohnA said:
Lovely looking bass! and the 'sexed up' pic is great too, can you tell me what you did to it?

Hi John,

Thanks for the kind remarks :) .

All I really did with the photo was to play with the contrast levels (boosting them by about 10%) and then used 'control points' (these are specific to Nikon's "Capture NX2" software) to darken the area around the bass until it appeared totally black. Finally, I cloned out a couple of specks and blemishes around the bottom of the body of the bass.

Here's how the photo looked, straight from the camera, so that you can see the difference ...

AJH_4082.jpg
 
Thanks fpr the photo tips, I realy should try a bit harder!

Anway, back to the bass, hows it stack up against the Fender?
 
Almost snap! I have a 1983 JB45. I know it's 1983 from the block decal, yours will be from 1984 onwards. Have a look through the catalogues in the registry to see which models were listed in the 80s. I'm not sure if any of them were nitro finished though, with the guitars it was only 80s and above that had nitro.

Here's the 1985 Vol 1 catalogue.

File0239.jpg


Here's mine.

151_5104.jpg

151_5121.jpg

151_5109.jpg

151_5117.jpg

151_5111.jpg

151_5119.jpg


Shame I haven't learnt to play it! It's light, a bit neck heavy actually, but then basses do seem to be. The rosewood is up to the usual standard of 80s Tokais, easily much better than anything you see on current Fender Custom Shop stuff.

Hope this helps.

Mike
 
stratman323 said:
Almost snap! I have a 1983 JB45. I know it's 1983 from the block decal, yours will be from 1984 onwards. Have a look through the catalogues in the registry to see which models were listed in the 80s. I'm not sure if any of them were nitro finished though, with the guitars it was only 80s and above that had nitro.

.......

Shame I haven't learnt to play it! It's light, a bit neck heavy actually, but then basses do seem to be. The rosewood is up to the usual standard of 80s Tokais, easily much better than anything you see on current Fender Custom Shop stuff.

Hope this helps.

Mike

It does indeed help, thanks very much Mike :D !

I'd actually seen pictures of your bass before, when I did a Google search, but obviously didn't know who it belonged to. It's in great nick!

The nitro is a bit of a puzzle, but then this bass has a few features that I've never seen on any other Jazz Sound bass, all of which are much closer to an actual mid-60s Fender than Tokai normally seem to get (i.e. the transfer on the ball of the headstock, the '64 on Gotoh style tuners and even the divots drilled into the headstock).

Actually, I've just been in contact with someone on the Talkbass forum, who has a Hard Puncher with a serial number that is only 30 away from mine (with no "L" prefix, of course). He bought his new in Jan 1986, so I reckon that mine probably hails from 1985. The neck plate would seem to be one intended for a P Bass copy, but I guess that parts got mixed up in bins at the Tokai factory, just as they did at the Fender factory. In that respect, Tokai were emulating Fender even more closely than they intended to :lol: !

Thanks again for the cool pics!

P.S. Your bass isn't "neck heavy", it's "body light" :lol: ! If yours weighs anything like the 8.3lbs that mine does, you should be aware that that is pretty light for a Jazz Bass and so some neck dive is bound to occur.
 
Yeah it's in good nick, I just feel a bit guilty having something that I can't really get anything out of. At least my guitars get played to some sort of standard....

If the basses are like the guitars (and they must be), you can't date Tokais from 1984/85ish from the serial numbers. What Tokai did is to copy the serial numbers Fender would have used on the model they were copying. So a RW board Goldstar from the same period would have a serial number starting with L - same as a 64 Strat. They weren't sequential, as far as we can make out. And as we know, neck plates are easily changed - even on real 60s intruments.
 
:eek: Wow! Looks like a different instrument.

Is that a Fender control cavity plate? I often wondered whether they were interchangeable on the basses.

Most of the Tokai guitar parts can be interchanged with Fender (There's even a theory that Mark Knopfler's repainted red Strat from the first Dire Straits album was actually a Tokai) but it's interesting that you can do it on the basses too.

Anyway, you've kept the old parts, so originality won't be an issue if you ever sell it again.

Given the bargain price of Tokais though, why not collect some more? :wink:
 
stratman323 said:
Yeah it's in good nick, I just feel a bit guilty having something that I can't really get anything out of. At least my guitars get played to some sort of standard....

If the basses are like the guitars (and they must be), you can't date Tokais from 1984/85ish from the serial numbers. What Tokai did is to copy the serial numbers Fender would have used on the model they were copying. So a RW board Goldstar from the same period would have a serial number starting with L - same as a 64 Strat. They weren't sequential, as far as we can make out. And as we know, neck plates are easily changed - even on real 60s intruments.

Don't feel guilty for owning a great conditioned bass and looking after it! The vintage market needs more people like you, Stratman :wink: . If/when you come to sell that bass, someone's going to get a fantastic instrument.

IMHO, the people who probably should feel a little guilty are the ones who modify, abuse and generally play their vintage instruments into the ground - one day, there'll be nothing left for future generations to experience :( . Anyway, best not open that particular can of worms :wink: .
 
[b said:
Stratman323[/b]"] It's light, a bit neck heavy actually, but then basses do seem to be.

It was designed that way. If you went out shopping for a vintage Fender and wound up buying the Tokai you'd find it would balance perfectly when your back pocket was stuffed with the ?4,000 you'd saved. :wink:
 
Goestoeleven said:
:eek: Wow! Looks like a different instrument.

Is that a Fender control cavity plate? I often wondered whether they were interchangeable on the basses.

Most of the Tokai guitar parts can be interchanged with Fender (There's even a theory that Mark Knopfler's repainted red Strat from the first Dire Straits album was actually a Tokai) but it's interesting that you can do it on the basses too.

Anyway, you've kept the old parts, so originality won't be an issue if you ever sell it again.

Given the bargain price of Tokais though, why not collect some more? :wink:

Don't tempt me :lol: - I'm already thinking back to the pair of fretless, sunburst Tokai Jazz Sounds, which 'Can-U-Music' had in stock for most of 1986 (remember those two :wink: ?). If I could find one of those I'd be tempted, as they had bags of 'mmmmwwwwaaaaahhhhh' :D .

As for the control plate, yes, it a chromed brass Fender replacement part. As you probably know from experience, (short of having your genitals submersed in paint stripper :oops: ) there is nothing more painful known to man than getting a splinter of chrome plating under the finger nail :evil: ! That was reason enough to change it.
 
Fender32 said:
IMHO, the people who probably should feel a little guilty are the ones who modify, abuse and generally play their vintage instruments into the ground - one day, there'll be nothing left for future generations to experience :( . Anyway, best not open that particular can of worms :wink: .

I agree. I think cruelty to Tokais should be punished. :evil:

Norman Watt-Roy played a Tokai Jazz for years. :wink:
 

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