Hi all,
I acquired 2 Tokai Basses this year (both 1983-1985 ish) and i love the sound and feel of them, however I noticed they both seem to be suffering from a bit of a back bow / neck being too straight issue.
I just got a JB-45 and I noticed that it could have done with some relief. So i backed the truss rod off a bit and i noticed that it came completely loose after about a quarter turn. The neck relief is still there, but only about 0.5-1mm. I normally prefer about 1-2mm of neck relief and then adjust the action after that, its just the way i prefer to set my necks up.
So the bass seems to have about 45-50 gauge strings on it from what i can see, but it wouldnt be possible to go lower without having a lack of relief.
I then decided to inspect my other Tokai bass - PJ-55, and noticed that it has similar characteristics, but not quite as prominently.
I have slackened the truss rods both off and tuned the strings up to F# tuning to try and induce some forward bow in the wood. I think that these basses may have been left without the truss rod being adjusted for a large portion of their lives and have been left for dead.
I was just wondering if anyone else had experienced similar things with the necks on 1983 - 1985 Tokai basses?
I acquired 2 Tokai Basses this year (both 1983-1985 ish) and i love the sound and feel of them, however I noticed they both seem to be suffering from a bit of a back bow / neck being too straight issue.
I just got a JB-45 and I noticed that it could have done with some relief. So i backed the truss rod off a bit and i noticed that it came completely loose after about a quarter turn. The neck relief is still there, but only about 0.5-1mm. I normally prefer about 1-2mm of neck relief and then adjust the action after that, its just the way i prefer to set my necks up.
So the bass seems to have about 45-50 gauge strings on it from what i can see, but it wouldnt be possible to go lower without having a lack of relief.
I then decided to inspect my other Tokai bass - PJ-55, and noticed that it has similar characteristics, but not quite as prominently.
I have slackened the truss rods both off and tuned the strings up to F# tuning to try and induce some forward bow in the wood. I think that these basses may have been left without the truss rod being adjusted for a large portion of their lives and have been left for dead.
I was just wondering if anyone else had experienced similar things with the necks on 1983 - 1985 Tokai basses?