doudoubass Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Hi, Last year, i bought an old 80's Tokai from Japan only to keep the neck.I wanted to make a part bass and sold the body. But when i got my bass, immediately i understood that it was an awesome instrument: lightweight (3.8kgs), punchy with lots of growl and a fast neck. Heaven was here! nevertheless, i disliked its look. So i decided to refin it in a Fender custom color, and to make a cheap '63 L series replica. It was a funny job to do. I used some german graf paint cans and nitro laquer for the neck. No primer coat & no clear coat on the body, because i wanted a thin skin and to keep my blue paint intact with time. I'm not a pastel green guy! I also shielded my bass with some adhesive copper foil, and replaced its plastic dots with some wood filler to have a clay dot look! I hope you'll like it with it's new dress! (sorry for the decal but i did'nt find a cheap proper Tokai decal, so i used an old decal from another aborted project) Now she is definitely a keeper! it sounds amazing w/ some Aero pickup. Moreover, I owned several Jazzes in the past, Us Fender included, and i can tell you that's easily one of the best jazz bass that i put my hands on! from this.... to this... cheers, David __________________ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarky Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Nice job! I like the imitation clay dots on the neck - never understand why Fender '62 vintage reissues (and Nash copies too) use white plastic dots Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bh2 Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Crikey David... superb job. Love the dots, sonic blue is my all time fave fender colour, jazz basses are my all time fave basses. Loose the star. Get some covers on it, lookie here... Tokai's are superb instruments, I'm always on the lookout for one myself. If it was mine I'd have to de-fret it and drop in a J-Retro! Great Job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shockwave Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 That looks bloody amazin', let me know when your selling :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doudoubass Posted July 7, 2011 Author Share Posted July 7, 2011 (edited) Thanks, i can certify you, that i'll not sell that bass after all that work done on it! Moreover, the clay dot mod is an easy job to do! You just need to be carefull when you pull up the stock plastic dots. But, when it's done, you really have the pre cbs look! BH2, i confirm, the Fender chrome pickup covers are on my next GAS list! Edited July 7, 2011 by doudoubass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bh2 Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Yes... DON"T mod it any further... what a superb replica! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skankdelvar Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 That's a lovely job. Congratulations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 can i ask how much the tokai cost to import? theres an amazing one in a local music shop but it's pretty pricey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RhysP Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 That looks lovely. Nice work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gust0o Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Was this in the build thread?! If so, I missed it... and am really sorry, as it looks like a superb piece of work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gafbass02 Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 looks fantastic, id love one of those old tokais. I had a new tokai Tbird and it was junk, such a shame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grand Wazoo Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Wow, as a self confessed member of [b]M.A.S.S.[/b] [i]"Modder Anonimous Secret Society"[/i], I have to take my hat to you Sir for your great work, but I have to ask did you do it all yourself or taken it to a workshop to have it done? Either way it looks pukka-delux! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doudoubass Posted July 7, 2011 Author Share Posted July 7, 2011 (edited) [quote name='LukeFRC' post='1295815' date='Jul 7 2011, 12:46 PM']can i ask how much the tokai cost to import? theres an amazing one in a local music shop but it's pretty pricey[/quote] here are the details of the budget spend for that DIY project: The most important: the bass! :305€ shipping costs included, with the greetings from Japan! 3 cans of 750ml german graff paint from AllCity.fr for the body & the headstock : 25€ 2 cans of 750ml nitro laquer for the neck : 18€ The indispensable chemical stripper "Décapex" 1L : 12€ Aero JB type1 pickup set: 190€ AllParts pickguard : under 20€ on Ebay. Fender bakélite knobs: under 15€ on Ebay. Fender decal: under 20€ on the web. (Fender closed that website a few times ago) Total cost : 605€, bass & pickup included, or 55€ only for the paint and the chemical stripper. DIY is a good cheaper way to customize your instrument! all you have to do, is to be carefull and patient when you sand and paint. too quick, and you can make an irreversible mistake... Edited July 7, 2011 by doudoubass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bh2 Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 It brings tears to my eyes!... my 'always wanted' bass. That's why I saved that photo. I play a 62 Jazz and it's had so many mods now, over the years, that I wished I'd kept it in original condition. I plan on doing something similar to a Squier CV Jazz one day. Great stuff... look after it and play it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truckstop Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 That looks fantastic! How did you keep the headstock neat? Did you just use loads of masking tape and hope for the best? Cheers Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doudoubass Posted July 7, 2011 Author Share Posted July 7, 2011 yes, i used several coats of masking tape in order to follow the curved shape of the rosewood fretboard. it worked pretty good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 [quote name='doudoubass' post='1295889' date='Jul 7 2011, 12:56 PM']here are the details of the budget spend for that DIY project: The most important: the bass! :305€ shipping costs included, with the greetings from Japan! 3 cans of 750ml german graff paint from AllCity.fr for the body & the headstock : 25€ 2 cans of 750ml nitro laquer for the neck : 18€ The indispensable chemical stripper "Décapex" 1L : 12€ Aero JB type1 pickup set: 190€ AllParts pickguard : under 20€ on Ebay. Fender bakélite knobs: under 15€ on Ebay. Fender decal: under 20€ on the web. (Fender closed that website a few times ago) Total cost : 605€, bass & pickup included, or 55€ only for the paint and the chemical stripper. DIY is a good cheaper way to customize your instrument! all you have to do, is to be carefull and patient when you sand and paint. too quick, and you can make an irreversible mistake...[/quote] awesome- the one in my local music shop is already the blue/green colour.... sounds Awesome.... and they want £550 for it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkstrike Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Gorgeous! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 Well fit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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