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Tokai Jazz upgrade


BassBus
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Just thought I'd post this as it has turned out so well.

Earlier this year I had my Tokai Jazz Sound bass set up properly by [url="http://www.mcintyreguitars.com/"]Chris McIntyre[/url] in Edinburgh. He transformed the bass completely with that simple set up.

I had the frets removed in the late 80s and simply filled the fret lines with wood filler. Very amateurish job on my part not knowing what I was doing. Didn't have the 'luxury' of the internet at that time.

There were still some buzzes on the fingerboard after the setup so I decided to spend a bit of money on it. I took it back to Chris who cleaned out all the old wood filler and used a 3/4 white veneer plus some black resin to fill the other 1/4 of the lines.



That has turned out really well and the fingerboard is so smooth to play now.

Next was the installation of a John East J-Retro preamp. This just makes the bass sound monstrous when I want it to. Chris routed out a battery hole under the pick guard so no need for other compartment. Lots of useful knobs and switches.



Another setup and all these changes have transformed this bass into a great player which is a lot more versatile than it was before. The oldest bass I have and now being played more than ever.


Edited by BassBus
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  • 3 weeks later...

[quote name='WACOJACO' timestamp='1341913268' post='1725918']
I bet she growls too!
[/quote]

That's an interesting point. Chris commented on how it doesn't have a great deal of mwah. I think that's down to the strings being quite old. They do have a great sound though for me. The preamp certainly gives a lot of punch. The mid controls a great there.

[quote name='EdwardHimself' timestamp='1341919777' post='1726108']
Looks great. Interesting idea with the black and white fret liners as well.
[/quote]

When Chris said he had made the large bit of the line white I wasn't so sure. In practice the whole thing is spot on. With the height I wear the bass, as I look at the neck, the E string covers the join. With the fingerboard being a lighter Rosewood. the black isn't quite as in your face as white would be. As you look through the other strings the white shows up nice and clearly. That worked out really well.

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