Tokai Rockinbetter

[MB1]

MB1.
As a Matter of interest really,Does anybody on the forum own one of these?. Has anybody put one of these up against the real thing?.Ive heard the guitars are just "looky likeys" has anybody who owns the real thing played one?.....what do ya Think?

[lowhand_mike]

does this help?

[url="http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Electric+Bass/product/Tokai/Rockinbetter+bass/10/1"]http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews...etter+bass/10/1[/url]

[KevB]

I hope most of them are a better build quality than the one in the harmony revue. They might not be real ric money but they are still in the £500 range. If I spent that on a bass in which I had to replace Pu's and redo finishing, screws etc and a month of getting a remotely decent setup I'd be unimpressed to put it mildly.

[KennysFord]

i heard one today through an ashdown combo,it sounded pretty good,the midrange especially.
i also watched a band at the local on saturday night,the bass player had one of these,again,pretty good.

[Exile252]

Tried one before, wasn't that impressed tbh, didn't play it through an amp. The bass itself felt a bit sluggish.

[Bassassin]

If these were about £200 then fine, no complaints, but like the utterly shoddy Indie Rick copy, I get the impression that these are priced in accordance with the high prices of real Rickenbackers, not their actual quality & construction.

Realistically, they're not even that convincing to look at. If you have £500 burning a hole in your pocket & want something that looks like a Rick, bide your time & a vintage Japanese one will come up on Ebay, Gumtree, or even your local car boot. At least the Japanese manufacturers made the effort to produce an instrument that actually looked like a real Rick, & also - these are 30+ years old - & if it's lasted that long already, chances are it won't fall apart as soon as you get it home.

Jon.

Edited June 17, 2008 by Bassassin

[OutToPlayJazz]

Hey Martin, I played one at Electro & was quite impressed. It played really well, the sound was very nice & quality was very good. The only downside was the wobbly plastic-chrome neck pickup cover. Other than that it was a really nice bass.

[MB1]

[quote name='lowhand_mike' post='219943' date='Jun 16 2008, 03:47 PM']does this help?

[url="http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Electric+Bass/product/Tokai/Rockinbetter+bass/10/1"]http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews...etter+bass/10/1[/url][/quote]

MB1.
Most Interesting?
Bloody Hell! you expect a possible set up!.... changing pickups and refretting seems a bit much!..... and stripped scratchplate screws?
This is Tokais Customer review from Hell!.....WHY?????? did he buy it?

[KevB]

Also think of the resale value - spend £500 on the Tokai and what would it be worth if you didn't like it and passed it on compared with, say, what you'd get back from resale of a real ric you had got on eBay for £700.

[nick]

[quote name='KevB' post='220265' date='Jun 16 2008, 10:25 PM']Also think of the resale value - spend £500 on the Tokai and what would it be worth if you didn't like it and passed it on compared with, say, what you'd get back from resale of a real ric you had got on eBay for £700.[/quote]

+1

Or as Jon (Bassassin) points wait, for a decent with possibly thru/set neck, old Jap copy to crop up, Quite likely you can pick one up for less than the price of a Rockinbetter.
You should also be able get at least money spent back if you decide to sell later, as these are quite collectible in their own right. Keep an eye on the Rickenfakers thread in Ebay links or the new Rickenbuggary thread in Gear Porn for makes

Sadly Tokai Rockinbetters or any of the other new Tokais are nowhere near the quality of the old MIJ Tokai copies IMHO. For me they are a disappointment really.