hookys6stringbass Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 (edited) Features : 8 This is a really well built decent copy of the 4001 there are some some minor differences- , the fingerboard material is lighter & is visible below the level of the binding strip. the top surface of the fingerboard is closer to the top surface of the body.The neck joins the body exactly on 19th fret. oh and the neck is a bit wider than a real Ric, which doesn't bother me at all. The Fender bridge pick up cover is a bit naff to say the least and I've removed it. That said it does look a bit bare with out it.... but that could be that because I like the pickup surrounds on the real Rickys. I might try and see if I can fit one on the Tokai. What lets it down is that the electrics are poor- and I will be upgrading the pots at some stage. The machine heads are perfectly good for the job and keep the bass in tune It has a really good bridge on it, really solid and easy to adjust. I may change it for Rickenbacker bridge at some point to get it looking a bit closer to the real thing... Sound : 8 The pick ups are a bit crap so I'll be replacing them with Kent Armstrong toasters. Having said that though they are ok what I mean is you don't get that Rickenbacker growl. I have a 32 year old Hondo II Rickenfaker and I think it's pick ups are much closer to the real thing. Action, Fit, & Finish : No Opinion The action was easy to adjust and to get it set up nice and low the way I like it. The finish & overall construction is excellent it is a neck-thru and it's been well built..... One more thing the nut looks a bit cheap and nasty and I can't see it lasting that long with the heavy gauge strings I use on the top end + it's black and doesn't look right. Reliability/Durability : 9 As I've said this bass feels really solid and you can tell this is going to last and take some punishment over the years! Customer Support : No Opinion I'm not really worried about it as I can do most repairs myself Overall Rating : 10 All in all a really decent bass well worth the money as it is, with a few mods you can get even closer to the real thing and still at a third of the price of a real Rickenbacker! Edited February 27, 2009 by hookys6stringbass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musky Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 Nice review! What pickup is under the bridge cover? I've only ever seen pictures with the cover in place, and so just imagined that there was a p type under there. Pics would be lovely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hookys6stringbass Posted February 27, 2009 Author Share Posted February 27, 2009 [quote name='Musky' post='421275' date='Feb 27 2009, 07:41 PM']Nice review! What pickup is under the bridge cover? I've only ever seen pictures with the cover in place, and so just imagined that there was a p type under there. Pics would be lovely. [/quote] Cheers Musky, I plan to update the review as and when I discover things about it as I go along. under the bridge cover theres another toaster pick up. I'll sort some pics out shortly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hookys6stringbass Posted February 27, 2009 Author Share Posted February 27, 2009 [quote name='hookys6stringbass' post='421161' date='Feb 27 2009, 05:36 PM']Features : 8 This is a really well built decent copy of the 4001 there are some some minor differences- , the fingerboard material is lighter & is visible below the level of the binding strip. the top surface of the fingerboard is closer to the top surface of the body.The neck joins the body exactly on 19th fret. oh and the neck is a bit wider than a real Ric, which doesn't bother me at all. The Fender bridge pick up cover is a bit naff to say the least and I've removed it. That said it does look a bit bare with out it.... but that could be that because I like the pickup surrounds on the real Rickys. I might try and see if I can fit one on the Tokai. What lets it down is that the electrics are poor- and I will be upgrading the pots at some stage. The machine heads are perfectly good for the job and keep the bass in tune It has a really good bridge on it, really solid and easy to adjust. I may change it for Rickenbacker bridge at some point to get it looking a bit closer to the real thing... Sound : 8 The pick ups are a bit crap so I'll be replacing them with Kent Armstrong toasters. Having said that though they are ok what I mean is you don't get that Rickenbacker growl. I have a 32 year old Hondo II Rickenfaker and I think it's pick ups are much closer to the real thing. Action, Fit, & Finish : No Opinion The action was easy to adjust and to get it set up nice and low the way I like it. The finish & overall construction is excellent it is a neck-thru and it's been well built..... One more thing the nut looks a bit cheap and nasty and I can't see it lasting that long with the heavy gauge strings I use on the top end + it's black and doesn't look right. Reliability/Durability : 9 As I've said this bass feels really solid and you can tell this is going to last and take some punishment over the years! Customer Support : No Opinion I'm not really worried about it as I can do most repairs myself Overall Rating : 10 All in all a really decent bass well worth the money as it is, with a few mods you can get even closer to the real thing and still at a third of the price of a real Rickenbacker![/quote] Toaster [attachment=21175:27022009_003.jpg] Bridge [attachment=21176:27022009.jpg] Nut [attachment=21177:27022009_006.jpg] Neck [attachment=21178:27022009_005.jpg] Machine heads [attachment=21179:27022009_007.jpg] Full frontal [attachment=21180:27022009_012.jpg] From behind [attachment=21181:27022009_013.jpg] From the side [attachment=21182:27022009_017.jpg] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean-Luc Pickguard Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 From the clue in the last pic, I bet that was a great 4th Birthday Present Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musky Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 Looks great but I see what you mean about the lack of a pickup surround. Maybe a pickguardian surround could be a viable option without spending too much cash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hookys6stringbass Posted March 3, 2009 Author Share Posted March 3, 2009 [quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' post='422603' date='Mar 1 2009, 07:55 PM']From the clue in the last pic, I bet that was a great 4th Birthday Present [/quote] yeah... I told the missus that he'll grow into it!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hookys6stringbass Posted March 3, 2009 Author Share Posted March 3, 2009 [quote name='Musky' post='423002' date='Mar 2 2009, 11:11 AM']Looks great but I see what you mean about the lack of a pickup surround. Maybe a pickguardian surround could be a viable option without spending too much cash.[/quote] That's a good idea, although if I can find a proper pick up surround cheap enough I might try that. Might look a bit odd with the chrome toasters tho. Think i'll look for some pics with that set up just to give me an idea..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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