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Deaconification Pt3? - John Deacon "Magic Era" Precision project


Dood
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Yes, yes, yes, it's that time again!

 

This time, and, my next John Deacon build is firmly seated at the more budget end of the scale whilst still keeping to a reasonable likeness of John Deacon's late 60's sunburst precision bass. His main instrument that had its finish taken back to natural for a long period of time before getting a complete refinish around 1985 in gloss black with gold Schaller hardware. 

 

My last Magic Era precision, on reflection I should have probably kept hold of, but I am pleased to say that it is owned by fine bass chatter @Frusty. It's in safe hands! 

 

This time I have neither have a fabulous Fender bass to use or the like-for-like hardware, so instead sourced a very cheap original Tokai Hard Puncher from Japan and a bag full of gold hardware from some nice chap on Facebook that I bought before covid was a thing! Yes, the bass needs some TLC before I go at it with the new toys, but out of the box (after a 3 month trip on the boat) the HP bass plays incredibly well for a 42 year old all original bass.

 

Of interested is the really resonant Sen body (Japanese Ash) which is of an acceptable weight and the insanely thin finish, which could even be nitro, by the way it seems to be crazing. Probably not though, I just like that it's real thin. Oh and the "law suit era" copy headstock to finish the Fender look. (Yes I know there wasn't actually a Fender law suit).

 

I've also a superb EMG GZR Geezer Butler signature split P bass pickup for the install, though I have to say the original pickup is very good!

 

This project is just a little bit of fun, but given how close these Tokai HP's are to "the real thing" it might just end up being a keeper, who knows!

 

All Photos - 1 of 1.jpeg

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She's still with me and she's still being taken good care of!

 

By the way, should I ever sell it, do you remember more about the specs of the one I have? It was some special Japanese precision that you had to import wasn't it?

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2 hours ago, Frusty said:

She's still with me and she's still being taken good care of!

 

By the way, should I ever sell it, do you remember more about the specs of the one I have? It was some special Japanese precision that you had to import wasn't it?


Yes, I do recall and if you do choose to sell, please be in touch with me first.

 

It’s a PB70-US non-export CIJ bass.( I.e. they weren’t supposed to be sold outside Japan as they easily rivalled the specifications of the US Fenders). However, it was a special order as they had stopped making the BLK version before I got in touch. This model had a mirrored scratch plate that mine actually came with, that I replaced with an era correct black plate as well as the other Deacon mods and the set up I did on the bass.

 

The non-export PB70-US is an Alder body and has the gotoh OEM tuning keys and US “spec” pickups. The export versions were usually basswood bodies I believe and often had the smaller tuning key plates and generic P pickups. I have the CIJ catalogue somewhere specifying these details. 40mm nut.
Finally, I sourced this model from Japan and the outlet put in a special order with Fender Japan to make it for me. That level of service just blew me away. 

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18 hours ago, Dood said:


Yes, I do recall and if you do choose to sell, please be in touch with me first.

 

It’s a PB70-US non-export CIJ bass.( I.e. they weren’t supposed to be sold outside Japan as they easily rivalled the specifications of the US Fenders). However, it was a special order as they had stopped making the BLK version before I got in touch. This model had a mirrored scratch plate that mine actually came with, that I replaced with an era correct black plate as well as the other Deacon mods and the set up I did on the bass.

 

The non-export PB70-US is an Alder body and has the gotoh OEM tuning keys and US “spec” pickups. The export versions were usually basswood bodies I believe and often had the smaller tuning key plates and generic P pickups. I have the CIJ catalogue somewhere specifying these details. 40mm nut.
Finally, I sourced this model from Japan and the outlet put in a special order with Fender Japan to make it for me. That level of service just blew me away. 

 

Brilliant - thanks for all the details.

 

I keep it cause basically it's better than money in the bank at the moment but it's a bit wasted on me - at least it's looked after!

 

I've had one pro and one semi-pro directly tell me it was the best p bass they've ever used, and I heard from the semi pro that a couple of the bands he used it with when I lent him it were absolutely blown away by it.

Edited by Frusty
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2 hours ago, Frusty said:

 

Brilliant - thanks for all the details.

 

I keep it cause basically it's better than money in the bank at the moment but it's a bit wasted on me - at least it's looked after!

 

I've had one pro and one semi-pro directly tell me it was the best p bass they've ever used, and I heard from the semi pro that a couple of the bands he used it with when I lent him it were absolutely blown away by it.

 

I pride myself on a good set up :) It's fair to say that they are cracking basses stock and this one is particularly good. I wouldn't be upset about welcoming it back in to the fold. 

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  • 1 month later...

Right, sorry it has taken a while to get back to this one. I've nearly finished all the cosmetic stuff today and will post some pictures later. The bass will need a full service and set up including the ole "washers and graphite grease" job on the truss rod. But other than that, it's turning out to be another corker!! I might end up playing it more than my 76 P! (Maybe not ha ha!)

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  • 5 months later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Finally!

 

Up on the Dood Towers casting couch, the Magic Era precision tribute. 

 

Yes, there's certain things I haven't done. I have neither the Schaller 3D bridge or the Schaller tuning keys. The bridge still may happen, but I actually prefer the Gotoh FB30 tuners as they are the same shape as the pre 76 (Nickel) tuning keys that I have on my own 76 P bass. EMG GZR Geezer Butler pickup in there to has a nice top end clank to the sound. 

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Edited by Dood
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Oh and the Tokai? I am lucky enough to have a real P bass too and, well, the Tokai is superb! For less than a third of the price (it needs a fret job though) so one hell of a snag in my book. 

 

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On 13/12/2022 at 07:19, LukeFRC said:

What age and model is the Tokai? 

 

It's supposed to be 1981, but frankly its stock model seemed to be late 1980 to my mind. Hmm, good question! The sticker that you'd usually find on the neck was missing, but I have a funny feeling it's something like "PB40".

I chose it specifically because its a model with a Sen body (Japanese Ash) and of course has a true "lawsuit era" headstock, which is near  indistinguishable from my actual P bass on stage. Because frankly I wanted my old black P bass back and this was the nearest thing I could get. Turns out, these Tokai basses are incredible and mine isn't exactly an exemplary example. It has been loved in the past! 

 

Somewhere online you can view all the old Tokai catalogues and honestly, I poured over those for hours trying to find the right model for the job - then, it turned out that my now friend who lives in Japan (where I bought my Aria Pro II law-suit era P from) had one in his collection!! Exactly what I was looking for too! 

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On 13/12/2022 at 08:49, Chienmortbb said:

Many prefer the Tokai Hard Punchers to the real thing.

 

It is fair to say that my Tokai doesn't have a few of the foibles that my 70's P does! Although I swapped out the tuning keys, the original Tokai ones, even at this age were SO smooth in operation!! I have a feeling they could have been Gotoh made. 

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20 minutes ago, Dood said:

 

It's supposed to be 1981, but frankly its stock model seemed to be late 1980 to my mind. Hmm, good question! The sticker that you'd usually find on the neck was missing, but I have a funny feeling it's something like "PB40".

I chose it specifically because its a model with a Sen body (Japanese Ash) and of course has a true "lawsuit era" headstock, which is near  indistinguishable from my actual P bass on stage. Because frankly I wanted my old black P bass back and this was the nearest thing I could get. Turns out, these Tokai basses are incredible and mine isn't exactly an exemplary example. It has been loved in the past! 

 

Somewhere online you can view all the old Tokai catalogues and honestly, I poured over those for hours trying to find the right model for the job - then, it turned out that my now friend who lives in Japan (where I bought my Aria Pro II law-suit era P from) had one in his collection!! Exactly what I was looking for too! 

one rough rule of thumb of how high a model number it is is that the lower ones had the three screw tuners, and the higher ones the four. Of course if in the last 40 years the tuners have been changed all bets are off!
I had a JV with Sen body and loved it. 

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1 hour ago, Dood said:

 

It is fair to say that my Tokai doesn't have a few of the foibles that my 70's P does! Although I swapped out the tuning keys, the original Tokai ones, even at this age were SO smooth in operation!! I have a feeling they could have been Gotoh made. 

Most of the non Fender basses that came out of the "Fender Japan" factories featured Gotoh hardware, Ironically the Fender branded MIJ and CIJ ones were often fitted with inferior alternatives. As an aside, I would always fit Gotoh Hardware, especially Machine Heads, to my basses. I have only fitted Hipshot once, and they are a slight disappointment.

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I am a big fan of Gotoh hardware! The GB(R)640 res-o-lite tuning keys are just brilliant. I've asked Gotoh to make FB30 res-o-lites but they have said there are no plans to do so. Which is a shame given the amount of basses that use that tuning key design!

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