Bass Gear Review

Reviewer	Adam JK
Experience	4
Email	evenless@hotmail.com
Review date	July 21 2001
Manufacturer	Tokai
Model	Jazz Sound
Price	$300(ebay)
Item owned for	1-2 years

Bass type	4 string fretted
Neck join	Bolt-On
Neck construction	1 piece maple neck(vintage style truss adjustment)
Fignerboard	Rosewood fretboard 20 frets
Body	I believe it's alder
Finish	I think it was white, but the finish has turned to a nice cream, with
	a red shell pickguard
Pickups	Replacement DiMarzio Model J Pickups
Hardware
Electronics	Passive Volume/Volume (i took out the tone control myself)

You've all heard of Tokai, they got booted out of the country after being sued by Fender for making copies of guitars better than Fender made them in the first place! I bought this off of ebay, and to my great delight, it was everything I wanted in a high priced Fender, but a lot cheaper. Buying on Ebay is always tense because you don't get to play the bass beforehand, but on this occasion(and many others) I was greatly satisfied with my purchase. When I got the bass it had a Badass II bridge installed and old DiMarzio replacement pickups(which I subsequently replaced with new Dimarzio replacement pickups). I took out the tone control because the pot was faulty, and, hey, I've never used a tone control in my entire life, and it was making the bass hum like no other. So I replaced the Volume pots with Carvin ones(I'm becoming quite the modifier and fixer upper of guitars) and everything evened out just fine. Back to the bass. I really like the slim jazz neck and the action, setup and weight suits me just fine. I had a MIM Fender Jazz bass before, and despite the same price, the Tokai, even before the new PU's sounded much better, comparable to a Japanese or even American Fender. You may not believe this, but that's why Tokai guitars and basses are quickly becoming very collectible. The bass, even with just two pickups and not much in the way of controls has a vast range of sounds, and through my SWR/Nemesis setup, I can play anything from Wipeout to Dammit, with no problem. So, my recommendation, if you find a Tokai bass anywhere, snatch it up before it's too late! (shameless plug, please go to www.insex.homestead.com, and tell your friends!)

Construction	95%
(I haven't found anything wrong with it)
Appearance	95%
(Has character dents(it's old!) and that cream w/red shell pickguard is so coo
l.)
Playability	100%
(Smooth finish and nice jazz-style neck)
Sound	98%
(It just sounds great for lots of things)
Value	100%
(Worth every penny, and then some)
Overall	98%
(It's just a great all-around bass)