‘08 Tokai Thunderbird

[Rayman]

I’ve been after one of these for a while. I used to have a white one many years ago and rated it, so this makes ideal project. I can’t afford a Gibson and I prefer the Tokai set neck to the bolt on Epiphones. 
 

Let’s be clear, from the off, this is TB shaped bass. The stock parts leave something to be desired, and everything will be stripped out, apart from the pickups. 
 

A couple of pictures of it before work commences, care of the seller, because I forgot to take any before I got stuck in

 

 

[Rayman]

The tuners came straight off, revealing some pretty clumsy finishing

[Rayman]

The bridge shows that you get what you pay for….. a “high mass” bridge that has bent from string tension

[Rayman]

Out came the pots. Full sized unknown brand….

[Rayman]

In the words of Shed 7, I’m “Going For Gold”….. and going for a tip of the hat to the Rex Brown signature Gibson…

 

Gotoh bridge goes on,

”James’ Home Of Tone” loom,

Gold knobs,

Gold Dunlop buttons…..

[Rayman]

Next will be the tuners….

 

keep you posted

[Waddo Soqable]

That orig. bridge was mad, it was like rickenbacker "tail lift"... Looks like a cracking project anyway 👍

[neepheid]

Black and gold.  ONEOFUS.

 

Lookin' good

[Rayman]

1 hour ago, Waddo Soqable said:

That orig. bridge was mad, it was like rickenbacker "tail lift"... Looks like a cracking project anyway 👍

Yep, the only part of the bridge in contact with the body was where the screws were, there was even daylight under the front of it.

[Waddo Soqable]

2 minutes ago, Rayman said:

Yep, the only part of the bridge in contact with the body was where the screws were, there was even daylight under the front of it.

That must've been some pretty shoddy "monkey metal" they made it from ! 

[Rayman]

I’ve been guilty of thinking that most “chunky” bridges…. are all mostly the same really, and the expensive ones are overpriced. I was very wrong about that.

[Rayman]

I decided to put black screws in the bridge, partly out of necessity, as the Gotoh screws are slightly narrower than the previous ones. Plus I like the look with the black body.

 

The fretboard was pretty filthy…. but with some muckoff and lemon oil it’s come up a treat.

 

The pickups….. surprisingly heavy and look decent. They’re staying in, because I’ve already spent too much, but if they’re really bad, I’ll change them later. Hopefully the new loom will inject some life into them, and I’ve fitted springs under them to give me more adjustability.

 

 

[Rayman]

Gotoh 707s are fitted, nice new set of Newtone strings…… almost finished, all I need now is the eagle decal for the pick guard.

[Rayman]

This thing is a BEAST! 
 

Phenomenal tone, like a piano on steroids….. I’m a bit shocked at how good the pups sound with the new loom…. absolutely killer bass. I’ll post the final thoughts when the decal is on.

[Jackroadkill]

Oooh, nice!  Something intrinsically cool about a T-bird.

[Rayman]

Yeah, I’ve been after another one for ages. I believe it’s a classic that a lot folk should have, along side a Precision, Jazz and Stingray. 

[Rayman]

Absolutely love it. I can’t put it down.

 

Over the moon with it.

 

 

[Pea Turgh]

Hell of a turnaround there - looked so plain but now looks expensive!  Nice.

[Rayman]

Bit of an update….

 

I didn’t expect a fun project like this to end up being my number one bass, I really didn’t. After many hours playing and a couple of rehearsals, the band love it, I love it…. it’s superb.

 

 I assume the pickups (pictured above) are Chinese standard fayre… but honestly they sound immense paired up with the new JHT loom. It’s like you’ve got a Kawai piano strapped around your neck (same weight too), it’s really clear, sustains for days, big clean highs and deep lows…… it’s all the TB you could ask for honestly. I tried a Gibson last week… I prefer this.

 

Yes, the only original parts are the wooden bits and the pickups, but man, these pickups are awesome, whatever they are….. AND in my opinion, proves the point, when upgrading electronics, change your EQ first…. chances are the original pickups are fine with decent pots driving them. 

 

Hats of to the Newtone strings too… they play their part in the sound, lovely.

 

So there it is, done, and I haven’t touched any of the other basses since.