Jazz Sound Lined Fretless (De-fretted MIJ 1984)

De-fretted early-mid eighties Tokai Jazz Sound Bass. Was originally sunburst but recently professionally refinished and set up with Tomastik-Infeld Jazz Flatwound JF344 Bass Strings 43-100 Nickel strings by Rod Vaughan (RV Guitar Repairs in Dundee), who has done a superb job on this bass.

This Tokai Jazz Sound bass was originally fretted but has been de-fretted and is in good condition considering this bass is over 35 years old! These early ‘80’s basses and guitars from Tokai are exceptional quality and this one is based on a 1965 Fender Jazz Bass.

It has original Tokai pickups (Bridge 7.4Ω, Neck 7.2Ω) and a new custom wired harness – CTS pots, Switchcraft Jack and 0.1uf capacitor to provide a greater range of tone. The de-fret was done a few years ago, seemingly not a professional job and the fretline work is not the neatest – check the photos, however the playability of the neck is awesome – it has a wonderful lightly oiled back and lightly varnished fretboard area. It’s lovely to play with a real ‘worn-in’ feel – pays like butter. It has original reverse tuners and a new Fender threaded saddle bridge. The finish on the body is lovely, the sound and playability are excellent, and the neck is awesome! Quite a light bass at 3.89kg or 8.58lbs.

Apparently, Tokai imported early Fender guitars and basses in the late seventies and used them as templates for their own. The addition of Japanese quality means that these early Tokais are therefore really close to the original Fenders. 1982-86 is the era of highly regarded instruments from Tokai. This one has a beautiful sound and look.