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Pimp my tokai!

  • 15-02-2008 2:24pm
    #1
    damonjewel
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,148 ✭✭✭


    Hi i have a 20 year old Tokai strat which I was thinking of rebuilding and could do with some advise

    1) the Tokai is a strat copy however it has 2 humbucker pick ups. I am looking for a 'SG' sound and was thinking of replacing the humbuckers with Gibson Alnico V humbuckers...is this a good idea? Also the body has only one tone and volume pot. should I try to add 2 more pots?

    2)The neck is not the best the intonation between the nut and 12th fret is bad. Therefore I think I need a new neck. I prefer maple to rosewood, and also the neck shape is 'strat' so any recommendations here?

    3) The bridge and whammy are a bit standard, what kind of bridge should I go for?

    Any other general hints and tips would be much appreciated

    Cheers


Comments

  • #2
    Dord
    Closed Accounts Posts: 10,817 ✭✭✭✭Dord


    The original Tokai's are going up in value steadily. If you want an SG sound then buy an SG, don't mutilate that guitar. You certainly won't get an SG sound from a strat.

    As for the intonation problems, best to get it looked at by a good tech. It might need a little bit of work on the frets. :)


  • #3
    Doctor J
    Closed Accounts Posts: 11,848 ✭✭✭✭Doctor J


    damonjewel wrote: »
    1) the Tokai is a strat copy however it has 2 humbucker pick ups. I am looking for a 'SG' sound and was thinking of replacing the humbuckers with Gibson Alnico V humbuckers...is this a good idea? Also the body has only one tone and volume pot. should I try to add 2 more pots?

    If you want an SG sound get an SG. Your strat is probably made of ash or alder with a bolt on maple neck. An SG is mahogany with a set neck. They are different beasts. Do you know what pickups are in it now? Can you verify installing Gibson pickups will even be an improvement? If not, why swap?
    damonjewel wrote: »
    2)The neck is not the best the intonation between the nut and 12th fret is bad. Therefore I think I need a new neck. I prefer maple to rosewood, and also the neck shape is 'strat' so any recommendations here?
    Most strats have a 'strat' neck shape. Read some of the setup guides and go through a full setup. Frets don't move with age, so if it's badly intonated from the nut to the 12th fret, it's just as badly intonated from the 12th fret to the bridge.
    damonjewel wrote: »
    3) The bridge and whammy are a bit standard, what kind of bridge should I go for?
    What is wrong with a standard bridge? Are you looking for a double locking floating bridge or if you like SG's are you looking for a stoptail and tuneomatic?
    damonjewel wrote: »
    Any other general hints and tips would be much appreciated
    Don't butcher a nice guitar just for the sake of it. Have a clear vision of what you're aiming for and where your current guitar is deficient in these aspects before you start dismantling. It might just be easier, considerably cheaper and you'd end up with a better end result to sell up and get a different guitar if the one you have is so far away from what you actually want. You're talking about a new neck, new bridge and new pickups, excluding labour that'll be at least €400 if you do it with decent parts. Why not just use that €400 and whatever you can get for the Tokai and buy the guitar you actually want, because it really doesn't sound like the Tokai is the one for you.


  • #4
    damonjewel
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,148 ✭✭✭damonjewel


    I have done a bit of homework on it and it seems my model is a Tokai super edition from 1987.

    The pickups on it according to the catalogue should be SDH HOT. I actually loved this guitar when I bought it and still am very sentimental about it, its playability is still amazing despite the intonation. However having bought other guitars this one is gathering dust and very rarely gets a run out. The sound from the pick up is really powerful, which was great 20 years ago but perhaps too powerful I was hoping for a slightly subtler sound.

    As for the bridge I would probably keep it as is, I'm not whammy bar mad but if you do use the guitar will go mad out of tune, I know there are more sophisticated ones out there that would probably work better.

    I think I willl take the advise and bring it to an expert to see what can be done about the intonation.


  • #5
    Doctor J
    Closed Accounts Posts: 11,848 ✭✭✭✭Doctor J


    Lower the pickups away from the strings if they're too hot, it'll decrease the output.


  • #6
    punchdrunk
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,355 ✭✭✭punchdrunk


    it's a strat so you could always desolder the loaded pickguard from the ground wire and store the old guard somewhere safe,there's millions of options for strat pickups out there personally i'd go with bareknuckle pickups
    http://www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk/products.html

    likewise callaham make a lovely strat bridge...

    http://www.callahamguitars.com/
    that would drop right in,you could just put the old one up somewhere for safe keeping if you ever decide to sell
    bot htof these things would bring your guitar right up to date while not doing any damage you can't undo

    oh and don't touch the neck!


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