Hey guys, id like a hand if you all dont mind.

A while ago i picked up this quaint little thing:




A Tokai original series SX.

I picked her out of a second hand shop, she called to me, they wanted £90 for it, but i offered them cash and i got her for £60.

I took her home and couldnt put her down her she sound was amazing but the pickups in her were very broken and barely working but the sheer tone was amazing so i stuck some new pickups in and for some reason the tone went. I was horrorfied. i did some research and this was a high-end model that tokai did in 1981 (Im not surprised why she's so battered) and there isnt any that have made it to record so! what ive got is a very unique guitar.

This is also the lightest guitar ive possibly ever found (6.5lbs) and the neck is just about perfect making it INSANELY comfortable.

I prefer her to my gibson but the tones been ruined (its not a rubbish tone,its still quite good. its just not as good as it was). I want to spend quite a bit and get her made into something rediculasly good.

The wood quality and build quility is the best tokai did so thats not an issue, its electronics we're talking about.

But also its looks, she's not the prettiest, i wana do something with it (Not stickers)

I was hoping if i carried on to mod her out with some really good pickups, some new electronics and some new looks she'd take the crown off my USA fender tele.

Any suggestions? i'll take anything no matter how crazy.

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"Oh, it's a windy and sunny day
And I can hear the faint sound of distant waves
The past weeks have been going by so fast
It's all the same, the bright sky and shining sun
I have a feeling it's gonna be a fun day"

Hi Big The Cat: keen to help, but not entirely understanding the problem. The pickups were "very broken and barely working"... but had great tone which the new pickups have lost.

In what way were the pickups broken that nevertheless allowed you to hear the tone? Are they repairable? What are the new pickups you've put in? Are the ones in the pictures the old or new ones?

Since you mention prices in £££s I assume you're in the UK? Within which case if you're ready to spend then you could send the old, toneful pickups to a specialist and ask them to analyse them and build something comparable for you. I've never dealt with Wizard Pickups but I'm told they offer this type of service:

http://www.wizardpickups.co.uk/

And for a Rolls-Royce option ring Tim at Bare Knuckle Pickups and ask him if he can help:

http://www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk/

I have some single coils and humbuckers of theirs and they're not to be beat - but they're not cheap either. Still, matching the characteristics of pickups is Tim's stock in trade. You'd be in good hands.

Far as the look of the guitar is concerned, well there's several of us here into refinning and such. What kind of thing do you have in mind?

Cheers - C

The pictures have the old ones, i only replaced the bridge pickup, the neck pickups the original and its absolutely fine and still toneful. But i wouldnt mind replacing it for something better.

There was a HUGE volume drop when i would switch to the bridge, i think it was due to the copper coiling inside it to be quite broken.

The pickup in it at the moment is a cheap Seymour duncan which was stuck in because i wanted to get back to playing it as soon as possible and it was the only pickup in the shop at the time. (Probably my own fault) And i was thinking about Bare knuckles i thought a nailbomber on the bridge and a Mississippi queen humbucker sized p-90 for the neck.

But i've been pointed at some active humbuckers, i dont want them for metal not a big fan of the really heavy stuff, but they say that the sheer clarity of them are amazing. I know jazz players use them but i would want them for a very pristine clean/ambient sound.

As for looks... anything, im open to anything, maybe even a refinish but i dont think they'res anyone in my area who'd do it (I could be wrong, i do live near to manchester). id make a design myself but im pretty sure it would be really expensive to do somethin like that.

_________________
"Oh, it's a windy and sunny day
And I can hear the faint sound of distant waves
The past weeks have been going by so fast
It's all the same, the bright sky and shining sun
I have a feeling it's gonna be a fun day"

Manchester guitar tech seems to have a good reputation Big. I've dealt with the bloke a few times, he knows his onions. Particularly with far eastern 70's/80's guitars. He's the only other person I know that shares my love of the Avon Rose Morris Les Paul copy.

http://www.manchesterguitartech.co.uk/

To my mind the early 80's Talbo needs a low powered humbucker. Tokai pickups were notoriously low powered and led to a lot of the blanket 'Change the pickups and it'll be a good guitar mate', statements. Something of a misnomer as far as tokai were concerned in my opinion. Look for something lower powered than a Gibson 57 pickup. Maybe a Vintage Wilkinson jobbie.
They were a big guitar with that guy out of INXS, he used one with a chrome scratchplate. Definately a keeper guitar. Personaly I wouldnt refinish it. I think it looks nice worn.

You may get some good service out of Phil Hartley from round your way, though he's a tad pricey to my mind.

http://www.guitarsetup.co.uk/index.php

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No no and no

Hmm. Well, this idea probably appeals to me more than you, but Forum user Twelvebar was recently talking about a particular type of metallic finish that gives a very shiny surface. Then Mr Patrick Sims turned up on the Forum and I notice on his website a finish that I presume is what Twelvebar had in mind.

Unfortunately, the Sims website is constructed in such a way I can't just link to the right page for you. But go here and scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on "chrome finishes":

http://www.simscustomshop.com/

Outrageous, huh?

If that turns you on, be aware that simscustomshop.com is in the US. I was confusing it with our own www.simscustom.com in the UK - but they have nothing to do with one another.

But as it happens I bet our Martin Sims is just the person to get that finish from. Part of his regular work involves people sending him their bodies for refinning - send him an email if you're turned on by the idea.

The Manchester Guitar Tech guy might be up for a chrome job too - but be warned, Twelvebar said that paint is eye-wateringly expensive...

Some thoughts.

Cheers - C

Crickey, i love that finish! But at $499 its a bit out of my limit....

So far i thought id put a bare knuckle nailbomber and Mississippi queen (Manson editions), a PRS tremolo bridge in and some form of a custom pickguard on it. Im just wondering what colour would suit the black and gold finish on it.

Maybe i could get rid of the chrome and replace it all with gold hardware.

_________________
"Oh, it's a windy and sunny day
And I can hear the faint sound of distant waves
The past weeks have been going by so fast
It's all the same, the bright sky and shining sun
I have a feeling it's gonna be a fun day"

Well, it's been almost 2 years since i sent Sims my JS1000 body to be chromed (and $400 to boot). Patrick has just blown me off. So here i am holding a neck , pickups, and hardware to my JS with no body in sight. Anyone here even considering sending Sims their guitar or money should maybe think twice. I , and countless others, have been ripped of by Sims. Stories can be read at simswarning.com. He also has been banned from many guitar related sights such as Jemsite, Sevenstring, Metalguitar and more. I have no motive here but to warn others not to make the same mistake as i have. Patrick, if you see this, i will tell you that as long as i'm alive, i will not persist to try and get my property back from you. I have emailed, pm'd and phoned you to no avail. I will continue to track you down. You cannot hide from me.

That should be a lot easier to do than your making it. Just go to his local police authority. What your talking of is pretty much theft. All you have to do is prove it. Or why not band together with some of the other victims you mention and take out court action. Surely you got some form of receipt when you handed the body over?

Can tell you now if that was me there would have been something gone on, 2 years is a inordinate amount of time to wait for a paintjob you've paid for.

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No no and no