Insane Price Drop - $950 Shipped! We're talking a vintage USA Made Tobias - Built by Mike Pedulla no less!
Yes….a Tobias made by Mike Pedulla! More on that in a bit…….
Picked this bass up a few months ago from a fellow TB’r. I always loved the look of the older Tobias basses, and GAS’d for this one when I saw it. Picked it up and found this bass sounds amazing!! But that being said….I found it just was not for me. Guess I am too much a Jazz Bass guy.
This is a 89-90 Tobias Model “T” was made before the company moved to Nashville. Mike Tobias was still running things at that time.
Well in an attempt to help keep up with the demand of Tobias basses at the time, they contracted out to have these Model “T” basses made. As stated in the “History Section” on the current MTD web site (
http://www.mtdbass.com/) “they were made by a well know
East Coast Luthier that was contracted out to catch the Tobias team up on some orders.”
That East Coast luthier was actually Mike Pedulla! I have emailed Mike Tobias about this bass who confirmed it. Feel free to contact Mike Tobias about it! Also the previous owner, "Famous Shamus" who is the TB member I got it from can confirm it was well.
As stated on the MTD web site, only 110 of these basses were made. This one is #25 out of 110, thus the serial which is # TB025.
In a copy of a old Tobias brochure (which I will include), these basses were touted as the “no frills” workingman Tobias bass!
According to the previous owner, at some point the original preamp was switched out for a 90's Bart preamp that was available on Gibson Tobias' at the time. The pickups are still the original Barts. This is an 18V preamp that features a Volume – Pan - Bass Boost/Cut – Treble Boost/Cut – Mid Boost/Cut – Mid Frequency Selector Switch. From what I can hear, the switch allows you to select Hi-Mid, Mid-Mid or Low-Mid to boost or cut.
For a 20 year old bass, this baby is in great shape! It was well taken care of over the years. No belt rash on the back. It has a couple of “love marks” on it, but nothing that would really show up in a photo.
The neck is in great shape as well as the frets. Note that this Tobias has a single truss rod, not a double like the higher end ones. The rod is fully functional and turns easy (and I have the wrench for it!). The neck is very comfy, it actually feels very similar to a newer Carvin neck-through bass.
The construction of the bass is:
- Solid Birdseye maple body wings
- 3 piece hard rock maple neck
- Rosewood board (a very light colored Rosewood too)
- Bartolini electronics
- 1-5/8" Width @ Nut
- 8.7 lbs
As I mentioned previously, the sound is amazing. This is the first bass I’ve owned with high end Bart electronics and I am very impressed!
The bass comes with a hardshell case.
Selling price for this rare (remember, only 110 made!) is
$950 shipped to the lower 48. PayPal preferred.
(Great price for dare I say a "Vintage" US made Tobias!)
(click on photos for hi-res zoom ins)
Some additional information on the electronics, the bass has an internal boost pot that can be adjusted for more gain. Here is a photo of the control cavity.
