Truss Rod Wrench for Tobias Model T - HELP!

[ClassicJazz]

Hi,

I recently picked up a beautiful Tobias Model "T" from a fellow TB'r in trade. So far I am thrilled with the bass! The Model "T"s were made in the early 90's (Gibson owned Tobias, but Mike was still running things). A sub-contractor in New England actually built these basses to help Tobias keep up. It was Mike Pedulla who built these!

Well, I need to tweak the neck a bit (I do my own setups), but the last owner did not have any of the wrenches.

I've never seen a truss nut like this before, and there is not allot of room to get a wrench. From what I understand, Gibson has similar truss rod nuts. I ordered some wrenches from StewMac, but the heads of the wrenches were too big. Also I am not 100% sure the size, I think it may be 5/16". I need to make sure that the wrench sits straight over the nut, I do not want to take the chance of stripping it.

So HELP!! Anyone ever work on or own one of these?? I need to know where and the size of the wrench I need.

Thanks!

[walterw]

yeah, that looks like 5/16" gibson-style to me.

sometimes you can grind down the back edge of a gibson wrench so it will fit in tight spaces like this.

[Paullee01]

I have an older Tobias and lost my wrench years ago but the one below works fine and should fit with no problem. It is 5/16 you can pick them up anywhere like Home Depot etc. It's a lot smaller then it looks in the photo.

[ClassicJazz]

I recently picked up in trade a beautiful Tobias Model "T" from a fellow TB'r. These basses were produced in the early 90's by Mike Pedulla for Tobias. Only 110 were built. The bass sounds amazing and I am very happy with it.

BUT, here is my dilemma. The previous owner never had the truss rod wrench for this bass. He got it used from a store if I remember. Well I need to tweak the neck just a tinny bit, but I can not find a tool that will work with this bass. I've never seen a truss rod setup like this before.

As you can see in the photos, there is very little room to work with in the cavity were the truss rod nut is. There is no way to get at the nut straight, and I am afraid if I get at it on an angle I risk stripping the nut.

I am not 100% sure the nut size, but I think it may be 5/16". I bought some wrenches from StewMac (see attachments) but the head of the wrenches are too long and I can't get over the nut. Someone mentioned a Gibson wrench, so I picked one up from eBay and still no good!

I dropped Mike Tobias a email about it, but his solution did not make sense. I do not think he realizes you can't get at the nut straight. So I tried the actual maker, Pedulla. Well they slammed the door in my face. And forget about Gibson, that would be a waste of time.

SOOO, are there any TB'rs out there with a Model "T" Tobias? If so, have a spare truss rod tool? Or take a photo of what it looks like and measure the size.

The bass is still very playable so things are not at a total stand still. But since I do my own setups, I would like to be able to adjust the neck myself.

Thanks!

Top view of the headstock:


Side View, as you can see there is not much room to work with and you can't get at the nut straight:

[cliff78]

My solution is for you to cut down the trusrod tool that you have to fit the given space. Some Ace hardwares have machines that can do that. Give it a try!

[DanRJBrasil]

just change the nut

[73jbass]

I've used a thin wall socket in cases like this before.

[ClassicJazz]

Success! Found a small box wrench at Home Depot that works perfect! Duh, should have went there first!

[ClassicJazz]

Success! Found a small box wrench at Home Depot that works perfect! Duh, should have went there first!

[Paullee01]

Originally Posted by ClassicJazz

Success! Found a small box wrench at Home Depot that works perfect! Duh, should have went there first!

Glad you found the wrench. As I said in my previous post I have an older Tobias pre-Gibson. It has two truss rods and you have to adjust it from the other end. In 22 years I only had to adjust it once.

I live in your area and might have seen you before. Been playing Palm Beach area since the 80's. I've known Chris P (drummer) since he was 9....

Paul Lee