New Tobias Toby

JDJen · #1 10-13-2011, 08:43 AM

I just got the new AMS and saw the new Tobias Toby Deluxe IV and Standard are coming out. No one has them in stock yet but here's a couple of links to some of the pics.

Tobias Toby Deluxe IV Electric Bass | Tobias at zZounds

All of your toby products at American Musical Supply

I wonder how these will compair to the Korean Tobys they had on MusicYo.

stepswork4me · #2 10-13-2011, 08:48 AM

What, no 5'ers?

JDJen · #3 10-13-2011, 09:12 AM

Apparently not. They look a lot like the old bolt-on Peavey Grind to me.

fivestringdan · #4 10-13-2011, 09:25 AM

They are using the Killer B body style. If they come out with a fivestring I'll be buying one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JDJen

Apparently not. They look a lot like the old bolt-on Peavey Grind to me.

alexofc69 · #5 10-13-2011, 04:53 PM

wow! interesting. i almost bought a Toby Pro from MusicYo before they stopped selling them around 2004 or so. I guess a good way for Gibson to capitalize on the Tobias legend. Of course I prefer MTDs, but I would dig on a white 5er to mod.
Does anybody know if Gibson is making these as they own the original Tobias name?

alexofc69 · #6 10-13-2011, 04:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JDJen

Apparently not. They look a lot like the old bolt-on Peavey Grind to me.

you mean the grind looks like the tobias as this body style came long before

lowfreq33 · #7 10-13-2011, 05:11 PM

Cheap horrible crap that ruins the name of a once great brand.

grendle · #8 10-13-2011, 05:14 PM

I played a few Toby pro's a wile back when musicyo first started doing them. They were impressive. Nice colors, nice woods, great players, good tones. Never understood why they got a bad rap. If not for the spector GAS, I would have definatly picked one up. Played 3 that definatly had the magic.

bassplayer8953 · #9 10-13-2011, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alexofc69

wow
Does anybody know if Gibson is making these as they own the original Tobias name?

At those prices they are, no doubt, Chinese. Maybe made alongside Epi's or Kramer's, but contracted by Gibson, not made by...

According to Gibson's website, you can still buy MIA Tobias':

Gibson Tobias Bass Guitar Info: Basic, Classic, Growler, Killer B and Signature Electric Bass Guitars

...but they run a few bucks more.

NecroticImbecil · #10 10-13-2011, 05:43 PM

They look good. They're dirt cheap. No way to know if the construction is any good, but if it is could be an alternative to Squier. Nice to see:

Quote:

Legendary Tobias asymmetrical neck profile

Don't see that on many basses, never mind cheap ones. I thought the Musicyos were pretty impressive for the price, and these are cheaper. Might at least drive down the used the price on those.

How long after these are released until we start seeing them hanging on the used wall at Guitar Center for $2500? Hmm.. maybe buy 5 and trade them in at different stores? It's a thought.

bwoodman · #11 10-13-2011, 07:02 PM

I also bought a Yobias from Music Yo back when they were selling them....junk. I promptly returned it - had a bad neck on it. I won't be buying one of these.

darkstorm · #12 10-13-2011, 07:52 PM

Main thing that struck me about the musicyo stuff is that all of them, Tobys included, with anything other then natural finish. Had this cheap seeming thick paint that looked and felt like it would chip easy. The instruments including the tobys where ok otherwise. Most could use pup and preamp upgrades. Of the whole musicyo catalog, I think only the upper end tobys worth getting really. Though even they could use pup upgrade imo. These look to be of the lower end qaulity but have better finish. they may be ok. But looking more at the two links and seeing the prices and such thing as "all metal knobs" as the bullet points. I gotta say I'm not impressed and would think basses like Ibanez sr300 well worth the bit extra for a much nicer bass.

lowfreq33 · #13 10-13-2011, 07:53 PM

I've played a Killer B for many years now. I've also played a few of the Toby basses at various shops, and honestly they shouldn't even share the brand. The Toby basses all had finish flaws, poor construction, badly fit components and cheap sounding electronics. I'd gladly buy an SX over a Toby at that price point.

alexofc69 · #14 10-20-2011, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lowfreq33

I've played a Killer B for many years now. I've also played a few of the Toby basses at various shops, and honestly they shouldn't even share the brand. The Toby basses all had finish flaws, poor construction, badly fit components and cheap sounding electronics. I'd gladly buy an SX over a Toby at that price point.

i think some of the later ones especially on MusicYo were very cheaply made. You have to remember that they were early chinese made guitars and chinese made guitars have improved exponentially in just a few years. So im guessing these will be half way decent. I hope they do a fiver. I found more info today.
Epiphone Announces New Tobias Toby Models

bassplayer8953 · #15 10-20-2011, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alexofc69

i think some of the later ones especially on MusicYo were very cheaply made. You have to remember that they were early chinese made guitars and chinese made guitars have improved exponentially in just a few years. So im guessing these will be half way decent. I hope they do a fiver. I found more info today.
Epiphone Announces New Tobias Toby Models

The stuff I bought from MusicYo was all Korean made. Some ok, some pretty crappy, but I think MusicYo shut down before production moved to China in search of the lowest bottom line.

Wyattsgroove · #16 10-20-2011, 06:21 PM

What a shame! I agree a total name killer.
There was a time when you heard the name "Tobias" it meant high end craftsmanship. Now it's just imported low end crap capitalizing on a name that once stood for something entirely different.
O-well just the way of the world these days.
However I would not hesitate to own a real pre gibby Tobias . Those are the real deal.
IMO

Flame me. IDC!

alexofc69 · #17 10-20-2011, 06:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wyattsgroove

What a shame! I agree a total name killer.
There was a time when you heard the name "Tobias" it meant high end craftsmanship. Now it's just imported low end crap capitalizing on a name that once stood for something entirely different.
O-well just the way of the world these days.
However I would not hesitate to own a real pre gibby Tobias . Those are the real deal.
IMO

Flame me. IDC!

??? What do you mean now its imported low end crap? When I hear Tobias all I think about, whether it his original Tobias line, Gibson Tobias or his MTD products all i think is the best bass designs ever!
The Toby stuff hasnt been made for quite a while. Mike Tobias' MTD Kingston import stuff is amazing and puts a lot of stuff to shame. Even now that he has shifted manufacture of the Kingston line from Korea to China. QA is still done in USA - Michael Tobias Design means high end craftsmanship.
The Gibson Tobias USA stuff is good, but just hit or miss, so the price is not justified. The Toby stuff was always meant to be uber cheap by gibson.

DWBass · #18 10-20-2011, 06:35 PM

I bought one of the original Toby Deluxes back in '99. Terrific bass but the only weak spot was the preamp. It put out a very low level. I just plugged in the passive input on my amp. I gigged it for about 7 years without one single issue! Neck was straight as an arrow and I only tweaked it once the entire time I owned it. Extremely reliable and road worthy!

CH Design · #19 03-31-2012, 06:31 AM

I bought a black one last night. I was looking for an inexpensive bass that I could play around with until I get a few of my own builds finished. I spent a few hours at my local music store trying out various 4 and 5 strings (Warwick, Yamaha, Squier, Ibanez). This was the only bass of the bunch that I thought was actually well made (relative to the price of course).
I was actually looking at a Squier VM Jazz 5-string. I had a 4-string model when they first came out and I was very impressed with the quality (again, relative to the price). However, the 5-string version didn't impress me at all. It sounded lifeless, had bad neck dive and just felt cheap. It could just be that this particular one was a bad egg, or the 4-string I was was really good. Who knows.
The fretwork on the Toby was decent, it felt solid, the neck joint looked tight and it sounds pretty good. There are a few things that could be improved (finish around sharp edges isn't perfect, the center detent on the pan knob is very subtle, what I assume is the treble boost control doesn't really do much, the bass boost control really only works in the last 1/4 of it's range, the plastic cover for the truss rod access isn't a perfect fit, the pickups seems to be bottomed out), but for a bass that I bought new for $260 CDN I really can't complain. Finding a decent used bass at that price is though enough let alone a new one.
The setup in the store was horrible. Instead of trying to get it set up to my liking in the store, I just bought it. The store I bought it from has a 30 day return policy so if I find something that I can't deal with I'll just take it back.
The truss rod felt good and had no problems getting the neck almost straight. I was able to set the action surprisingly low and still not have any fret buzz. I can't set it any lower because of the pickup height so that's something I'll have to look into when I change the strings. The nut slots could also use a little filling.
Over the coming months, it may get a new bridge, pickups and electronics. If at that point I still like it I may consider getting a second to convert into a fretless.
One thing I haven't mentioned is the comfort. That's pretty much a given. It's very comfortable to play given the body style and has complete access to the 24th fret.

Now (if anyone from Gibson is listening!) if they made a 5-string version with 19mm spacing at the bridge and use standard sized pickups (for easy replacement) and could do it for under $300 the would really be on to something. If they needed to cut costs to do it, ditch the active electronics and just go with a V/V/T/T to keep the same number of knobs. IMO, active electronics on a bass in this price range is a waste.

greg2bass · #20 08-24-2012, 07:10 AM

I'm looking for a good beginner bass for metal/rock music. sth like the gsr200. would you say that this toby standard is suitable for sth like that? I'm worried especially about the importance of lacking a p-style neck pickup, and the active electronics boost of the ibanez model. unfortunately where I come from I can't test the actual instrument myself in a store (the toby, not the ibanez).